Chapter 2: Marry me

WILLOW

A groan escaped me as I stirred awake. Tingles spread through my limbs as I turned and tossed. My eyes were heavy, and if it were up to me, I wouldn’t bother opening them again. What was the use? The last thing I wanted was to set my eyes on Asher after what he did to me.

How could he? How could he reject me moments before his party where he was supposed to announce we were mates? I should have known he had a reason for asking me to keep our relationship a secret until it was time for the announcement at the party. He fooled me.

Memories spilled over me. I pressed my eyes tighter as I tried to recall the events of last night. After Asher had walked out on me, what happened? I took a few bottles of alcohol, and then what?

“No.” I gasped out loud and jolted upright, peeling my eyes open. Maybe if I hadn’t, I would have had more time to think things through. The moment I opened my eyes, a bolt of pain shot through my head. I stifled a groan as I cradled my head in my hands. I’d never felt so much pain before, and it felt like my head was so close to exploding. “Please. Make it stop.”

This was why I rarely got drunk. In fact, I always avoided the darn thing. There was power in the tongue, someone always said, but I never took it seriously until now. Not too long after I’d muttered that quick request, the pain eased up. It wasn’t totally gone, but at least I could turn my head to the side without feeling like it would roll off the next minute.

Confusion streaked my features as I turned to the right. The massive wardrobe in the hotel room came into view. It didn’t look familiar. Something on it caught my eye. My pink scarf. It was supposed to be wrapped around my neck, but right now, it was dangling from the knob of the wardrobe door. I trailed the scarf to more pieces of clothes on the floor, and my breath hitched in my throat.

The clothes were strewn on the floor but still managed to form a straight line that led to the bed. That wasn’t the crazy part. Every item of those clothing made up the ensemble I wore last night.

Returning my gaze to the bed, I picked up a black shirt. It wasn’t mine and didn’t look like Asher’s. My knee bumped into something firm when I tried to move. Something or someone was under the duvet. I yanked the cover down, and a scream tore out of my throat.

Someone was in the bed, and it was no other than Carter. The same Carter I knew.

Carter startled awake. On his knees, he grabbed a pillow above his head and aimed for the invisible enemy. “Where is it? What’s happening?” he asked all at once. His eyes wandered everywhere until they returned to me. “What’s wrong? Willow, are you okay? Is someone—”

“What are you doing here?” I cut in, my heart thundering in my chest. My eyes widened as I took him. Being in bed with Carter was a shock greater than getting rejected by Asher. Hold on, why was Carter not wearing a shirt? I took a deep breath. I must be living in a reality where things were warped. This was not real. “And where are your clothes?”

“I don’t know,” Carter replied. For someone who just woke up in his childhood friend’s bed, he looked pretty chill about the whole situation. I guess it was one of the traits he’d picked up as the Alpha’s son. They had to be calm always, no matter the situation. “Should be around somewhere.”

“Really?” Confusion and anger tainted my voice. “How dare you come into my room without clothes and…”

The frown on his face made me pause. Wait a minute. Carter wasn’t the only person without clothes. A string of yells slid past my lips as I peeked under the duvet. My perky boobs and flushed skin stared back at me. Red hue tainted my cheeks, and in one swift motion, I pulled the duvet higher, pressing it flush against my chest.

We were both naked. Well, I was covered with the duvet.

“What? Wh- why?” It was my turn to stutter, and that didn’t help at all. It made no sense. Why were we both in my hotel room, without clothes and under the same duvet? Carter and I were childhood friends, or should I say strangers? We barely talked. “I don’t understand.”

“Don’t you remember?” Carter prodded. I didn’t understand his calmness. He tried to touch me, but I flinched. Sighing, he said, “Tell me you remember what happened last night?”

“No, I don’t. ” My voice was barely a whisper. I had no idea what happened here, but given our state of undress, I wasn’t sure I wanted the answers. “I don’t have the faintest clue.”

“Try to remember,” Carter said. “Do you remember what you did last night? Maybe that’ll help.”

“I remember my conversation with Asher. He, um, he rejected me.” My voice cracked at the last three words. No matter how many times I said it, it still didn’t sound real enough. Deep down, I wished it was nothing more than a nightmare I would wake up from. That Asher would come in and call it a joke. But nothing of such happened, so I continued, “Then I grabbed some bottles of alcohol…”

“…and you got drunk and bumped into me,” Carter finished up for me. “Does that ring any bells?”

They did. My eyes widened in shock as the rest of the memories tumbled in. I kissed Carter. I kissed the Alpha’s son and asked him if he wanted to fuck me.

My hands went over my cheeks as embarrassment flooded them. Carter chuckled, but this situation wasn’t amusing. “I take it you remember now,” he stated. The cheekiness in his voice was evident, but I was too conscious to focus on that right now. “We had sex, Willow.”

More memories unlocked at his words. I kissed him, and he kissed me back. He was turned on. We were both willing participants last night. I had been so thrilled, I even asked him…

Oh, God. I looked up, and he grinned. “Did I… Oh my God. Did I, did I ask—”

“Ask me to marry you?” Carter finished. I gulped, and a grin broke out on his lips. “You couldn’t stop talking about Asher and how he broke your heart, so you asked me to marry you.”

This was unbelievable.

“And I accepted,” Carter said with a smile. He was enjoying this way too much for my liking. “It’s unconventional for the lady to ask the man’s hand in marriage, but I accept to be yours.”

“Stop!” I shrieked, cutting him off. “Just stop talking.”

Concern shadowed his face. He didn’t touch me but moved closer. “Why, Willow? Is there something wrong?”

His knee touched mine, and his body warmth spread through. Images of him pumping into me sprung out of nowhere. I folded my arms on my chest, now remembering how my body buzzed when he took turns between my erect nipples. We really had sex, and I initiated it.

“Willow?” he whispered.

“Yes,” I screamed. Flailing my hand in the air, I gestured to our clothes. What we did was wrong. Asher couldn’t find out. “Can’t you see? Everything is wrong. Every single thing.”

“Willow…”

“I never asked you to marry me.” I said. Jumping out of the bed with the duvet still covering me, I inched to the wardrobe and grabbed my scarf. Carter didn't cover up. He was proud of his nakedness. “I didn’t mean it. I was drunk as hell, and I didn’t know what I was saying.”

Call me crazy, but I could swear his face fell. He couldn’t possibly want to marry me. We fought all the time. I insulted him. He insulted me. We couldn’t stand each other as adults.

“What?” Carter's voice dropped to a low monotone. “What do you mean?”

“This was a mistake.” His face twisted with a million emotions. I couldn’t look away because the other option was his body. His very, very beautiful body. Disappointment took over his features, but I had to tell him. “I was drunk and emotional, and I didn’t know what I was saying. I didn’t mean any of it. Why would you even want to marry a weak omega like me?”

“Yeah,” he whispered. “Yeah.”

“Carter,” I called out to him softly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

“It’s fine,” he replied. His voice had gone cold. Icy even. “No worries.”

“If it’s not a bother, could you be my date to the function tomorrow?” I pressed on. This was inappropriate, but the party was in two stages. I couldn’t go to a party I planned without a date. Carter had to see I was doing fine without him. “I was supposed to go with Asher, but…”

“I’ll pass.” He was on his feet instantly, and I slapped a hand over my eyes. “You saw me naked already.” But I didn’t bring my hand down. Not until he said, “Have a nice day, Willow.”