2 - Charming The Alpha

[Rosie’s POV]

“There's no way I'm jumping out of this window to escape, right?” My eyes darted to the only exit in my room.

“How about making yourself look as ugly as possible?” Liliana, my wolf, suddenly came up with a hilarious idea. “Whoever that Alpha is, he must be eyeing your face. If he sees that the Luna he's arranged with has an ugly face, he'll cancel it!”

“Hey. You're smart,” I said with a laugh. “Why didn't you think of that earlier?”

The door to my room was forced open, creating a commotion. On the first floor, my father sat waiting with a Beta with a dragon tattoo on his hand. 

My father's hopes and pride were dashed instantly in front of his daughter who humiliated him with a face full of black spots. Using watercolor ink, I crossed out my face with my painting skills, making me look as ugly as possible.

“Rosie! What are you doing!?” my father snapped. His hand immediately pulled me inside. “Change your clothes now! Are you going to embarrass the only Alpha who wants to be with you!?”

“Gabriel.” The tattooed Beta had a very disappointed expression, having seen the Luna he was waiting for turn out to be so ugly. “Do you think my lord, Alpha Charles, would accept something like this? We paid dearly for the damage to your pack.”

Wait. What did he say just now? Alpha Charles? Paid? What was this all about?

“Father... Don't tell me you...” my voice stuttered. My father's expression was like a thief caught in the act. His silence let me know that the arranged marriage he had promised was a fake.

“Father... You sold me? To Alpha Charles? Don't you know who he is!?” My emotions were running high, the first time I'd ever yelled at my father.

“I’m sorry, Rosie.” My father suddenly fell at my feet. “This is all my fault. Your mother was supposed to serve the pack of Alpha Charles belongs. But she died before she could even fulfill her duty. And you were all I had.”

Cruel. So cruel.

So you sold your wife all this time? And now, you're selling me?

“I'm glad mom died,” I said. I held back the tears that were about to burst. “Because if I had seen her body being sold by you, her husband, I would have killed you.”

I felt regret after rejecting Beta Mike, my Mate, just because of this arranged marriage. If we had gotten married yesterday, I wouldn't have to be in this position.

What crazy would want to be a Alpha Charles’s servant? The last heir of the noble Alpha Vermilion, who lived millions of years after sucking all the luck out of the other packs.

The strongest, richest, most influential, and cruelest Alpha ever. Unlike me, Alpha Charles used his good looks to charm all of Luna, make them his Mate, and suck up her power. 

And I have to serve such a ruthless Alpha? For the rest of my life?

“Gabriel. We cannot take your daughter like this. My master only wants the best goods.” How casually that Beta referred to me as a farm animal. 

“Come back tomorrow morning, Beta. The second you arrive at our mansion, I'll make sure my daughter is the most precious gift for Alpha Charles' birthday celebration.”

My father's promise was never fulfilled. After the Beta left, I shut myself in my room. The knife was already in my hand. I thought it was better to die than to be a servant to that Alpha.

“Rosie! Stop it! Your mom won't like this!” Liliana snatched my consciousness away, just before I sliced my hand.

“But... What's the point? Dead or alive, it's the same in the Alpha's hands!” I said, already demoralized.

“No, it's not. You're wrong. I'll tell you one secret thing. I should have told you this when you were 20 years old, but that's okay. I'll tell you now.” Liliana's words made the knife in my hand fall to the floor.

“What... did you say?” I muttered, incredulous. “Mom was murdered? She didn't die because she gave birth to me, but because she was murdered?”

“This is a secret between me and your mom. I'm also your mother's wolf, remember? I'm the only one who knows. And I want you to find out who the killer is, Rosie. That's why you have to stay alive!”

Crash!

“Kyaaaaa!”

My body jerked at the sound of shouting from downstairs, along with the loud sound of things breaking.

My bad thoughts were already drifting everywhere. When I opened my bedroom door, at the bottom of the stairs, there was a large amount of fresh blood.

“Wait. It can't be... can it?” I muttered, trembling. “I saw it wrong, didn't I?”

“Rosie! Don't go down there! It's dangerous! Let's run away!” Liliana tried to stop me. But there was no way I was leaving them, right? On that first floor, there was my father!

“Father!” After descending the stairs, I saw my father's lifeless body on the floor. His stomach was full of stab wounds. No matter how you look at it, this was murder.

A massacre.

“Who—who could have done this?” I sobbed, hugging my father's cold body. “What happened? Who did this?”

Among the shattered pieces of our mansion lay two other equally injured bodies. Linda and Chandite. They had both been killed. Chandite's body was the most severely injured. As I tried to save them, her lips suddenly moved.

“...handsome.”

“What?” I said in shock. Chandite, his mouth full of blood, tried to say something with his remaining strength.

“That Alpha... so handsome,” she murmured, half-conscious. “His hair is black, his body is full of tattoos. I was stupid to fall for his good looks. What a fool.”

Chandite... was she talking about the Alpha who had killed her?

“Chandite! Hang in there, I'll take you to the doctor!” I screamed. But suddenly, our mansion was visited by a dozen golden horse-drawn carriages. From it, descended dozens of Alpha and Beta dressed all in black, swarming our mansion.

“No! What are you guys doing!? Don't touch my father!” I screeched as they lifted my father's body and carried it into the carriage.

Just as I was about to chase after them, I stopped in my tracks at the sight of a tall, bulky Alpha standing behind me out of nowhere.

I sure as hell nothing’s there! Since when has he been following me!?

“Rosie Mauvelous.” The Alpha said my name, so familiarly. Like I'd heard it somewhere.

“This is what you get for daring to run away from me,” he whispere, His cold fingers touched my ear. “Try to escape one more time, and you'll end up like your mom.”

'Rosie! That's him! That's the Alpha who killed your mom! It's him!' Liliana suddenly whispered after the Alpha spoke to me.

But there were only Alpha Charles’s subordinates who were going to pick me up. There were no other Alphas there. Who was Liliana referring to?

“Who are you-” I looked back and found that there was no one there.

'Wait. It couldn't have been a ghost, could it?' my body shuddered at the thought that I had been talking alone.

“Miss Rosie?” A Beta came to call me, his hand carrying a fur coat. “I am Hesse. From now on, I am your servant. I am instructed to make sure you get safely to the palace.”

“Servant?” I said, not understanding. “Sorry. You have the wrong person. I am the servant here. You don't need to bother escorting me.”

“My master's orders are never wrong, Miss,” he replied so politely. He had such a gentle demeanor, to treat me as a slave.