THE SUBSTITUTE HUSBAND

A laugh bubbled up in my throat but came out as a soft wail. What would Damon do now? This is not my fault, is it? If I had not refused...but how could I know a little defiance would kill him?

Was he truly dead? I would not touch him to find out. Even now, the thought of touching him seemed repugnant to me. Yet, someone had to find out. 

Out of fear, I leaped out of the bed, ran for the door, then out into the hall, and right into Damon's chest.

"You are fleeing your marital bed just as I thought," he said with marked displeasure. "I know you planned to run away. This won't happen. You will go back in there and -.'

"He is dead, Damon!" I blurted out. 

Damon's hand squeezed my hand painfully for a while. He then released one and dragged me back into the chamber with the other hand. He went straight to Alpha Gwen's side and put his head on his chest, and his expression was dark when he finally looked up at me. 

"Why do you kill him?"

"Me! No. I didn't do anything," I yelled back and took a step backward. "He climbed the bed, clutched his chest, fell, and remained immobile."

Damon glares at me, then back at the dead man, and I can see his confused state. A moment later, he stood up, pulled the black clothes over Alpha Gwen's head, and then stood up to face me. "Don't leave this room and don't allow anyone in."

"Where are you going? You aren't leaving me here with his corpse, are you?"

"Shut up, and listen Bella. I'm going to find you a suitable man as a substitute."

My eyes flared when the meaning of his words hit me, "No. I will never do-."

"You will," he snarled. "If you ever want to see your mother again. Alive."

I know he means every word. But the horror of what he intended to do. A substitute!

Desperately, I asked, "How do you plan to deceive his pack members?"

"You don't have to worry about my plan. Just do as you are told and you will be with a baby soon."

"But I can't stay here alone with the corpse!" I gasped and then took another step backward."

"I will get rid of the body," Damon said impatiently. "And then, I will find another body to pass as his own when it's time to bury him. 

Damon sounds so confident about his new plan, but why not? Again, he had nothing to do except sit back and wait while my body was sacrificed on this altar of deception. 

And this time around, my mother's life depends on my compliance. 

Baron 

They suddenly materialize out of the thin air. They were six in number, dressed in military camouflage, and glared at me. Robbers!

There is little or no law in most of the packs around here. But then, it was because their Alphas were either weak, corrupt, or absent. 

I didn't know much about the moonshine pack because I had never passed through it before. 

This may be another pocket of high villainy where innocent travelers and strangers are robbed or tortured if they fail to deliver a fat ransom. 

Truly, this was an act of stupidity on my side. I shouldn't have ventured here without my Gammas. But then, I want to appear good before meeting Cinderella tomorrow. 

A bit of vanity, now look what has befallen me. Buy then, who dare attack me?

I have a reputation for paying back any evil done to me, and this has made the packs around me afraid of me. But I wasn't known around here, and this may be the reason why they dare stand in my way. 

I, Baron Mackenzie, was an unforgiving man and will not forgive myself for this oversight. But then, the town looked peaceful and I had a lot on my mind. 

I will soon be marrying for the third time, and I don't want my new wife to be scared of me the way the other two were. I have great hope for Cinderella. Haven't I courted her for half a year? Even when this wasn't my way. 

Lady Cinderella was a great beauty, soft-spoken, sweetly tempered, and had a charming sense of humor. What else will a man ask for? 

I wanted humor in my life. I wanted love and laughter, which had been absent since my family was destroyed some years ago. My life had been filled with hate and bitterness but not anymore. I have a daughter. The result of my previous relationship with my first wife. Even though I love my daughter, I hate to admit that she is frivolous and a self-centered creature. And I can no longer bear her bickering. I want a home like the one I had known as a child. A home I will long to go to after a long day. And I wanted a son. 

Am I asking for too much? Is this more than any man could expect?

I believe my next wife will make my dream come to pass. A wife like Cinderella is all I need. 

I was fond of her already. And I hope the feeling will keep increasing. Maybe I can even fall in love with her. If only I'm capable of that emotion after so many years of hate. 

But was it necessary that I love my wife? Is it not only compulsory for her to love me?

Anyway, none of this matters if I have to die here tonight. 

I was not even properly armed. I had left my gun in the room I rented and only came out with a dagger tucked in my belt. Since my clothes were with the dry cleaner, I only wore a shirt, pants, and a pair of slippers. 

Even though I was defenseless, the men surrounding me were reluctant to step closer, but who could blame them? At six feet and two inches, I stood a head taller than the largest among my assailants. But it wasn't my height that frightened them, it was my mean look. The hard ruthlessness in my face. I look like a man who enjoyed killing for the fun of it. 

Without waiting for them to speak or attack, I let out a war cry, clasped my hand around my silver dagger, and charged forward, slashing the nearest man across his face and then sneering as he screamed out in pain.