The Proposal.

I walked away from my father and merged in the crowd whatever was cooking in my father's head could wait because I knew I would be the first one to get involved in it because he has zero expectations from my brother and I didn't have the ability to endure anymore. I'd have enough today.

I looked around in the crowd, after the declaration of my orders everyone looked convincingly happy in the meeting, they all celebrated my victory as if it was their own. I walked through the crowd and everyone whom I passed made way and bowed their head low in my respect I also nodded in their direction to show the gesture of admiration and to return the respectable gesture. The celebration was at its peak but unfortunately there was nothing that could tempt to stay so I walked away from the celebration towards the woods, my absence really didn't take anything away from the celebration. 

The cold breeze soothed my cheekbones, the scent of trees were everywhere, moist and calm. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply as I was enjoying the delightful smells of summer night I smelled a very familiar scent before I could open my eyes I knew who it was, I opened my eyes and found exactly what I was expecting, a slick and tall figure leaning on nearby tree. 

"Why weren't you in the meeting, father won't like it, you know that don't you?" I asked. 

He kept on smiling like an idiot and at last broke "Cassandra, cut me some slack I'm not an alpha, why would I'll be there, just to witness our father's conspiracies. Nope I've seen enough of them. I'm out." He said with a shrug. 

I looked at him through narrowed eyes as my eyes ran through his clothes, he was wearing rugged jeans nowadays this what human called fashionable. His fascination with human world was increasing tremendously and out of our imagination, no one knew why. 

"Were you out there again?" I asked without restraining myself.

He nodded a little but avoided eye contact with me as he was hiding something and that won't let that happen in my family as there were no secrets in our household. 

"What are you hiding from me?" I looked at him with suspicion but he kept on avoiding my eyes.

"Say it when I'm asking nicely or else I have to command you." I threatened him with my words and he reacted instantly. 

"Please stop it, if there was something important I would've told you so please stop exploiting your powers and respect my privacy." He added the last word sarcastically. 

I smiled at him and his words of human rights and we left the forest and proceeded our way to our house. We parted ways after we arrived at our home since he went upstairs to sleep or whatever he did there and I went to our study room more of political agenda room because not only humans but we, werewolf too have our dirty politics,  construction of law between our community. Whatever people think about us, our race was, would be ahead of human race because they tend to believe whatever they see and we were amazing at hiding our presence from their human eyes. After competing most of the authority work and I went to sleep. 

Next morning was just like any other morning my brother, James getting scolded by my father probably because  for not attending the meeting last night, so I stood close to the door so I could hear them. 

I stood at the door smiling as my father cursed my brother and soak my mind with pleasure but who could have guessed that this conversation would make my whole day miserable. 

"It's her life not yours, you have no right to make her life decisions." James shouted at my father's face. 

"That's your fault that you never understand a single word I said but she understands me perfectly because she know her duty and because-- " before my father could complete his words my brother interrupted him. 

"Because she is an alpha, that's what you were about to say right. How can you forget father she is just 20 and before being an alpha she is your daughter and my precious little sister and you can forget your duty towards your children but I'll never forget mine. I'll never let this happen and if it happen it will happen over my dead body."

His last sentence silenced my father and I stood at the door with complete shock, I  had no idea what they were talking about but that was surely talking about me. Many things came inside my head but nothing really fit in to cause such kind of argument, when my father break the silence he calmly said "it's her decision to make, if she says no then I won't pressure her but if she says yes you will get out of my way or otherwise."

My father threatened him. 

My father and brother were so engaged in their argument that they didn't even smell my scent but I couldn't control my emotion and I burst open the door both of them looked at me in shock but their expression still have tint of anger in them. 

"What's going on here?" I asked. My brother annoyingly gestured at my father's direction. I looked at my father and he pointed towards the chair for me to sit down. I sat on the chair and James followed me and sat next to me as I eagerly waited for my father to say whatever he has to say. My father kept his silence as he thoroughly went through his head to set the words more appropriately. 

"Cassandra you're familiar with the 'Nebula tribe', don't you?" My father asserted. 

Nebula tribe, one of the weakest tribe's of wolf clan right now, but that was not the case before two years ago. They were considered one of the greatest tribe in history though they never had a good reputation among werewolf but still it dominated clans just by its name but everything went downhill when Nebula tribe's alpha abandoned his own tribe. No one really knew what really happened to their alpha but no one ever saw him again so to fulfill the duty of alpha the alpha's brother took the position of alpha. 

Rumours spread like fire with various different agendas but none could found why the real alpha left or was he even alive? After that the tribe kind of shattered. That so called alpha that took his brother's place had no control over his own people the only reason the tribe still existed was because of his mother,  Amelia Millar a cunning and opportunist woman who tried to convince my father to marry him after her husband died few years ago. Plainly my father rejected the proposal, even though he was himself a widower, his love for my late mother extreme. 

I nodded at my father direction in unenthusiastic manner. 

He deeply sighed and said "they're looking for a girl for their tribe alpha to marry."

"Yeah whatever who cares about that fake alpha's marriage. Get to the point why were you fighting" I said clapping my hand impatiently to get the information as fast as I could. 

My father sighed again "They are offering his son's hand for marriage to you, my love." 

"And we are just suggesting it, it's your call." My brother interrupted my father while my brother looked at me with a "not to say 'yes' look". 

Both my father and brother started growling at eachother again and my mind raced through the memories of past. On the day of funeral how this woman's husband just died and all she could think of was eyeing my father, how she tried to manipulate her words with us and when my father turned her down she didn't even flitch, she just kept smiling like a lunatic. 

"Interesting, go on." I said as I took a bite from the apple which was already in the basket with bunch of other fruits on the table. 

My father eyes shined with happiness. 

"Don't he have his soulmate yet?" I asked curiously. 

"No, that's the reason why they're offering a marriage proposal." 

My father took my hand and started creasing it. "Not as a father but as a former alpha and your advisor I would suggest to consider this union." 

I knew for a fact that he can sell his own children for the tribe so whatever decision he was making was something worth considering for my tribe. 

"Are you trying to sell me, father?" I asked him without looking at him because that boring conversation needed some spice up. 

"No, absolutely not it's a marriage."

"Marriage itself is a deal father, if love is not included in it. Are you trying to sell me so that you can have other tribe in your gasp?"

A wicked smile twitched upon his face as he spoke "We're not selling anyone and definitely not you but instead we're buying their son."

Then everything seemed so clear to me. This marriage was nothing but a deal to acquire another tribe and after I became that so called alpha's wife, me and my father would have two tribes means double power. Now a wicked smile twitched on my face as my thoughts swam in the ocean of thoughts just to interrupted by my stupid brother. 

"Don't you dare considering this offer, Cassandra. My brother yelled and my smile grew bigger, he looked at me, eye to eye before speaking so he could have full impact on his me. "Maybe it's good for our tribe but this is wrong, you deserve to be loved by your mate just like he that guy does, you are too young to decide-" 

"I'm agreeing for this deal." I interrupted my brother and that one sentence put an end to everything. 

Even though I always wanted to marry for love but after becoming an alpha I realised that love was something unreasonable for me and I must remain without a soulmate because I was destined to be alone.

My father jumped in happiness and kissed my forehead and left the room for whatever reason that I couldn't care less about.

"Why would you say 'yes'?" My brother voice came from at the end of the room. 

I looked at him questionably as I had no idea what he meant. "Don't look at me like that, you know what I mean"

"It's for greater good, you won't understand" My father said as he glided back into the room in happiness. 

My father's mockery always took best out of my brother. In his place he was right I'm too young to decide an issue that concerned my entire life but if it could done any good for my tribe then I would choose it decisively. 

James picked up his jacket and left angrily. I tried to stop him but it was of no use he was already out of the door. I sighed and looked at my father and he just shrugged it off. 

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Night has fallen and James was nowhere to be seen although he always wandered on human world so much that now we became perpetual to his absence, we ate in silence the only topic that me and my father talked about was political matters. When I was having the heavenly dessert of my night, my father's words put sour taste in my mouth. 

"They will visit us tomorrow or the day after tomorrow according to their comfort."

I looked at his direction and nodded and we were back again at the silence where only spoons and forks were making the sound. 

Night grew deeper and my father and I had a long conversation on the political strategies involving many different tribes. Everything was back as normal as it was before the fight has occurred, people, family and innocents were safe and secure. 

My father fall asleep on the chairs in the living room. He slept half of his life in this room so without disturbing him I closed the windows.

As I was departing the room he started murmuring my mother's name. Maybe he acted tough and fought with us all the time but at the end we all loved the one person we lost forever. 

Maybe he was not the world's best father but he was world's best husband. 

If only people would knew how much he loved my mother they wouldn't rise finger at him and his choices.

My mother and father were equals, they both treated each other with respect and kindness. 

My mom used to say "The first step of loving is being respected and if you can't then leave."