As long as she says yes

Alpha King

“The scenery here is so beautiful, have you had a chance to look around?” my brother, Storm, who is also my beta asks me as he makes his way into my room in one of our hotel suites which we were staying in.

Cracking one eye open, I cover my face and groan in pain as he opens the curtains allowing the heavy rays of the sun hit my face. We arrived a week ago to conclude the other half of the negotiations with Alpha lyon, and I haven't left the suites since.

I know I told the old man that I will be here in the next three days, but I wanted to oversee how the business was doing and also rest a little. I am no robot, reasons I decided to come a week earlier.

My shoulders hurt, and i will probably need to clean them up and hope for them to heal before going to the shadowmoon’s pack. Encountering a surprise attack was not what i was hoping for on my way here, but i guess it’s inevitable when you have lots of enemies and going to my soon to be father-in-law’s pack drained and injured is not something i am going for. I am quite sure the old man was the one that sent the attack, so I have to surprise him that I am still on my feet.

Storm wraps his arm around my shoulders giving me a side hug, and I hiss, “shit, you couldn’t have forgotten that fast brother, could you? And no i haven’t been able to take a look around, still resting as you can see.'' I roll my shoulders to ease the pain.

I see concern and worry cross my brother’s face, but he masks it up before I could caution him about it. He knows better than to show emotions like that or much less bring it up.

We both grew up in an environment that taught us how not to show emotions around others, if not it would be used against you. So when it comes to me, I prefer to keep my pain and worries to myself– no one is allowed to see me in moments of weakness except my brother. He has been my rock since day one, only he has seen me at my breaking point and I would like to keep that way.

I have a reputation to keep and a kingdom to rule, so a weakling as leader won’t be what I display to my people.

“Sorry brother, i thought it would have healed by now seeing as you are the king and all” Storm winks. As much as he tries, worry still lace his face but he plays it down with his cheerful character.

I shake my head at him,”it could be the wolfsbane, a dose high to kill a royal must have been used”. I moved to rest my back on the headboard of the bed.

After a moment of silence, I tried to remember why my brother came here in the first place, so I gave him a questioning look.

He grinned “don’t tell me you forgot about the wedding?”

Groaning, I throw my legs over the edge of the bed and stand up. I still have a few days before the ceremony starts, so I plan to be better before then. Who knows, I might end up surprising the old man. So before any bastard notice something is wrong with me, i need to tighten the fuck up and heal fast.

A pity the royal doctor was not on this trip with us, he would have given some medications to actively weaken the wolfsbane in my system. I will make a note to call him and inquire later about them but for now, let’s get back to the business at hand.

I stroll across the room to the balcony to meet up with my brother who was already there as I was lost in my thoughts. He glanced at me, then looked at my injured shoulder.

“We need to clean the wound or it might get infected and we wouldn’t want that, would we? our soon-to-be-husband? My brother teased me.

Sometimes I forget that the man here is older than me, he is more laid back and cheerful than I am but I would not have anyone else as a better brother or beta in this world. I rely and look up to him so much more than he can imagine.

“Yeah sure, also please remind me to call the doctor at the palace before midnight.”

“Oky will do and regarding the wedding, it does not need to be grand, as long as she says yes then there is nothing to be bothered about but that does not mean you won’t look your best and give out the best.” he leaned on the rail and gave me a side look expecting me to retaliate but i knew he was not done so i waited for him to continue.

“Okay since you have no input, i would like to say that i have made necessary arrangements for the occasion because why have money not spend it. So i ordered your suit.'' He shows me a picture of the payment receipt for the suit on his phone and as usual, he went all out, sparing no expenses. I could only chuckle and shake my head at him as he continues

“It will be here in the evening and later today, we shall be going shopping for the ring.” Storm squealed like a girl, that’s to show how much he loves shopping. I have never seen anyone more enthusiastic and happy to go shopping in this world than my brother.

“So dear younger brother of mine, i don’t want you stressing, cause i got this and i am always at your service.” he said, doing a mocking bow.

I get that my brother is trying to help and also give me assurance, but all I could do was snicker at his words and actions.

“You just said all she had to do was say yes and yet here you are, making plans and going all out for a wedding that isn’t even yours. You know, one might mistake you for the groom instead of me.'' I pointed out, sniggering at his behavior.

Sighing, I rub the temple of my head to relieve the stress that was forming. Look i get, marriage is a joyful bliss, it is the joining of two people that love eachother very much but my case is quite different, to me i see this as nothing more than a business deal, a contract more or less. This is just an opportunity to save their pack, one I found useful to me as it hastens my plans.

It seems i was so lost in thought that i did not register the groan that escaped my lips, guess i was leaning on the rail too hard and putting all my weight on my injured shoulder which i really shouldn’t be doing if i want them to heal. My brother saw that as a cue to usher me back into the room.

“Come on, let’s go and tend to the wound.”

“For fuck sake brother i am not a kid anymore, i can do this by myself i don’t need you worrying about it.'' I know he is trying to take care of me, but right now I am sure that there are things of greater importance for him to attend to and I would not want to hinder him.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes i am and as your alpha, i order you to go attend to the works you have left to come care for me. Besides, I am not really able to do any work outside this room, so as my beta, that is what you should be doing.”

His face twisted with worry just like before, not looking convinced “but_”

“I promise brother I will be fine, so go on about your activities. Besides, don't you have some shopping to prepare for?” I asked him in hopes to divert his attention which worked.

“That’s true,it’s half past twelve now so please be ready by four, that’s when we will be heading out.”

I swear it is really that easy to divert his attention and with that he headed for the door but i did not hear it close meaning he hasn’t left and something is on his mind.

“What is it brother?”

My back to him as I already had an idea of what was bothering him and I would not like for him to try and read my emotions like he normally does because he would figure out that I was lying to him.

“I have been wondering, you are getting married now and i understand why and the motive behind it, but what if you find your mate?, What will you do?, Because i know this is not a union of love but rather of peace and i know you well enough to know that as much as you put up a strong and don’t give a fuck attitude, you will love to have your own mate, someone you can love wholeheartedly and call yours.”

I couldn’t help chuckle,

“Big brother, you speak as if you have found yours when we are both in the same shoes.” he laughed

“And as for when that happens, Storm, I really don’t know what I am going to do. So till then. Now no more questions, off you go.”

I responded with no emotion in my voice to make him know that the conversion was over.

As he left, I headed for the bathroom to tend to the wound and bathe at once. Looking at my tired reflection in the mirror, I could not help but sigh, I hated lying to my brother. No matter how little the lie was, it pains me to do that to him. We basically made a promise to always tell the truth to each other no matter what it was, but I could not tell him this time around. It did not feel right to reveal this to him or anyone else as it could ruin the plans I had made.

Sighing again, I opened the cabinet that contained the cleaning kit and tended to my wounds before showering.

I just hope he does not feel offended when he eventually finds out because I had to do this without compunction. I could not have him looking me in the eye and finding out that my bride to be is indeed my mate.