The Alpha's Unwanted Bride

05 It’s Been Moved Up

Elsa

"Alpha Adam said you confronted him yesterday," my father said in response to my question, and that was all the explanation I needed.

I knew exactly what Alpha Adam was doing. I must have angered him, and now he was making sure I paid for it by rushing the wedding.

He probably wanted to deal with me then and there but held back, deciding instead to trap me in this nightmare as quickly as possible.

"Get up, dear. Ms. Alison is here to help you get ready for the wedding," my father said softly, offering his hand to help me stand.

I felt a wave of resistance rise inside me. The last thing I wanted was to look pretty for this wedding. I didn’t care at all. If it were up to me, I would have walked down the aisle in a funeral gown just to show Alpha Adam how much I despised him. But I knew my father wouldn’t let that happen.

I dragged myself to the bathroom and took a long, hot shower, letting the water mix with my tears. It felt like I was washing away the last remnants of my life as I knew it.

This was the final morning I would spend in my father’s house, and the realisation hit me hard. Claire, my wolf, had been right all along—we shouldn’t have confronted Alpha Adam. But in my hurt and anger, I thought maybe, just maybe, if he saw me, he would change his mind. Instead, my actions had only sped up the inevitable, and now I was paying the price.

I stayed under the water until it turned cold, hoping to numb the pain, but it only made me feel more hollow. Eventually, I had no choice but to leave the bathroom and face what was coming.

Ms. Alison was already waiting for me, ready to begin her work. She was a kind woman, but I couldn’t find it in myself to care about the beauty treatments she was preparing. We had only three hours until the wedding, and at the rate she was going, I doubted we’d even be ready on time.

"You need to cheer up, darling," Ms. Alison said as she worked on my nails, her voice gentle and encouraging. But I couldn’t bring myself to respond. It was easy for her to say—I was the one being forced to marry a man I didn’t love, a man who didn’t love me. I was only nineteen, and my life was being torn away from me, replaced with a future I didn’t want.

I sat there in silence, my heart heavy with grief and anger, as she continued her work. The wedding loomed closer with every passing minute, and all I could feel was the deep, unrelenting dread of what was to come.

"You know, it might end well," Ms. Alison said softly, snapping me out of my spiralling thoughts.

"Easy for you to say," I replied, unable to hide the bitterness in my voice. But when I looked at her, I saw her smile falter, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"My heart goes out to you, Elsa," she said, her voice trembling with emotion.

"We all know you’re doing this to keep us safe, to ensure we don’t get killed. I wish with all my heart that there was another way, but he insisted. Everyone is heartbroken, Elsa. We all wish none of this had happened. If only our alpha hadn’t antagonised and plotted against Alpha Adam, our pack might still be intact."

She paused, taking a shaky breath before continuing. "My mate died in that fight before he could even claim me. I’m forty years old, Elsa, and my life will never know love unless fate grants me a second chance. I understand your pain." Her words hit me hard, and I felt the tears I had been trying so hard to hold back begin to well up in my eyes.

"It’s okay, darling," she said, her voice full of compassion. "You can cry. It’s just us here." Her kindness broke through the walls I had been trying to keep up, and I collapsed into tears, letting all the pain and sorrow pour out.

Time seemed to blur as I cried, and by the time I had finally calmed down, I felt numb, drained of all emotion.

Ms. Alison finished preparing me, but I refused to look at myself in the mirror. She pleaded with me to take a look, to see the woman she had worked so hard to make presentable for this day, but I couldn’t do it.

I didn’t want to see the reflection of a bride who was being forced into a life she didn’t want. Eventually, she gave up and quietly excused herself, leaving me alone in the room.

A short while later, my father came in to take me to the damaged hall where the wedding would be held. I could see the sadness in his eyes, the guilt and pain that mirrored my own. He didn’t say anything, just offered his arm, and I took it, knowing that this was the last time I would walk beside him as his little girl.

We arrived at the venue at four in the evening. The scene that greeted us was sombre.

Most of the attendees were members of my pack, and many of them were in tears, their grief palpable in the air.

Alpha Adam’s security team stood around, their presence a constant reminder of the power he held over all of us.

The venue itself looked hastily arranged, as if thrown together at the last minute. Their effort could not conceal the damage caused by the battle. The music was played from a simple speaker, and the whole affair felt cold and impersonal.

So many things were off, but I found I didn’t care. This wasn’t a fairytale wedding; it was a forced union, a symbol of everything I had lost.

As I stood there, facing the reality of what was about to happen, I felt a hollow emptiness inside me. The life I had dreamed of was gone, replaced by this bleak future. And as I took a deep breath and prepared to walk down the makeshift aisle, all I could think about was how unfair it all was.