Three Alpha's, One selection (Ending reimagined)

Chapter 38

Flashback (Alicia POV)

I haven't seen much of Dilara. She had made sure to avoid me as best as she could. Things must have gotten really bad when they got back from her pack because she was too scared to be friends with me. Even after everything we shared. I am the only one she told she was pregnant and we schemed together to make sure that child would be saved from the influences of Rowan.

Then suddenly nothing. She didn’t even explain. Then I saw the marks on her arms. He had been chaining her up. That was bad enough until she admitted that he kept her in a cage. There was no measurement for the shock and disgust I felt as she admitted that. My heart yearned to help her, but she was right there wasn’t anything I could do about it. All I could do was respect her wishes.

If she thought that not spending time with me would spare her some anguish I was fine with it. It wasn’t long after that conversation I started hearing stories about her. I guess they had always been drifting around, but I never paid them any mind, but now I was curious. It was the only way I could get some news about her. It seemed that people went missing whenever it came to her, by people they meant guys.

Apparently, if you had a run-in with Dilara you just disappeared. I checked in on it and it was more than true. The guy that had helped her cross the border the one time -Anthony- his scholarship had been revoked and he was sent back home. That was only one of the cases. It seemed to be a warning to any male that dared to talk to her. It didn’t make her job very easy since she worked on a volunteer basis. No one wanted to volunteer to help her and as time went on she only asked Birke and Josh to help.

He even threatened a young teenager who had helped her out a couple of times. The boy didn’t leave his house for an entire week, because he was so afraid Rowan would catch up to him.

This isn’t how a pack should be run. He forces allegiance through fear instead of respect. I am sure one day it will be his downfall. Who would want to stick their neck out for someone that they don’t respect or admire? Joshua is loyal to Rowan, but even he doesn’t understand or appreciate the way Rowan has been acting. None of the top pack management seemed to get along anymore.

Joshua, Birke and Rowan used to be really close. They did everything together, but the longer Dilara stayed the worse it got. Birke hates Dilara for taking up Rowan's time and clouding his judgement which irritates Rowan and Joshua hates how Rowan treats Dilara which irritates Rowan. He’d rather write them off socially than deal with their issues or face reality.

Which is why I was surprised when Aceline asked me out for lunch. When I got there I saw Kelli sitting there looking incredibly uncomfortable. I took the seat next to her. We were both sitting opposite Aceline. She ordered a bottle of champagne for the table and six glasses. Then she went into a rant about how we were her people. Our positions in relation to high-ranking members of the pack meant we were going to play a big role in her life since I was the beta female and Kelli was Joshua’s sister and would be standing in until Birke got a mate.

She clearly didn’t know about the current situation between the three of them. I was about to tell her when she dropped the bombshell that we were her bridesmaids. I forgot to form words. I couldn’t just turn her down so I sat there in silence until Dilara showed up. She told us that Dilara would be her maid of honour since she was already planning the wedding and how it only made sense. It was a bunch of bullshit, she was doing this to torture her.

I wasn’t fine with it, but Dilara didn’t seem to care at all. The other bridesmaid that showed up was one of her friends. It was beyond awkward. The fiance, the mistress, the two strangers and her friend sipping champagne in the middle of the day. It sound like the beginning of a bad joke

Aceline didn’t even care about the wedding. She left everything to Dilara. The only thing she cared about was her wedding dress, which she made Dilara try on as well. Their body types are so different, Dilara is tiny and Aceline is a skinny yet curvy girl. She tried baiting Dilara rubbing it in her face so that Rowan would never see her in a wedding dress, to which she just answered to yeah, but Sander will.

It was gutsy since I knew she wasn’t allowed to talk about him. Aceline’s face dropped for a moment, but then she got a cunning smile on her face and dropped it completely. Which is odd for her since I haven’t seen her drop anything except her underwear.

Most of the time Dilara wasn’t at the get together’s which I was grateful for. It was at the last get-together that the s**t hit the fan completely. I was particularly annoyed with Aceline and wished the wedding would just be over already as I didn’t have the strength to deal with her anymore. She was just always bad-mouthing Dilara and depicting her as such a man-stealing w***e, her words not mine. I couldn’t help it and finally snapped. I shouldn’t have, but I did.

“She is so pathetic. Latching onto someone who doesn’t even want her. She is constantly begging him for attention and that is why she lashes out as she does. She knows if she misbehaves he will have to punish her and give her the attention she wants. It is so childish!” She was saying to her friend who was just nodding in agreement. She didn't have one opinion of her own, she was a follower who hoped her friendship with Aceline would get her a higher placement in the pack hierarchy.

“You are the only one that is pathetic here. How deluded could you get? She doesn’t need to beg for his attention when he is willing to give it. He chooses to be with her and by the lack of his presence at most of these ridiculous events you keep making up I know it is true. It is obvious he prefers her over you. You are just a consolation prize. Don’t even pretend like you don’t know if she was willing he would choose her.” Halfway through Kelli had tried to get me to stay quiet, but I couldn’t. Not even for a second longer.

“The only one here that is deluded is you!” She shrieked at me. This had only made me laugh. She looked like she would throw a fit. The fact that I didn’t believe her made her angry, angry enough that she snapped and spilt the beans.

“He is going to make me his Luna, not her! He asked me to marry him and not her! He is going to kill her after the wedding. It is my wedding present. He is done with her. He just wants to force her to watch the wedding so that the last bit of self she is clutching to so desperately finally breaks and then he will kill her. She is stupid to think he would let her go. She believes that she will have some fairytale ending with that other guy, but Rowan doesn’t want her to ever be happy. Death is the only way to ensure that. So do you still think I am deluded? He picked me. He will always choose me over her!”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and I knew what she was saying was the truth. It is the only thing that makes sense, but not for the reasons she is claiming. He was going to kill her because if he couldn’t have her no one else could. Kelli was completely pale sitting next to me. The rest of the stupid tea party was a blank. I couldn’t focus on any of the idiotic crap she was talking about. The tea was supposed to be about how we would walk in at her wedding. I just hoped that Kelli was paying attention.

When we could finally leave I rushed over to Dilara’s cottage hoping she was there. I slammed my hand against the door. It almost seemed like it would break into two, the cottage being very old and nearly unlivable in my opinion. The door swung open to reveal a tired girl. She tried to mask it, but I knew her. I saw past all the masks she wore in public. It’s unfair she is barely even 21 and this is her life. I could see just how broken she was.

”Alicia, what are you doing here? I have a lot of things to do and Rowan can show up at any moment.” I saw just how desperate she was for me to leave. I also knew she wouldn’t invite me in.

“Can we go for a walk? I just have something to tell you and then I will leave you to your plans.” I suggested knowing she would take me up on a walk rather than letting me in and having to explain why my scent was lingering inside the house.

”Fine, but make it quick I really don’t have the time.” She said stepping out of the cottage and closing the door behind her. I smiled at her as we walked into the forest in silence. I didn’t know how to say this so I just kept quiet until I thought we were far enough from the pack grounds.

“Rowan is going to kill you. He isn’t going to let you leave. Aceline let it slip today.” I saw a moment of realization on her face and then there was nothing. I started laughing.

“You already knew didn’t you?” I shook my head in disbelief. I can’t believe she knew and hasn’t done anything about it.

“I suspected. He has hinted about it before, but I wasn’t sure. Rowan is an awful person, but I don’t know if he is capable of murder, especially not his mate. I guess I was hoping that the little humanity he has would win out at the moment or that his wolf becomes so obsessed that he doesn’t allow Rowan to do it.” I was amazed at how calm she was because I wanted to freak out. I was on the verge of bursting out in tears and begging her to do something.

“I can’t believe you are putting your faith in the idea that he has humanity left in him. After all that he has done how can you believe that!” She sighed looking at me like I was missing something.

“What do you want me to do Alicia? He has commanded me not to leave. The one time I tried I almost got someone killed. When I got back from my pack I pushed him too far and he felt like I wanted to leave. He wiped me, you should remember since you were the one to find me. He doesn’t even leave me alone long enough to come up with a plan or even try to run. Betting on his humanity is all I have.” I knew it as soon as she said it just like I had with Aceline. It was the truth, there wasn’t anything she could do.

End of flashback

Alpha Aedion Michailidis POV

This is the last place I wanted to be, but I have been informed by so many people just how important this event is. I don’t understand it. It isn’t like we can trust one another so why spend time together faking niceties? They hate me a lot more than they hate each other. It will be a very uncomfortable weekend. Sighing I got out of the car. It had been a long drive listening to my younger sister nagging me. I dropped her off in town. Her presence at the welcoming could cause a bit of commotion.

I'd rather not deal with any conflict right off the bat of this event We started to make our way over to the pack house when I saw her, Dilara. The girl I know far too much about especially since I've never met her. She was standing there greeting people. She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. She rocked my entire soul. The closer we got the more I was affected by her. All I knew was that everything I was told hadn't been overexaggerating. The Alpha she had been talking to was being escorted away.

She frowned as I stopped in front of her. I was captivated by her blue eyes. They dimmed all the eyes I’ve looked in before. Her beauty was really something to behold. It was at that moment that she held my heart.

"I am very sorry Alpha, but I don't recall your name or pack." She must have everyone's information memorised. She hasn't heard about me. It gives me a clean slate. I can impress her with my actions now instead of my actions of the past.

"Alpha Aedion Michailidis," I said taking her hand in mine, placing a soft kiss on it as I watched her reaction carefully. My charm is hard to avoid. I expected a blush to tint her cheeks, but all I saw was fear. She ripped her hand out of mine before quickly glancing around. She found her composure again quickly, but I saw it, she was still terrified.

As our eyes met and she gave me that fake smile I saw it in those beautiful blue eyes of hers, I saw a person that was broken. I knew she would be after everything that I heard about her. My sister is my source, although my information might be outdated as she was kicked out of the university after Rowan brought in a new law that scholarship students had to finish their degree in at least five years.

She had been here awhile. She was after all my spy. She fed me intel from inside. We are a conquering pack. We conquer weak packs and make them better. She used to find them for us by listening for any pack weaknesses while pretending to be a student here. That’s how we knew that Greenlands was weak since they didn’t have an heir. We had to attack before Dilara took over with Sanders and made them stronger.

My sister has never gotten attached to anyone she was always very serious about her role in all of this, but this girl she got under her hard skin and made her feel sympathy for her. Enough sympathy that she asked me for help. Something she has never done before. Now after meeting DIlara, I do not care about anything else. I intend to make her mine and steal her right from under Rowan's control.