The Forbidden Alpha

Chapter 5

Layla

1 hour later

"Sh*t, this isn't good, Layla," Carolina said, her face creased with worry as she paced the living room floor for what seemed like the hundredth time since we had been escorted back to my house by two guards. She's not wrong; this was very bad. Chandler and I caused a huge scene at the ball, witnessed by members of various packs. While that alone isn't so terrible, Dustin punching and then spitting on Chandler escalated the situation from bad to worse.

I really wish I had not said anything to my brother and that I had just simply left the ball without them noticing. It would have been the better choice.

Flashback

After the mysterious wolf left Chandler and me alone, things began to spiral out of control. Chandler had begged me to give him a chance to explain himself, so, being the understanding person that I am, I did and, boy, was that a mistake.

“Layla, please just listen to me. I can explain all of this.” Chandler pleaded as he gripped my wrist, stopping me from leaving the room as I attempted to brush past him and out the door.

I stopped and spun around on my heels. I narrowed my eyes at where his hand was before rasing my glaring gaze up to meet his. “I get the bond. I understand how all that works. I don’t need you to explain it anymore. This was always the outcome for us anyway, and you know that. There isn’t anything else that can be said or done to change that.” I said, pulling my arm free from his hold and rubbing the sport around my wrist where he had held me back. My skin was slightly pink from the amount of force he had used to stop me.

He sighed and ran his hand through his blonde hair, freeing it from the hold of the hair gel and giving him that cute messy hair look that I had always loved on him.

“It's more complicated than that, Layla. I can’t explain it all right now, but we can still be together.” He said, and I just stared at him in utter and complete shock. Is he saying what I think he is saying?

"Seriously? I know you are not telling me that you are perfectly okay with sleeping with others now that you have found your mate?” I said as I took a step back from him.

"Why not? We wouldn't be the first to do something like this," Chandler said, advancing a few steps, prompting me to retreat once more. This time, however, I didn't make it very far with my back now pressed against the window I had peered through earlier. "We could still be together, Layla, just as we've always wanted. Nothing has to change."

I was momentarily stunned before I lifted my chin, meeting his smirk with a glare. He seemed so sure that I would cast aside my morals and principles just for him. "There's not a f*cking chance in hell that I would do such a thing to another woman, human or otherwise," I declared, my voice resolute.

His eyes darkened, and a deep growl emanated from his chest. "She's not my mate, damn it. She's merely the Alpha's daughter whom my father selected for me. She means nothing to me, Layla, not like you. You're the one I want. You always have been," he declared, his arms encircling me, trapping me against the window.

“Then you should have stood up to him the first time and done what you promised.” I yelled in his face and slamming my fist into his hard chest.

He pressed me against the window with his body, my back to the cold glass. His hand shot up, seizing my face and sharply pinching my chin, compelling me to meet his gaze. "Do not raise your voice at me, Layla," he growled, his eyes darkening to near black — a sign of his wolf's anger at my refusal of their offer, his irritation unmistakable. "It's not as simple as you humans believe."

I scoffed. "Apparently, it is," I said, leaning into his face until only a couple of inches separated us. "You're doing it now, aren't you? Choosing a mate that isn't your destined one. There's no difference between her and me, except that she's a wolf, and I'm not. You had the chance to choose me, to defy your father and be with me as you claimed you wanted, but you're too much of a coward to say it out loud and commit to it. I refuse to be the other woman and watch her receive everything you always promised me." I said as I leaned my head back against the glass. "Find someone else to be your mistress, Chandler, because it sure as hell won't be me." I added, shoving him away in the end.

Chandler growled in warning, “Layla.”

“F*ck off.” I said and tried to brush past him once again. “Let me go now Chandler.” I demanded when he wrapped his arms around me from behind, holding me in place.

“Only if you agree to be with me. Otherwise, I will cart you out of this room over my shoulder regardless of what you want or think, Layla. You will be mine.” He whispered in my ear.

He can’t be serious? Does he really think that I will go along with this insane request?

“Layla?” He said in a warning tone.

“Fine” I said in annoyance, and stopped fighting against his hold.

I felt his body relax some and his grip loosened around my waist just enough for me to turn around in his arms. I cupped his cheek like I always used to do and stared into his eyes. He wasn’t the same guy I fell for three years ago. He may look like my Chandler, but something inside of him had changed and I knew it wasn't a good change. Now he was someone I didn’t even recognize.

He leaned into my hand, closing his eyes and sighing.

Why couldn’t he have just said no? Why couldn't he just tell his father that he wanted me and not some random she-wolf? I guess I'll never know.

With his guard lowered and his eyes closed, I raised my knee with all the force I could gather, given our proximity. Chandler emitted a loud grunt as his eyes snapped open when my knee met his groin. A low growl rumbled from his chest, and I knew I needed to put distance between us immediately.

End flashback.

As we waited for Dustin to come back from the Alpha's office, I kept replaying the entire scenario in my mind. Perhaps I could have managed the situation better. I might have played along with his idea for a while before ending it later, somehow placating him and his wolf.

No, the mere thought made me feel nauseous inside.

Even if that girl wasn’t his fated mate, she still didn’t deserve that. To be cheated on. She would still feel his infidelity once they were mated and the pain would be unbearable at times, I have heard.

"Caroline, you need to stop pacing in circles; you're making me dizzy," I said, and she halted on the other side of the couch. When she raised her head to look at me, the glimmer of tears in her eyes shattered my heart. Caroline rarely cried. I mean, very rarely. The number of times I've seen her cry could be counted on one hand, and even then, those instances were nothing compared to the tears now cascading down her cheeks.

“What if they decide to banish him, Layla? Or the Goddess forbidding, execute him for disrespecting the future Alpha so publicly?” She asked as the tears ran down her cheeks.

I shook my head, “Chandler wouldn’t do that. They have been best friends for their entire lives. He is the next Beta and there isn’t anyone that has the knowledge that he does to be the Beta of the pack.” I reassured her.

“This isn't up to Chandler though. This isn't them getting into a drunk fight off were-whiskey and saying sh*t they won’t remember the next morning. The entire pack saw this and heard what was said. Alpha Riggins won’t let something like that slide under the rug." Caroline said and, I knew she was right. Chandler might have a bit of sway over his father since Dustin was his best friend, but in the end the decision would ultimately be Alpha Riggin's.

I rose from my seat and crossed the room to take my friend's hands in mine. “I will figure it out. I promise I won’t let them do anything to him. This is my fault in the first place,” I said just as the front door opened and in walked my brother.

He seemed unharmed; there were no visible marks on his face or arms, and his walk was steady. However, the expression on his face told me that whatever had transpired in the Alpha's office hadn't been physical, but it had taken a mental toll on him.

Caroline rushed forward and I watched as my brother wrapped her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. I really felt like sh*t seeing them together again. This was supposed to be a fun night for them and I had spoiled it, risking my brother's life or, in the best case, his exile.

“What happened?” I asked, unable to wait much longer. I had to know how much damage I had caused tonight.

Dustin let out a sigh as he gazed at his mate, "I'm on probation for the foreseeable future. Alpha Riggins doubts that I possess the right mentality to serve as Beta currently and is considering finding a replacement," he confessed, the pain evident in his tone.

"He can't do that. You're the only beta-born wolf in the pack," Caroline said, her eyes darting upwards in alarm. I flinched as her words struck me. They stung, despite knowing she hadn't meant any harm. She was right, though. Even if I reside in the Beta house, the truth remains—I am not one of them. Noticing the hurt expression on my face, she quickly apologized. "Oh, Layla, I didn't mean it negatively, I promise,"

I held up my hand to stop her. There was no need to apologize. Yes, her words hurt me, but they were the truth and the truth hurts sometimes. I may live with the Beta Family, but I am not a Beta wolf like my brother.

“It's okay. I know you didn’t mean anything by that. I am the one that needs to apologize.” I said, looking over to meet my brother's pained gaze. “I will talk to Alpha Riggins and see if I can fix this mess.”

I quickly left the two of them then and returned to my room to think. The air was cold as I entered and I shivered as the breeze blew through the open window. I don't remember leaving that open earlier. I guess I had forgotten to latch it. The temperature was really starting to drop outside. It typically did this time of the year. The days were warm and the nights could be bitterly cold.

I crossed the room, pushing aside the curtis to close the window. I peeked out the curtains to find that the guards that had escorted Caroline and I home were still standing in the front of the house.

I wasn’t sure how mom and dad were going to react once they heard the news. There had been a couple of skirmishes along the border the past month and they had been assigned to help cool the tensions between the warriors and some of the outlaying packs. There always seemed to be some type of conflict along the boarders that required my parents' attention and they could be gone for months at a time these days.

Movement just along the edge of the tree line that was across the road caught my attention. The small shrubs that line the edge of the road moved harshly. "It's only the wind, Layla. See," I said to myself as the bushes swayed in the breeze. Goosebumps rose up all over my body as I watched the area, as I could not seem to shake the feeling that it was not the breeze at all but someone, standing there. Watching.

I quickly grabbed the handle for the window, pulling it closed and making sure that the latch was secured. Was it just another guard? And if so, why would they be hiding in the bushes instead of with the other guards?