Chapter 7 Alexander's Secret

[Third-Person POV] On the way back to the study, Alexander’s Beta, Oliver, was pushing his wheelchair while a teasing smile played on his mouth. Now that the two of them were alone, they were free to share each other’s thoughts and opinions on current affairs. And after the various unforeseen events that had just taken place within the last few hours, there was much to discuss. “You know, sir. All things considered, you actually managed to marry an interesting person through this arranged marriage,” Oliver noted. Alexander raised a single brow and tilted his head upward to glance at the man behind him. “Interesting?” The Beta gave a curt nod. “Well, she is certainly bold,” he pointed out. “She seems to be the only one who still admires you after you pretended to be disabled.” Alexander always found it easy to reminisce about the event that was meant to overtake his life. What the world didn’t know, with the slight exception of a few trusted allies, was that Alpha Alexander Kingston was not paralyzed. When the accident occurred, he was supposed to be in that car, making his way to his tailor for a last fitting. However, he was already late for the event at the time, so he asked his poor driver to pick up that suit for him. Though he was not even in the car, the news that he was severely injured spread like wildfire. It hadn’t taken him long to piece together the ugly truth of the matter; a rather devastating and unsettling fact—the car accident had been pre-planned. Which basically meant that someone was trying to target him. Of course, Alexander had a list of his usual suspects. Most people were aware of the Alpha King’s wariness and intimidation toward Alexander’s ever-growing pack. It made sense that he would try and stifle the Alpha in such a way as to keep him from gaining any more power. However, there was also the possible chance that the threat had been coming from within Alexander’s own family. Something he hadn’t imagined to have in common with his new Luna was the lack of familial support and care. When Alexander had overheard the rude and outrageous way Evelyn’s family was speaking to her, it reminded him of his own tense relationship he had with his Stepmother and Stepbrother. This was why it was also very possible for the car accident to have been plotted by them as well. There again, Alexander had ranked up a viable list of enemies over the years. It was truly an open guess as to who the real culprit was. But the moment Alexander had figured out the accident had been planned he formulated a plan of his own—which was to make the world believe that whoever was behind it all had succeeded in disabling him. Better to let them think I had been weakened than to show them that I had outsmarted them. So for the last few months, he’d dedicated his life to living in this new image he had created. While no one suspected him of posing much of a threat, Alexander proceeded to move forward with his own important plans. He just needed the time to properly investigate until the truth would come out. Once the one response was uncovered, he wanted to pull them behind the scene and punish them the way they deserved. In the meantime, Alexander also knew what the Alpha King was thinking when he kept trying to arrange a Luna for him. A new Luna meant having to deal with an ongoing distraction as well as the potential of having a spy running about the house. He knew he couldn’t openly reject the King’s offer, knowing that it would be regarded as disrespectful. And it was certainly not the right time for him to challenge the Alpha King for his current position. Yes, there will be time to properly plan that out in the future... Right now, the main thing he needed to concern himself with was the new Luna the Alpha King had so conveniently set up for him. Even after his intense interrogation, Alexander still wasn’t sure how he perceived Evelyn. He worried about the chance of her being a spy and potentially ruining all the plans he had before anything was done. It was why he’d purposely scared off the first two Lunas that were set up with him. It was easier to have them reject the King’s proposal than him. But he was quick to discover that Evelyn was different. Alexander couldn’t stomach the way her family had been treating her, and on the day of her own wedding, no less. He didn’t want to interfere. After all, the more desperate Evelyn became about the marriage, the more likely she was to give up. Only she didn’t. To take it a step further, Evelyn had gone ahead and even defended Alexander—a woman whom he knew nothing about, nor did she know him, was willing to stand by him against her own family. He hadn’t expected Evelyn to be so resolute in marrying him, and that kiss... Although Alexander was reluctant to admit it, that kiss unexpectedly carried some chemistry. He’d almost wished that he had taken the chance to pull her closer and extend it. “You won’t actually want to keep her, will you?” Oliver asked. His question pulled Alexander out of his own head. “Of course not. I just wanted to help her out. Didn’t expect to cause such a big mess.” The Beta shrugged, noncommittal. “I guess so. Her pack is pretty useless. After all, your ex-girlfriend was...” “Size of a pack doesn’t matter,” Alexander said, arriving at the study. He stood up, stopping Oliver from speaking, and shoved the wheelchair aside. “Tell the servants to prepare bath water in half an hour, and then have Evelyn meet me in my bedroom.” [Evelyn’s POV] As beautiful as the wedding gown was, I was happy to get out of it and return to my more normal attire. I slipped on a robe and started to unpack my bag I had earlier packed. The first thing I managed to pull out was my mother’s blue necklace. My heart clenched in pain as I wondered what she would have thought about the wedding that had just taken place. Hell, I was still terribly shaken from my encounter with Alexander after everyone had left. What kind of newlywed wife would have a gun pointed at her by her husband and be interrogated? I was starting to realize how terrifying Alexander truly was. The future was not going to be easy. I would need to be even more cautious in front of him and play the role of an admirer. After Nina had shown me to my new room, she was kind enough to remain with me and help me unpack what few belongings I had. “I want to thank you for defending Alexander in front of your family,” she said. “I’m also very pleased to know that there was now a lady of the house to keep me company.” The grand dressing room was still empty, but the makeup cabinet was already filled with cosmetics. Claire was eager to show me some beautiful clothes that her team was willing to create, all of which would be custom-made. In all honesty, I wasn’t fond of the flashy, uncomfortable outfits; I preferred the clothes I had brought with me. After a long time of selection, and talking out new wardrobes, a servant appeared at the door and said that Alexander was waiting for me in the bedroom. My stomach began to form knots. Quickly, I threw on a simple white cotton dress and prepared to go. I picked up my mother’s necklace and slipped it into the small pocket on the side and headed out. Upon reaching Alexander’s room, I knocked, but there was no answer. I decided to push the door open and instantly found that the bathroom door was open. My face flushed the moment Alexander came into view. He seemed to be sitting inside, taking a bath. He was completely naked with the exception of the mask that still covered half of his face. I gently cleared my throat as a way to announce my presence. He turned his head. “Ah, you’re here,” he said coolly. “Come help me with a massage.”