Two mates?

~Denera~

….

The thunderstorms had been going on for hours. It was cold and dark, the cottage's wooden walls creaked as the wind blew hard against it. I had my blanket to keep me company as I quietly drew on the sketch pad on my lap. 

Aunt Rosa and her family were settled at the main house. I initially used to feel bad about this but after sometime, I grew accustomed to it. Plus I would rather be alone in an old cottage than stay in a cosy house with the likes of them. 

I jerked up from my bed when I heard a loud bang against the door. At first, I assumed it was one of the calamities of the thunderstorm but then it rhythmically happened again. 

“Open up!” Someone yelled from outside, making me rush out of bed to check it was. 

Uncle?

Abruptly I turned the knob open and he instantly shoved me aside before walking in. “You bastard! Haven’t I warned you to never lock the door? Look how damp I am now!” Uncle Austin growled. 

“I’m sorry sir.” I whimpered, wondering why he came here in the first place. 

“You’re not sorry and you’ll pay for this stupidity!” With that said, he rushed at me with a huge slap, followed by another that met my cheek.

I fell to the ground in tears, knowing that the night was going to be dreadful. However, I was ready to face my fate for the night. 

But then he began to unzip his trousers, making me pause in fear…

……

“How dare you!” Uncle Austin charged towards me, as I struggled to move back, but he got to me faster than I imagined and my face ended up receiving two resounding slaps in a split second.

He turned to his wife and said, “It’s your fault, Rosa, I told you you get rid of this slut but you won’t listen, now see! She wants to tarnish my reputation, after trying to steal the alpha’s son from our precious Freya and bringing disgrace to our family in this pack.”

My eyes flew to Aunt Rosa who had doubts in her eyes, I was almost happy, I almost had hopes that my aunt would believe me, but I was such a fool.

“Fine, let’s take her there today.” She concluded.

To where? 

Where were they taking me to? I couldn’t even gather the balls to ask them that. I knew I was a coward even at twenty. 

I barely had twenty four hours left of my forty eight hours and I was already picking up my things one after the other.

“Go and get prepared. Have a warm bath, I’ll get you a dress and a makeup artist. Make sure you look your best.” Aunty Rosa commanded. 

My brows furrowed and the trembling of my feet made me unable to move from my position. 

“Are you mad or something? Leave my sight!” She ordered, yelling.

 Jerking up, I forced my legs to move, wanting to leave before things got worse. 

As the hot water from the shower touched my body, I felt whole again. Who would have thought that I would ever get the privilege to take a warm bath in this house no matter how cold it got?

What had happened a few minutes ago brought flashbacks to a few years ago during that faithful thunderstorm. Tears stung my eyes and my knees went weak, making me fall to the ground as the water continued to pour over me. 

I held the part of my face that suffered his hits, both the one that was recent and the ones from several years hurt all over again. My body ached badly, but the pain couldn’t measure up to the one I felt in my heart since I got rejected. 

Still, I chose to believe that someday the prince would realize that my parents were most likely framed and come back for me. 

“He will take me away from this hell hole,” I muttered in sobs. That thought gave me a ray of hope.

But something felt fishy about Aunt Rosa. She didn’t hit or punish me after what had happened back at the dock, she didn’t even ask me to do the house chores, and she had a soft expression for a long while, she even allowed me a warm bath, and promised to get me a nice dress and a makeup artist?

Was this my end? Were they preparing for my funeral? 

I was scared to death all over again. Should I run away? Hell no, that would be cowardly of me, I know I was a coward already, but I shouldn’t be scared of death.

 I came out of the bathroom to see a beautiful black ball gown lying on the bed and a lady who I presumed was the makeup artist waiting patiently for me.

Silently, the lady helped me get dressed and wore me makeup. For the first time in forever, I couldn’t recognize myself, it was too beautiful to be true. 

It had been a few hours since I was rejected by Bruno and now, I looked like an imaginary beauty queen and I still had no idea why my aunt was doing all of this. 

The makeup artist helped me put on the most beautiful and expensive pair of silver shoes I’d ever seen.

“You are adorable.” That was the first thing she said to me and my face instantly turned red from blushing.

I felt a drop of tear try to tickle down my face, but I did my best to blink till I could almost feel it no more, I couldn’t afford to ruin the makeup. 

But deep down I wished I was going to see Prince Bruno like this, seeing me this way would probably have changed his mind about me and made him beg me to come back and be his mate.

The door opened and Aunt Rosa walked in, “Are you done?”

“Yes ma’am,” the makeup artist replied with a slight bow.

“Let’s go.” Aunty Rosa said to me and I staggered to her.

“Don’t tell me you can’t walk in heels?” She sounded irritated.

She knew I had never worn heels in my life. So what kind of question was that?

I shook my head anyway.

Help her to the car.” She ordered the makeup artist and she obeyed. 

The car? Where were they taking me to? A slaughterhouse? I still couldn’t ask.

“Make sure you learn how to walk well, don’t go and disgrace me in the packhouse .” Aunty Rosa called from behind.

The packhouse? I couldn’t believe how the sound of that excited me as I smiled from ear to ear. But what was going on in the packhouse again? Was it a family outing?

Did Prince Bruno change his mind about me? Did he tell them to bring me back ‘cause he was equally heartbroken? Did he carry out an investigation that proved my family’s innocence?

I entered the car to meet Uncle Austin seated at the driver’s seat. “You unfortunate bastard, make sure you are picked or die on the way.” He threatened.

Aunty Rosa opened the door to the front seat and entered. Soon we were on our way to the packhouse for me to be chosen or picked for what I didn’t know.

The drive to the packhouse took longer than necessary uncle Austin didn’t drive towards the packhouse, he took another direction and it took all the self-control and fear in me not to tell him that he was following the wrong direction.

We arrived at the packhouse after a very long ride. 

This place wasn’t our packhouse, the royal crimson packhouse was nothing compared to this. Was I brought here to be chosen as a maid?

Aunt Rosa would be out of her mind to spend so much money on me just to get me chosen as a maid in a foreign pack, but it wasn’t totally impossible.

The packhouse looked like nothing I had ever seen before, it wasn’t just paradise-like, it was heaven. 

This was a hundred times more beautiful than the packhouse in our pack. But why were we here?

Different people walked in with good-looking girls who looked pitiful like me. Aunty Rosa helped me out of the car when she noticed I was struggling and held me a little too carefully as I struggled to walk in the beautiful heels she got me.

“Make sure you are the price, else...” she threatened with clenched teeth.

Soon everyone was seated, I saw so many beautiful girls that I would have felt ugly if I didn’t look like what I saw in the mirror, 

I noticed people kept staring, then I realized that I stood out because I was the only one wearing a black dress and all eyes were on me. It made me cautious.

I still did not understand what was going on, there were choreographies and other things to entertain the guests, but I wasn’t entertained for one bit, rather I was curious as to why I was brought here instead of Aunty Rosa’s daughter, Freya.

Freya was twenty one and beautiful too, she knew how to do her makeup, dress well, walk in heels, and win any man over if she wanted to, so why was I here or did she successfully win Prince Bruno Erickson?

This wasn’t the Cinderella story I read, this was the opposite.

“Now it’s time for the reason we are here. The great alpha king of our prosperous pack, the dark lion pack and its environs, alpha Rockan Rhino will choose a bride today.” 

The master of ceremony declared and everyone cheered.

Alpha Rockan Rhino? The legendary alpha Rockan? The feared alpha Rockan Rhino? The faceless alpha Rockan Rhino?

At the sound of his name, I almost peed on my dress.

“Oh no,” I whispered under my breath.

It was a slaughterhouse. I should have known this was why they didn’t bring their precious daughter here to be the chosen one.

“Now, all the eligible girls will walk one after the other in a straight line to the alpha and he will pick the most suitable one or as many as he wishes to get as bride and mistresses.”

The girls got up and started walking to the front, but I still sat in fear and confusion. 

If only Bruno didn’t reject me.

“What are you still doing here? Get up and join them!” Uncle Austin almost yelled.

“And make sure you walk well, don’t go there and disgrace your cursed parents.” Aunt Rosa added.

I went to join the line at the back, struggling to stop myself from falling. I noticed a large number of the crowd laughing at me as I staggered to the stage where all the girls that walked normally weren’t chosen.

I didn’t know how it happened, but Sevyn screamed ‘mate’ in my head, I was confused and before I could put myself together, I missed a step and fell on stage.

I fell…. And the crowd started laughing and making fun of me.

I felt too embarrassed to get up as fear of what would happen enveloped me.

“Mate!” I heard the most masculine voice in the world call and I looked up to see who it was. 

A godlike heavenly creature coming towards me.

“It’s Prince Tyris.” The crowd cheered.

“Her.” A breathtaking bossy voice reverberated through the crowd and everyone fell silent. I looked up to see a masked man seated on the throne.

Even though he was in a seated position and masked, his dominance was seen and felt. 

Alpha Rockan?

“She’s my mate.” 

Confusion enveloped me as the crowd gasped in horror. 

This was really the end for me.