Chapter 159
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Chapter 167
Chapter 167
Matt POV
The ceremony of my ascension as the Alpha of the Everflame pack was short but significant. I stood before the pack as the Shaman carried the ritual.
He was surprised to see me taking over, but he smiled and said, “I’m so happy that you are taking over as the Alpha of the Everflame pack, Matt. Alpha Magnus loved you a lot p>
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The mention of his name brought back so many childhood memories that a lump formed in my throat. I swallowed it as I gave him my hand. He sliced it with a knife and allowed my blood to drop in a sacred bowl in front of Veles’s statute. Once the bowl was half–filled, he asked every pack member in the clearing to add their drop of blood to it. When finally every pack member did it, the Shaman offered it to Veles. As the blood dropped on his feet, and disappeared in the ground below, connection with the pack members slammed into my chest. It felt heavy, like I was weighed down with a thousand responsibilities deep inside.
The Shaman raised my hand which was already healed, and said, “Your new Alpha, Alpha Matt p>
The crowd started cheering for me. My parents watched me with pride in their eyes. And I knew that from today onward, I would concentrate on what was ahead of me instead of dwelling in the stupid, ugly past.
My parents left soon after. Though Tulip was with me for the ceremony, I asked her to leave because I wanted to focus on my pack’s business. Being Alpha was what I had to do. Over the next few months, I did my job well. I handled everything efficiently. But handling relationships? That was another story.
Girls constantly threw themselves at me, admiring my status, my looks, my power. It was thrilling. They wanted me, and I think I wanted them. There was a new girl every night I was alone–brief moments of escape from a feeling that I wasn’t able to escape. Was it loneliness? Ah no! I couldn’t be lonely. There were so many things to do.
Sex had become a great distraction from my pack business. It was tiring to be an Alpha. There was so much to do all the time. Yet, there were answers I was searching for, always. But what were the questions?
7 years later.
Seven years had passed on. A few weeks ago, I turned twenty–five. In some ways, all these years as an Alpha had felt like a blur, and in others, it had dragged on endlessly. My pack had flourished under my regime. Alpha Lucien had generously donated to us and he helped us on many fronts. However after three years, I asked him to stop with his help because we were sufficient and efficient. Father’s pack was also doing very well.
Ye:. life seemed to be moving around me, but I felt like I was stuck. Like I was on autopilot, trapped in a loop that I couldn’t break. I had everything I had ever imagined. Tulip finished college and joined me. She was a valuable asset to my pack. Everyone knew that we were going to marry.
She was always there ever since she arrived. She was beautiful, charming, and everyone loved her. She was the perfect partner for an Alpha, the kind of girl every pack member expected me to settle with. Easy to talk to, always smiling, always eager to please. After she had come to my pack, I had stopped my dalliances. Tulip made me laugh, made me forget the weight of my responsibilities for a while. Sometimes I thought I loved her, but other times I wondered if I was simply doing what I expected of myself.
It was a sultry evening of a week I wanted to forget the most. I was watching out the window toward the forest. In the morning I had trained the new pups. With a whiskey glass in my hand, I took a deep sigh as I tilted my head up and closed my eyes. Tulip had taken a bath after we had intense sex. She came behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist.
“ What are you thinking?” she asked.
“ Nothing” I replied absentmindedly.
She kissed my shoulder. “I don’t believe you. You have been so pensive the past few days. What’s wrong? ”
1 took a shaky breath. “It’s nothing. Tulip,” I said firmly. “You should sleep. It’s past midnight. I want to go for a run in the forest. Torben wants it.” Veles, my bear was really pushing me to break free. Even after all the training in the morning, all the pack business, and intense sex with Tulip, he wanted to run. There were so many pent–up emotions. A good run was going to settle him
She made me turn toward her. “Can I ask you something?” she said in a soft voice, her dark eyes fixed on me.
“Sure.” I said, a frown pulling at my lips.
She pursed her lips as a pale blush formed on her cherks. “I know this will sound hopeless, but I wanted to know where our relationship
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Chapter 167
stands p>
A crease formed in my forehead as I narrowed my eyes on her. Tension bunched up in my shoulders. “Why p>
She licked her lips. “We both are twenty–five, and I’ve known you ever since we were pups. I think it is high time we take decisive action p>
I clenched my teeth, not liking the direction of her talk.
She continued, “I can’t wait forever for you to ask me to marry me, so‘ She let out a rough exhale. “Will you marry me, Matt?” she asked in a hopeful voice.
I parted my lips, Marriage? But then didn’t I want Tulip as my mate? She was a strong woman, and I knew her well. My Beta, Seth, often suggested that I should marry her. He accused me of suffering from loneliness. Bull fucking shit.
Torben growled inside me. ‘No, refuse her p>
But how could I refuse her? My core shook violently, leaving me breathless. Like I betrayed myself, like I was suffocating. Yet this was the right thing to do. I couldn’t let Tulip guess about our marriage.
Torben became as restless as I was, but neither of us knew how to fix it. All he said was a big ‘no‘. I couldn’t. It wasn’t right. I could have asked her to give me time. But on the inside, I knew that I had taken forever. She was really on the edge.
Tears came into her eyes. She lowered her head. “I didn’t know you were-
“Yes!“,1 blurted. “I’ll marry you!” Veles, why did it feel like I was clawing my heart?
“Really?” she squealed.
“Yeah! ” I nodded.
“Veles!” she shouted and hugged me tightly, “Thank you p>
I stood there numb. This was right. Yes. When she removed herself, she wiped her tears, and said, “I’m going to inform everyone p>
I watched her bouncing on her feet as she took her phone and went out of the room. Something heavy slammed in my chest. I drank my whiskey in one go, and then picked up the entire bottle and drained it. The numbness inside me increased.
The next day, there were a thousand calls from everyone, but one invite caught my attention. It was from Alpha Lucien. They invited me to Tamara’s fifteenth birthday. My heart skipped a beat. That’s why I hated this week. I hated her existence.
AD
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