Ch. 36..40: The Alpha’s Exchanged Mate Chapter 36-40

The Alpha’s Exchanged Mate – Chapter 36

Edwina’s POV…

I took a sip from the glass of water in my hands as I made my way through the stairs and in the direction of the room. Just at the top of the stairs, a particular painting caught my attention, and I paused in my steps to observe it.

It was one of those paintings that depicted what looked to be a village, and I smiled the moment I caught sight of the little children that were hurdled in the corner, playing.

It occurred to me that this was a staircase I passed through almost every time. It was the only way that I could go up or down this house, so it was pretty obvious that I used the stairs a lot. Yet, this was the first time that I was actually noticing the painting.

It wasn’t like it had not been there for a long time. It was just the fact that I never paid any attention to it. I went up and down these stairs every day, and it was like I had never even seen the painting. And it made me wonder about what other things I hadn’t seen in this large house.

There were plenty of rooms that I had never been in, and it made me realize that I needed a tour, and since Alexander wasn’t home yet, it meant I had to do this tour by myself. He was still dealing with the whole sizzlers issue, one more issue we needed to take care of.

I moved towards the doors I had never stepped into and began to open them one after the other.

Some doors opened up into a bedroom. I found a mini library, looked away in one and began browsing through the shelves, hoping to see something that would catch my eyes. I was also hoping I’d see something I could take along with me on my tour.

After a few minutes of looking around, a particular romance novel caught my attention from the pile that was stacked in the corner. I picked that one up and moved out of the room again, shutting the door firmly behind me.

I continued on until I reached the room at the farthest end of the hallway, and then I frowned.

All the other doors had the same design except this one. There was a certain difference to the door that made it stand out, but when I twisted the knob, it refused to budge. It was locked.

That caused my frown to deepen even more. None of the other doors had been locked except maybe Alexander’s office, but that was understandable.

My curiosity was piqued, and I really wanted to find out what was behind this particular door that not only made it different but also made it stand out.

It was apparent that I wasn’t going to get the answers that I wanted by standing in front of the door, so I moved away from it, back in the direction of the room at the other end.

The moment I got into the room and placed the glass of water on top of the nightstand, I settled in the middle of the bed to begin reading the book I had gotten from the library.

I was so lost in the novel that I had failed to hear the front door opening, and it was until when Alexander wheeled himself into the room that I realized he was home.

“Hello, welcome home,” I called out cheerily, smiling softly at my husband.

He returned my small smile, wheeling himself in the direction of the dressers at the end of the room to begin undressing.

“Hi, how was your day?” He asked, and I nodded my head in response even when I knew he couldn’t see me. I didn’t want to start off our conversation by asking about the Sizzlers saga. I would rather have another conversation.

“It was good. I explored the house a little bit,” I responded, and he turned his head in my direction.

“Really? What did you find?” He indulged.

“Not much. I did find a library which I think will become my favorite part of this house soon, and also, there was a different-looking door at the other side of the hallway that was surprisingly locked.” I threw in casually, hoping to catch his genuine reaction.

Alexander wheeled around, so he was facing me, and he only watched me in silence. I waited for him to explain what could be behind the door, but there was nothing from him, and that frustrated me a little.

“What’s behind the door, Alexander?” I asked finally, tired of waiting for the man to speak.

“You do not want to know that, Edwina.” He responded with a slight smirk on his face, which doubled the curiosity that had settled in my stomach since the moment that I had discovered the door.

“Of course, I want to know. I’m your wife, Alexander, and there should’nt be any secrets between us.” I said, and my husband only continued to watch me.

His attitude made me feel like I was right to think that the door held something really secretive or maybe bad.

Alexander seemed to have finished his scrutinization because, in the next moment, he clicked his tongue and nodded his head.

“Dress up, and I’ll show you the room then.” He responded, and that was all I needed to hear because, in the next second, I was moving off the bed.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing though?” I asked, looking down at the casual clothes I currently had on.

“Put on some of your nice lingerie and cover up with one of those your satin robes then come meet me in the room,” Alexander instructed, and his voice sent a shiver down my spine, but it also confused me.

He moved to the bedside drawer and dug around for a key, and then He was wheeling himself out of the room before I could ask him another question. Why did I have to wear a lingerie to see the room?

I did as I was told, though, since I couldn’t exactly ask him any questions.

The moment I knotted the robe on my frame, I slipped my foot into my slippers and moved quickly in the direction of the intriguing door.

My breath seized in my throat, and it felt like all the air rushed out of my lungs the moment I pulled open the door and discovered what was in it.

There was a wooden cross in the form of an X leaning against the wall at the end of the room, and it had chains at every end of it, and then different tools hung up on the wall around and in the center of the surprisingly huge space, was a bed covered in a blank satin sheet. There were no windows in the room.

“Welcome to my playroom Edwina,” Alexander called from his position by the bed.

I looked everywhere at once, trying to take in everything. I wasn’t stupid, I knew what a playroom was and what was done in it, but I didn’t think that Alexander would be into that sort of thing.

“I don’t understand. A-are you a do-dominant?” I stuttered out the question.

Alexander was already shaking his head no before the words could completely leave my mouth.

“No, I’m not. Well, not exactly. While I was married to Sonia, she was really into the whole submissive s*x, and then I decided to install this playroom so I could indulge her.” He explained, and I swallowed, nodding my head. My eyes widened as I realized there was a lot I didn’t know about my sister. But I was also curious to know what all of these items were and how they were being used.

Some of the items in the room looked scary, while the others looked like things I would enjoy, and I could already feel my body heating up at the thought of actually playing with certain things.

“That is a St. Andrew’s cross. It works with the submissive being fastened on it with the chains but legs and hands. It allows the dominant to have easier access to the submissive’s body.” Alexander explained when he noticed the way my eyes lingered on the cross.

And after that, he went on to explain the different items in the room. By the time we were standing by the bed again after several minutes of going through the different items, my body was tingling in arousal, and I could feel my core leak.

“The scent of your arousal is musky Edwina. Would you like to try out something? It could be something really light since it’s your first time.” He offered, and I didn’t have to think about it before I was nodding my head.

“Yes, I would.” I said softly. I was too curious not to want to.

“Alright. Strip completely and hold on to the bed with your butt facing this way.” Alexander instructed, and I moved to do as told.

While I waited patiently in my spot, I could hear the sound of Alexander’s wheels moving around the room, and then there was the opening and closing of drawers before the Alpha was returning behind me.

He remained behind me for a minute without doing anything, and I was almost tempted to turn around to look at him, but before I could even complete that thought, something was smacking my butt. Hard!

I yelped at the contact and jumped, losing my grip on the bed and almost falling in the process, but I was able to catch myself.

And it was then that I realized that after the initial sting and shock that had come from the spanking, a certain pleasure began forming in the spot that the staff had hit, and then it began to spread like wildfire throughout my body.

“Don’t let go of that bed Edwina,” Alexander instructed, and I nodded my head rapidly, holding on to the wooden frame of the bed and jutting my a*s out, waiting for more.

And it came soon in the form of another hard spank, and another, then another, and soon I was screaming out in pleasure. I couldn’t be sure of what exactly he was using to hit my a*s, but it felt like a wooden ruler, only bigger.

Just as I felt my o****m building higher and higher in my abdomen, Alexander dropped the tool onto the floor, and I had just been about to whine in protest when I heard the zip of his pants being undone.

In the next second, he was slamming his hard c**k into my entrance, and I didn’t need any prompt before I was bouncing up and down the length of his shaft.

There was nothing gentle about the s*x. It was hard, fast, and almost brutal, and as my a*s slapped against his skin, the burn of the recent spanking he had given me turned me on even more.

Since when did I become such a little masochist?

I leaked p***y juice all over Alexander’s d**k as I continued to ride him, and the wet, squishy sound that echoed through the room made the act even dirtier. We were full-on f*****g!

And it felt terribly good too.

When Alexander gave a powerful thrust and buried himself to the hilt in my p***y, I knew that I didn’t stand a chance.

My o****m hit hard, and I spilled my cum all over his d**k, tightening my p***y walls around his c**k and enjoying as he g*****d loudly as his o****m also hit him.

I held onto the sheets of the bed tightly, panting as if I had just run miles, but there was a lazy smile painting my lips.

I knew that I was definitely coming back to this room soon again. It was about to become my favorite room since I knew that I wanted to try every item that the room held. No wonder Sonia was into this weird shit. There are different kinds of self-inflicted pain, and this was one sweet one.

I had never m****d as hard as I did today, and I never knew I would like having s*x in such a manner. Maybe there is a lot about my sexuality I was yet to explore.

 

The Alpha’s Exchanged Mate – Chapter 37

Edwina’s POV…

It had only been a few hours since our arrival at the cottage, but I already felt more relaxed than I had been in a long time.

I couldn’t be sure what it was exactly that made the feelings of stress and pressure to leave, but one thing I was sure of was the atmosphere and how much being in one place together with Alexander felt right. It was also good to be away from the noise and all the rising chaos that started since the sizzlers appeared during the coronation.

I had to force Alex to take this trip today. He was so worried as there were rumors of some of the soldiers in the night howlers pack threatening to join the sizzlers. And that wasn’t a battle I wanted him to face. At least he should do so with a clear head.

There were no people to upset me, no different sorts of noises, or the other things that came with being at the pack house.

Instead, the sounds of pans and pots that usually came from the kitchen were replaced with birds chirping, and the sound of the conversations around me was now replaced with the soft hum of the breeze as it ruffled through the trees around me.

“That smile is infectious. Penny for your thoughts?” Alexander asked, and I turned to look in his direction, throwing a small smile his way.

He was currently lying on the bed, propped up on a ridiculous amount of soft pillows, and he, too, appeared to be relaxed. Although we hadn’t spoken a word to each other in the last couple of minutes, it didn’t feel awkward.

The silence wasn’t one of those that unsettled one or both of us. It wasn’t the type of silence that made me want to say something, anything to dispel it. Instead, it was one of those silences that brought peace with it.

“It’s pretty relaxing here.” I offered, moving from my perched position by the door to settle on the bed beside him.

Alexander offered me a small smile, patting the space beside him and encouraging me to come to join him further up the bed. I smiled at his offer and moved until I was perched right beside him.

“It is. I don’t regret coming up here at all. I think we really needed a break from the noise and stress.” He said, and I nodded my head in agreement.

“Wanna know the best thing?” He asked in that mischievous tone that I had grown accustomed to in the last month.

“What?” I humored, doing my best to suppress the grin that was currently threatening to split my face in half.

“We get to do IT anywhere.” He said, wiggling his brows playfully at me.

His jokes could be so cocky, and I love that he could still make jokes at this moment when I know his mind is nowhere than in the night howlers territory.

I let out a loud laugh at his words, unable to hold back when I caught the playful look in his eyes, but it wasn’t until I came down from my laughter high that I noticed the glint in his eyes.

I knew what that look was, and my body heated and tingled as his eyes ran over my body.

I had been thinking of what s*x would be like with him in a different environment, away from the four-corner restriction of the room.

He leaned in gently, causing me to lean in halfway and connect our lips in a sweet k**s.

His lips were slightly chapped from the cold, but I did not mind one bit. Instead, I pressed closer to him as his hands moved to cup my face while my mind reached up to hold the hem of his shirt.

He tasted so good that my eyes fluttered shut at the feeling of his tongue prodding my mouth, asking for permission to enter into my mouth. I parted my lips for him, allowing him entrance.

His hand moved from cupping my cheek to sliding down my neck until he grasped the hem of my sweater and tugged lightly on it. He pulled away slowly, making sure we both had enough space to breathe, and I was able to slide the material of my sweater off my body before reconnecting our mouths.

This time our k****s were more profound, with more tongue involved as well as a lot less gentle. My hands roamed up his chest before moving to tangle in his long dark brown hair before gripping onto the softness as I pushed his head backward.

Our tongues dueled and danced together as if it had been years since we last did this. Our chests rose and fell in sync while sweat began to pool between our bodies. He broke away to look at me, resting his forehead against mine.

I moved to cross my legs over his so I was straddling him, and his eyes immediately fell to my breasts which were perfectly tucked in the purple lacy bra that I had on.

His fingers began tracing the soft skin of my breasts, and I watched with hooded eyes as he bit his lips as if contemplating what he wanted to do first, but before he could come to a decision, I lifted myself off his body and began unbuttoning his pants.

He let out a shaky breath watching me with hungry eyes as I slid them slowly down his thighs and dropped them by the bed.

I removed my own jeans next, leaving me to remain in the matching purple lacy panties, and once I was done with that, I took the time to remove his boxers next, smirking gently when I caught sight of the precum that had currently formed a wet patch on the material of his boxers.

His e******n sprung free as soon as I freed him from the restrictive confines of the fabric, and I reached down to take his hard shaft in my hands; running my hands up and down the length, I smiled as he took in a shaky breath and then I increased my pace slightly.

My eyes met his once again as I began to pump him slowly, and I enjoyed the way his eyes watched me and seemed to follow my every movement. Once I felt like he was ready enough, I took his length into my mouth, moaning slightly at the taste of him. He let out a loud grunt as my tongue lathered his c**k with saliva.

After a few moments of bobbing my head up and down on him, I focused on the sensitive head of his c**k. My body tingled with the way he g*****d, grunted, and even growled at some point.

As I continued f*****g him with my mouth, I noticed that his eyes never left my breasts which made me unhook my bra, throwing it to the pile of our clothes on the floor and then pressing his hard shaft in between my cleavage.

He m****d loudly at the sensation of being surrounded by my warm cleavage, and I did my best to move my breasts up and down his length. It felt good to be able to take care of him in his way, and every sound he made or shudder that went through his body caused my core to tingle even more.

I pulled him out of my breasts and moved further down to lick his balls. After giving each of them a quick lick, he stopped my movements, adjusting the pillow beside him and then encouraging me to sit on his hard shaft.

I pulled off my lacy panties and then moved to straddle him once more, guiding his hard shaft to my wet core.

He g*****d loudly as my warm clit rubbed against his shaft, causing him to thrust forward forcefully. I gasped as his hardness hit my sensitive opening, causing my walls to tighten around him and making him chuckle in delight. He quickly wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close.

He rocked us back and forth, finally taking charge in the manner that he was used to, and I let him. I was shutting my eyes tight as he continued to thrust into me. I met his upward thrusts with my downward thrusts, and soon, I could feel the building in my abdomen increase.

My m***s came out loud and high-pitched, and when he took a nipple into his mouth, he suckled on it gently with his eyes closed. He looked like he was enjoying the sweetest treat of his life and the sight of him like that turned me on beyond belief, making me begin to bounce up and down faster and faster on his length. Sometimes I wonder how he manages to make such a move. I then get worried if he isn’t trying too hard and secretly hurting himself just to impress me.

His eyes opened wide, and the pleasure and l**t that were written in his depths only encouraged me. I took his lips in a k**s, and as opposed to my movements on his c**k, the k**s was actually really soft and sweet. His tongue entered my mouth, and he began to suckle gently in it.

At the same time, his fingers moved between our bodies to press themselves against my clit, and he began to stroke the hardened nub in the most pleasurable way possible. The sensation was almost unbearable as the pleasure grew higher and higher.

I began to pant heavily as my desire increased, and Alexander grinned, knowing I was close. His thumb moved faster and faster against my clit, and I cried out, letting my o****m rip through me like an unstoppable force. I was so far gone into my o****m that I could barely hear Alexander’s loud growls as he also reached his peak.

We stayed connected for a little while after that, breathing heavily and coming down from our highs. Afterward, we basked in the aftermath of our lovemaking.

We were both still breathing heavily, and I was still contemplating about what the right moment to tell him about Ben’s involvement with the sizzlers. I sometimes tend to wonder if I wasn’t paying some sort of foolish loyalty to Ben.

“A penny for your thought,” he said again, smiling sheepishly.

“What do you remember about the last attack of the sizzlers?”

I could see him frown. This was definitely not a topic he wanted to talk about. Not now.

He then said his thoughts aloud. “Can we not talk about it now? You dragged me away from the night howler territory here in order to clear my mind, not add to it.”

“This is important,” I insisted and glared at me.

“What is wrong, Edwina?”

“Can you please tell me all you remember?”

“There is nothing much, we were in battle, and I and Ben were fighting side by side. They had ambushed us in our secret hide-out and outnumbered us. That was how I got crippled,” he narrated briefly, “what is it?”

I let out an exasperated gasp.

“I found out from my sister that they planned with the night howlers to kill you and Ben had connived with them,”

I could see the shock expressed all over his eyes and anger and fury rushing down his veins.

“F**k!!!”

“F**k!” he exclaimed,

“What is it?” I asked as I could see a shocking light of realization hit him.

“Now I know why they want you as a settlement deal.”

 

The Alpha’s Exchanged Mate – Chapter 38

Alexander’s POV…

“Pack our clothes now. We are going back,” I yelled at Edwina, who was perplexed by my sudden change in reaction.

“Why, what happened?” She asked.

“I said pack our clothes now! We are going back.” This time, I commanded her.

“I need to know why you are cutting our honeymoon and why was I the settlement deal?”

F**k!!! I exclaimed, scratching my hair. I always do that when I am agitated. Why can’t this woman just listen to me and understand we don’t have time for a long explanation? We were running out of time.

“Did you demand an explanation when you decided to keep such a crucial piece of information to yourself?” I blurted out and regretted it as soon as the words were out. She didn’t utter a word and moved immediately to the room and began throwing the clothes in the bag. We had not gotten much time to unpack when we came in here.

“I am sorry, I didn’t mean it that way,” I called after her.

“Yes, you did, ” she replied back briefly and started zipping the bags. She didn’t fold the clothes, so she was finding it quite hard to zip the baggage and was struggling with it.

“But you can’t blame me for thinking in such a way, why do you have to wait for us to come all the way here before you tell me?” I should probably just shut up, we’re getting better, and now I have just ruined it again with my quick words of assumptions.

“First of all, I waited because I just found out recently, during my last visit to my sister, you know the one you went to also visit her and we had that big fight that night,”

“We have had conversations after that,” I should probably shut up now because I was making things worse, not better.

Edwina continued. “Secondly, I was skeptical about telling you__.”

“Why? Because you are still trying to save Ben’s cheating a*s???” I yelled at her. At this point, I was way beyond micro-managing the situation.

“Because it involves my sister, and I know the penalty for treason,” she yelled back at me this time, for the first time she yelled back at me. And that act alone made me calm. I couldn’t say a word.

There was a creeping silence that overshadowed the room. It was a silence that we both knew too well.

“I think Ben wants you back,” I said calmly.

She glared at me with confusion, and I could understand that she needed further explanation.

“There is no reason why the sizzlers would need you. It has been strange to me till now. Only Ben could make such a request, and if truly he worked with them, it means that he is most likely still working with them,” I gazed at her, hoping we would have reached some sort of clarity, but I saw that she was still looking so perplexed.

“What is it?” I asked again.

“I am about to tell you something, but please don’t get angry at me,” the fact she needed to say that for me not to react broke me down. What have I become? I wasn’t a man they were conscious of making certain statements around.

“I am sorry, if you ever feel like I am not approachable, you can tell me anything,” I muttered to her before I reached towards her and grabbed her hands.

“When I went to visit Ben, I asked him what he plans to do with the child, and he told me that Sonia has not been picking up his call. According to what he said, he might end up escaping just to be with his child. So I don’t know why Ben will ask for me. It isn’t me he wants. He wants his child and its mother.”

At this moment, my head was already singing red, and I couldn’t imagine why she could hide such crucial information from me. How can she claim she is doing this for Sonia when this only benefits Ben? Even since he said Sonia doesn’t want him anywhere near the kid?

But I promised her not to react even though every inch of me wanted to react to the fullest.

“Let’s get going. If Ben is working with the sizzlers and plans to escape, this would be the perfect time for him to bust out, knowing I am not around and there is a limited chain of command,” I told her, still trying to contain my anger, she nodded and quickly zipped the bag, we rushed out to the car, and I could see how puzzled the driver who had ridden us out here for three hours on the road became confused when we told him we were heading back.

Throughout the ride back home, my mind flickered around to that night I became crippled and how I couldn’t put it together. That day alone had a lot of things to do regarding that.

He was the only one that knew the secret plan. He was the only one that knew the exit plan.

We were still far. I tried reaching Caleb so that he could head down to the penitentiary before we reached there.

“F**k!!!” I exclaimed out loud.

“What is it?” She asked

“I am trying to reach Caleb but this damn network isn’t going through, it only works in the Night howlers territory.”

At this point, I was becoming impatient and frustrated with the outcome of this trip. If only we had stayed in the night howlers’ territory, maybe, just maybe, it would make a difference. I am now feeling the same way I felt that day the war started, and I lost everything.

***FLASHBACK***

Most people believe people know the day they will die, that they have this feeling of abnormalities and make strange requests and comments.

To me, that day would have been every other normal day. There would have been no profound statement or ultimate speech that would make anyone believe that I had a little bit of premonition about my death. I don’t know about others who lost their lives that day. Maybe they did. But I speak for myself; I knew not the day had come. I didn’t eat any special meal or wear special clothing. The only thing that might have indicated my knowledge of the predicament was that I made love to Sonia that morning. I mean, we f****d real good before heading out.

I had already coordinated my packs.

“The gamma wolves would stay behind and hold down the ford. They will play defense.” I strategize with Ben.

“No, why don’t the Gamma wolves go out as bait? The omega wolves would be in the middle line, and we will be on the battlefront,” Ben suggested.

“No, we will lose too many soldiers,” I disagreed with him.

“But we will win, while they are focused on the Gamma wolves we will sneak from behind and ambush them, and then the Omega would have already left the middle line for the frontline and we will be victorious,”

“Hmmm,” I was entertained about his plan, it was too risky, and a lot of lives would be eventually lost in the process, was that worth it? Ben suggested sacrificing some valuable lives just to win a battle.

“Trust me. This is the only way we can win them. I have thought this through, and there is no other way,” he assured me, and he was the Beta wolf. He was more experienced in battles and war than I was. It was not all battles I engaged in.

“I don’t feel comfortable sending soldiers to their death just to secure victory,” I lamented, still struggling with the idea and rationale behind the plan.

“Would you rather we lose everyone?” He asked me. And I thought about it, even though these men had wives and children, they would willingly give their lives to protect and save them. And I would do anything to save my people.

“No, let’s do this, but let’s try our best to limit casualties, as much as we can,”

I never knew I had just signed a death warrant for over three hundred soldiers, and I would have been among them if my wolf had not emerged to fight and save me.

While making our way through the underground tunnel in order to ambush them from behind, the plan was going well, Ben stayed behind as the Beta, and I led the way as the Alpha, and the last thing I recall was me changing to my wolf form immediately in order to withstand the blast and had landed on my back.

I later found out the way we won, if that was even a victory or merely an escape, was when Celeb saw the lineup on time and knew we were going to lose. He commanded the omega to take the front line, and then the gamma wolves stayed in the middle line.

All this truth starts to make more sense now. Ben knew what he was doing when he gave that strategy. He knew what he was doing when he led us to that tunnel. No wonder he was the least affected by the blast. They had all thought I had died. He had even announced I had died and had been buried alive in the tunnel after the blast, but some group of Omega wolves commenced a search for my body and saw me lying down with a group of dead wolves, I wasn’t lifeless, but I had lost the life in me.

I can honestly say a part of me died that day.

***

We returned to the night howlers’ territory, and I immediately called Caleb to prepare the soldiers.

“What is wrong?” He asked, confused as I had not given him the complete details nor let him in on the full picture of what was going on.

“I think Ben is trying to escape, and the sizzlers might try to help him,”

“What? We need to go fast then… Wait, is that why they asked for Edwina? Because he is working with them?” He asked, immediately putting the piece of the puzzle together.

“Yes, most likely, and he was also in collaboration with them during the first war we had. That was why we lost. He leaked our plans to them.

“Shit!!” He exclaimed, “that’s messed up. Let’s head out fast,”

As we rode in the car heading to the prison, a lot of wild thoughts came to my mind. I might kill Ben if I get to see him there. I thought of all the good soldiers who lost their lives because of him.

I then wondered why exactly he did all he did.

Was it because of his relationship with Sonia? It might be that he was always looking for a way to go free with it. Since I had no children, if I had died in the battle, then I think it is almost acceptable for him to inherit my wife and my throne.

Was he doing it for power? He was always power-driven, and I thought I could tame him. As we reached the penitentiary, an alarming red light had already been raised before our arrival. And I feared we were already late.

“What is going on here?” I asked a guard who was trying to control the crowd and noise.

“A prison riot broke out,”

I looked at Caleb, and we both chorused “Ben,”

We quickly and hurriedly headed for his cell. I almost forgot myself in order to stand up and run; thankfully, I didn’t. As we got there, he was nowhere to be found. We searched the whole prison after the riot had been contained.

He was still nowhere to be found.

We were already too late.

Ben had escaped!!!

 

 

The Alpha’s Exchanged Mate – Chapter 39

Ben’s POV…

“Welcome to the sizzlers community, it is good to finally get you to join us,” Alpha Bethel said, extending arms of a warm, gratifying hug. It’s been a while since I got such a warm, reserved welcome.

“Thank you, Alpha Bethel,” I replied, with only a smile on my face.

I was a free man, I wasn’t free at heart, but I was free from those shackles and thorns in my flesh.

I have been bottling a whole up for years, and it has made me become an unhappy man. But this time, I wanted to do things differently.

I believe a lot of stories have been told about me, and many people get to represent me in the version of events they are comfortable with, but for you to truly say you understand or know me, you need to have been able to work in my shoes.

I have never been one who has had any interest in what people had to say about me; truly, I don’t care.

It has always been filled with lies or some sort of half-truth, and that was their own case scenario.

I sometimes get to wonder how foolish they could be just to formulate some story in their head and tell it so often, to think they had cracked some sort of code about that person.

“Humans are predictable,” I keep telling anyone who tends to listen, and knowing that truth and accepting that truth, not just for others but also for myself, has helped me navigate through life. When I feel I am about to act humanely or give room to my emotions, I tend to remind myself I was acting in some sort of f****d up, predictable manner which will fit with the script they have given me, and I f**k the script to get to write my own script. You know, one that isn’t designed by some false narrative and held by the truth of who we are. And so you want to know who we are.

“We are all bad people,” you might shrug in disapproval and get to tell yourself likewise. You might sing different affirmations of who you believe you are. But that doesn’t change the fact that “There are no good people.” It is the sad, uncomfortable truth about reality and people. It is who we are.

What do we measure the lens of good and bad with?

A so-called “bad man” kills people to justify a course that only he believes in, and maybe others don’t get to see things in his light and then ultimately tag him as a bad person. Then a so-called “good person” gets angry at the bad person’s deeds, kills the bad person, and gets revenge. The good person is praised as justice is served but who f*****g gave him the right to carry out justice? People both condemn the bad person and praise the good person, but there is one uncomfortable truth we are forgetting, and that is the fact that they are both murderers.

It is just that one is presumed, in a general perspective, to be doing the right thing, and the other person is presumed to be doing the wrong thing.

This is what the story of my life has been. I have been misunderstood and misrepresented to be who I am not by a narrative pushed by self-aggrandizing and false propaganda.

I grew up knowing I would always be number two. It wasn’t like I wasn’t comfortable with being number two, but when people want you to assume the role of number two, they also want you to be subjugated to their every whim and whimsical. But I always knew I was born for more. I wasn’t just born to live in the shadow of the Alpha and always be at his beck and call.

I knew there was something about me that was different, something that wouldn’t settle for less. Whatever that thing might be, it didn’t let me settle for mediocrity or complacency.

Growing up with Alexander, I trained side by side with him, and I could see what a weak leader he was. Once during one of our combat training, we were asked to go head-on, one on one with each other, and we were asked not to stop until one of us had drawn the b***d of the other opponent. At that would victory be declared, and that was the first time I was facing the Alpha. It was a heated battle that lasted over an hour. I must give it out to him. He is a fierce fighter and would have won that day if he wasn’t weak and foolish; if he didn’t have compassion for someone he nearly knew and wasn’t even his friend.

He had already gotten me down on both knees, and I was at his mercy and couldn’t draw b***d. I remember our instructor shouting at him.

“Take the shot, Alex,” the old sensei who had been in charge of training us had screamed out to him.

“I said take the shot, Alex,” he yelled at him again. I could see his hands trembling and his eyes filled with so much fear at the split of the moment. I knew it was my chance to do what the Alpha was too weak to do. I kicked him and immediately drew b***d from him without even thinking about it. The sensei was both proud and disappointed, and he made a statement that day. That was the statement that changed my life and how I viewed myself in the light of all that was happening, and he said.

“If not that the lineage of the Alpha was already preserved deep into your roots, I would have said you are not fit to be the Alpha, an alpha doesn’t hesitate and put the life of his people first before anything. Ben showed that quality today and you didn’t.”

He sighed and glared at me, “good work today Ben,” he reached out to me and patted me on the back, “you showed the quality of a true leader,” he said, and that was the statement that changed my life. I knew right then and there that I wasn’t birthed to be the number two but rather number one, and Alpha Alex was never fit to lead the night howlers into the place we wanted to be.

But I still gave him multiple chances to prove to himself that he deserved to be Alpha, and he kept failing. Sometimes we would go to some of the rival soldiers who swore some battles, and he would spare temporal allegiance to the night howlers. At the end of the day, even if it goes against my better judgment, he would welcome them into the pack, and we mostly end up regretting such actions.

There was a man named Lucas, he was spared from death on a battlefield when we had conquered his territory, and he then immediately, in fear of death, went on his knee and swore allegiance to the night howlers. I took Alex to the corner to talk to him.

“I think we should kill him, ” I muttered to him, with sweat and b***d dripping down my face and hand. It was a heated battle, and even at that, I could see what he couldn’t see.

“But the law says that if anyone swears his allegiance to night howlers, he automatically becomes one of us,” he replied, and I let out a frustrated gasp.

“This man right here isn’t swearing his allegiance to the night howlers, he only wants his life to be spared and at the end of the day, he will do what they always do, stab us at the back.”

Alex glared at me and then at the man who was still on his knee, pleading and begging for mercy. I knew he didn’t have the ball to make the right call.

“I will put him under six months of careful watch and probation,” he said, and I sighed. He was too weak to be the leader, and we all knew it. And then this man who they had spared his life and placed under probation for months went around raping our women in disguise, and then there was an anonymous serial rapist amongst us, all because of the Alpha.

At the end of the day, when he was caught and revealed to be that same man who had been given a second chance to live, I immediately knew what had to be done, I drew out my sword, and that man called Lucas paid with his head.

That was only one of many instances in which Alex had proved to be a weak leader and not one suited and capable of ruling our people. And so when the sizzlers came with the proposal to dethrone Alpha Alex, I knew what had to be done.

Some people might think and assume I did it because I was having an affair with Sonia. Well, I can’t really deny the fact that it was one of the factors that had informed my decision, but that wasn’t it, it wasn’t just about all the glamorous things I wanted for myself, no matter how tempting it was, but it was for the collective good of the night howlers territory.

I had had a lot of people tell me that I would make a better leader than Alex, and to me, that was something I had never doubted. I could challenge him, but I wasn’t a bad person. I couldn’t just kill Alpha Alex because I wanted the best for the realm. At one point, I could almost even say that he was my friend and that we had grown some sort of mutual respect for each other, we had fought side by side over the years, and more than a lot of times, he had to save my a*s as much I had to save his, and that alone had helped us maintain the respect we had for each other.

Yes, I was f*****g his wife, and he didn’t know that aspect then, but when it comes to being a fighter, I can very much say that he wasn’t bad at all, and he was great at being a fighter.

So that was why it was hard for me to make that decision and betray him, but I asked myself, is this for the greater good of the night howlers? I got an affirmative answer and immediately went for it.

That was how things like that, for me, informed my decision.

“Are you ready to start planning?” Alpha Bethel said to me, and I smiled.

“This time we won’t get it wrong again,” I replied with a modest grin that could be interpreted as evil on my face.

But then again, people only see the bad in people, and that is their f*****g problem.

But there is one thing I know: I had let him take a lot from me. Starting from the fact that I was the rightful ruler of the night howlers because I deserved to be and not because I was entitled for the sake of some f*****g b***d heritage lineage. And then, there was also the fact that I don’t get to see my child being formed in his mother’s womb. He is depriving me of the right to be a father. And finally, he married Edwina, my wife, just to get back at me. What type of f****d up leader does something of that nature? I promised myself something then: I am going to get my wife back and everything that bastard had stolen from me. Even if his head goes with it. I do not f*****g care.

I’m coming for you, Alexander.

 

The Alpha’s Exchanged Mate – Chapter 40

Edwina’s POV…

I know the only reason Xander wasn’t blowing up at me was that he had promised me he wasn’t going to get angry at me, but I could see, with every fiber of being in him, that he was mad at me. I could have prevented all this; I could not have let Ben escape if I had only told them the day he had told me. Now we have a f*****g walking, living, breathing problem in our hands, and that was the most catastrophic thing I could think of right now.

I was gazing through the window of the see-through glass as I saw him talking with Caleb, he was downstairs, and I stood on the balcony surrounded by pink flowers upstairs. He was strong from left to right, and you could tell from all his facial expressions and indication that he was super agitated and perplexed about what to do. I was also.

I knew this wasn’t the right time to start casting blame on anyone, but apart from Ben, who was foolish enough to escape, again, I blame myself. Maybe I was too naive and indeed a good person. Of course, people will always take advantage of that. But what kept stroking my mind was all the incidents surrounding this.

Could I say that Ben escaped because of me or because of Sonia? Why was I even associating it with any one of us? Ben is selfish and self-centered, and he isn’t one to consider anyone when doing something. He only thinks about himself and what would be of benefit to him.

I glared again at Alex through the window.

“I can’t believe this cut your honeymoon short,” someone said from behind me, almost startling me. I would have been startled if my mind had not immediately recognized the voice to be that of Becca’s.

Becca wore a blue flair gown, and there was something about the way she looked today that felt different. Was it that because I had not seen her in a day? Her hair was packed into double buns, and for a woman in her late fourties, she does well to package herself up.

“Good evening ma’am,” she greeted me when she noticed I had not altered a word, and I kept glaring at her and her new looks.

“Good evening Becca, ” I replied, still scrutinizing her, and I could see her blushing pink as all my eyes were on her.

“You look beautiful___,” I paused a bit and added, “different. Do you have a date?” I asked, and she immediately chuckled. I couldn’t tell why she was laughing. What was funny about me asking her if she had a date?

There was nothing, absolutely nothing funny about that.

“Why are you laughing?” I asked, gazing at her.

“It’s the fact that you think I have a date. I don’t remember when last I went on a date,” she replied honestly, and I knew it was not a call for pity, but somehow I felt sorry for her.

“Why is that?” I asked again. I wasn’t devoted to this conversation, but I saw it as an avenue to get rid of the anguish in my heart,” I would give anything, absolutely anything, to feel a different way right now.

“I have given myself the past few years to this job, and ever since my husband died, I haven’t had time to date again,” I could see a familiar sadness in her eyes, and that was when I saw it, she was also a woman who had lost a lot.

“I am sorry about your husband. What happened to him?” I wasn’t sure that was an appropriate question to ask, but I could already feel my heart feeling empathy and not anguish anymore.

“During battle four years ago, he died a hero,” she said proudly. I am not sure I can be so proud to talk about death like that due to the fact of how I was bullied when I was young and treated as an outcast. I had never seen any form of service and loyalty to die for the pack. I saw it as sheer foolishness.

“It must have been hard on you,” I replied to her, and she nodded her head. I continued. “But it has been four years, I don’t know him, but I am sure he would want you to move on with someone special to you,” I said to her, and she smiled. She had this pure kind of smile that couldn’t be misinterpreted for what it was not.

“I think he would want that too for me,” she replied, but I could see a sort of familiar sadness in her eyes, she was saying something I understood, but I didn’t want to relate my situation to hers completely.

“But sadly, the only person I had seen worthy enough to move on with, doesn’t see me and would never see me in that light,”

She said sadly, and my eyes widened, wait, was she in love with Alpha Alex? I wasn’t sure what exactly it was, but she said it like I knew the person.

I have gotten to see this in TV shows, she loves the Alpha, and because she is a maid, she never gets to express it to him, and he never gets to see her in that light.

“Do you love Alpha Alex?” I took all the courage in me to ask her, it was one less battle I didn’t want to have to fight in my head, and I damned myself for having this conversation with her. Now I was caught in a point of sympathy, and that, to me, didn’t feel good. She glared at me and soon burst into an uproar of laughter. I became so confused.

“God, no, why would you think so?” She said, laughing, and I felt so embarrassed and wished the ground would open and swallow me into it.

“The way you said it,” I said and paused and glared at the window where Alex and Caleb formerly stood, conversing “and you were looking at the window,” I said and saw that Alex was no longer there, just Caleb. I used my hands and slapped my head. She meant Caleb. How didn’t I notice any sooner? “You meant Caleb, didn’t you?” I said, and she nodded her head.

“Yes, I meant Caleb,”

“Why do you think that he doesn’t like you? I have seen the way he acts around you. He is nice to you,” I spoke to her gently.

“Yes, he is kind to me because he was my husband’s friend, my husband was also an omega pack wolf, but apart from that, there is nothing more,” she said, and I could see her eyes on him. She looked at him with so much passion and love.

I wonder why I had not seen or noticed it until now.

“And ever since I had known him, he had been in love with Ramona,” she added sadly.

Wait, Ramona, the same Ramona she had suggested we called to assist us with the event planning, that Ramona.

“Ramona, the Secretary of the Alpha?” I asked if there was any other Ramona I knew. And there was not.

“Yes that one and the annoying thing is that she had never seen him for who he was, she had always told him that she could only be mated to either an Alpha or Beta and he was just a common omega, now that he is the Beta, I know she would conveniently throw herself at him.” She mumbled out loud.

“Hmmm,” I sighed. I noticed from afar that Alex was approaching us.

“I will get to talk to you later, Becca,” I said to her. She glanced at Alex, also approaching, and nodded her hair.

“Thank you so much,” she said and paused, “please, he needs you now more than ever,” she said and walked away. How does he need me now more than ever? If there is one thing I am sure of is that he blames me for the escape from Ben, but how was I to know that he was going to escape so soon? It wasn’t like he told me his plan and carefully outlined it to me, and I chose to hoard it.

“Hey,” Alex said when he approached the balcony leading to the back of the house where I stood, and I twirled back and faced him.

“Hello,” I greeted back. Ever since he came back, there has been this tension in the air, and I knew it would keep being like that. We had not talked about anything that happened.

“I am sorry we had to cut our honeymoon short,” he muttered. That wasn’t what I was expecting to hear. I was expecting him to blame me for all that had happened and maybe throw some shades of hard truth my way about how I was protecting Ben. I wouldn’t argue this because, somehow, I was not sure who I truly stood for.

“Please don’t be mad. This is all my fault. I am sorry, I should have told you immediately when I got back home that day, I have no excuse for telling you now, when it was already too late,” I muttered my apology sympathetically. I was not in sympathy because of how I felt but because of the outcome of all my choices.

“Can I ask you a question, Edwina?” He asked; normally, I don’t like it when someone has to ask your permission before asking you a question. It would only mean that they were about to ask you something hard or something that you would be relatively uncomfortable about, and to me, I am not sure I have an answer to hard questions.

“What is that?” I asked back, not responding with a yes or no. I do that often to keep my options open.

“Who are you loyal to, the night howlers or Ben?”

I knew it. He was going to ask me a question I wouldn’t be able to answer truthfully. Why can’t he just ask me questions about my loyalty to him and Ben? That would have been a much easier question to answer.

“None of them,” I replied truthfully, and he sighed.

“Why?” he asked again.

“Because they had both done me a great disservice, I grew up hating the night howlers because of how I was treated as a kid and having not being considered one of its own. Also, I can’t be loyal to Ben because he wasn’t loyal to me,” I explained explicitly.

“So you aren’t loyal to the territory. This is a pack, and you are it’s Luna. How do we have a Luna who isn’t able to give her best to the pack?”

He retorted. I expected that reaction from him because he wouldn’t understand what it meant for me growing up, dejected and not in a good headspace.

He asked the question that I knew I wouldn’t struggle with because I knew for sure where my loyalty lies.

“So what about me or Ben? Who are you loyal to?”

“You are my husband and I swore my loyalty to you the day that I agreed to be your wife,” I said subtly.

“I am not sure how you can swear your loyalty to the Alpha of a pack and not to the pack itself.

He made a lot of sense because it was automatically attached to it.

“I am an alpha whose pack doesn’t see him as a capable leader because he is a cripple, but that doesn’t change the fact that I will protect its honor and swear all my loyalty to it. That’s what I want from you, Edwina, I know you have been dejected. I know that you have been looked down upon as worthless, but that shouldn’t change the fact that we will stand by the honor of the pack and defend it against everyone who poses any form of threat to the realm.”

I glared at him. I was so sure at that moment that this man was a man of integrity. His words suddenly pushed me to say it.

I bowed my head to him, “I swear my loyalty, my husband, not just to you but to the night howler’s territory, to protect its honor from anyone that poses any form of threat to it.”

He smiled at me, and I knelt down as he took my lips into his with a long passionate k**s.