06. Abby

When I did not answer, Abby cursed again. My ears would likely bleed if she did not stop muttering curses. If Father knew I had learned to say curses from her, I was sure he wouldn't allow me to be friends with Abby.

Despite her foul mouth, Abby was the sweetest friend I could ever have, and I can still tolerate her curses as long as she will not say them in front of the children. 

That would be a big no!

"Natasha. Are you still there?"

I was brought back to the present. 

Looking out the window of my room, I saw the moon was at its highest peak. This would be a great time to shapeshift. However, my wolf was silent and did not attempt to talk to me. 

I had no idea if my wolf liked my upcoming marriage with Alpha Redd or not. Did she prefer Ali over Redd? 

"Natashaaaaa," Abby called, using her shrill voice. "Earth to Natasha, please."

"Where we were again, Abby?

"About your wedding tomorrow?"

Ah, right.

"You heard it right, Abby. I'm getting married tomorrow to my fated mate. My second-chance mate. Not Alpha Ali. That fucker. He promised never to leave me, but just because our business is falling apart, he rejected and left me like that?" 

I laughed bitterly. The wound from his rejection was still new. How I wished his woman would reject him again, just like what he did to me!

"Holy fuck. Everything is soooo fast, Natasha. I cannot believe you will marry someone else other than Ali. You promised each other that it's you who will love, right? So why would—"

Someone talked in the background. The sales lady, perhaps? Abby and the woman exchanged some pleasantries, and she paid something.

"Alrigggght. I',m sorry for the interruption. I paid for my purchaed bag. Where was I again? I'm done buying. Please tell me everything, Natasha Harkins. I mean everything. Alpha Ali doesn't deserve you more than anyone else, Natasha. Grrr! I want to find him and kick his cock for what he did to you."

I squinted as I pictured Abby kicking Alpha Ali on his balls. If the woman says she will do it, she will do it. 

"Come on, Natasha. I'm dying to know."

And I did. I told her everything about Alpha Redd. On his visit. The family reunion and the marriage, and Ali's rejection after. And how I knew Redd was my second-chance mate. 

I heard Abby's footsteps in the background. 

A tear escaped from my eyes. Never in my entire life did I expect to be rejected. I was a daughter of an alpha with three promising pack warriors who had the potential to lead the pack to replace my Father. Why would I continue wasting my time on someone who did not even consider how wonderful I was?

"Earth to Natasha? I'm in the restroom now. You have all the time to talk, and I will listen."

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I smiled. Enough. I already wasted a lot of tears for that jerk. 

My phone nearly fell because of that. 

"What's there to say? I already confided in you everything."

"Who is your second-chance mate?"

"Alpha Redd."

"Oh, my Moon Goddess. And you accept the marriage? Natasha. He has a not-so-good record among the werewolf community. He is nothing but a pain in your ass. But he is filthy rich, okay? Others wanted to uncover where he had gotten all of his wealth, saying it comes from something illegal, but they don't have any proof for that."

Even Abby was aware of Alpha Redd.

I massaged my forehead. Why did it have to be him? 

"Can you still back out?" Abby asked. Her voice was coated with worry for me. 

Raw anger resurfaced. I wished I had the luxury to do that. 

"Unfortunately, no. I cannot. What choice do I have? The children rely on me. What will I feed them if our business closes, Abby? Alpha Redd is the only one who could save us. He is rich and powerful, Abby. If there's another way out, I won't sell myself to someone like him."

At some point, I did sell myself to him for a couple of months. 

Abby sighed in the other line. "When is the wedding? I can help you prepare. What are friends for, right? I love you, Natasha. Please remember that."

"Tomorrow."

I heard something flush in the background and a thud. 

Distancing my phone from my ears, I looked at it as if I could see what was happening to Abby. 

"Holy shit. That soon?" 

I put my phone back to my ears. 

"Something came up. That's according to him. And we need to hurry."

"That's not it. Redd doesn't want you to change your mind."

The alpha was vocal about it. 

"I know." I exhaled. "There is nothing I can do but accept it, Abby."

"Are you okay, Natasha? If you want my help, you can tell me, okay? You know you're the sister I never had. You can count on me."

"And I appreciate you for doing that, Abby. I felt bothered when you troubled yourself on my issues, but I want to marry him alone. Without my family present."

This was not a real wedding for me, anyway. Everything was nothing but a contract on a piece of paper. 

"Oh, no. Are you punishing your family? Even if your dad was the brainchild of the marriage, you still have to invite him and your delicious—I mean handsome siblings."

It was not hidden from me that she had a massive crush on them, which I do not care about. Having a crush was no big deal, but getting into the relationship with my brothers was another thing. I did not want Abby to suffer at their hands.  

"My daddy, to be precise. He started this. He never told me about Alpha Redd. He spills the news without caring for my feelings. Decide on things."

I grabbed some tissue and blew my nose. Then, I put it in a trash can. 

"I wanted to show him I can also be rebellious."

"You know, Natasha. Why don't you get laid as punishment for Alpha Redd? Let's go to a bar and have the best day of our lives. Without even caring what will happen tomorrow." 

Getting laid was out of the equation. I may hate Alpha Redd but not to the point of giving myself over some random stranger I barely even know. This was not the typical one-night stand story where the heroine gets pregnant after having sex with some guy. And if I get pregnant, my siblings will kill me for it. They never wanted me to be pregnant out of wedlock. Yes. They were that traditional. 

"Abby. Tomorrow is my wedding day. I cannot just attend my wedding with a killer headache."

"You want to make the alpha's life miserable, right? Please do it. Let's go to the bar and have fun."

I bit my lower lip. Was that a good idea? 

In the end, I answered, "Tell me the address, and I will go there."

I will be quick. I will just let off some steam—nothing else. As long as I could forget all the shit I had this day.