The Alpha's Choice

POV: Selena

“Don’t cry for me, my little Lina. You will be well taken care of after I’m gone. Your father will take care of you, and on your eighteenth birthday, after your first shift and after you meet your wolf and unlock your gifts, someone will come for you. Someone special that deserves my precious daughter, someone that will take care of you and make you happy will come for you, my sweet baby girl,” Mom told me on her sick bed as I took care of her and prayed for her swift recovery.

She made me promise to be nice to him, and she promised that he would never disappoint me on my eighteenth birthday; he would come for me. I did not take her words seriously. I didn’t even ask her who she was talking about and why he was coming for me. She hadn’t been well for years, so I put it down to her imagination running wild because of her sickness.

Sure that couldn’t happen. I mean, she had been getting worse lately, and there is no telling what might happen to her. A few months after she told me that, Dad came home with a strange woman and her daughter named Jacklyn. He introduced them as his new wife, Vera, and my stepmom. Before I could say one word to challenge his actions, he struck me hard across the face, showing me the hospital report and death certificate of my mother.

“Your mother is dead, girl, and now you have to do everything I tell you!” Dad told me sternly, instructing me to treat Jacklyn and her mom with the love and respect that they deserve because they are family. I did not believe him; I wanted to go to the hospital to look for my mom. But instead of taking me to the hospital, like I demanded, he drove me to the cemetery and showed me a headstone bearing my mom’s name and age.

I cried my eyes out that day, wishing I could turn back the hands of time and share more heartwarming conversations and laughter with my mom. My whole life took a different turn from the day Jacklyn and her mom Vera stepped into our house—my house, actually. Mom was a wealthy heiress, and everything was wild to me. But that had control of everything until I turned eighteen.

I faced the worst kind of humiliation from Jackie and her mom, Vera. They literally made my life miserable, and Dad couldn’t care less about how I was being treated. At first, I thought it was unfair for me to be treated like a slave while my father’s new wife and adopted daughter got everything they wanted. Then I found out that Jackie was Dad’s biological daughter, and that meant he was cheating on my mom before she died.

My father is an asshole, and I would give anything for a chance to take back everything that belongs to me and make him pay for hurting me and my mom. I look forward to my eighteenth birthday so I can claim my mom’s wealth and get everything that belongs to me. Mom's words about the stranger that is coming on my eighteenth birthday kept ringing in my head, and I looked forward to it.

I knew in my heart that the stranger would be the answer to my prayer, and I looked forward to my eighteenth birthday. It’s all I ever talk about; it’s all I could dream of. My dad hated me for no reason, and Jackie became Daddy’s favorite daughter since she got here. All I have is my fortune and the stranger who would wipe these tears away from my eyes.

“You are delusional if you think you are getting this house and the company from me!” my father told me furiously, handing me some documents to sign over half of my fortune to his name.

“I won’t do it, Dad!

I won’t let you take what belongs to me; I would rather die than sign those documents!” I told him furiously, refusing to sign it. 

“You ungrateful child!

How dare you talk back to your father?” Vera yelled at me, glaring daggers at me. 

“Of course, she wouldn’t sign it, Dad; she doesn’t give a hoot about us. She doesn’t consider us her family. She is always talking about her prince charming coming to get her on her eighteenth birthday,” Jackie told them, laughing at my thoughts. 

“You whore!

You already have a boyfriend?” my dad yelled at me, hitting me angrily. 

“Of course she does; it’s all she ever talks about in school. Her whore of a mother found a prince charming for her precious daughter,” Jackie told them, smirking evilly when I glared her way. 

“I will kick you out of my house when I turn eighteen years old!

I suggest that you and your mom start searching for a place to stay because very soon, you will become homeless,” I told her proudly, earning a peal of laughter from her. 

“No one is coming for you, Lina. I suggest you sign these papers immediately!” Dad warned me, trying to force me to sign the papers. But I didn’t do it; I didn’t let him force me, and I didn’t stop believing that someone would come for me on my eighteenth birthday. It’s one month until my birthday, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

Dad and Jackie called me stupid. Aunt Vera starved me for days because I refused to sign the documents. But I did not let that discourage me. I kept waiting for him to arrive. The day finally arrived, and just like Mom told me, at the stroke of midnight on my eighteenth birthday, there was a knock at the door. And when I opened the door, I saw the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen in my life, and he smiled warmly at me, taking my breath away.

“Hello, Lina. I’m Richard, your betrothed,” he let out with a bright smile, pulling me in for a warm hug.

“I have waited for this day all my life. I always dreamt of this day—the day I will finally meet you and make you mine,” he told me, making me smile brightly as tears flowed freely down my cheeks.

“You have no idea how happy you have made me today, Richard. You have made me the happiest woman today,” I confessed, hugging him tighter. 

“Good, that has been my intention. Your happiness is all that matters to me, and that is why I want to marry you, Lina. I want to make you mine and take care of you always,” he confessed, making my dream a reality. This is the happiest day of my life.