Arranged To The Alpha
Chapter 47

Natalia:

My head throbbed as I opened my eyes.

My heart ached, and looking around the room, I couldn’t help the tears that fell from my eyes as I recalled what my grandfather, Alexander, told me.

The risk that I was putting everyone through, my mate, and even my dragon…

I understood now why my father chose to let his powers go. The man was fighting to protect himself and his kids. It was also why he fought to keep me hidden, and when he gave me to an orphanage, something must have been wrong if he did so.

My heart ached, and sitting up, I looked at Crystal who was curled up by the fireplace. My little dragon must have been worried sick about what was to come, especially after what we heard and after our argument at home.

“You don’t need to be scared, Crystal” I said, assuring her. My dragon jumped upon hearing my voice, and turning to look at me, I could swear that she took a step back despite me not moving from my place.

“It was how he made him freeze before” she said, looking down at the floor “his dragon trusted him, and didn’t doubt…”

“I would rather die than choose to do that to you, Crystal” I said, stopping her. I extended my hand toward her, and watched as she hesitantly approached me. She got on my finger, shrinking herself to a small cockatoo’s size before she curled her tail on it making me smile “I am not them, I won’t do that to you”

“But you said that you would choose Blake over me…”

“Indeed, because I would choose Blake over myself, Crystal” I said, stopping her “I believe that Blake knows me well enough to know that his life matters to me more than mine ever will. My heart belongs to him, and whether or not I lived or died…”

“If you complete this sentence, Natalia, the two of us are going to have a problem” Blake said, stopping me. He took a step into the bedroom, and closed the door. His eyes meeting mine for a second before Crystal flew to his shoulder “neither one of you is losing her life. We are here to ensure that we all get out of this safely. But it is time for us to start speaking more rationally”

“What do you mean?”

“If witches are playing their dirty games lately, then we are in more shit than we all know” Blake said, looking at me. He sat on the edge of the bed beside me, and taking my hand in his, he squeezed it gently “we are going to need to be more careful because I believe that they keep hexing the pack members one by one”

“Now, I am lost at what you mean, Blake” I said, looking my mate in the eye, trying to process what he was saying. It was either that I hit my head a little too hard, or that my mate was speaking gibberish at the moment.

“I think that Mason and his mate were also hexed” he said, making me frown in confusion “Mason was going in and out of the pack while Ryan was gone, and obviously, since his mate had university to attend, she was out of the pack through most of the day. She didn’t really like having bodyguards by her side, so…”

“You think that someone hexed her while she was out?” I asked, stopping him.

“No, I think that it happened very slowly. A lot slower than we think, but in an effect that we didn’t really understand. I don’t know if you get me, but I don’t think that she was suddenly depressed or that things just crumbled up on her. Don’t get me wrong, but she was Myla’s friend, and I knew for fact that she was okay, during Myla’s life, and a while after she died” he said, and I frowned. My heart ached at the mention of his mate’s name, a few insecurities getting in my head before I could stop them; but forcing myself to take a breath, I kept my eyes on his as I allowed him to finish “I think the pack was hexed long before you even came. Maybe Myla dying was the first step. My brother coming over that night didn’t make sense, and maybe her dying prevented me from seeing things clearly…”

“So, the pack was hexed on the night your mate died” I said, stopping him. My jealousy getting the best of me for a second. Blake froze, processing what I said and my reaction before he sighed and nodded.

“Natalia, I didn’t mean to piss you off with what I said…”

“At least we’re processing something” I said, stopping him, not wanting him to see my jealousy. It sickened me that him mentioning her name made me react the way I did; but anyway, I had to force myself to suck it up as I focused on the target we had ahead “what was their motive in doing so?”

“I can only guess that they wanted to break the pack from the inside. But they had to do it slowly. I am not sure if it explains anything, but they must have believed that their way might have shattered the pack. In a way, it did, and that was one of the reasons why mum and Jordan insisted on finding me a bride. They might have believed that getting an heir would make the pack stronger, in terms, in does, but a woman would also help distract me from thinking about the topic too much”

“But they were surprised by your resentment towards me?” I asked, frowning in confusion. He shook his head in response, making me frown in confusion.

“They already knew that I would resent you, but at least they knew that I was reacting. I wasn’t numb, or out of the house constantly. The pack and the family were being watched, whether it is by our business partners, or neighboring packs…”

“That doesn’t mean that the two of us spent any time together. If anything, the first time you came to my office was when my parents came, a long while after our marriage. I was still going to work normally, and you were still doing whatever it was you wanted”

“That only brought up headlines to the best couple around. Not literally, but you get me” Blake said, making me frown in confusion “the two of us were considered the envied couple. Because despite not attending any social duties, our work was still on top notch. In everyone’s eyes, our marriage did not interfere with our businesses. I didn’t stop you from running your company, and you weren’t nosy about mine”

“Something different in terms of families who are not too exposed to the media?” I asked and he nodded.

“The two of us are not ‘public’ figures despite being business owners. We have managed to keep our privacy, something that media aren’t used to, and definitely, something that Drake did not expect. I believe that he thought or felt like the two of us being together could weaken us, but if the witches around him found out about who you were…”

“They linked the prophecy and wanted to end the two of us?” I asked and he nodded.

“He came to the pack, believing that I was in my weakest state that night. The night you stopped him. I don’t know what happened after he left, but I know that he has something to do with it. The man seeing you was what led us to where we are now” he said and I nodded in understanding.

“So, since he couldn’t kill you that night. He is now making a whole game to end us all?” I asked and Blake shook his head.

“No, he’s doing this to make it a public image. A warning, or threat for other witches not to make the same ‘mistake’. Plus, a game of fame. He would be known around the world to have run these death games, and people might not even understand that these are completely real” he said, taking a deep breath.

“So, he’s basically trying to gain his fame out of killing others? But wouldn’t people eventually notice that there are creatures literally being killed out there? The fear in their eyes? The fights?”

“Humans would take the ‘rational’ side of things. They wouldn’t think that Lycans, werewolves, vampires, and witches are real. Dragons have been legends throughout centuries, convincing them that they’re real is like convincing a child that his ‘imaginary’ friend isn’t real. In theory, he knows that the friend isn’t real, but he would still choose to believe he is. In the hypothesis that they would place, we would be no more than a cinematic act, a game, a play even; however, I doubt that anyone would think for a second that all of this is real” Blake said, making me frown in confusion.

“Blake, did you just say WE?” I asked, and he sighed, closing his eyes.

“I got the invitation too, Natalia” he said, making my heart drop “the two of us are going to be playing this bullshit game if we don’t stop this nonsense”