Chapter 3

♡Arielle’s POV♡

‘Ugh! Why does my head hurt so bad?’

I groaned, rubbing my temples as I dragged my weary body to sit up. My head ached like I had continuously slammed it against the wall before I had gone to sleep.

‘I need water,’ I tried throwing my legs over the edge of my bed so I could stand up, but instead, they just fell on more bed, which was odd. My bed was tiny, barely containing me, and yet what I was on did, and was softer too.

My eyes finally fluttered open, and my breath hitched as I took in my environment.

‘This isn’t my room!’ I gasped and rubbed my eyes, trying to clear the illusion sleep gave me. I opened them again, and nothing changed.

Instead of seeing my dingy, tiny, cramped room with an ugly faded brown wallpaper that Brielle and I shared, I was in a simple yet fancy one that looked like I was in a hotel.

‘How?! How did I get here?! I was in the bar with Jake. He asked me to sleep with him for money, and I refused. I wanted to go, but he called me back. I took a sip of my drink and… and…’ I gasped as the reality dawned on me. ‘That perverted old bastard! He drugged me and brought me here! Did he—’

My hands roamed my body, checking if there was any sign that he had touched me.

‘He did not; thank the moon goddess. I can’t believe he—’

The door swung open, and a beautiful, mesmerising scent filled the air. It was earthy and woody, spicy, yet had a hint of sweetness. It was dominant, yet warm and homely. It was divine, the best thing I had inhaled in my life.

My head snapped in the direction it came from; my eyes fell on a man, and they widened. Heat and electricity flooded my entire nerves, and it was like I came alive.

‘Alpha!’ My breath hitched, and I gulped. I had never met one before in my life, but my soul knew he was.

The omega in me yearned and begged for him. Wanting him to touch me, to hold me, to be with me. The feeling was ecstasy; I wanted more of it, and it terrified me. I closed my eyes, trying to calm the raging storm in me.

He was the type of man I was warned about when I was a child. My mother had always told me and my sister to stay away from Alphas. They were monsters to Omegas like us. Even though the moon goddess had blessed us with a special bond, they treated us as nothing but playthings for their pleasure. The dangers of Alphas were carved in my head, and yet, just meeting one had thrown me off balance and sent crazy feelings rushing through me.

“Are you ok?” The Alpha asked, his voice gentler and closer than I expected, and I opened my eyes. He was standing before me, his green eyes gleaming with worry, and I almost melted.

“Stay away from me!” I screamed, snapping out of my trance and rolling to the other side of the bed. I jumped to my feet, grabbing the bedside lamp and holding it like a baseball bat, ready to bash his pretty face.

“Whoa, calm down! I’m not going to hurt you.” He said, surprised by my outburst and taking tentative steps towards me.

“Stay back.” I glared at him, tightening my grip on my weapon. “Who are you? What do you want? Do you know Jake? Are you working with him?”

‘I won’t be surprised if Jake had sold me to him; if he can drug me, then he can do worse, but why did he unless he knows I’m an omega?! Impossible! There was no way he would know!’

“Don’t rope me in with a man who is shameless enough to drug a woman for sex.” He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I saved you from him.”

“You did?” My glare became less intense, and I tilted my head to the side. “Why did you?”

“Why won’t I?” He asked, surprised at my question. “You were in danger, and so I decided to help you.”

‘Nothing in this world is for free, especially from an alpha.’ My mom’s words echoed in my head. I wasn’t going to believe he had helped me just because I was a damsel in distress. If my mother’s friend could drug me and try to take advantage of me, who says an Alpha couldn’t do worse?

“I don’t believe you. Nothing in this world goes for free, and you don’t look like the kind of person who would help somebody out of the goodness of his heart.”

♦Raphael’s POV♦

“Haven’t you heard of don’t judge a book by its cover?” I chuckled at her defensive nature.

I didn’t think the lady could become more interesting, but she proved me wrong.

Her philosophy was understandable given the place she was born. She was wise to be on her guard and cautious of people’s intentions. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt that she didn’t trust me on first glance. I didn’t know why, but it just did. After all the trouble I went through.

“Despite what you think, I’m not the type of man who idly stands by and watches a perverted old man take advantage of an innocent young lady. If I had a sister in your position, I would have wanted someone to help her.”

“So you really helped me? No string attached? You’re going to let me go out that door without collecting anything from me?” She asked, her form becoming a little bit less rigid, and I could feel a bit of her defensive wall coming down.

“Yes, I will, but I have a little proposal for you, something that will benefit you since it involves a lot of money for you.” I said, and her walls came back up again.

“How do you know I need money?” She narrowed her eyes at me, her fingers clutching the lamp, ready to throw it at my face if I made one wrong move.

“You blurted it out when I was saving you. You said your mother needed money or else she would die. I promise you what I have in mind will isn’t anything bad.” I explained to her, trying to calm her down.

It wasn’t anything bad, depending on how it was looked at. I hoped she would see it from my perspective. She stared at me for a few seconds, her plump lips pressed in a thin line, and hesitation was written all over her.

“What is this… proposal you have in mind?” She finally asked, and my lips tipped to a smile. Little by little, I was getting through to her.

“Why don’t we take a seat and discuss the details?” I nudged at the couch. She remained where she was, not moving an inch and just staring at me.

I sighed and walked to the couch. Taking a seat, I stared back at her, waiting for her to do the same.

Slowly, without taking her gaze off me, she walked to the one farthest from me and closest to the door. She sat at the edge of it, and she placed the lamp, still in her grip, across her lap.

“So, what do you want from me?” She asked.

The moment had come for me to ask probably the strangest question she had heard from a stranger. I wouldn’t blame her if she slammed the lamp on my head, because I would do the same in her shoes.

But despite how strange I knew my request was going to sound, I was still going to say it because I wanted to find out why I felt connected to a woman I hadn’t met before.

I took a deep breath, relaxing my nerves, and put on my serious businessman look.

“I want you to be my wife.”