Chapter:-3

Alex was fuming in anger as he drove back home.

"Loosen the grip, Alex.", He heard the person from the adjacent seat say:

"Shut up, Seth."

"You're going to break the steering wheel,", his best friend countered.

Alex groaned but loosened the choke hold on the steering anyway.

"Good, now tell me what's got you all—death grippy."

"It's that Omega. I hate her,", Alex snarled.

"What, Omega?", Seth asked innocently.

"You know who I'm talking about,", Alex said, narrowing his eyes, not impressed at Seth's act of clean hands.

"Nope,", Seth said, even though his mischievous smirk said otherwise.

Alex gritted his teeth and said, "Ashly James."

Seth's smirk left his face. "Why do you hate her? You just met the girl. Surely, she can't be that bad."

"It's not about her; it's the fucking situation,", Alex sighed. After talking with Ashly, Alex basically stormed off and snatched Seth with him back to their manor. Seth didn't raise his disappointment at being dragged away before he had eaten, but Alex knew he was.

"So the situation is what you hate, not Ashly?"

"Both,", Alex breathed exasperatedly. "Why did she have to say yes to the mating, Seth?"

"Alex, not this again."

"No,", Alex said firmly. "When mom and dad told me about this whole peace treaty/arranged marriage, I was shocked. This wasn't supposed to happen. I am in love with Jasmine, and everything was fine; everything was perfect, and then this Omega just had to go and accept the proposal."

"Alex, stop.", Seth snapped, "You're forgetting that she is an Omega, as you so obviously state but can't seem to grasp. She can't refuse, remember? She doesn't get a choice. No omega does."

Alex knew Seth was right. He actually felt a little sorry for Ashly to be forced into a relationship—a nuptial one at that. But he didn't know what else to do except blame it on her. He didn't want Ashly James. He was in love with Jasmine, and he was looking forward to mating with her and marrying her. But then this huge bomb was dropped on her.

He stared straight ahead, not replying. Seth took that as a cue to continue: "This is your own fault, you know. You were the only one who had the power to stop this wedding, and you didn't. Instead, you chose to accept the arrangement, and now you're blaming the poor girl who probably was informed about the wedding and you just this morning."

"What else was I supposed to do, Seth? I'm the future alpha of this pack. I can't just get up and tell you I won't do something that will probably be the best thing that could ever happen to our pack."

Seth shrugged.

"I had it all figured out, Seth. I was going to take over as the alpha, get married to the woman I'm in love with, have kids, and live happily. With this new person in the mix, everything's changing."

"I know, man. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault", Alex said, shaking his head. Seth was one of the only people Alex let call him out on his shit, the other person being his sister Rose. Seth was not just his friend; he was his brother in many ways, even if they weren't related by blood. Being in the same pack favored their strong friendship bond. Alex and Seth have been inseparable from the time they met each other when they were five years old. Even after eighteen long years, nothing could change that.

"I know you told me that you didn't want to talk about it, but I have to know...How did Jasmine take this news?"

Alex sighed before answering, "How do you think? She was shocked. She told me that she needed some time alone to process and shut the door on my face."

Seth grimaced. "You broke up?"

"No,", Alex whined. "I won't give up on her that easily; I'm not giving up on our love. I'm sure Jasmine won't, too."

"Sure.", Seth rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to see her tonight."

"Alex, No. You can't do that.", Seth sighed.

"Why not?", Alex snapped.

"Because you're engaged to someone else. Your marriage is literally in a week. You and Jasmine can't be together, Alex. You need to let her go. Otherwise, you both are going to be hurting."

"We already are, Seth."

"You'll hurt more,", Seth negated.

"Only if we go our separate ways."

"What?", Seth asked, unsure if he heard right.

"I'm not breaking up with Jasmine, unless that's what she wants."

Seth shook his head. "What about your marriage?"

"What about it? I can't stop it."

"So you won't break up with Jasmine; you won't stop your wedding with Ashly... You are stupid. This thing that you're thinking of doing is stupid and selfish. It's not fair to your lover or your fiance."

They reached the Branson mansion soon, after the whole two-hour drive that Seth spent trying to convince Alex to let Jasmine go. Alex waltzed into his house after bidding bye to Seth, who shook his head, disappointed.

He didn't wait for his parents and sister to arrive home as he walked through the forest behind the mansion. He looked up at the crescent moon and took a deep breath, calling for his wolf. He relaxed his body, awaiting the change. He could have simply driven his car; it was only an hour's drive away. But his sister would know he had taken off, and she'd follow him and drag him back home. Especially now that she met Ashly and liked her better than Jasmine. Besides, he could travel faster in his wolf form. He had clothes at Jasmine Place, so he could manage, for sure.

He fell to the ground, his bones cracking. Low growls escaped his mouth as his body twitched. His eyesight blurred, and he closed his eyes, clenching his canines that had started coming out. He growled one last time, and Alex Wolf emerged. He stood on his fours, howling, the sound echoing through the otherwise still night. He craned his head backward to check if he had someone on his trail, and he took off when he was sure there was no one. He ran, heading to the outskirts of the territory of the Starlight Pack. Their pack wasn't as big as Alex's. Alex was hoping that he could solidify and unite their packs instead of uniting with the James pack.