Alpha's Secret Bride

"Are you all right?" he asked, his voice carrying the calm authority of a dominant wolf.

Emma jolted to her feet, confusion swirling in her eyes as if she had just stepped into the mansion of a higher-ranked pack without warning.

"I... I’ll... clean it," she stuttered, her voice barely above a whisper, betraying her unease.

"Sit down," he waved her back with a subtle but commanding gesture.

She lowered herself onto the seat with the careful grace of a she-wolf who feared even the slightest disturbance could break the fragile peace around her. He signaled one of his domestic workers. After a few moments, a she-wolf entered with cleaning supplies and swiftly restored the lounge to order.

Silence lingered. Heavy. Oppressive.

None of them spoke.

Emma felt as though she had just handed herself a rejection sealed with finality.

"Brandon, is she alright?" Ashley asked, his tone edged with scrutiny, drawing out his words like a careful hunt.

"She is fine," Brandon replied, offering a calm smile as his gaze briefly settled on her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I doubt that," he shook his head slowly. "I asked her a question a few minutes ago, but she totally ignored me."

"She is fine," Brandon repeated, lifting his glass and taking a composed sip, as though nothing disturbed his inner peace.

Ashley’s eyes drifted to Emma before he leaned back into his lounger, studying her with quiet calculation.

"Ken is coming in this moonfall; did he tell you?"

"Yeah, I told him to come and see me."

"Why? He just left your house a few moons ago."

"Yes. There is a new development and I need him around."

"Well, he is your best moonally." He fell silent, his posture still, as if waiting for a reason that would justify their presence.

"Did he tell you he broke up with Arianna?"

"Yes," Brandon responded, his tone tightening slightly as he exhaled.

"I hate what he did to that wolf. Brandon, talk to your moonally; he is almost thirty!"

"I’ll talk to him. That’s also one of the reasons I need to see him."

"Then go ahead and see him. I hope everything works out well."

Ashley took a slow sip of his wine, placing the glass carefully beside him. "You’re not here because of Ken. I know why you are here, but um... just like I told you during our last conversation; it is not in my power. I cannot convince the king to accept her."

His gaze shifted to Emma.

"Would you mind leaving the lounge? I want to talk to him alone."

"Alright," Emma said softly, rising to her feet.

"I want her to stay," Brandon objected immediately, his tone firm with quiet dominance.

Ashley merely shrugged. Emma returned to her seat without protest.

"I am not chasing you away," Ashley continued, his tone steady. "Brandon is like my moonpup. We speak freely. He is used to how I speak. I do not decorate my words. Please, do not be offended."

"Alright," she murmured.

"Brandon, here is the reason why I cannot persuade the king to acknowledge her. Nine winters ago, he discovered she was an illegitimate moonpup. He tried to warn you why he would not allow you to continue seeing her, but you were stubborn."

He paused, his gaze hardening.

"He also discovered her mother was a wolf wanderer. No one knows who her father is," Ashley said, turning his attention fully to Emma.

"Young wolf, I do not mean to wound you, but you must understand how impossible this path is. The sooner you accept the harsh truth, the better for you."

His voice carried the weight of authority—unyielding, uncompromising.

"The royal kingdom stands as the first of all pack-kins. Every eye watches its members. The moment the identity of the Prince’s bride is revealed, they will dig into your past, your lineage, your bloodline. I mean everything about you."

Emma remained silent, her heartbeat echoing in her chest.

"Your father—who is currently unknown—will be exposed. They will uncover every shadow of his past, every act, every mistake, in an attempt to tarnish the royal pack’s honor."

Ashley leaned forward slightly, his tone sharpening.

"Now tell me... what will the king do if your father emerges tomorrow and it turns out he is an ex-convict, a forbidden herb dealer, a murderer, a pedophile...?"

"You forgot to add a ’hateful high fang regent. Stop pretending. I know you hate me so much," Emma murmured without lifting her gaze.

Brandon’s hand immediately found hers, squeezing it gently—a silent warning, a grounding force.

She swallowed her words, understanding the message behind his touch.

Ashley’s expression darkened.

"The she-wolf in the royal mansion is well-trained. She does not disrespect elder wolves the way you do," he said sharply. "You were headstrong during our last meeting, and that behavior will not take you far."

He turned away, facing his aquarium, his voice simmering with restrained anger.

"I am—"

"Listen," Ashley cut in, lowering his legs again as he interrupted Brandon.

"Calling me a hateful high fang regent will not change the truth. A moon prince of this kingdom cannot mate an illegitimate wolf. A she-wolf with a scandalous identity."

His voice deepened, laced with authority.

"According to the royal mating act of 1890, a royal pack member cannot be mated to one without noble blood."

He gestured slightly.

"The she-wolf in the royal mansion was accepted by the king for reasons known only to him. Even with her background and academic standing, she is not qualified to be Prince Brandon’s mate."

The air grew heavier.

"What you both did cannot be recognized as a legal mating. A prince cannot form a bond without the king’s approval."

His eyes locked onto Brandon.

"I am sure you understand the consequences. You will lose your royal standing. Your place in the pack will be stripped from you."

His voice dropped into a final decree.

"Even if hell freezes over, the king will never accept her."

Silence followed.

Not a single breath dared disturb the weight of his words.

Ashley had spoken.

And he had called her what the kingdom would eventually see her as—an illegitimate moonpup.

"Well, Alpha Ashley," Brandon said calmly, breaking the silence, "thank you for your explanation. But that is not why we are here."

Ashley lifted his glass.

"Why are you here?"

"I went to Belarus yesterday to meet a she-wolf named Emily Hale." He paused, watching Ashley carefully.

The name stirred no recognition.

"You and Ken also met her twenty-four winters ago in Belarus. Do you remember her?"

Ashley narrowed his eyes slightly.

"She works in a resting den, right?" he asked slowly.

"Yes. But she no longer works there."

"Why did you go there to see her. Is she now working for you?" Ashley asked again, suspicion creeping into his tone.

Brandon leaned back slightly, his lips curling into a faint smile.

"Before I tell you why, let’s talk about what you did to her."

A flicker of amusement passed between them—two alphas exchanging silent understanding.

Emma watched carefully, noticing the strange ease between them.

"I did nothing to her," Ashley replied after a brief pause, sipping his wine once more.

He relaxed back into his lounger, his gaze drifting to the aquarium as though the conversation had already shifted into deeper waters...

"How was she when you last saw her?"?"

"She was fine."

"Is she mated?"

"No."

"Bond severance?"

"No."

"Why?" He frowned, his alpha aura rippling with worry.

"She would like to meet you and Ken. Would you like to see her?"

"Why not? She was good to us and we liked her a lot."

"Why did you fail to keep the promise you made to her?" Brandon asked, his voice low and commanding.

"What promise?"

"You promised you would return and take her away, but you never went back there."

Ashley burst into a deep, rumbling laugh and sat upright.

"You really saw her," he grinned again, his eyes glinting like a predator in the dark.

"Well, I lied to her."

"Why did you do that?"

"I did not want her to feel the pain of us leaving the territory."

"What happened?"

"It’s a long story, Brandon,"

"Summarize it."

He smiled faintly and fell silent. Brandon did not press him further. He only watched him, as though waiting for the truth to surface.

"I began to feel a strange pull toward her... and the only way to silence it was to leave the territory. So I created an urgent excuse and left with Ken."

"Strange pull?"

"Yes"

"How?"

"I fell in love with her," he admitted with a soft smile.

"That’s not strange!" Brandon shrugged, his alpha instincts rejecting the doubt.

"She was just a young she-wolf—Emily was nineteen, at most twenty, while I was already thirty. That... crossed a line I couldn’t ignore," he said, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "I never planned to return. I didn’t want to face her again."

"You shouldn’t have suppressed the bond."

"Didn’t you hear me? She was too young. The gap was too vast! What would the packs say? That I was dating an innocent young she-wolf?" he said, relaxing back onto his lounger. "I wouldn’t have resisted if she were in her early twenties, I mean twenty-one or two... I really did care for her," he murmured and drained the last drop from his glass."We were never aligned in fate either," he added, though deep down he wished their destinies had aligned, as he moved toward the wine cellar to pour more.

"She would like to see you."