Chapter 2 2

Elena.

I opened my eyes again and found Mom sitting next to me, holding my hand while I was in bed. She said,

"You're married now. And you're not just married to anyone. We gave you the best Alpha in existence. You're married now."

The Alpha King was there, gently patting my hand. He said,

"From today, you will be more than just my grandson's wife. You will be everything. Everything will be in your hands. I will be very kind to you. All I ask is that you be the cure for my grandson, my only grandson. I want to see his children. I want to see his heirs. I want to see him be gentle. He was always gentle, but so much happened to him and it changed him. I hope you can be the reason he changes. I hope he lives his life and finds happiness. I hope he becomes better. One day you'll understand why. But I never forced you into this marriage-I was only afraid you'd change your mind, and he would too. He was totally against the idea of marriage, but he didn't reject you."

I could feel how sincere he was. He was kind to me, even though he was the Alpha King of all the werewolves. He spoke with such gentleness, and I could feel how much he cared for his grandson-and even for me, from my emotions.

I decided, just between myself and my own conscience, that if I'd survived jumping and trying to end my life, and I stayed alive, then I'd go through with this marriage. And honestly, what could be better? I'd be living in a palace, with servants, with food and drink and everything I could ever want. I'd never even dreamed of having all these things.

So I smiled, nodded in agreement, reassured my mom, reassured the king, and reassured my dad, who was sitting there, half sad and half worried about me. I told them,

"Don't worry. I'll make this marriage work."

I was always optimistic. I was happy and content with the smallest things, which is why I'd lived my life happily so far. Still, I had a few small dreams-like finding my Prince Charming, a prince on a white horse who'd come and sweep me away. But in reality, I found someone better than a prince. I found the Alpha, and one day he'll be the Alpha King of all the werewolves.

They all left the room, saying, "We'll leave you alone now."

I was left by myself, looking around at the bed I was in. It was huge-a double king size. When I paid attention, I realized everything was gold, with such expensive décor, paintings by great artists, all famous. Everything was so luxurious, but I'd always loved a simple life.

I thought, I'll wait until my husband comes, and then I'll tell him I want to make some changes to the room.

I got up and decided to get dressed, but all the clothes there were expensive dresses. When I looked around, I saw there was a huge dressing room-half for me, half for him. Dresses, high heels, purses-I stood there stunned, my eyes dazzled by everything. But these things weren't me. Maybe I'd wear them to formal parties, but I didn't think I could live in them every day. Especially since I'd decided I wanted to work, even if it was just a regular job. I needed to work-I couldn't just sit around eating, drinking, and spending money.

But I was still scared, because I hadn't met the Alpha yet. I hadn't seen my husband, didn't know what he looked like or how he acted. I was terrified he might be old. Would I be able to give myself to him? Would I be able to love him? I had hope, though, that maybe he'd turn out to be handsome.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. My heart raced. I was afraid it was him-I wasn't ready to meet him yet. So I called out softly,

"Who is it? Who's at the door?"

A maid replied,

"I'm the maid. I'm the maid."

I said,

"Okay, come in."

One came in, then another behind her, and another, and another. Suddenly, there were five of them standing in front of me. I stared at them in surprise and asked,

"What are you all doing here?"

One of them bowed her head and said,

"I'll help you take a shower now."

Another said,

"I'll dress you after your shower."

The third said,

"I'll brush your hair."

The fourth,

"I'll pick out your dress and shoes."

And the fifth,

"I'll do your makeup."

I was suddenly overwhelmed and told them,

"Stop! I don't need all this."

One asked,

"Then what do you need, ma'am?"

I said,

"I need food. Right now. Bring me everything you have."

They looked at me and smiled, but not in a mocking way. I told them,

"I have the right to eat. Isn't it true that a person sentenced to death gets to make a request?"

They laughed and said,

"But you've been sentenced to life, not death. How did you end up marrying the Alpha?"

I replied,

"Just let me eat before I meet him."

They agreed. One of them suggested,

"You should at least put something on before coming to eat at the table."

I said,

"No, I'll go as I am."

So I went out just like that. I didn't care-they were all women, there were no men, so what did it matter? I put on a pajama set with Mickey Mouse on it-pure childhood. I was still a kid, eighteen years old. Not a child, but I still wanted to experience my childhood.

I sat at the table and suddenly they started bringing out dish after dish-so much food, fruits, meats I'd never seen before in my life. It felt like something out of a movie.

I started eating from every plate, like I'd never eaten before, or like I'd die the next day and never eat again. I must have been eating for an hour or an hour and a half-I lost track of time, but I was really enjoying myself. I ate so slowly, making noises and not caring if it was messy. I was genuinely happy-maybe I was trying to forget that I might not be happy in this marriage, that maybe he wouldn't love me, and maybe I wouldn't love him. I didn't know.

As soon as I finished, stretching and patting my stomach, I said,

"My belly is so full. I'm done."

Suddenly I heard footsteps coming, a lot of shoes approaching. I saw a lot of suits entering. The maids quickly jumped in front of me to hide me. I asked,

"What's going on?"

They said,

"The Alpha's men are coming in now. Then the Alpha himself will come in."

I was wearing something childish, not really appropriate. If this was the first time he saw me, what would he think? But I decided to just face him as I was.

Suddenly, they all walked in, and I noticed they all looked down, probably trying not to laugh. Then I saw him-the most handsome man I'd ever seen. Tall and broad, with smooth black hair and blue eyes, his muscles showed even under his suit and shirt with two buttons undone. Any woman would have jumped on him right then, but I needed to make sure this was really the man I married.

Of course, I immediately regretted not changing out of my childish Mickey Mouse pajamas. I felt embarrassed, but I looked at them as they whispered that he didn't talk much, or only talked when he was angry. He usually spoke with his hands. I didn't know the full story, but I was waiting to see for myself.

He came closer, looked me up and down-not in a judgmental way, just surprised. I acted like a child, put my hands on my waist, spun around, and asked,

"What do you think? Isn't this pajama cute?"

He just looked at me, didn't smile, didn't react, and didn't say anything. He just gestured for his staff to leave. His men and my maids left. I didn't understand-weren't we supposed to talk now that we were married?

I followed him, pestering him like a stubborn child,

"Can you hear me? I want to know-did you want this marriage? Did you touch me? Did we sleep together yet or not?"

He suddenly turned around, looked at me, and pulled out his phone. He typed a message and showed it to me:

"It's my first time seeing you."

Then he typed again,

"I just came from work, from my company, and I have a headache. And you know you're married now."

I didn't know what my status was-I'm supposed to be your wife now, so what does that mean? He handed me a card and typed again:

"Do whatever you want. This card has millions. Buy anything you want, go out, do anything."

Then he walked into his room. I expected we'd be in the same room, but apparently, he had his own. I followed him, stood at the door, and he closed it in my face.

I stood there, thinking about what to do. Should I go in after him? What if he got angry? Why doesn't he talk? Is it that he doesn't want to talk to me, or that he doesn't love me and doesn't want me to hear his voice? I just stood there, waiting.

After five minutes, I decided to knock and go in. I knocked, no answer, so I opened the door and entered-he was naked. I should have been embarrassed and left, but I couldn't help but stare at his body. He looked at me, surprised, but still said nothing. Suddenly, he went back into the shower and closed the bathroom door in my face.

That snapped me back to reality. I realized how rude I'd just been. Even if he was my husband, I shouldn't have done that. He should be the bold one, not me. I wrapped my arms around myself, thinking, *Does he love someone else?* I didn't know.

I decided to go to my room and sleep. Then I changed my mind-I would sleep in his room, because I'd promised the king, my mom, and my dad that I'd make this marriage work. And honestly, he was so attractive. I never thought I'd ever marry someone like him-wealthy, powerful, and incredibly handsome.