Chapter:-6

"What the hell, Alex?" His sister's voice boomed through the emptiness of his room as soon as she opened the door. "Where the hell have you been?"

He groaned, sitting up on the bed. To be honest, he knew this conversation was due. He had returned in the wee hours of the morning from Jasmine Place and sneaked back into the house, being careful not to wake his parents or his sister. He knew Rose was going to lecture him on yesterday's events, and he wasn't really looking forward to it. He had a good time after leaving the Shadow Pack lands and felt at peace after spending the night with Jasmine. He was in a good mood, and he wanted to maintain it that way.

"Nowhere,", he replied carelessly.

"Nowhere?", she scoffed. "That's funny because I don't remember seeing you at home last night."

Alex sighed, avoiding her eyes. "None of your business, Rose."

Rose narrowed her gaze. "Did you...Did..." She closed her eyes, irritated. Alex was an even bigger idiot than she initially thought, if he had indeed done what she thought he did.

"Alex, please don't tell me you visited Jasmine.", She said, her fingers rubbing over her forehead. She knew she was right when she received silence in return, as an answer to his question.

Alex's answer was on the tip of his tongue. Yes, he wanted to say, I visited the woman I want to spend my life with. But the words died in his mouth at the disappointed look on her sister's face, and he felt guilty. He didn't know why, considering he hadn't done anything wrong, but he felt guilty. Probably because his little sister had never looked at him the way she did then—a look that said that he had let her down and that she was extremely disappointed in him. He gulped, unable to say anything. From the day he had memory, Rose had always looked at him adorably. Even when his parents were upset with him, she always looked at him as if she were proud of him. Seeing her look at him in a contradictory way shattered Alex's heart.

"Rose.", He started but was cut off.

"No, Alex. I can't believe you did that."

"Why shouldn't I see her, Rose?"

"Alex, you're engaged." She said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, to a person I'm not in love with..."

"That doesn't give you the right to be unfaithful."

"Jeez, Rose, I'm not even married to the woman yet."

"Your wolf counterpart has been bound to her, Alex. In a way, half of your marriage is over."

Alex sighed, walking towards her. "Why do you not like Jasmine?"

"Seriously? You're asking me this question? "

"Yes, I am seriously asking this question.", Alex stared. "It's not like you just started disliking Jasmine; you've been pretty vocal about your disapproval since we started dating." He reflected on how awful Rose and Jasmine's first meeting had been. The atmosphere was filled with tension as Rose refused to make conversation with his girlfriend, only grunting when necessary, sparing only a few glares. In fact, now that Alex thought about it, he recalled that his sister had barely spoken more than two words to Jasmine, except for when she gave her a shovel talk that left Jasmine really scared.

"I don't trust her,", Rose said, throwing her hands up.

Alex spoke, his voice laced with confusion. "You don't even know her, Rose."

"I know the history of the pack she belongs to, and I know who her father is. That speaks volumes to me as to why I shouldn't trust her." She shook her head. "The funny thing is how you know the same things I do and you still believe Jasmine's words like a fool."

"Rose, come on, not that.", Alex rolled his eyes.

"No, Haven't you ever thought of the possibility that Jasmine could just be a spy for the Starlight Pack? They did try to overtake us once."

"So? Jasmine wasn't involved in the revolt back then. Why would she be involved now?"

"I don't know. Maybe because her pack and her father humiliated the alpha, I need to remind you of us."

Alex knew where she was coming from. Ordon had challenged his father's rule twenty years ago. Alex was just a toddler back then, and even though he hadn't seen the war that went down in person for kids being kept safely during the tenure, he knew the important details. His pack suffered great loss while Starlight were defeated shamefully. There was almost no one in the Starlight pack left that was strong enough to fight, many having died and others being injured. His father had only pardoned Ordon when he pleaded forgiveness, and the forgiveness had come at a great cost.

Losing the battle meant humiliation. Losing most of the pack members except a few and being pardoned to live life at the mercy of someone who defeated the alpha was considered worse than death itself. Those who remained in the Starlight pack left, joining other packs, and Ordon's wife, Luna, killed herself after the disgrace, leaving him alone to look after Jasmine.

Alex felt really bad when he heard about what happened to his lover's mom. He felt guilty. After all, his pack was the reason why Jasmine, who was a toddler at the time, grew up without knowing the compassion of a mother. But he knew it could have been avoided entirely if Jasmine's father had simply not thrown the first blow. And Jasmine understood that, thankfully.

Alex had liked her from the minute he laid eyes on her, and it hadn't changed at all in all these years. When he fell in love with her, he wanted to right the wrongs that had happened during his father's reign, starting with the Starlight Pack and starting with marrying Jasmine. But of course, then Shadow Pack and Ashly James had happened.

"God, Alex, get your head out of your obsession with Jasmine for a second and think.", Rose shouted, clearly frustrated, "I get that you're in love with her. Trust me, I do. And I know that it was unfair of dad and mom to have asked you to marry someone else when your heart belongs to another. But you shouldn't have accepted the proposal to unite the packs if you didn't want to get married to Ashly."

"And what? Disappoint mom and dad? Give up my rightful place as the future alpha? Has everyone been questioning, rioting, and resisting my decisions when I do become the alpha?"

"You can't please everyone, Alex. It's either Ashly or Jasmine. It's either becoming a respected leader or a leader who isn't regarded."

"Rose, I have a plan..."

"Yes..Yes...I know. Seth told me all about your stupid plan. I don't even know who you are anymore, Alex. You're willing to let an innocent person get hurt just because you want the pack as well as the jasmine. Since when did you become like this?", Rose said, lowering her head and not meeting his eyes.

"Rose... I don't want to live an unhappy married life. Is wanting that selfish?", Alex said, his voice cracking.

Rose sighed, looking down. Maybe she was being a little too hard on Alex. He was doing what he thought he should for him, and she couldn't blame him for wanting something for himself once after being selfless for so long. But she couldn't just let this be. Something felt off about Jasmine to her, and she sure as hell wasn't letting Alex get into what could possibly be a trap. When Alex and Jasmine started dating, Rose openly showed that she wasn't okay with it. But Alex had put her in place, saying that it was his life.

Even if Jasmine was indeed a good person, Alex would be hurting Ashly by staying with Jasmine. And Rose didn't want that. She knew Alex didn't want that, either. Even if his actions could hurt Ashly, Alex would never forgive himself for hurting an innocent person. She looked at Alex, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. She sat near him, placing her palm on his shoulder, slightly patting. Alex looked up at her at the gesture, removing his hands.

"No, Alex. It's not selfish to want that,", Rose rubbed his shoulder soothingly. "But you shouldn't let Ashly get hurt because of what you want."

"What would you have me do, Rose? I can't cancel the marriage now. The ritual's already done,", Alex groaned.

"Give Ashly a chance. It's not her fault that this peace treaty happened. She seems like an actual nice person. Are you sure you want to hurt her like that? Do you think you can live with that for the rest of your life with that on your conscience?"

"I love Jasmine, Rose,", Alex said, tears filling up in his eyes. "How am I supposed to live with another omega when she doesn't have my heart?"

Rose hugged him immediately. Alex wrapped his arms around her waist, silently sobbing.

"You need to let go of Jasmine, Alex. It'll be hard, I won't lie... But it's the only way. If you can't, then cancel the mating. There will be consequences; be prepared to face the heat. You have two choices, Alex. I'll support you if you don't want this marriage. Please just make the right choice. At least that way, an innocent omega who thinks highly of you won't be harmed."

Alex looked at the floor between his feet, bowing his head down in shame at what he said to Ashly.

As if his sister had listened in on his thoughts, she said, "I know what you said to Ashly."

Alex looked at her face in shock. Rose nodded, smiling sadly. "Do you think she deserved to be spoken to in such a way? To be told that she would never have the heart of the person she was going to spend the rest of her life with?"

Alex frowned. That wasn't all he had told Ashly. Maybe Rose didn't know the entire conversation.

"The sacrifice to the moon goddess has already been made, and the marital ritual's done. Your wolves are bonded. The alpha in you will seek out the omega in her. Ashly Omega will seek you out. Denying primal instincts is risky for the both of you."

"I can restrain my wolf within me,", Alex shrugged.

Rose threw her hand up in frustration. "What are you going to do when Ashly goes into heat? You can't control your wolf, then, Alex. Every cell in your body is going to be telling you to claim Ashly and mate with her. What are you going to do then? Go to Jasmine and relieve yourself. Cheat on Ashly? Run away from your duties as an alpha to your omega, which includes helping her out during her heats."

Alex sighed, burying his head in his lap, wanting to cry. Of course, he wasn't going to have sex with Jasmine after getting married. He may not be in love with Ashly, but he wouldn't do that to another person. Like Rose said, their wolf counterparts were already connected, meaning Ashly would feel what he was feeling through their bond and vice versa after he marked her.

"Think twice from the point of view of Ashly before you act, Alex. She's coming into our pack blindly, trusting you. Do her justice.". Rose gave a final piece of advice.

"What you're trying to say is that I have no choice whatsoever—that I'm stuck with an omega I haven't loved for my entire life. I have to make love to an omega who my heart doesn't desire. My pups are going to be born through loveless mating."

Rose sighed. She understood Alex's dilemma. "You could grow to love Ashly." She tried to reason.

"My heart belongs to Jasmine and Rose. I could never love someone else."