Chapter 4
I followed her obediently, anticipating the fate awaiting me behind the grand doors. Stepping inside, my heart seemed to pause for a moment as my eyes locked onto them.Three finely sculpted pieces of art, they appeared identical, each donned in different outfits. It felt as if I were gazing at the same masterpiece with subtle variations.Perfectly styled chestnut brown hair, straight pointed noses and well chiseled jawlines, they looked like artifacts from Greek mythology. I never thought anyone could surpass Chester's looks, but these three individuals had truly outshone themselves. Comparing them to us mere mortals, their beauty was incomparable."Ever been told it's rude to stare?" One of them reprimanded me, prompting me to lower my gaze instantly. Unaware that I had been fixated on him, the truth was I couldn't help but have my eyes on all three of them.Fiddling with my hands, I attempted to calm my racing heart. Their presence made me nervous, and I couldn't prevent the perspiration that dampened my dress from behind."So, what's the solution and who's your tag along, mother?" Another man, whom I hadn't noticed earlier, inquired of the woman I had followed into the room."She's Hermione's closest mate and I think she'll be perfect for the role." The woman I accompanied replied."Ok, then I guess Ava has got this figured out, Alphas. I think we should proceed with the preparation already; the ceremony has long begun," an older man spoke, his commanding voice making me realize that the other three were triplet Alphas."Uncle Astor, is this really the best option?" One of the Alphas asked the older man, his face etched with worry as he held a stressor in his hand.The elder gentleman who was just referred to as Uncle Astor nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders and shook his head in a dismissive manner as he consumed the contents of the whiskey glass in his hand."We must devise an alternative plan, and time is of the essence at this juncture. I hadn't anticipated this from Hermione, but she has already taken action, and we must strive to maintain the integrity of our family name above all others. Canceling the event is not an option we can entertain," he sighed, conveying a sense of fatigue.The elder gentleman approached me and scrutinized me for a brief moment. My heart raced within my chest as I fretted over the possibility of my disguise being unveiled. "Alpha Dante, given that our criteria extend beyond mere aesthetic appeal, I believe she serves as an ideal replacement," he remarked discerningly.What?!Despite their lucid conversation, the dialogue sounded foreign to me, as I couldn't connect with the names or the event they discussed. All I had intended was to sneak in, grab some food to ease my hunger, and continue with my dreary existence.However, it seemed the fates had a different plan in store. Who was this Araya, and why did everyone mistake me for her? The mystery deepened, leaving me bewildered."What are you called?" The Alpha who had reprimanded me earlier was now the one questioning me, A smirk played on the side of his lips. I paused for a moment, contemplating what response to give, when Ava nudged me slightly.Arya or Reign? I had to decide quickly."Araya Alpha, my name is Araya." My response rolled out of my lips before I could stop it.""Seems good to me, Zephyr. What do you say?" Alpha Dante asked my inquisitor.He scarcely nodded absentmindedly before delivering his response. "I'm cool with the proposal, although you should still seek his approval," Alpha Zephyr remarked, gesturing towards the final Alpha who had maintained a subdued demeanor throughout, his countenance displaying stoicism."Axel, what's your stance on this?" Alpha Dante inquired of the plain-faced Alpha. Tension lingered in the room as everyone awaited his response."Tell me, are you prepared to undertake this task?" Alpha Axel inquired, his voice carried a chill and was imbued with authority, causing a slight shiver to run down my spine.Though I had no inkling of the task ahead, I nodded eagerly, perhaps a touch too hastily, prompting Alpha Dante to burst into laughter. "Yes, Alpha, I am more than willing to offer my assistance to the Royal family," I replied earnestly."Well, shall we raise a toast to our impending victory?" The young man chimed in with excitement as he poured himself a glass and swiftly consumed its contents."Nerson! Not today, your step brothers need you sober and active if we're going to pull this off successfully" Ava queried him."Alright then! Get her dressed already so we proceed with the process," Alpha Axel spoke to no one in particular."I'm sorry but I'm yet to know what it is that you ask of me." I confessed, feeling the weight of the enigmatic responsibility bearing down upon me, an insurmountable burden impossible to disregard."You are to serve as a replacement for your friend, that's all," Ava replied nonchalantly."I'm yet to comprehend your meaning, Ma'am," I replied, aware of Alpha Axel narrowing his eyes at me. I sensed the potential folly of my question, but without knowledge of who my friend was, I felt compelled to ask."Do you truly require me to state the glaringly obvious?" Ava's glare conveyed her dissatisfaction and slight irritation. "You are to marry the Alphas in her place within the next 30 minutes. Is it clear to you now?"Of course not! I was going to do no such thing."I'm sorry, Ma'am, but I cannot consent to marrying the Alphas. You may need to seek an alternative solution," I responded calmly, though internally, the thought of their proposal stirred turmoil within me.I was definitely not going to make the same mistake of being a substitute bride for the second time."Hey, it's not that deep. It's just a contract for 24 hours and we pay you off. Here are the details." Alpha Dante clarified as he passed a document to me.Despite my initial inclination to refuse, upon considering the offer, I surrendered to the fate the moon goddess had seemingly destined for me. Desperate for a place and means to survive, I reluctantly accepted the reality that rejecting their offer would leave me with no other recourse under the moon's light."Just 24 hours?""Yes," Alpha Zephyr and Alpha Dante chorused."I'll do it." I answered."Who wouldn't?" Alpha Axel said, rolling his eyes before walking away.Feeling nervous, I followed behind Ava as she confidently navigated her way around the house, eventually leading us to another finely furnished room. While its grandeur was not as exclusive as the one we had come from, everything about it still exuded royal excellence. The room boasted royal blue velvet curtains adorned with gold embellishments and intricate embroidery, adding to its regal charm.As I absorbed the beauty of the room and marveled at its intricate features that exuded luxury, Ava excused herself. Lost in the euphoria of the swift turn my life had taken, I was startled when the door swung open, and about five or six young girls dressed similarly to myself filed in. One of them appeared particularly excited as she exclaimed, "Hey Araya, you're so favored! Come, we'll run a bath for you and make you as beautiful as ever." I obediently followed them to the bathroom and eased myself into the tub they had prepared. The water enveloped me in warmth and comfort, prompting an
"Uhmmm, what I mean is I don't want you guys to go anywhere tonight. When I passed out I —I …." I was trying to explain the vision I saw to them without sounding like some psycho."No one is touching you tonight so you don't have to worry but I could consider it if you beg me." Zephyr teased. Urghhhh, didn't he know when to be serious? I slapped my hand on my forehead in frustration before trying to explain myself again."What I'm saying is that your lives are in danger if you head out tonight, Please listen to me." I tried to convince them."What are you saying Araya? They are the Alphas of this pack, members of this pack would readily give up their own lives in exchange for theirs, they're safest on their grounds. Stop talking nonsense." Uncle Astor scolded me."Please can I have a private word with the Alphas?" I requested."And what gives you the right to demand such? We're their family and we don't keep secrets from each other. You're just on a contract, don't start to think too
ZEPHYR'S POVI had my eyes fixed on Araya's soft facial features as I teased her, watching her turn red like a tomato just by a comment was fufiling. I noticed a slight fear flash in her eyes and I watched her closely.Just as the car slowed down and I got a bit distracted, Axel lowered his glass and I was about to do same when her voice stopped me."Don't lower the glass!" She exclaimed and I didn't but Axel already did. She lunched at Axel and wrapped her body around him such that his face was buried between her tities, before I could process what she was doing, the sharp crack of a gunshot echoed through the air, piercing our ears.I instinctively wound up all the glasses. Was that what she was warning about?Fear was not an emotion I was accustomed to so even in such dire situation, I felt no fear just concern. The car slowed to a stop and Dante and I rushed over to where she clung to Axel.Axel was also yet to phantom the turn out of events. "Axel! Your bleeding from your head, I
Zephyr PovAt the sound of my voice, a man came rushing to us at werewolf speed. Tell me about keeping your Alpha waiting."Alpha you called," The man said. Though I hadn't seen him around earlier, he was dressed in a white lab coat so I assumed he was one of the doctors on duty."See," I motioned to Araya's still body from where we stood. I could see all the blood drain from his face like he had seen a ghost, he was visibly quaking and stuttering."How - I - but- I'll be back Alpha -let me- give me -" He spoke incoherent sounds but didn't enter the room, he excused himself instead. Few seconds later he returned with the head Doctor we met in the office earlier.He was explaining things to him as both of them hurried into the room, paying us no attention. We remained calm and waited out as they drew the curtains close.Doctors and nurses kept dropping in and out of the room where Araya was kept and no one said a word to us. The anxiety in the air was palpable and Dante had started
Zephyr POVThankfully we already dismissed the others when we saw Ava stomping in our direction with rage because what Ava said struck us all like a lightning bolt and nobody spoke a word for what felt like an eternity. I was certain my brothers were comparing Ava's words with that of the Doctor just like I was doing."She's not from around here, she's different," The doctor had said to us plainly when he invited us to his office and now Ava had confirmed that she wasn't Araya, Hermione's closest mate. So who was she?The question hung unspoken in the air and threatened my sanity. The part of what she was, was already clarified by the doctor so I was less bothered knowing she was either a werewolf or a Lycan breed or even an Agosti but most importantly she was part of the blessed breed like people always referenced our kind as.I dismissed the idea of her being an Agosti since Agostis were always very huge physically and she was quite petite in stature, maybe a five foot seven inches
"I think I found something look here, her name is in this book."When Dante raised the alarm, Axel and I had rushed to his side to check out what he found. I felt my heart lighten a bit at the thought that we would finally know her origin.'Araya'Truly her name was in the book but it wasn't as a descendant it was as a random ornamental flower with no history at all. Barely half a page was written about the flower and not a person in the book and it did nothing to satisfy our curiosity."She's no goddess descendant, we should take a break and get something to eat before we continue if need be." Axel suggested and we quietly consented, even if I wanted to challenge his opinion, I let it go this once and headed to the dinning table for our lunch with him while Dante tagged alongside.We had searched for over five hours already so when we got to the table almost everyone was done eating. In our absence, Uncle Astor gave the go ahead for everyone to eat, in his absence Nirson did and i
ZEPHYR "Wait! give me that book, maybe we can check what this daughter is called and compare with hers when she wakes up." I implored the knowledge I acquired from the book I had read earlier, I took the book from Dante and flipped to the exact drawing. Truly, there was a name written boldly in italics."REIGN"It seemed more like a verb than a noun to me but I accepted it all the same. We left the library and I headed to her room to check on her. It was already sunrise when we adjourned our library research.The maids were already cleaning her up so I waited out a bit and Dante soon joined me in my wait.When Dante and I got in she was curled up which was very strange. I strode over to her bedside and caressed her cheek lightly and something strange happened, her cheeks flushed pink.Which meant her sense of touch was active. "Dante come over here and have a look," I called out to him.When Dante walked to the bedside she stirred and turned to face us. I was not done processing wha
Axel POV We left the library at the first ray of sunlight, we had spent the night gathering information about our mysterious mate. I would have to refer to her as our mate because that was what she was until the contract was terminated and rejection happened.Honestly, I never did as much research as I had done so diligently in the past few days even when I had to seal the most heinous deals and the burden of decision making was on my shoulders.Zephyr had been very spontaneous which was no surprise to anyone at all but he acted spell bound to her and that gave me a lot of concern. I felt as though she was a witch and she already had Zephyr bound since he kissed her and that made me despise her, I mean how did everyone suddenly mistake her for Araya.I did not care if she saved my life, I could not bring myself to trust her, it could have been an act for all I cared, I just accommodated her for the sake of my brothers. It was normal for someone to set you up and play hero to gain y