(AMARI'S POV)
Did she just say Alpha of the River Pack?
"Please—there must be some mistake." Rudina's scared voice made me jolt back. Tears were streaming down her face as she clung to me.
The scary woman turned to Rudina as if she'd only just noticed her.
She flicked her wrist and two huge men approached.
"Stay back!" I snapped, straightening my body as I pushed my sister behind me.
But the men didn't stop. I fastened my veil tightly around me, just as they reached for me. I grabbed his hand and swiftly struck him below the belt. He groaned in pain as I reached for the second man but I was struck from behind.
I fell to the ground, pain exploding in my ribs. Before a chance of recovery, rough hands yanked me, fingers clamping around my throat and I was facing the furious woman again.
"How dare you attack the Gamma's personal guards?" she asked, her voice lower, more dangerous.
I heard Rudina scream but I couldn't turn. My heart started racing.
"I don't know what you think but you have the wrong people!" I struggled to say, my fingers struggling to free my neck from her tight grip.
"Are you not Amari Daclaw? Married to Kaelen Blackwood?" she demanded.
"Yes but—" I struggled to breathe as her claws hovered at my throat.
"Proof." She snapped. "Show me. Now... or I kill you." Her eyes turned deadlier.
I had no proof. Kaelen had taken our marriage certificate with him.
My heart pounded so loudly in my ears that it almost overshadowed Rudina's cries.
"Good. You don't have it!" she spat.
"Pl-please."
"Do you know how many women have tried this?" she said coldly.
Hot pain stung my neck. Already—
"Neoma!!" A sharp call made us all freeze.
Then I heard fast approaching footsteps and the sound of wheels against the floor. The grip around my neck loosened. I dropped to the ground.
I coughed, wheezed, but I was already on my feet, rushing to my sister.
"Let them go now, Neoma." I heard a woman's commanding voice.
In a split second, Rudina was in my arms, crying. I held her tightly, my breath shaking.
"We must have her thrown in jail, mother! She's a sworn liar who wants to milk the death of my brother! Your son!!" I heard the wicked woman, the one I suspect is Neoma, speak.
"Shut up!" I heard another voice. This one was a cracked female voice.
I looked up.
One woman stood. Tall. Elegant. Composed.
The other woman, older, sat in a wheelchair, her sharp gaze like she was commanding everything around her.
"Vanessa, see if she's hurt," she instructed.
The other woman stepped forward and I held a sobbing Rudina tighter to me.
"No, I'm not hurt," I lied.
"Take a look at her! Does she look like someone Kaelen would marry? And in secret?" Neoma's voice made me recoil again.
Vanessa turned to Neoma sharply, her brown shoulder-length hair bobbed. "Leave. Now. I shall deal with you later."
"She's from a forsaken village in Moonstone Pack! Of all the other three packs—"
"Neoma, get out or I shall ask your own security to see you out," the old woman in the wheelchair snarled.
Silence.
Neoma's dark gaze turned on me. Cold. Vile. Then she turned around and left, her guards following her.
I turned to the women. "I came here because I was told that my husband died and my presence was needed." My voice shook but I kept my chin raised. "I may be of lower status but I have rights. And I know them."
"As you should, child!" the old woman interrupted. "We truly apologize."
She had sleek grey hair pulled back and she looked small, her folded hands rested in her lap. But her dark eyes were fixed on me with an intensity that made my chest tighten.
Her lips curved in a warm but very light smile as she spoke.
"If you want to sue for Assault then I am behind you. But for now, you needs rest. Vanessa," she called calmly. "Show her to where she will be staying."
My eyes widened. "Please, I want to know—"
"Rest and we will talk tomorrow." She still wore a smile but her vocie sounded sterner. "Vanessa."
"Of course, Mother," Vanessa said, giving a bow to the older woman before she signaled that we follow her.
"Wh-what's happening, Amari? Who are these people?" Rudina whispered amidst tears. I clutched her closer.
"It's okay. It's okay," I comforted. My voice sounded way stronger than I felt.
Kaelen had told me he had no family and that he lived in our pack's Capital alone.
Did he have some work here, in River Pack Capital? For these people?
I was startled to realize we had arrived at a serene and well-lit bungalow. We walked up the front stairs, the door was opened and we stepped in.
"Leave us now," Vanessa commanded the guards and we were left alone with her.
Rudina's face was buried in my chest as I held Vanessa's gaze. No one said a word for the first few seconds.
She walked closer, then stopped. I noticed, in the brightly lit room, that her eyes were tired and puffy.
Her gaze moved over me—my clothes, my trembling hands. Then went back up and lingered on the marks around my neck.
"Did you really marry Kaelen?"
"Yes," I answered, wrapping my veil tighter around myself. "We got married, just yesterday. He was going to come back for me—"
My voice seized.
"And he didn't say anything about being an Alpha?" She asked softly.
My stomach sank. There it was again. ALPHA.
"He said he was a truck driver, with no family." I answered, my voice shaky as I saw the flash of hurt in her eyes. "He never—"
"That's enough," Vanessa said quietly.
Silence.
"There's a buzzer." She gestured to the table. "Use it if necessary."
I stepped forward.
"Why am I here, please? I deserve to know what's happening. I don't know any Alpha, my husband was a—"
"Just as said," her voice turned stern and imposing. "We will talk tomorrow."
The words died on my tongue and I found myself nodding.
She nodded back and left the room.
Rudina looked up the moment we were alone.
"Amari, what is all this? What have we gotten ourselves into?"
Her eyes were red. So was her whole face. She looked terrified. And I had no answers for her.
"I think there's a mistake of some sort. But let's go to sleep, okay? We will surely sort this out tomorrow, I promise you," I told her.
But Rudina did not look convinced. "We left our bags in the car. We can't even call mother."
My body weakened. Elara would kill me if she found out my sister was in danger.
"We will call her tomorrow. Now please stop crying," I begged. "Or I shall cry with you."
She complied to that.
"Come on. Let's put you to sleep."
I took her to the first room which was exquisitely furnished, and led her to the bed. In less than five minutes, she was asleep.
I watched her breathe for a long time. Her face, peaceful. Innocent.
What a terrible sister I am, to lead her into such a mess.
I would get her out of here. I didn't know how. But I would.
I tried to sleep, but I couldn't.
Not wanting to wake Rudina, I went back to the living room where I sank into a cushion.
"What is going on?" I whispered to myself.
My hand went to my neck. I hissed. A reminder that I had almost been strangled for the accusation of being married to the Alpha of River Pack.
"An Alpha?" I whispered into the silent space with a cracked voice.
Almost immediately, as if answering me, there came a sharp series of knocks on the door.
I gasped and rose.
The door swung open. I stopped breathing.
No. It couldn't be.
"Kaelen?"
He took steps closer.
It was him.
Alive.
Or was it a ghost? Some sort of city sorcery?
I froze. Then he stepped closer.
I dropped to my knees and for the first time today, tears that weren't sorrowful streaked down my face.
"Thank you, Goddess." Relief washed over me.
He closed the space. His hands pulled me up and I lunged forward, sobbing.
"Oh thank you G-"
But he caught my wrists, stopping me, and then he pushed me back.
I froze.
Then, I reached for him again.
His hand shot out and gripped my wrist.
"Now." His grip tightened. "We need to talk."
I looked into his brown eyes. They looked different. Sterner.
I didn't fight as he led me to another room.
The door clicked shut. The lock turned.
And then I was alone with him. I pulled my hand free from him and moved back.
He had Kaelen's face—the same chestnut hair and cleft chin—but the man standing before me felt like a stranger.
His silk shirt was unbuttoned at the collar.
He took a step towards me and I took many hurried ones back.
He sighed and took quick strides to me. Before I could move, his strong hands held me in place.
"You must listen to me." His voice had softened a fraction. A flash of the man I married.
He made me sit on the bed and then crouched before me. I shifted.
"I didn't die, Amari," he said calmly, holding my eyes. "But the Alpha, Kaelen, did."
A wave of fever passed through me.
"I am Talon. Not Kaelen," he finished.
What is this??? Sorcery? Madness??
"Are—are you twins?" I asked, desperate for a break.
"No, he was my uncle."
The room felt colder and more suffocating.
I squeezed my eyes shut. The words didn't make sense. They couldn't.
"Y-you didn't marry me yesterday?"
He was staring directly at me as he spoke.
"I married you. With Kaelen's identity."
Only the sound of the clock ticking in silence.
"You are his widow."
I stared back. Confused. Speechless.
So many thoughts. One in particular stood out.
Whatever is going on, is nothing good.