The Alpha’s Substitute Mate

Isabella

I took an indrawn breath, pinching the skin on my forehead, and glanced back at Shane who was sleeping comfortably on the bed. I inhaled deeply, leaving the chambers, and closed the door behind me. I felt weak. My eyes were stinging from the exhaustion that washed over me. I could feel my entire body on fire and every bone in my body ached with pain and the pit of my stomach also burned with similar pain. Not today, I can’t possibly fall sick. I groaned while praying to the moon goddess that the pain would go away.

As I walked down the hallway to my chambers, I could hear the melancholic music wafting around the Pack, and I felt a coldness rush down my spine.

I arrived at my chambers and collapsed on the bed, today is Arden’s funeral. I wasn’t sure of what to wear to his funeral. A black dress would have been too cliche, even if I had owned one, which I didn’t.

I liked bright colors and when I opened my closet, it looked like a rainbow explosion. Digging through my limited wardrobe I found the most somber and muted thing I owned. It was a sage green dress printed with tiny dark green flowers. It reminds me of those emerald-green eyes of his that have always observed me with anger and loathe.

I wore the dress, pulled my hair up, and looked at myself in the mirror. These few days had taken their toll on me. I hadn’t been eating well and I looked a little pale and gaunt. The sage dress made my eyes look a little too big for my face and whether it was the color or the situation they looked too dull today. My face was void of colors and so were my lips.

I was still staring at myself in the mirror when I heard a knock on the door and Malcolm walked in. He wore a black tuxedo with a black striped tie. His hair was combed back away from his face, but I knew it wouldn’t stay there. Before the day is over it would be falling everywhere. We didn’t really have any words to say. He moved closer, placed a kiss on my forehead, took my hand, and tucked it into the crook of his arm. He was offering his strength and support as we made our way downstairs to the great meeting hall where the funeral was arranged. Before the hall was opened to the pack, there was a private viewing space for the family.

I felt a head trip walking into the building, the last time I had set foot in here. It had been my wedding day and I had been dragged almost off my feet by an impatient Arden. The raised platform where we had seated like a king and queen at the reception was now adorned with his casket and overflowing with floral arrangements and some of his enlarged pictures ranging from his childhood to the recent one which was the day he was crowned as the Alpha. Queen Selena sat slumped in a chair nearby. We waited for our turn to approach the makeshift altar.

My eyes took in everything. Arden was such a huge man that the coffin had to be custom-made to fit his stature. His coffin was made of gold and adorned with the marks of the sword in a stylish carving. Laying inside the box was a man who bore little resemblance to the Arden I had known. The Arden I knew had always been angry and tense. Now his handsome face was relaxed, as though he was in a peaceful slumber. His long hair was arranged artfully around his face and shoulders. His massive arms were folded around his abdomen. I realized with a knot in my throat that he was dressed in the same tuxedo we had gotten married in.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

I let go of Malcolm’s hand and leaned over the casket. ” I have something to say to you, Arden Vinci,” I said finally. There are things I’ve been thinking about for a long time and I wish I’d had a chance to say them to you while you were still alive.” I felt eyes on me, and I knew the people closest to the altar could hear me, but I didn’t care. This was a private conversation between me and Arden. I only hoped that wherever his spirit was now, he could hear me. ” I wish I could go back in time because I know now where we went wrong.

Remember that first day you met me? That day you told me you didn’t want me and you didn’t need me? That was the day we both should have said “NO”. We should have rejected the Bond, Arden. I should have stood up and told my father that I was not going to be a pawn in the treaty negotiations. And you should have said no and not allowed your pride to make you tie the knot with me, to enter inside the marriage you didn’t want. ” I felt hot tears running down my cheeks, but I made no effort to brush them away. At the moment all that mattered to me was pouring out my heart to his corpse…

“Arden, I have often wondered how we both had the strength to defy the mating bond?”

“I’ve often wondered what would have happened if we had gone our separate ways that day. We’d both be living very different lives now. Arden, you would have still been alive.” I sniffed and wiped the tears streaming down my cheeks making it hard for my eyes to be open.

” But if things hadn’t gone like this, maybe I wouldn’t have met your brother Malcolm, I wouldn’t have gotten a chance to experience a genuine and selfless love from him. So maybe.. maybe things happened the way they did for a reason and none of us can question the Moon Goddess.

I plucked a mini white peonies from one of the floral arrangements and slipped it under his stiff cold hands.

” Thank you for saving me Arden, Thank you for dying in my place and I will never forget this heroic act of yours.”