Contractual Marriage with My Alpha Mate

Chapter 5 Ultimatum

To Winter’s relief, Julian came after her, and the two of them went back to the packhouse. Their parents and Blue and Arthur were still waiting for them.

Julian’s parents were angry at him, but not even the fire in their eyes cowered him. As soon as he remembered the pain in Amelia’s voice and all the suffering she had gone through, he became more determined to fight against the arrangement.

“How dare you walk out on us?” Alpha Hurbert demanded as he faced his son. “Do you think this is child’s play? Do you think your mother and I are fools who don’t know how to make the best decisions for the pack?”

“I’m sure he has come to his senses,” Luna Astrid said, walking forward. “Right, Julian? I understand that this could be a shock–”

“I don’t want this marriage,” Julian said, interrupting his mother. “Amelia is my mate, and she’s the one I want.”

Hurbert’s jaw tensed as the anger in his eyes flamed anew. “It seems that you’ve forgotten your responsibility as the eldest son of this family,” he said, his tone sharp. “You think you are more important than this pack, and that’s where you are wrong, young man. I don’t want to see such a capricious heir in my house!”

“Darling,” Astrid said, addressing Julian, taking a calmer approach than her mate. “I don’t know why you are so against marrying Winter. She is such a good girl, and you two would make such a good pair. Why don’t you drop the prejudice against her and try to get along?”

“Oh?” Julian challenged his mother. “How do you know what kind of person is she? Why do you trust her so much after only meeting her once?”

Astrid c****d her head. “Honey, what are you–”

“Amelia is a good girl too,” Julian said. “Even better, she is my fated mate. She is the one the moon goddess made for me and my brothers. Who can be a better partner for me?”

“Look, if you just bothered to get to know her, you’d realise this is not such a bad idea,” Astrid said.

“What do you know about her that makes you think she is good for me, or for our pack? Just because someone is an Alpha’s daughter doesn’t mean she has what it takes to be a good Luna. Amelia, on the other hand, is someone I know deeply and whose personality I trust.”

“You may not see it now, but in the future, you will realise mating with Winter is the best decision for our two packs. Like any other Alpha, you have to make sacrifices for the pack instead of chasing your selfish needs.” Astrid sighed and looked at the Harts, then at her mate.

“This is not up for discussion,” Hurbert said, Looking at Julian, “You have two choices, and you better believe I’m not bluffing. You can either choose to give up your inheritance as my eldest son, or you can marry Winter Hart. Your choice.”

The room fell into a long silence as father and son faced each other. Julian’s jaw worked as he considered his father’s words. He knew his father was serious. If he refused the marriage, he would take away everything from him and strip him of his title as the heir of the Atlas Pack. His eyes moved from his father to his brothers, who were watching with frustrated expressions. From there, he switched his gaze to Winter.

Turning, he walked up to her. “Is this what you want?” he asked her. “Do you want to marry me?”

He had made it more than clear that he did not wish to get married to her. If she was smart, if she had any sense of self respect, she would say no. If she refused, it would be more difficult for their parents to force this issue.

Winter swallowed as she looked into Julian’s stormy blue eyes. Did she want to marry him? Of course, yes! She would love to marry him. It was what she wanted to tell him, from the depth of her heart.

But she knew she couldn’t. He hated her. If she supported his parents, she would be helping them make him miserable. She needed to support him, so that it wouldn’t all be his fault. If she was the one who refused, his father couldn’t strip him of his title as his heir, right?

She took a deep breath and turned towards Alpha Hurbert and Luna Astrid. “I don’t want this either,” she said courageously. “Let us break the engagement.”

“What nonsense is this?” Alpha Sullivan, Winter’s father, demanded. “Who gave you the right to decline the arrangement?”

Winter turned to her father with fearful eyes. “I’m sorry, I just–”

She was cut short when her father drew his hand back and slapped her on the face, causing her head to jerk back. Tears burned in her eyes as her cheek stung in pain.

“How dare you talk back to me,” he seethed. “You cannot even take responsibility for your pack, what kind of daughter are you? Is that how an Alpha’s daughter should behave?”

Winter’s lips trembled as she fought back sobs. But she could barely hold back her tears as the pain and humiliation overwhelmed her. She had always done her best to avoid her parents’ wrath. Now, she was getting slapped in front of the Winthrops.

“You should be grateful for the opportunity we are giving you,” her father spat. “How dare you throw it back in our faces? Is this how we raised you, to be a selfish brat?”

Winter shook her head, her eyes stuck on the floor. “No, Father. I’m sorry.”

“You have no idea how good you have it,” he snapped. “And yet you cannot make a small contribution to your pack.”

While the Harts crowded Winter, Astrid frowned at the exchange. She had not expected things to escalate so quickly. She had been hoping to encourage both Julian and Winter to accept the arrangement, but it appeared the Harts were not in the mood to take no for an answer from their daughter.

“Silvia, I think you should take Winter and leave first,” she said to Winter’s mother, hoping to deescalate the situation. “We can discuss this another time.”

“I’m very sorry about this,” Silvia said apologetically. “We’ll have a talk with her, don’t worry. Our plans for tomorrow should go on as decided.”

Winter kept her head bowed the entire time as their parents bid goodbye. She had known what was in store for her tomorrow. Locked up in the attic after a beating. They’d done to her before.

She was willing to suffer the pain to made it clear to Julian that she supported him. But she did not dare look at Julian as she followed her enraged parents out of the packhouse. She must look ugly now, which was the last thing she wanted Julian to see.

Julian watched silently as the Hart family left, feeling a little confused. He had not expected the Ivory Pack Alpha to treat his daughter so roughly. According to Amelia, Winter was spoiled by her parents and always given whatever she wanted. So, he would expect that her parents would give in to her since they never denied her anything.

He used to think Amelia wouldn’t lie to him about Winter’s relationship with her parents, but it seemed not, he needed to find out why her parents were treating her like that.

“I’m giving you until tomorrow to reject the mate bond between you and Amelia,” Alpha Hurbert instructed. “We will be releasing the news of your engagement to Winter in the news tomorrow, and you’ll also have an engagement photo shoot with her. I suggest that you fix your attitude before then.”

Alpha Hurbert did not leave any chance for argument as he stormed out of the room.

“Do as your father says,” Astrid told Julian. “It’s for the better of the pack, trust me.”

After that, she left too, leaving the triplets in the room by themselves. Julian cursed and ran his hand through his hair. He had always known being the future Alpha of the Atlas Pack came with responsibilities, but he had never once imagined giving up his fated mate would be one of them.

He had been groomed for years to take over, and he had always been eager to do his best for his pack. It was not something he could let go of easily. He was the heir, and he had a responsibility. He already knew that many Alphas had to abandon their mates and get into arranged marriages to strengthen their packs. He just had never thought he would be one of them.

His wolf, Ryder, knew about Julian’s sense of responsibility more than anyone. Even if Julian had put up a fight, he knew that in the end, he would sacrifice his wants for the pack. That’s why Alpha Hurbert’s orders pained Ryder so much, because he knew Julian would obey his father in the end.

“Don’t give in,” Ryder said, “there must be a way out of this. You can’t give Amelia up. She is ours!”

“I don’t have a choice,” Julian replied, resigned. “If this is what I have to do for the pack, then…” he trailed off.

“I’m really sorry,” Blue said as the two brothers walked over to him. “I wish there was something we could do to change their minds.”

“You know Dad,” Julian said. “His word is final. If I don’t obey, you or Arthur will be the one marry Winter Hart. Promising me to take care of Amelia after I break the mate bond with her.”

He would do as his father had suggested and find Amelia that same night and reject her before the next day.