Chapter 3 The agreement
1519 Words
The group left the venue and went back to the Atlas Pack’s packhouse. The brothers were agitated, annoyed at having to leave the party and their newly found mate. Their parents refused to say why they had asked them to leave until they got to the house.
It was the same case with Winter’s parents. She asked what it was about and why Amelia did not come with them, and they told her to wait and she would find out soon.
It wasn’t until they were all sitting in the living room of the packhouse that Alpha Hurbert told his sons, “The three of you cannot claim Amelia as your mate, since one of you has to marry Winter.”
The three exchanged confused glances, while Winter looked at Atlas’s Alpha with shock. What did he mean?
Blue chuckled. “Come on, Dad, that can’t be true.” His tone indicated he thought his father was joking, and he was waiting for the punchline.
But why would the Alpha of the Atlas Pack joke about something like that? Winter wondered. Also, looking at her parents, she saw that they were not surprised. Whatever this was, it was an agreement among them.
“Exactly what I’ve said,” Hurbert said. “We have discussed this, and we’ve come to an agreement with the Ivory Pack.”
Julian shot to his feet and shook his head. “When exactly did you come to this agreement? How can you not consult us about such a big decision?”
“Consult you?” Hurbert asked, unfazed by his sons’ reactions. “We are your parents and elders, in case you forgot. We have experience and we know what’s good for you and the pack, and we do not need your opinions. You can do whatever you want when you become Alpha, but right now, you do what we say.”
“That’s bullsh*t!” Arthur snapped.
“Watch your language,” their mother warned.
“We just found out Amelia is our mate, not this girl!” Arthur exclaimed, pointing at Winter without looking at her. “As Alpha and Luna of this pack, shouldn’t you be more aware of the importance of the mate bond? How can you suggest that we ignore that and go for someone else? It makes no sense!”
“Breaking the mate bond will not do much damage to you,” Luna Astrid said. “You are strong enough to overcome whatever happens, so that’s not a big concern. What’s more important is our alliance with the Ivory Pack, which we need. Winter, unlike Amelia, is the true daughter of the Ivory Pack, so she must become the Luna!”
Arthur turned sharply to Winter and walked over to where she was sitting. His hazel eyes blazed with anger and hate as he glared down at her. “Was this your idea?”
“Wh-what?” Winter stuttered, taken aback by his sudden onslaught. She was also just finding out about this!
Arthur scoffed and pointed an accusing finger at her. “I know it was your request. You want to ruin things for Amelia, so you made them do this. Let me tell you, none of us wants to be with someone like you and–”
“Arthur!” Hurbert bellowed, rising from his seat at the same time as Astrid. The two rushed over, and Hurbert pulled his son away. “Stop it! Talk to her like that again and you’ll be kicked out of this pack!”
The room was engulfed in silence as his words registered. It shocked the triplets, who could not understand why their parents liked Winter so much to the extent of threatening to disown one of them in her defence.
Astrid sighed and sat down next to Winter. “I’m so sorry, dear. Please don’t mind them, they are just surprised.”
Winter wished that was it, but she knew better. The brothers had never liked her, and she knew to them, being forced to marry her was like being sentenced to hell. They had always preferred Amelia, and now that she was their mate, why would they reject Amelia and settle for her?
Winter looked at her parents, to see whether they could be having second thoughts. They always loved and cared about Amelia, how could they bear to see her suffer from being dumped?
However, she gulped as her mother’s stern eyes burned into her, as if silently warning her not to ruin things. Her heart beat painfully. Her parents had not even considered Amelia’s feeling, let alone that they would allow her to decline. Her fate was in their hands, and there was nothing she could do.
“We’d love it if Julian became our son-in-law,” her mother told the Winthrops. “They would make a good couple.”
“You are right,” Astrid agreed, “I’m sure Winter is the best Luna for my son. It’s for the good of both our packs.”
“Mom, stop daydreaming! I DECLINE!” Julian snapped at his mother, rising to his feet.
Winter swallowed and dared to look at Julian. His face was tense and darkened by anger. As the most obedient son among the triplets, he seldom went against his parents on the spot.
The arranged marriage must hurt him to his core, Winter thought and joined Julian on her feet.
Even if she had a crush on Julian, she would not want to get into an unhappy relationship where he loathed her and blamed her for being separated from his mate.
“Maybe this is not a good idea,” Winter said, hoping there was a chance the two pairs of parents could reconsider.
“That’s kind of you,” Astrid said, “but you are a smart girl, and I’m sure you understand why we are doing this.”
Winter frowned. “But they are mated to Amelia. I cannot just break them up.”
"Cut the act!” Julian blurted, gazing at Winter in anger. “I would never fall for you, even if I had to marry you. So don’t put on an act."
Winter shook her head repeatedly. Why's she such a sneaky girl in his eyes?
“No, I’d never thought of that,” Winter replied.
Although all he showed was disgust and anger, she forced herself to look at him. She wanted to tell him that she would always love him whether he would be with her or not. She’d just look at him from a distance as before.
But before she let it out, Julian's face changed suddenly and he looked at his brothers.
“Amelia! She has fainted,” Julian blurted out, “I have to go.”
Winter also wanted to go with Julian, but her mother gave her a sharp look and stopped her via mindlink, warning that Amelia didn't want to see her around.
She had to stay put and watched Julian walk out of the room without waiting for his parents’ response. She knew it must be the mate link between him and Amelia that made him sense that something was wrong with her.
Winter could not help feeling envious of the connection between them. If only she was the one linked to him like that, so that he could always sense how depressed she was. If it made him show a teensy bit of care for her, she would faint or worse.
But the heartbreak was that he desperately ran to Amelia, his mate.
“You should go get him,” Astrid said to Winter, effectively bringing everybody’s attention to her.
“Me?” she asked in uncertainty. She was about the last person Julian wanted to see or even talk to at that moment, what made them think she could make him come back?
“Yes,” Astrid confirmed. “Julian has to forget about Amelia and focus on you, his Luna, now. The two of you are going to run this pack together in the future, and this could be a good opportunity to talk. The earlier you get used to each other, the better. It will be a good start if you can convince him to come back.”
Winter did not think she could sway Julian at all, but she was worried about him. As the future Alpha of the Atlas Pack, he could not afford to throw tantrums and rebel whenever he wished. She did not want this to ruin his relationship with his parents, or worse, disinherit him.
“Alright, I’ll give it a try,” she said, rising to her feet.
She wasn't trying to twist the arm of Julian into accepting her. She would flat out reject this arranged marriage. She was certain there had to be another way to get the alliance off the ground.
But as soon as she arrived at the garden, she heard Julian.
“Amelia, I’m so sorry, I have to reject you and accept Winter as my mate.”
Winter was stunned. Julian? WHY?
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