As the car pulled away from everything that Mila had ever known, she wondered what she was getting herself into. She had to admire how nimbly he maneuvered the truck over the rugged road that led out of the Pack Estate. He seemed very capable.
“You need to stop doing that. You are not the Alpha Female. Sloane is possessive and will make you pay for looking at me like that,” he told her curtly without even glancing at her in the rearview mirror.
Mila peeked at him through the rearview mirror. ‘Who the heck is Sloane?’ she thought. After all, Mila had every right to appreciate her mate.
“Sloane is my mate. You will be her assistant cum maid. You’re going to feel a change as we pass the pack border,” he continued as if he hadn’t just dropped two bombs in a row.
The scenery flew by and started changing from the forest she knew into a rocky mountainous pass.
At the forest’s edge, she felt her mental bond with the pack being broken. She gasped as she felt a keen sense of loneliness as bond after bond broke. Tears rolled down her cheeks unexpectedly.
“And you were planning on doing that while running at full speed. You would have hurt yourself,” Alpha Rowan said reproachfully. “Maybe I should have let you experience it alone so that you could learn from your foolishness. You’re lucky I don’t let those who belong to me suffer unnecessarily.”
Mila frowned. ‘Is this guy bi-polar? Now, I belong to him, but I didn’t a minute ago?’ She shot him a confused glare.
“You’re part of my pack now. You belong to me, just like any other pack member,” Alpha Rowan explained, as if he had read her mind. “In a few weeks, you are going to be married to my Beta. I expect you to be a good, faithful wife and to do that with sincerity. You will have a week-long honeymoon to seal your bond, then he needs to come back to work. I can only spare him for a week.”
“Are you kidding me?! You know I am your mate! This is crazy, Rowan! It will drive us both insane being with other people!”
Rowan’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. The hard material groaned at the strain it was taking in his hands. “I don’t care what the Goddess says, you are not my mate! I have already chosen Sloane, and she is the mate I will marry! You better get that through your thick head!” he bit out.
Mila rolled her eyes. “Is that why the almighty Alpha Rowan blushed like a virgin when I squeezed his ass? You aren’t even fooling yourself, let alone me. That ass is mine, and you know it.”
A growl filled the car. Mila could almost feel the glass strain at the power he exuded. She rolled down her window, not wanting any exploding glass on her.
They were now on a precarious mountain pass. The road was wide enough for two cars, but there was no barrier at the edge of the road. It was just a sheer cliff face that was covered in trees and shrubs.
A mist came down from the mountain, giving the road a very spooky and gloomy atmosphere.
Mila couldn't help laughing at how the mountain pass mirrored the mood in the car. As she laughed, the car screeched to a halt. She looked around alert, wondering if an animal had ambled onto the road.
Rowan turned around to face her. “Do you think this is funny?! I am your ALPHA. You will do as I say! YOU are going to marry MY Beta and make him happy! This is non-negotiable. I refuse to lose my Beta because of a disobedient femme wolf!”
“But you’re willing to sacrifice your mate? You are as crazy as people say. How dumb are you? I was made for you, you dumbass!” Mila shouted at him, not caring that she was trapped in a metal contraption with an already irate Alpha.
In her mind, if he got angry enough, he would kill her and she would escape the misery of seeing her mate with some blonde, pretty model every day. She felt sad for Beta Josiah. He was stuck with a crazy Alpha. Beta Josiah looked like a nice guy.
Rowan could not believe his luck. This little femme was going against him! He was seriously beginning to doubt his reputation.
He had been trying to stay calm, hoping she would be rational and see the importance of having a sane Beta. She obviously was one of those pampered Alpha Females that grew up with a golden spoon in her mouth. It was time the princess got a reality adjustment.
“Life isn’t about getting what you want or what you think you deserve. The Goddess doesn’t live here, where things are not so perfect. The sooner you realize this, the happier you will be about life. You are NOT the Alpha Female of White Claw! Sloane will be the Alpha Female.
“You are going to marry my Beta and make him happy. IS. THAT. CLEAR?” He roared. His blonde hair stood on edge as if spiked up by his very anger. The veins in his neck stood out as if he was going to burst.
Mila looked him in the eye. He was dead serious. Her heart broke.
Looking away, she sighed. “What if I refuse your offer?”
Rowan looked outside the car that was now surrounded by mist. “You can take your pampered, precious life into your own hands and navigate the mountain pass on your own.”
Mila shuddered. Warriors were wary of the mountain pass. It was rumored that fairies and elves controlled the mountain pass. If you made them angry, they could make you wander around the same area for years.
She would consider her escape once she got to White Claw. This bi-polar mate of hers was dead serious.
“Fine.”
Sighing, Rowan started the truck and steered carefully along the mountain pass. As he drove, not a single animal or car crossed their path. When he seemed a bit calmer, Mila bit the inside of her cheek gently.
The mist was starting to clear as they got to the bottom of the other side of the mountain. The sun broke through, giving the appearance of a whole new world. The trees looked greener, the grass was lusher, the birds were chirping sweetly, and it was like everything was happy.
“If I’m not your mate and I’m going to be marrying your Beta, then why are you the one who came to collect me? Why didn’t Josiah use this as an opportunity to meet his future bride and get to know her? Why did you send him back, without me?” Mila asked quietly, almost as if she was lost in thought.