Obsession and Hatred

ALPHA COLE'S P.O.V.

The rest of the ceremony passed by in a blur of... nothing. I tried my best to look the part of the man who believed he was making the right choice. But there was no right or wrong when Selena had looked at me like that. Like I was the enemy. Like I had broken her.

And maybe I had. But something had broken inside of me too, and I hate myself for everything. How did she know? How did she...

I closed my eyes for a brief moment. Beta Ian is my trusted warrior. He will find her and bring her back to me. I will tell her how this was all a misunderstanding. How last night was everything to me. How I have seen the way she looked at me for years, and I have looked at her the exact same way.

"You seem to be elsewhere," Sylvia said, her fingers lacing with mine. 

"Just be happy my body is here. I don't have much more to offer."

Her eyes narrowed. "My father..." 

"I know exactly what your father can do. He should be scared of what I can do, too."

She gave a small, bitter smile, then turned away to face the crowd that was now wining and dining. With a small sigh, I excused myself from that shitshow, and walked straight towards the much quieter study. 

The doors locked behind me, and I walked through the dimly lit space. The lights were off, and the sun had already set beneath the rain clouds.

I pushed open the smaller door on the left side of the study, then walked in, closing it behind me. I turned the lights on, and leaned back on the door.

Five years worth of pictures and paintings graced the walls. Pictures of my very own Selena. Her laughing, her at the gym. Her smiling up at me right after she took that knife to the face that had given her that scar.

I gave a small laugh. I am crazy. I know I am. But I am fine with being crazy. As long as it is her. My jaws clenched tight as my eyes fell on the most recent one. She had been smiling, her hair floating across her face.

She was beautiful. My own damned temptation. She is the reason my hands are as tied as they are. I would have rejected my mate for her. But I inherited a pack that was weak, a throne that didn't truly belong to me. And now... I had to take someone else so I can ensure a future where she can belong to me.

I should have told her. Especially after last night. The trust in her eyes as she gave herself to me... I should have told her. How could I be so heartless?

A knock came on the main study door, and my heart skipped a beat. Beta Ian. It could only be him.

I opened the door and immediately stepped out, my chest heaving with anticipation. I could finally correct that mistake. I could already imagine it. Him telling me he had snuck her into the safe house. Me going there and telling her all of this is a sham. That she will always be the only woman for me.

The study door opened, and my smile immediately faded.

Instead of Beta Ian, two of my soldiers were standing there, their eyes downcast. My eyes fell to the floor, and I sucked in a sharp breath.

Right there, on the floor, in a pool of blood, water and mud, was my best friend and beta.

"We are sorry, Alpha. It appears that Beta Ian was going after your former bodyguard, and they got into a brutal fight. She left him there. We found a few of her belongings and her weapon. It was.."

"No," I whispered, my chest heaving hard. No. No, this isn't... this is not how this was meant to go. Beta Ian was supposed to be standing not...

I slowly went on my knees, my hands reaching to touch his hand. He was cold, unmoving. My vision immediately blurred.

"No. I... Beta Ian..."

I stepped back, sitting on the floor as tears stung the back of my eyes. "That is not my beta. Go back out there."

"Apha."

"I said, go back out there! How the fuck do you expect me to believe this? He was alive and well an hour ago! And now what?! Selena? My own bodyguard? Someone who risked her life for me? You want me to believe she would kill my beta? That my beta is dead?!"

They went quiet, and one took a step back. 

"Fucking talk to me! What the fuck really happened to Ian?! What the fuck did you do to him?"

"Alpha."

I turned, and Isaac was ascending the stairs to the study, his hands clasped behind his back.

"I am sorry. I heard the news about Beta Ian."

I swallowed hard. "This is not the time, Isaac."

I turned back to the soldiers. "How did you find him? It was a private affair he left the palace for. How the fuck were you there?"

The soldiers looked at each other, but said nothing.

I saw red. I saw blood. Before I could stop to think, I grabbed the nearest weapon, a gun from the soldier himself, and placed it right above his heart. 

He took a step back, his lips parting. 

"Fucking tell me what the hell you were doing there!" I yelled, my fingers tightening around it. I intended to fully use it if any of these bastards had cost me my mate and my best friend and had the nerve to lie about it to me.

"It was my fault," Isaac said, stepping forward. "I saw Beta Ian leaving after her, and I sent my troops to make sure he would be safe. A woman scorned can not be underestimated. Besides, she shot a guard of the palace. I guess it was the troops she saw, and she decided to treat them all as enemies. Several of my soldiers are very injured too."

No. That.... fuck, it does sound like Selena. Brave, strong. But... no.

"Let me see the weapon. I will know my beta's scent."

The soldier walked forward and handed me a bloodied dagger. I took it out, and my heart shattered into pieces. It was the same custom dagger that I had commissioned for her. The same dagger that had her name and mine on it.

"Selena..." My voice cracked, and the dagger left my hand. I looked down at Beta Ian's body. Cold, lifeless, still looking like he could tease me any moment from now.

"Ian," I said, crawling to him, uncaring for everything else. I pulled his head to my lap, my chest heaving hard as my fingers laced into his hair. The blood and mud stained my clothes, but my heart was worse. "Ian, please. Ian, I beg of you. Don't do this. Please, please, don't do this. Don't..."

The tears gave me no warning. They just came raining down my eyes like a force in its own self. The howl that left my lips was animalistic, almost demonic. Not Beta Ian. Not Selena. Please, No.

For three days, I waited. Watching Beta Ian, hoping he would wake up and tell me this was all a prank. He never did. Not once. And neither did Selena come back.

I watched as Beta Ian's remains were laid to rest, my eyes still swollen from the days of mourning that had finally led to this final goodbye. 

My eyes closed, and a single tear ran down my cheek as he was finally covered.

"I am sorry," Sylvia said, her voice low, almost sympathetic.

I could barely hear it. I could barely care.

All I could see was Beta Ian's last moment, the way he had assured me that he would bring her back. The way he had smiled at me.

Curse you, Selena. I loved you. I protected you. You made me believe in the strength of your loyalty. And then you killed my best friend.

I held on to the rose I was supposed to lay on his grave. My grip tightened on the stem, fresh tears filling my eyes. Until I bring her to you, Ian, I will keep this rose with me. Until I made her pay, I won't let this rose wilt. That is my promise to you.