Contractual Marriage with My Alpha Mate

Chapter 4 Making sacrifices

Winter quickly hid behind a bush, staying out of sight. She hadn’t seen them yet, but she could hear everything they were saying.

“What are you talking about? What happened to you?” Amelia asked, her voice sounding broken. “I’ve been looking forward today for years, but you turned me down that way? I am your mate, Julian!”

“Our parents have arranged a marriage between us,” Julian told her. “They want me to break my bond with you and marry Winter instead.”

“But you won’t do that, right?” Amelia asked, her voice hopeful.

Winter held her breath as she waited to hear Julian’s reply. Julian had vehemently refused his parent’s order. Why was she hoping that he would tell Amelia that yes, he would do as they asked?

“I’m sorry, Amelia, I have to do it,” Julian answered.

Julian’s voice was full of pain, which tugged Winter’s heart further. She could not stand to hear him sounding so disappointed.

“No, please don’t do this to me, Julian.” Amelia cried out, hugging him. “It’s ridiculous! How can they pull something like this just when you’ve found your mate? All along, you’ve been the perfect son, doing whatever was asked of you. So why would they want to ruin your life like this? Do they really care about you?”

Amelia was right, Julian had done everything right. He was so hurt that his parents would force him into a marriage he did not want. What could she do to make him feel better when he felt that this marriage would ruin his life?

“You are not actually thinking about comforting him, are you?” Scarlett asked.

“I just can’t bear seeing him in such pain,” Winter replied.

Scarlett hissed, unimpressed. “You are too good-tempered, I tell you. He has made it clear that he hates the idea of being married to you, and he clearly hates you. Why do you have to worry about him? You should treat him the same way he is treating you.”

Winter sighed and said nothing. Sure, he did not like her. Winter wished she knew why, so she could fix it. But right now, she had to keep him from getting in trouble with his parents.

A sob sounded as Amelia started crying. “I knew it,” she sobbed, “my parents could never let me have anything good for myself. They have always looked down on me since I arrived at the pack because of my lowly status. Me getting mated to you instead of their real daughter would be like an insult to them.”

“What the fu*k is she going on about?” Scarlett seethed.

“Hey, it’s alright, please stop crying,” Julian said while cupping her face in his hands, his voice soothing as he tried to calm Amelia. “It’ll be okay, you’ll find someone deserve you.”

“No,” Amelia said, sniffing. “You don’t understand. Werewolves like me can’t have whatever we want. If only I was a real Alpha wolf like Winter, I wouldn’t be bullied all the time, and they would have no problem with me being mated to you. Winter has always taken everything I’ve ever wanted from me, and I can’t do anything to protect myself. Now she wanted to steal you too. Julian, I love you so much, I can’t live without you.”

“I swear she won’t be able to do that,” Julian asserted. “Look at me, Amelia, look at me. I’m promising you now that I won’t have anyone else but you. I won’t leave you, I promise.”

Winter’s heart pained at Julian’s words. He sounded so certain as he made the promise to Amelia. It was as if he was willing to sacrifice everything, including his inheritance, so he could be with her.

“Wow,” Scarlett whispered. “I don’t know what to say. She’s accusing you of all the things she does to you. She has a far much better life at our pack than you do, and your parents are always treating her better. You are the one who has suffered since she showed up. How can she be so shameless and tell such lies? And how can he be so stupid, believing her every word?”

“He doesn’t know any better,” Winter defended Julian. He loves Amelia, so, of course, he would trust Amelia’s words.

She did not know what to think. When Luna Astrid asked her to go after Julian, she had hoped to get through to him in some way. But after hearing all the promises he was making to Amelia, she wasn’t so sure. If he was willing to sacrifice everything for her adopted sister, how could she convince him to do as his parents wanted? Was he really so in love with Amelia?

It must be because of the mate link between them, she told herself. Because of that, he would naturally fight against anything and anyone who attempted to separate him from Amelia.

Keeping that in mind, she decided to not take any of it personally. She would do as Luna Astrid instructed and try to get him to go back.

She coughed as she stepped out from behind the bushes and walked towards the direction of the voices. She finally saw them, and they both turned to look at her when she showed up. Julian levelled a cold glare at her, silently daring her to take another step forward.

Tears were streaking down Amelia’s face. When she saw Winter, she stepped behind Julian, holding onto his arm as if she was scared Winter would hurt her.

“What are you doing here?” Julian asked Winter. “What do you want?”

“You parents sent me to ask you to come back,” she replied.

Julian scoffed. “Is that so?” He took a step towards her, his aura growing more intimidating the closer he got. “Don’t think I don’t know you are in cahoots with them. You know that your sister is my mate, and that’s what you want to take away from her, right? Haven’t you taken enough?”

“Tell him she is a lying bit*h!” Scarlett encouraged.

Winter’s heart stung, but she did not let Julian’s cold words get to her. She knew he wouldn’t believe her if she called Amelia a liar, so Scarlett’s suggestion wouldn't work. But that didn’t mean she would just let him assume the worst about her.

“This union has nothing to do with me,” she said, looking him straight in the eyes. “I also found out about it the same time that you did. If you don’t want it to happen, you should come back with me and deal with it.”

Julian raised his brow. “I have to give it to you, you are quite a good actor. The perpetrator, acting like the victim. This act might have worked for you before, but it won’t this time, I promise.”

Winter swallowed and held her ground. “Like I said, if you want to solve this, you should come back to the packhouse.”

With that, she turned and walked back the way she came. She tried to ignore the pain in her heart, but it was futile. How could she not feel anything when the man she loved so much looked at her and talked to her with so much loathing?

Her parents might not like it, but she decided that the best thing to do was to refuse the arranged marriage. It was the only way to help Julian, and she was willing to risk their anger to do it.