Page 25 of Escaping Wildfire

“Are Annie and Rodrigo still in the cells?”

“Yes. They are keeping Rodrigo sedated. Annie is beside herself, but at least they are keeping us all together. What about you?”

“They put me in a room upstairs, and the girls and twins are each sharing, but they let us see each other today. They also fed us a decent lunch.”

Before we could say more, the door opened, and in walked Alpha Marek. He was followed by a tall blonde man who looked to be in his early twenties. He was followed by a girl who looked about my age with long blonde hair and dark blue eyes. Her eyes had the same sad look that Nora’s eyes held.

“You’re all here, wonderful. Dinner will be served soon, but for now, let me make sure everyone here is acquainted.” He walked over to me and my parents with the two others in tow. “My son and pack heir Larkin Novak, and my daughter Aurora Novak.” They both gave us a slight nod in greeting but neither offered their hand. Alpha Marek then turned to his children as he gestured toward my parents. “Beta Tomás Navar, and his mate Elena.” My parents offered the same head nod as the others.

Alpha Marek then walked over to me slowly and picked up my hand in his. The feel of his hand on mine made my skin crawl. His skin was warm, and he had a firm grip, but the warmth was in direct contrast to his cold eyes. “And this lovely young woman here is their daughter, Gema Navar.”

The door opened once more to reveal two maids bringing up the dinner plates. “Ahh, the food has arrived. Come, let’s sit, we have much to celebrate today.” Alpha Marek put my arm through his and led me over to the dining table. He pulled out a chair for me and motioned for me to sit. Then, he tucked my chair in for me in a gentlemanly way as I sat down. “Larkin, come sit by your lovely fiancée.” Fiancée? Did he just call me his son’s fiancée?

I looked over at my parents, and my dad looked down as he swallowed hard while my mother’s face went completely white.

“As I said, we have lots to celebrate. The first being Wildfire’s victory over Cobalt Falls, and the second being my son’s engagement to this lovely young woman.” He looked my way and winked at me. His son, however, gave no indication of how he was feeling.

Alpha Marek turned to one of the maids. “Bring the champagne.” The maids started pouring the glasses and passing them out to us. “To the happy couple.” He raised his glass in a toast to us and waited for us all to also raise our glasses before nodding his head towards us and taking a big drink. His son and my parents followed suit, even if they did so with grim faces, and Alpha Marek’s daughter took just a tiny drink. Alpha Marek looked my way, and I also took just a sip before setting my glass down.

I looked over at my mother, but her eyes were once again downcast, my father reached his hand toward hers, but she removed her hand from the table before he could touch her. Why was my mom upset with my dad?

As we started to eat, Alpha Marek started talking again. “Beta Tomás and I have discussed things at length, and we’ve agreed that we should have a fall wedding. I was thinking October, on the night of the full moon. That gives us a little over three months to plan everything.” Beta Tomás? He discussed this with my father. But how was that even possible? My mind was reeling from what Alpha Marek had just said. Is that why my mom is so upset with my dad…because he agreed to marry me off to Alpha Marek’s son? He wouldn’t…would he?

“We’ll have the wedding right here at Wildfire, so we don’t have to worry about getting a venue. I’ve already made an appointment with a dressmaker who agreed to come here for an appointment tomorrow. My daughter will be joining you, and you can have your friends and mother there if you like. I know how important dress shopping is for girls. Unfortunately, my Luna has been unwell, so she was unable to come tonight and won’t be able to accompany you at tomorrow’s dress appointment.” I noticed Aurora shifted beside me uncomfortably at the mention of her mother. Larkin, on the other hand, betrayed none of his feelings as he sat there silently.

I could no longer stomach the food on my plate. The longer this conversation went, the heavier the food became in my stomach. How could my parents just sit there through all of this? How was everyone else so calm about this?

I looked at my dad, and he finally made eye contact with me and seemed to be pleading with me to just accept that this was my fate now. How can this be happening?

Alpha Marek continued discussing his plans. “I know 18th birthday parties are important, and Beta Tomás said your pack had already been working on a big party for you. We can still have a party for you, but I think it would be a good opportunity for an engagement party. We can kill two birds with one stone and announce you as our future Luna. Does that sound good to you?” He looked at me for an answer as he patted his son on the shoulder, but I didn’t miss how tightly he clamped his hand around his son as if to keep him from saying anything. Alpha Marek was smiling on the outside, but I could see the warning in his eyes. If any of us went against him, there would be consequences.

11 The Dress

GEMA

When dinner ended, Nora met me at the door to escort me back to my room. I was actually glad to be led away from them all as I could not bear to be in that room any longer. Alpha Marek continued to put on a facade of joviality throughout the entire meal as his son and daughter remained stoically by his side. My parents, on the other hand, were the picture of slowly simmering marital discord, with my mother discreetly avoiding my father’s touch as he avoided making eye contact with either of us.

I didn’t know whether I should be sad, scared, or angry. In truth, I felt a mixture of these emotions, with the rage I felt towards my father and Alpha Marek winning out.

As soon as I heard Nora click the lock on my door, I ripped off this costume of a dress and kicked off my shoes, picking them up individually to throw against the wall. I thought it would make me feel better to throw them, but all it did was make me realize how futile fighting any of this was. I ended up curled up on the loveseat in my underwear, crying my rage out.

I woke up the next morning still on the couch. There was no clock in the room, but it seemed to be quite early as Nora had yet to appear. I stretched out my sore muscles and went to the bathroom. I was a wreck, my previously curled hair was a rat’s nest while the makeup Nora had so expertly applied was in smudges and trails across my cheeks, betraying my tears from the previous night.

I turned on the shower and stripped off the rest of my clothes. I made the water as hot as it would go, hoping the heat would burn away the crap from the last two days, but it didn’t help. I was once again crying in this shower, hoping the tears would help me feel better.

I walked out of the bathroom at the same time that Nora walked in with a tray of breakfast food.

“I’ve brought you breakfast, Miss.”

“Thank you, but you really must stop calling me ‘Miss’. We’re the same age.”

She looked down at her shoes. “It’s Alpha’s orders, I must address everyone by a title.”

I simply nodded back, understanding dawning on me that she did it to not get in trouble with her Alpha. I wonder what punishments the pack members here get when they don’t follow Alpha’s orders.

“Alpha Marek would like to see you in his office when you finish your breakfast, then I am to take you to the den for your dress appointment. I’ll set out some clothes for you while you eat.”

I ate in silence and put on the sundress and sandals Nora laid out for me to wear. Before long, I was once again on my way to the man who had destroyed my entire world.