Chapter 3

Freya pov 

If anybody had told me the murderous Artemis would be my mate, I would have said it's a goddamn lie but life, they say, is filled with surprises. 

"Are you OK, are you OK?"

The words seemed to be from a dream—that would be a bad dream—except it wasn't a dream even though I desperately wanted it to be. I just wanted to wake up and realized none of this is real. 

This is all a dream. 

But no. This ain't a dream. This is real because the words are from the murderer who now called himself my husband

Of course I am OK. But I'm not OK being alive anymore. I'm not OK with marrying a murderer. And I'm OK with someone who would probably kill me in myself. With the way he threatened alpha Rex, the dots are beginning to connect. This explains why Evelyn snickered the whole time. That's not bad. At least she will finally get a chance to be at my funeral soon, that's if my body is ever found. 

I found my feet. My gown wasn't ruined and I guess my mate stopped me from falling to the ground. 

"If you will excuse me, I have somewhere to be. I've spent longer than expected already," his stern tone came forth. Even though I haven't fully recovered, the tone in his voice jerked me back to my harsh reality—I just signed my death warrant. 

What have I done this time? Maybe Eastwood would be a better place after all. We just left the priest's presence and I'm already seeing his other side—the murderer 

Alpha Artemis strode down the platform, only stopping to shake hands with Alpha Rex. He murmured out some words which I couldn't make any meaning of but the whole thing seemed embarrassing. More like a 'nice doing business with you' vibe. 

I trailed behind, shuffling my feet like a dog who is being chased by its owner, except I wasn't a dog even though I had just been transferred from one owner to another. 

I didn't even get the chance to bid my best friend goodbye. Poor Sonia. I wish her all the best, and I pray she finds a better mate. But the thought of leaving my best friend, the girl who prayed I found a mate even though her prayer had turned out bad, still hurts and I just want to see her one last time. 

"Can I see Sonia?" I quivered. Two black SUVs came to sight the moment we stepped outside the hall. My ears could hear the sound of engines and I guess he wants to get the hell out of here. But my brain didn't consider all that when I asked to see my best friend.

"Who is Sonia?" he demanded. The voice carrying the power befitting an alpha, a murderous one though. 

"My best friend," I replied, burying my eyes to the ground. I can't seem to make eye contact with those golden eyes.

He sighed. 

Was it a sigh of frustration at my request? 

I couldn't tell but the anger on his face and the stare he gave, I knew his next words won't be in my favor. Perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut. 

"I can't waste anymore time here. Your bags are packed and loaded already. So let's go."

"Sorry!" I mumbled. He looked offended so I apologized. Damn. What am I thinking? I should have kept my mouth shut. 

"Alpha Artemis, everything is set and we are ready!" said a man who dashed towards my mate. He bowed slightly. The alpha nodded

"Good!" he replied and turned to my direction. My eyes are still on my feet the whole time. I guess they've become too shy to the man who just refused my request. 

"If you would excuse me, I would like to get home sometime today if that's OK with you!"

His words jerked me once again to my harsh reality, a reality of being ordered around and told what to do and not do. Except he is not doing it directly this time. Maybe by some dumb luck, he is beginning to feel something for the slave he married. 

My feet shuffled towards the two black SUVs. I screeched to halt as I contemplated which one should carry the new bride. My mate, on the other hand, hasn't moved an inch. I guess he wanted to see how foolish his bride would be but I wasn't about to give him that opportunity. 

"Which one?" I inquired.

Finally, he turned on his heel and my doubts were confirmed. He wanted to see how dumb his bride was. A wave of relief and excitement washed down my proud self as he marched forward. 

"Get in the front!"

Pulling the door open, I hopped into the back seat. Some two stern-looking men already took the front. They didn't even bother to open the door for the new bride. That's not a problem as long as I'm still in one piece. I didn't even realize he had already taken his seat, and was waiting for me to finish my somewhat awkward entry. Thanks to the skirt who got stuck at the door.

I shot the door. Sitting next to him is like hell. I Found it difficult to breath while seated amidst some three angry-faced looking men. The one at the driver's seat didn't bother to look at me but I managed to catch a glimpse of his heavy mustache from the passenger's mirror. The other was kind enough to say 'hello' but his face didn't extend the same courtesy. 

And here I am, my slim posture tucked in the back seat. My mate won't stop staring at me. We've been seated for about five minutes and for an unknown reason, we aren't moving. I contemplated asking but then I thought there is another stern looking man whom we are probably waiting for. 

Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes. But we're still not moving. And for some reason, the car has become too stuffy with the presence of the three angry men. 

"Why are we not moving?" I asked. That took great courage considering the situation. He may as well order the men to throw me out. But I guess that would have been better instead of being glued to a seat.

"Your things," he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, indicating a little backpack I recognized to be mine. "As soon as they get the rest of your stuff, we will hit the road." His eyes didn't care to look at me this time. They were fixed on his watch as he continued tapping his knee with a finger. 

I looked at him quizzically. "What? That's the rest of my stuff."

He shot his eyes back and forth the backpack, looking confused. Well, I guess he didn't expect me to have only a backpack after all the thirteen years I've spent in this godforsaken park. 

"You mean that's all your stuff? The confusion is obvious on his face this time.

"Yeah, I guess I don't have much." I shrugged my shoulders before turning away.

"You have nothing," he barked.

I shrugged again. Well, that's his business.

"Iris, throw that shit out!"

The man seated next to the driver pushed his door open, turned on his heel. The boot pulled open and the next thing I saw is my backpack, the only thing I acquired in my thirteen years of slavery, being thrown out. 

"What! No." I pushed the door open and ran after the bag. The clothes were mostly rags, which I won't need anymore considering I just got married to an alpha but there is something more of value to me. My hand scrambled around and I quickly found my objective. 

My necklace. The only thing that followed me to Eastwood park. 

"Don't bother with that. I already told Iris to get you new clothes as soon as we arrived," he said. 

"Yeah, I know, but this is kind of personal," I explained, an explanation he doesn't deserve by the way. I tossed the backpack away after grabbing my objective. 

"What's that!?" he inquired. 

"It's just something that belongs to me." I held the necklace up for him to see. The look on his face showed his irritation. 

"You are better off without it I guess," he scoffed. 

"Whatever!" I whispered, rolling my eyes as I slide back into the car 

After settling the scuffle with the backpack, we hit the road. No need to bother myself with their chit chat conversation because it's boring. Hearing about some park troubles and the profits from some multi-billion dollar empire isn't any good to me. I rather focus on where I'm being hurled to. 

The car screeched to halt about two hours later. A huge gold-colored metal gate immediately swung open and the cars drove in. Even though it's already dark, the well lit surroundings made it look like daytime. I stared through the window but all I saw were trees, carefully positioned at very few meters and making a circle around the entire space. 

Amazing. 

"Are you going to sit there and stare all night?"

Once again, his words jerked me back to reality and I hopped out the car, my necklace wrapped around my fingers. A huge swimming pool came to sight at the left corner but the four storey architectural masterpiece dazzled me the most.

 Carefully decorated with marble at certain corners, it spanned along the length and breadth of the entire space and for a while I wondered if one man occupied the whole thing. 

Two suited men bowed when the entrance door swung open. "Welcome Alpha!" they said while I shuffled my feet behind. 

The inner part is even more breath-taking. My mouth dropped open the whole time, closing when he called my name.

"Freya! This is the first floor. On the left is the library, and on the right is the common area. The second floor is for my gamma. The third is for my beta, and the fourth is for us," he rattled while I listened closely. It would be bad to miss any detail or barge into a naked couple making it out. Of all the things he rattled, the 'us' part caught my attention the most. 

Did you just say us.?You mean us?

The words replayed over and over in my mind. I snapped when he said, "If you would excuse me, I better head upstairs. It's been a long day and I'm tired." 

Good. At least he is tired. Do alphas get tired? Well, It seems so.

I nodded. At least the tone in his voice is now bearable. A wave of emotions washed through my body as he found his heel toward the elevator. I struggled to contain my wolf who can't seem to stand the thought of watching her mate leave. Maybe she thought they could somehow make it out in the elevator because every bit of my nerve want to trail his footsteps. I swallowed and looked away as the doors closed.