C01: Yes, You Do.

Scarlet had fled from her wedding, a wedding that was without a doubt, the most anticipated werewolf binding ceremony of the century. Suddenly everything that had been planned for months was reduced to a pitiful state, some sort of a sick joke.

"She ran away.”

"Sandra, you have to step in for her!!”

"Alpha Aztec has never seen you, so that won’t be an issue.”

"Time is not on our side, hurry!” A middle-aged werewolf woman shouted at Sandra in particular. 

Sandra was surrounded by wedding planners and the bridal team who had been on standby for over five hours now. She was tired of hearing everyone remind her of the unfortunate occurrence. 

"Make her look presentable. I do not want any flaw on her face. This wedding must happen. You must replace Scarlet and marry Alpha Aztec,” the woman insisted, flapping her fingers around like a drowning fish. And just like that, everyone rushed towards the most unfortunate woman of the day, the girl forced to take the place of another, that too, without giving any consent.

The Alpha, Aztec. A man the werewolf lands knew as the most brutal and insanely toxic, and also one who was narcissistic beyond comprehendible lengths. 

"Why do I need to replace her?! If Scarlet is not here, then I see no need for the wedding to proceed,” the young beautiful woman, Sandra, an unfortunate human, whose fate was about to be changed, looked at the middle-aged woman, who was also her robotic, business-minded, emotionless and heartless step-mother, Mary. 

In her attempt at being rebellious, Sandra grabbed the wedding gown, threw it on the ground, and trampled on it quite a number of times. She hoped to the goddess that this would slow down the whole process and that her sister would show up and take her rightful place beside her groom. 

"You think you have a choice? Don’t disgrace the Franzel family!” Mary let out a scoff as she stared down at Sandra. The scorn in her voice was clear and the smirk plastered on her face was just another reminder that no matter what happened, Sandra would have to get into the damn gown and walk down the cursed aisle to a man she knew nothing about. 

"I did not let my husband adopt you just because we were nice people looking to graciously feed an extra mouth without thinking of the future. You, my dear Sandra, have always been our extra option, or as you may understand it, a plan B. I do not care how much is at risk for you when you marry the damn Alpha. 

“Whether Aztec treats you right, or tramples on you is none of my business as long as you get married. Now as much as I would like to join your sentimental fallacy, sit your ass down and let them get you pretty. And do not try to run away sweet child, your grandmother may not live to see the next day,” Mary disdainfully warned Sandra. 

It was her polite way of telling the girl that no matter what happened today, a wedding was going to be held, she didn't care whether it was Sandra or Scarlet, reciting the stupid-ass marriage vows.

"Grandma—” Sandra said, her tears threatening to make it down her beautiful cheeks. The thought of her grandmother dying didn't sit right with her. The older woman was ill and needed a lot of money for her surgery and the only person who could provide that money was Mary. And Mary’s condition was a damned marriage in hell.

"Fine, I’ll do it but only on the condition that my grandma gets proper treatment. If you don’t hold your end of the bargain,” Sandra said as her tone quieted down before adding, “even the stars won’t save you from me.”

"I didn't get that last bit, child, but it doesn't matter anyway. Get married and I promise your grandma will get the best of medical care, alright?” Mary said, her tone changing from the cold heartless one, to a tone that preached butterflies and pink candies. 

Mary had never been so nice to Sandra. This time she would do anything for her in exchange for selling her to the Alpha.

Sandra held back the urge to roll her eyes at the woman since she didn't want to stir more trouble. And so for the next hour, Sandra had to sit through the agonizing state, with her beauticians pulling her hair and skin from all ends. She didn't complain though, at least she already learned that her opinion wasn't going to be heard by anyone anyway.

'I’m getting married in the name of Scarlet,’ Sandra sighed as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't deny the magic that the team had worked on her. She was different. Way too different from what she had looked like an hour ago, or even the previous day. 

She looked prettier and her hair was in long nice waves. The wedding gown itself made her look like a goddess and for a moment there, Sadra wondered whether life with Aztec would really be nice, or if he would be as brutal as everyone knew him to be.

"Are you rea— damn Sandra, you look perfect, love,” Mary said as she walked into the room to see what Sandra had been transformed into. She couldn't believe her eyes too. Of course, Sandra had always been a beautiful lady with her charms, but damn, right now, she looked perfect, much prettier than her own daughter Scarlet.

"Now run along, everyone is waiting for you at the wedding!” Mary said and that was the last conscious thing that Sandra heard or even took part in. 

She had presented herself at the wedding like a trophy, walked down the aisle with Mary beside her, she had recited vows she never knew were even possible, she even prayed for the safety of her sister, Scarlet, wherever she was, and she had endured it all for the sake of her grandmother. A woman who had loved her since she was a kid. 

'Only if the almighty Aztec doesn't kill me yet,' Sandra said to herself when the wedding ended and she still felt like the joke of the century. 

She didn't know what she had expected when she agreed to the doomed wedding, but a mute Aztec throughout the ceremony had certainly not been it. Sure, he was the big bad wolf of this region, but he couldn't have been that dumb to not even have written vows, right? But such had already happened, the unthinkable in a contract marriage bound by pain and hopeless love.

'Let the horrors begin,’ Sandra let out a defeated sigh, when Aztec left her at the wedding reception, to go home alone. It was barely minutes after their wedding and the man was already jumping ship? 

What kind of hell was this? 

Sandra looked around and she could see the smiles on people’s faces and frankly, she wanted to wipe them off with a mop. They had the audacity to be happy when everyone here knew just how toxic Alpha Aztec was. Did her life really mean nothing to them? 

Deciding against leaving too, she stayed and enjoyed the ceremony, a stiff smile on her face as she danced along to the music. She wanted to cry, but what was the point?

Three hours later, Sandra was spent, and she decided she could finally drag her miserable ass to her new home. Funny how she had woken up today feeling so happy for her sister and now, she was going to be living in her sister’s world. Oh, how fate worked.

"Where did my husband go?” Sandra asked the driver she had been assigned. She didn't even bother to ask for his name, because there was literally no point in trying. Everything felt weird and it would take a while for her to come to terms with this reality anyway.

"Rose Villa, ma’am. You want me to drive there?” the driver asked and Sandra just sighed.

"No, just take me home. I’ll wait for my husband there,” Sandra responded before the driver drove off.

Rose Villa was the one place anyone would find Alpha Aztec, and that was because his long-term werewolf girlfriend, Beatrice, lived there. It wasn't a wonder that the Alpha was opposed to this marriage, just like Sandra.

They all had lives before they were thrust into this marriage of convenience. Hell, she didn’t even have a right to be mad at Alpha Aztec anyway.

'More like my bastard contract husband,’ Sandra said to herself as they went home. She wanted to lash out, but how could she, when she had earlier been told that her adoption was a business investment? How could she when her life wasn't even hers anymore?

The Alpha’s residence was magnificent. Sandra had only been here a couple of times, and on official errands, but now that she was going to live here, she couldn't help but fawn over the house one more time.

Everything was in its perfect palace. The walls were grey-ish but that was expected considering the Alpha was a fan of the color grey. 

Of course, to anyone new here, this house seemed to be lifeless, but Sandra knew that it was such settings that the Alpha liked. Well, his life may have been dull, but at least it was the exquisite kind of dull. That had to count for something, right?

"Thank you,” she said to the driver before settling. 

She walked towards the living area, which sometimes served as Aztec’s entertainment zone. It was still as perfect as before. Carefully, Sandra sat on one of the fluffy seats, before picking up the remote to watch television. She may have been married, but she was new to this house in some aspects. 

She would wait for her new husband Alpha Aztec to show up, so he could tell her where she needed to stay and whatnot because one thing was certain. She wasn't going to be sharing a bedroom with the monster that everyone knew about, but had still forced her to marry.

"I can as well take a shower, yeah?” Sandra said when the wait didn't yield any effort. She was also hungry and staying in one spot in the house like a mannequin wasn't going to get her stomach any food anyway. 

The showers were pretty much what Sandra needed for the day, apparently even more than the food she was yearning for. She needed to get the makeup off her face and free herself of the binds of her bridal wear today. Plus it wasn't like Aztec would be coming home anytime soon, let alone, coming home altogether. 

For all Sandra knew, the man was going to be staying with his girlfriend for the night, so she stayed in her towel after showering, to let her skin apparently take in some fresh air. However as fate would have it, Aztec showed up right when Sandra sat back in the living room, wearing nothing but a towel and with her hair still wet.

"Fuck.”