Five: Her Arranged Marriage

DAHLIA

For the next couple of days, I buried myself in work. Anything to chase away the pain slowly encroaching towards my heart. Anything to pretend that my world was still fine.

The upcoming Pack Summit took a lot of effort to prepare for, and I couldn't have been gladder for this distraction. There was so much work to do, and if I could just lose myself in it, I could stave off my heartache.

At least, that was the plan.

I quickly figured out that it was pointless. The pain never went away, not when the source of

it paraded through the halls and grounds of the pack house, impossible to avoid.

Aaron had barely exchanged two words with me after our encounter. It was like he'd forgotten I existed, like that brief spell of romance between us was nothing but a fleeting dream.

I guess that's what it had been.

He now spent all his time with Lilith and their son. They were inseparable, always together everywhere, never giving regard to what the rest of the pack thought. They played in the gardens and trees by day and fucked hard by night.

I, however, was saddled with running the pack, like I was a common maid.

Bitterness burned through me as the days ticked by. Every smile Aaron directed towards Lilith, every sight of the young boy that looked so much like his father, every sound coming out of Lilith's room at night chipped further at my soul.

I knew this couldn't go on forever no matter how much I wished it would. There was only one outcome in the end: Aaron and Lilith together, reunited at long last, and me, cast out, alone.

***

I was at the driveway of the main building, inspecting the crates that had been delivered for the summit when I spotted a familiar car pull into the compound.

I frowned. What were my parents doing here?

Leaving the inspection to a beta, I headed over to my parents. Their faces brightened when they saw me.

I greeted them both with hugs. For a moment, my troubles were forgotten as I took in their warm, familiar selves. “It's so good to see you guys.”

We talked for some minutes about home, before Dad asked if we could sit somewhere and talk.

I led them to a small nook near the trees and we settled in, sensing something amiss. It didn’t make sense, my parents driving to see me in person with no prior information. I found myself tensing up for whatever news they had.

“Is…everything well?” I asked.

“All is fine,” Mom said. “That's not why we're here.”

The warm smiles they'd displayed earlier gave way to something tense. My apprehension grew. “What's going on?”

“We need to talk about Aaron,” Dad said.

I sighed. I should have known the news would reach them soon enough. “Listen, I know that Lilith's back, but I'm fine for now. The pack wants me here. I'm not going anywhere.”

My parents exchanged a look. “Honey,” said my mum. “That’s why we're here. Aaron has plans to divorce you. In fact, he has already arranged your marriage with another Alpha. One from the northern territories.”

My world tilted sideways. The ache in my chest pulsed even harder. My vision blurred.

“No,” I whispered. “He can't do that. He wouldn't.”

My parents gave me pitied looks. Mom took my hand in hers. “Dahlia, child,” she crooned. “You know this is the only way forward. Aaron doesn't love you. But you now have a shot at true love.”

I pulled my hand out of her grasp. My head throbbed with anger and hurt. I couldn't believe my ears. My own parents were fine with me being given away to another pack like a discarded piece of clothing, after all the blood and sweat I’d put into growing this pack into what it is today.

It was one thing to have Aaron do this, but to hear my parents say the same was almost too much.

“I won't do such a thing,” I snarled. “I can't believe you'd ask me to do that!”

“You have to be reasonable, Dahlia.” Mom's voice had gone stern. She hadn't used that tone on me since I was a child. “This is your future we're talking about. Aaron is going to divorce you whether you like it or not and you know what will happen if you don't have another Alpha waiting to marry you.”

“Do you want to become a divorced Luna?” Dad asked. The words “divorced Luna” dripped with distaste.

I understood why. There was no fate worse than a divorced Luna. It was seen as a sign that the Luna had failed in her duties to her Alpha. The ultimate failure. It was a fate almost as bad as death itself.

Mom's face went red with anger. “You sit here whining, but you have no idea how lucky you are. Aaron could divorce you publicly. That shame would stay with you for the rest of your life. Instead, he not only wants to do it in secret, but he's even going out of his way to make sure you have someone else to marry! Why can't you be reasonable about this??”

I shot to my feet and stormed out of the nook. I couldn't stay there another second and listen to my own parents say such things. The trees closed in on me. There was no one in this world that had my back. I was all alone.

This betrayal stung more than anything Aaron had done.

I didn't even know where my feet were taking me until I got to Lilith's room. I felt like I would explode from all the rage gathered inside me. I stormed inside, not caring about any consequences whatsoever.

Aaron and Lilith looked surprised, to say the least. Their sheets were sprawled on the floor. They were both naked, limbs tangled with each other. I noted their state of undress, the perspiration covering their bodies, and the sharp scent filling the air. It didn't take a genius to know they had just finished having sex.

Lilith let out a squeal of alarm while Aaron bolted from the bed, shock now turned to anger. “How dare you!” he growled.

His anger didn't even faze me the slightest bit. “You arranged for me to marry someone else?” I burst out. “You seriously did that, after everything I've done for this pack?? I've given my all for this pack, done everything to please you and this is how you repay me!”

Aaron deflated a bit. He averted his guilty eyes from mine. “I understand how you feel,” he said, “but this is the only good option. I've been given a second chance with my mate. And I have a son, for crying out loud. I'm not going to give that up.”

“Then just divorce me,” I retorted. “I would rather take my chances as a divorced Luna than be trapped into another helpless marriage with someone maybe even worse than you!”

Aaron let out a strange laugh. “You think that wasn't what I was gonna do? How special do you think you are? In fact, if he hadn't already paid I'd have—”

He cut himself short suddenly, as he’d inadvertently revealed something he wasn't meant to.

My eyes widened. “Paid? What do you mean paid?”