Five days had passed since Kiara returned to her family home.
"You asked to see me, father." Kiara breathed out hesitantly, standing stiffly in her father's large office.
Since she returned home five days ago, only her mother was happy to have her back. Her siblings, not so much. They acted like she was invisible, while her father outrightly refused to acknowledge her until right now
Papers were neatly stacked before him. When she entered, he looked up, lips in a thin line and removed his glasses.
"Sit down, Kiara," he ordered.
Something in his tone made her stomach tighten.
She sat.
"Are you aware of how much you disgraced this family's name? This pack in general?" He asked and she sucked in a sharp breath. He was scowling at her with so much anger that made fear grip her.
Her father had never been fond of her and she believed she was used to it, but right now, his words made her feel so hurt.
"I—"
He cut her off with a wave of his hand. "I don't wanna hear whatever excuse you have. You ran from home, abandoned your duty, only to be sent back home by that bastard Gerald." He seethed angrily.
"I left by myself—"
"I said enough!" He ordered and she flinched.
He picked up a paper on his desk as he continued. "And I'm assuming you returned with nothing? After seven years?"
Kiara winced. She wished she had time to plan her divorce, then sged have made sure she left with something. Right now, she was completely penniless.
Her father scoffed knowingly. "So now you want your inheritance? Think it's still sitting waiting for you?"
Her mouth opened and closed. "But grandfather said…"
He cut her off. "Grandfather is long dead. Everything has changed."
She sucked in a sharp breath. "A- are you saying my inheritance is gone?" She whispered quietly.
That was her only hope.
She assumed her in-laws would reach out to her, cause they at least loved her, then perhaps she could ask them for some money as compensation for working in the company for so many years. But since she left, neither of them have reached out.
She didn't have any friends, or any savings staked somewhere. If she gets this inheritance, at least she'll be able to start up a business and have something that would take her mind off her pathetic life.
"There's a condition tied to your inheritance now," he breathed out and Kiara's stomach knotted even more.
"Which is?"
"You must get married."
The words hit her like whiplash.
Kiara stared at him, unsure she had heard correctly. "Married?"
"Yes," her father said evenly. "To the same man you were promised to before you stupidly ran away."
Shock spread through her chest and she almost fell out of her chair.
"That's not possible," she said quickly. "He should be married by now."
"He isn't," her father replied. "I spoke to him this morning before we came to another agreement."
Her father already finalized with him before even consulting her.
She stood abruptly. "No. I can't do that. I just left a marriage."
"Kiara," he said firmly, glaring at her.
She remained standing, her heart pounding.
"He now has the biggest pack in the country, Kiara. He is very strong and powerful. This union will help us get a higher position in the country's political standings. Our pack will no longer be looked down on again. It will help us greatly."
Her mind reeled. She wasn't so shocked that her father was eagerly willing to trade her for his own selfish desires. She was more shocked that the alpha agreed to this offer.
"Why would he still want me? I'm scentless. I'm divorced. People already know."
Her father looked at her calmly. "He knows all of that. He is still interested, for some weird reasons. But that's no concern of mine. He's still interested in this deal and that's all that matters now."
Those words echoed in her mind. She felt cold to the core.
Her mind wandered over to the man in question. His blue eyes cold as ice flashed through her mind.
She hasn't met him before.
The day they were supposed to meet in the past was on their wedding day, but she ran away instead. Back then, she hadn't only run because of her love for Gerald. She also ran because no way would she willingly get married to a monster like Avicil.
Back then, he had been married once, but his wife mysteriously died. It was rumored that he murdered her.
Even during all her years with Gerald, he got married two more times and they died… and again, he was rumored to be behind those deaths.
How could her father willingly try to give her to someone like this?
Did he hate her this much?
"I can't agree to this, father. He'll kill me like his previous wives." She breathed out but her father scoffed.
"Those are just rumors, child."
She shook her head, fear still gripping her. "I refuse. I won't marry him." She insisted firmly, chin jutted.
"That means you don't want the inheritance," he replied. "And if you don't do this, I'll kick you out of the house, cause you can't just be of no use to the family."
The room felt smaller after those words.
"Please father." She pleaded desperately, her heart pounding away.
"Don't waste my time, child. Which is it going to be for you? Are you gonna agree to this or refuse and be kicked out? At least if you pick it, you'll get your inheritance."
But getting her inheritance when married to a monster might not mean anything if he'd just end up killing her like his past wives.
"I— I…" she stuttered and her father scowled at her before getting to his feet, pointing at the door.
"Leave my house right now if you're not gonna agree to this." He thundered.
Tears filled her eyes and she trembled. "This is unfair, father."
He scoffed. "The world itself is unfair, child."
~~~
Kiara felt numb as she stared at herself in the floor length mirror. The black dress she was in hugged all her curves, and her hair framed her face. Her face was done up, hiding the sadness and fear she was feeling right now, but some of it still managed to show in her large green eyes that stared back at her.
A party was being hosted in the biggest pack in the country, and that's where the entire family was going tonight.
Because tonight, she'll be meeting her new husband-to-be.
And she was terrified and out of her mind.
She ended up agreeing to the marriage in exchange for her inheritance.
She couldn't comprehend being thrown out. If she was a perfect, desirable omega like her three older sisters, she might have picked the other option, knowing a kind alpha would definitely pity her and help her out, but a freak like her would definitely be left to perish on the roadside.
This was her only option. Getting married to a monster.
A shiver ran down her spine.
"Are you done, honey?" Her mother called out as she pushed her door open. She forced a smile on for her mother, to worry her mother less. Her mother wasn't in support of this, but her father had the final say as usual.
Her mother saw through her fake smile and stepped in to cup her face, "I promise it's gonna be fine, okay?"
She didn't believe that but she definitely wished her mother was right.
"Thank you, mother. For forgiving me, for taking me back." She told her mother sincerely.
Her mother shook her head. "Of course, love. A mother will always love her child."
Those words made Kiara remember her own daughter and that made pain shoot through her heart before she quickly shot it out.
This wasn't the time for that, she reminded herself. Her daughter was fine and definitely fine without her. She probably didn't even notice her absence.
It's best she just focuses on her plight tonight.
The ride to the pack took over an hour. Conversation flowed around her like she didn't exist, only her mother included her here and there.
"Hopefully you last a week in this new marriage you're about to enter." Beth, her immediate older sister spat while regarding Kiara with scorn, and their mother gasped, outraged.
"Beth, don't talk to your sister like that!"
Anika, the eldest sister shrugged, grinning. "But it's not a lie, mother. That alpha murders all his wives. Wives who were actually normal and way prettier than Kiara." She pointed out.
Kiara wished they could just stop talking about it.
"If the two of you really believed this, why then did you two once try to get your father to marry you off to the same alpha?" Their mother demanded sharply and Kiara's eyes widened in shock while the two sisters' faces grew red.
"That's cause we didn't want him to come attack our pack after Kiara ran off! We thought stepping in was the next best thing to do." Beth bit out, scowling angrily.
The rest of the ride was silent and awkward.
When they got to the party, they all stepped in, and as expected, all eyes were on them immediately.
Her first and third sister grumbled that people were definitely linking them to Kiara right now and they'd rather not be linked to a freak tonight, before they quickly walked off to different directions.
That made pain shoot through Kiara. At least some things were yet to change. This was exactly how they've always acted in the past whenever they all attended a function as a full family.
Kiara's second sister Nicole, was quiet as usual as she walked off to the food area.
Her mother went to mingle with her peers, while her father told her he'd come get her once it's time to be introduced to her husband-to-be and that she mustn't get into any trouble till then, then he also walked off.
Kiara stood awkwardly by the side, her eyes wandering around. A lot of people were staring at her and blatantly whispering to themselves and she wished she could disappear into thin air.
To calm her nerves, she stopped a waiter and picked a drink, downing half of its content in a go. It went straight to her head, giving it a slight buzz.
She could hear slight murmurs around her that made her uncomfortable.
She never belonged in gatherings like this, always feeling like she was just playing a role.
She tried to shake off those eyes on her, deciding to wander around. That should help take her mind off meeting her husband-to-be.
As she turned around and took a step, she crashed right into a hard rock— which ended up being a man's chest.
An alpha's telling by the dark, sandalwood scent wafting off him, a powerful one at that cause his scent was way thicker and completely unlike other normal Alpha's. A gasp of horror caught in her throat as she pulled away fast, ready to apologize, but in her haste, she ended up spilling the rest of her wine over his white suit jacket.
Her face paled, horror crashing over her as she slowly glanced up at his face.
When her eyes locked with a set of piercing, ice blues, her knees buckled and she almost fainted in fright as a wave of shock gripped her hard.
She just ran into none other than Avicil, her monster husband-to-be.
Oh heavens.