Page 47 of The Alpha's Chosen Outcast

I didn’t want to risk anyone falling for me or wanting more. I can’t have people looking for me. I’ve logged a lot of hours with that toy now residing in my suitcase.

That’s not the only reason my life has been lonely for the past five years. I can’t explain the connection of being with a pack and what it feels like to have that ripped from me.

A few days after I’d left, I felt it sever from me, like someone cut out a literal organ from my body without anesthesia. It had woken me from a dead sleep, and it took me days to recover from the pain.

Would that all be changed when I become someone’s Alpha in marriage? Maybe Violet’s right. Maybe I really do have a huge opportunity here.

When Trey becomes Alpha, I’ll have the same power as him. And when my husband dies (if he does before me), I’ll be free to marry another, but I’ll still be an Alpha.

When Trey finally sends me that file, I notice that most of the men he’d left out were ones that were older than his father. He probably hadn’t thought that older also means closer to death.

I’d only be obligated to do my marital duty on the wedding night. Once it’s consummated and the contracts are signed, I’ll have the power of an Alpha, and my new husband won’t be able to take that from me.

I have to trust that Trey has my best interests at heart, but I also feel like he hasn’t thought about this part. I send him a text outlining my plan and asking if he thinks it’ll work.

He doesn’t respond for a while. He probably thinks I’m insane. Maybe I am insane. When his response does come back, I’m relieved.

Trey:Let’s go for it. Who’s the unsuspecting victim, then?

I laugh out loud when I read it.

Me:I’m not sure yet. I’ll have to go through the file more thoroughly.

His response comes back almost immediately.

Trey:Let the games begin.

I feel a lot better about this plan after that. It feels like we’re moving forward with something real. This is gonna work. It has to work.

Chapter 14

TREY

Today is the day. My baby sister is getting married, and I’m sitting here in my wolf form outside the window of the bridal shop, watching my mate get ready to leave.

She’s closing her suitcase and talking on the phone with her boss about her flight home. I can hear the conversation loud and clear in this form.

I can also hear my phone going off in the car. I run back over in a few leaps and change back. It’s her texting me.

Heather:I’m almost ready to go. Jessie gave me my flight details, and I’ll be out of here soon. I cleaned the place up. It’ll be like I was never here.

My heart drops into my stomach.It’ll be like I was never here.I can’t imagine a life where that was the case.

I don’t want her to go, but we haven’t found a suitable Alpha for her to marry yet, and my father is still alive. I don’t know of any other way to keep her here.

It’s too dangerous to hide her at the Hanover estate. Too many wolves come through for me to be able to hide her effectively.

There’s always someone milling around the property, and I can’t guarantee they won’t accidentally spot her even if they’re barred from a space.

My mind is filled with these frantic ideas, and my wolf desperately claws at them after I change. I want to be with her, to keep her here. However, I don’t see any way it will work, and the devastation of that fact is paralyzing me.

But my sister is getting married today. I have to walk her down the aisle and give her away to Brody, who is a good wolf.

I’m glad to be gaining him as a brother, even if Violet will be more a part of his family than mine after the marriage. That’s how it works with wolves. She will bear his children and further his bloodline.

I want Heather to bear my children. This is so fucking ridiculous. She’s my mate, for fuck’s sake! Why did my father and his fucking Alpha cronies make these laws knowing something like this could happen?

We don’t choose our mates, they just come and complete us. I feel like part of me is being ripped out of my body at the prospect of her getting on that plane.

---