Arranged To The Alpha
Chapter 13

Natalia:

“Mine…”

I stared at Blake with wide eyes. His own eyes not leaving mine for a second before I smiled and turned my attention to the bandage which was in my hand. I put it on the wound, careful not to hurt him before stepping back and looking him in the eye.

“Do try not to rip this one, and if you do, let someone clean and cover the cut for you”

“As long as you’re by my side when I wake up, there’s no need for the bandages to get ripped off, right?” Blake smirked and I raised an eyebrow.

“What are you up to, Blake?” I asked “what’s all of this? Up until two nights ago, you wouldn’t even look at me, and now…”

“You took care of me when my whole family feared approaching me, they would have either left me in the state that I was in, or they would have watched me die. You didn’t leave my side despite me kicking you out, you stayed here” Blake said taking my hand, he intertwined our fingers, or more specifically, tried to; however, I pulled them back before he could making him frown.

“If I had done anything, it was because I couldn’t watch you in that much pain. But don’t think that it’s something special, Blake, I would have done it to anyone who needed help, or who I saw injured, why? Because it is who I am” I said getting up from the edge of the bed. Blake kept his eyes on mine for a second before looking at my hand which he had tried holding “what you did and said until now won’t just go forgotten and forgiven because YOU suddenly decided to be grateful”

“Natalia, you do realize that you’re making a big deal out of nothing, and that you still can’t speak to me as an Alpha…”

“Screw your position, Blake, you being Alpha means nothing to me, how many times do I need to point that out for you to get it into your bloody head?” I asked angrily.

“I am trying to be your friend. I want to accept you…”

“You should have thought of that before insulting me in front of your whole family. Your beta kicked me out of here…”

“Why do you think he was demoting from being my beta, Natalia? I heard what he said, and I heard how much he hurt you…”

“Can I ask where he got the courage to do so, Blake? I asked looking the man in the eye “your whole pack sees me having my meals in my bedroom or the kitchen because you chose to kick me out and insult me in front of your pack. Your parents were kicked out of the pack-house for stepping up to you about it, one day you’re going to be loving and sweet, who the hell knows what side of the bed you’ll be waking up to next?”

“You are making it harder for me to hold my self-control” Blake stated.

“Then stay away from me and keep your self-control to yourself” I said getting up from bed “your nurses and pack members know how to put a bandage, right?”

I threw the rest of the things on top of the bedside table and walked toward the door “I’m sorry, Natalia”

His words forced me to stop, and my eyes widened when I saw his shadow behind me. I turned to face him and when his eyes met mine, I could swear I saw genuine regret in them. I shook my head at him looking down at his chest. The man was lying, it’s impossible for a person to be as hateful as he was to turn into this loving man over night “just give me a chance to prove it, a friendship would work. We are husband and wife after all”

“Our marriage is on paper, Blake Knight, it is one of business…”

“We can turn it into a real one with time”

“You’re a man that loves his mate…”

“What?” Blake asked frowning in confusion before his eyes widened “you’re seriously stuck on the fact that I called Myla’s name when I was losing consciousness?”

“No, I appreciate your love to her, don’t get me wrong. Believe me a man that loves as deep as you wouldn’t cheat on another because he would know what it means to have lost his other half, but I apologize, I cannot be the one you use to forget” I said avoiding his eyes. The pain I suddenly felt in my chest made me frown in confusion, however, I made sure not to comment or say a word about it. Blake’s eyes studied my expression carefully, and for a second, I wished that he would just STOP looking at me.

“I never said that I would use you to forget her, Natalia” Blake said softly “I said that I want to try and start a friendship with a woman who was there for me when no one was there for me. I was alone, I felt it, and my brother had tried using my weakness against me to try and kill me”

“Wait, wait, what?”

“The wolf that attacked me was my twin brother, now it may not matter to you; but it mattered to me that even when the two of us just fought, you followed me, you didn’t let him kill me either. You could have been free of our marriage, and you could have easily left, but you kept me safe. I attacked you, and you stood by my side to heal me. You forced me to submit and listen to you without trying to. I don’t want to lose that, believe it or not, I want to be your friend, and I want us to try and start fresh” Blake’s voice was so gentle that a crying baby would have calmed down, and it hurt me to think that even I considered forgiving and forgetting what he did “I’m not saying decide now or today either, I’m just asking you to consider it. Look at it from all angles and consider finding it in your heart to try and start fresh with me”

I put my hand on his chest, careful not to touch his wound, pushing him back a bit before I turned around and opened the door wanting to leave “Natalia…”

“Let me think about it, Blake” I said stopping him “your words and actions have hurt me more than my family has by sending me here as your wife, and that is something to consider. I am not a fool to be swooned over by a few kind words, you can wake up an hour later kicking me out of the room, asking what I was doing here to begin with, or you can be as cold as your beta, or need I say ‘ex beta’ and wait until you’ve healed to insult me. Nothing in this world would be worth me losing my dignity again, and you saw it yourself; I would have rather eaten outside, or takeout than considering taking anything from your fridge rather than sitting on your table, and that should tell you something about me, Blake Knight”

“I can never blame you for your reaction, you have every right to be mad at me, and to hate me even…”

“You’re not even worth hating, Blake, to hate someone is to care about what they do or who they are. You are no different than a strange man walking in the street, if he smiles at me, I’ll smile, if he greets me, I’d greet back. But that’s just who I am, human, polite, and genuine, I don’t hide behind some mask…” I said turning to face Blake “nor do I care about what anyone thinks about how I behave or why. I act as I see correct, but the second I’m insulted, I turn back and never look at the person again”

“So, you’re telling me that you wouldn’t look at me again?” Blake asked. I couldn’t miss the pain in his eyes as he asked that question but I shook my head.

“I said I would think about it, but I’m no fool to swoon on your feet because you managed to teach yourself how to say a few nice words. That’s the difference between me and the girls who you’re comparing me to” I said making the lad frown.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Look around who enters your bedroom to satisfy your bed whenever you call them. See, had this been the other way around, you wouldn’t have looked me in the face; but I never bothered commenting about what I heard every night. However, that’s not our topic, the girls that you call in wait for the day to either become pregnant, or steal your heart. Despite them knowing that you might take a different one on the next night, they still hope and pray for the day you would look at them and only them” I said crossing my arms over my chest “when you married me, each one of them put her hand over her racing heart at the fact that they’ve lost the chance of being this pack’s Luna, but you bringing one of them in every night is still giving them hope”

“I’m not like any one of them, either you choose me, or you don’t, and needless to say, that just like you wouldn’t share, I don’t, love” I said tapping his chest twice “and I don’t accept being insulted, discriminated, or even broken by anyone. I’d pass over that person, whoever it may be, and never look back”

Blake simply nodded but didn’t reply back to me. I nodded and turned to leave, however, I was surprised when his hand wrapped around my wrist, stopping me. His grip firm but not tight, just enough to hold me in place as he turned me to face him.

“Since you’ve said everything you wanted, would you consider having dinner with me tonight? You know, I can’t go to the dining room, and would be staying here, I could the company”

“Find one of your pack girls to join you”

“Why would I when I have my wife standing right in front of me?” Blake asked making my heart skip a beat “I’ll be waiting for you, and I will let you know that should you not come down, I will shift, rip the bandage, and come get you myself”

“Is that a threat?”

“More like a slight aggressive invitation” Blake teased letting my hand go “I’ll be expecting you for dinner”