Alpha's Secret Bride

He usually ignored calls from numbers he didn’t recognize. Most of them turned out to be salespeople or wrong numbers. But for the past few days, he had been waiting for a call from Scarlet’s elderly neighbor, so he had answered two unknown calls already, only to be disappointed.

When his device rang again that moonfall, he glanced at the screen.

An unfamiliar number.

His eyes dropped to the location beneath it, and he straightened in his seat.

"This has to be him."

He answered before the second ring ended.

"Moonfall, Mr. Darkmore," the old man said from the other end of the line.

"Did you see her?" Greg asked the moment the call connected.

"She came back last moonfall," the old man replied. "I tried calling you, but you didn’t..."

"I’m on my way," Greg cut in. "I’ll call you when I get there."

He ended the call, threw the covers aside, and headed straight for the bathchamber. A few minutes later, he was dressed and walking quickly toward the feeding chamber.

Eira had already set breakfast on the table. She looked up with a smile as he walked in.

"I made your favorites," she said.

Greg pulled out a chair and sat down. He forced himself to eat a few spoonfuls, but every glance at the clock made him more restless. Finally, he set the spoon down, slid the plate away, and rose from his seat.

"I’m leaving."

Eira’s smile disappeared.

"I made this breakfast just for you."

She stepped closer. The thin, sheer gown she wore left very little to the imagination.

Greg looked at her for a moment before quietly saying, "Thank you, Eira. You should change into something decent."

She frowned and glanced down at herself.

"What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?"

Instead of answering, Greg picked up his ear piece.

"Did anyone give you a car key recently?"

A small smile curled across Eira’s lips.

"Yes," she replied with a nod.

"Thank you for the gift." She smiled.

"It isn’t for you." Gregory looked toward the driveway. "Can I have it? I want to take the car out."

Eira’s smile faded for a moment. She turned without another word, went into her chamber, and came back carrying a small gift box.

She held it out to him.

"You want to know what’s wrong with what you’re wearing?" Gregory asked.

Eira nodded, waiting for his answer.

"Ask one of the guards at the gate."

He gave a small shrug, slipped his earpiece into his ear, and headed toward the grand foyer. By the time he reached the entrance, he was already talking on his device.

Eira stood where she was and watched him disappear into the house.

Her hand slowly fell to her side.

Just a few days ago, he would have stayed to talk. Now he barely looked at her.

Her jaw tightened.

"Scarlet..."

She whispered the name under her breath, her nails digging into her palm.

**************

Scarlet sat on the couch, staring at the empty chamber.

The silence wrapped around her again. Two weeks had passed. By now, everyone at the café had probably accepted that she wasn’t coming back.

She let out a slow breath, pushed herself to her feet, and headed for the bathchamber. After a quick shower, she got dressed. She couldn’t stay inside feeling sorry for herself. It was time to start looking for another job.

She had barely opened her apartment door when she froze.

Gregory stood outside with one hand raised, his finger inches from the doorbell.

Her eyes widened. She tried to slam the door shut, but he caught it with one hand before it could close. No matter how hard she pushed, the door wouldn’t budge.

She gave up, turned, and hurried back inside.

She stopped beside the wall, folded her arms across her chest, and looked away.

A moment later, she heard his footsteps behind her.

Gregory set the paper bag he was carrying on the bed. Then he stepped in front of her and gently lowered her folded arms.

"Come here."

She didn’t resist.

He guided her to the edge of the bed, and they sat down in silence.

After a few moments, he turned to look at her.

"How are you?"

"I’m fine," she answered quietly. "How are you?"

"I’m fine too."

For a long moment, he studied her face without saying anything.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

He let the silence stretch between them before speaking again.

"You disappeared without saying a word."

She lowered her eyes to her lap. Her fingers curled together.

"Eira came to see you, didn’t she?"

She started to shake her head.

Then she stopped.

She had promised herself she would never lie again. From now on, she wanted people to see a different side of her—the woman she was trying so hard to become.

After a moment, she gave a small nod.

Gregory’s jaw tightened.

"Did she tell you to resign from your job?"

"Yes," she said.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"And you did?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Scarlet lowered her eyes for a moment.

"She thinks something is going on between us. I don’t blame her for thinking that. She’s your fiancée."

Greg let out another laugh, bracing one hand behind him as he leaned back on the bed.

"We’re not getting mated. I’m not ready to settle down with anyone." He shrugged. "She’s... my moonally, just like you and Ama."

Silence settled between them.

Scarlet looked away. She didn’t know how to tell him she didn’t want to be his moonally. She didn’t want anyone that close to her.

Greg studied her for a long moment.

"Why are you living like you’re afraid of everyone?" he asked quietly. "I just want to be your best ally. No strings attached. Just a moonally."

She shook her head.

"I’m... not... ready to be anyone’s moonally. I just want to be alone."

"Scarlet, what’s going on?" he asked.

She rose from the chair, reached for her bag, and slung it over her shoulder.

"I need to go look for another job."

"Sit down. We’re not done talking."

"We are."

"No, we’re not." His voice stayed calm. "Please, sit."

She tightened her grip on the strap of her bag and looked at him.

"What else do you want to talk about?"

"I don’t believe you’re soft," he said quietly. "Something happened to you, and you’ve been carrying it around ever since. I want to know what it is."

Scarlet lowered her eyes.

"If I tell you..." Her voice came out barely above a whisper. "Will you stay away from me?"

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

"I want to hear it first," Greg said. "Then I’ll decide whether to stay away or not."

She let out a shaky breath.

"I’m...a bad girl." Her lips trembled. "A very, very bad girl."

Greg didn’t interrupt.

"I have a sibling," she continued. "But she’s not my biological sibling."

He frowned.

"Was she adopted?"

Scarlet slowly shook her head.

"No." She swallowed hard. "She was stolen."

Greg’s brows drew together.

"Stolen? What do you mean she was stolen?"

"My parents claimed another woman’s daughter as their own." Her voice cracked. "Her mother gave birth using my mother’s identity, and they took the pup."

Greg stared at her in disbelief.

"Oh... my moon goddess."

A tear slipped down Scarlet’s cheek.

"It was horrible," she whispered.

He remained silent for a moment before asking gently, "Why would they do something like that?"

Scarlet covered her face with both hands.

"Because we’re horrible people." Her shoulders shook as the words left her mouth.

Greg waited until her crying eased before speaking again.

"Hey." His voice was calm. "Take your time. Start from the beginning and tell me what happened."

Scarlet wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"I..." She struggled to get the words out."I seduced my sibling’s moonmate."

Greg blinked.

"You?" he asked quietly.

Scarlet let out a hollow laugh.

"Yes, me. I also seduced her moonmate’s father and slept with him so his family would accept me."

Greg stared at her.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me."

He held her gaze for a long moment.

"Did they accept you?"

"They did." A bitter smile flickered across her face before disappearing. "But it turned into a never-ending war between my sibling and me. In the end, she won... and I was the one they threw out."

Her voice broke. She covered her face, but the tears came anyway.

Greg rose without a word and walked to the window. He slipped his hands into his pockets and stood there, looking out over the city. Cars crawled along the streets below, but his eyes stayed fixed on the distance.

"What about your mother?" he asked quietly, still facing the window.

Scarlet lowered her hands.

"She took her own life four months ago."

His shoulders stiffened.

"Because of everything that happened?"

"Yes."

Silence settled between them.

"What about your father?"

She swallowed.

"The truth about him came out during the fight."

Greg slowly turned his head, though he still didn’t look at her.

"What truth?"

Scarlet drew in a shaky breath.

"He killed a pup many winters ago and got away with it."

The words hung heavily in the chamber.

"When everyone found out, that was the final blow. No family wanted anything to do with us anymore. My moonallies walked away one by one. People looked at me like I was filthy. They laughed when I passed them on the street."

She wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"I couldn’t live like that anymore. Every day felt worse than the one before, so... I left my country."

Greg remained silent for a while.

"What about your sibling?"

Scarlet looked down at her hands.

"She’s kind," she said softly. "We’re on good terms now."

Greg stared at her without a word.

Nothing she had told him was what he had expected.

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