ROSALIA’S POV
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DREAM SEQUENCE FROM WHEN ROSA WAS YOUNGER
“Father, can we play together?” I asked him as he was about to walk into his home office.
I hadn’t seen him in weeks.
“Has your ability awakened?” He coldly asked.
“No,” the answer trembled out of my lips.
“Focus on that. I have work to do,” he dismissively said and closed the door on me.
With a disappointed expression, I stared at the door.
I have to awaken soon to impress father.
That’s what I told myself at the time when I was 7 years old.
The scene changed, and I was older and walking in the middle of a party.
As I walked past, the crowd whispered and stared.
I failed to awaken an ability when I turned 18 last year.
I get it.
Why is this still news a year later?
I hated these socialite events.
No matter, I ignored the chatter as usual.
“I’m amazed by how confident you are,” I heard a familiar voice say.
I turned around and found the recently appointed Alpha Ramirez standing behind me.
His father had stepped down due to health issues.
Confusion struck me; why was he talking to me?
I only had brief conversations with him before this.
Back when his father had been trying to make me his luna before he quickly pulled out when my ability didn’t awaken.
I scoffed.
“Am I supposed to wallow and cry?” I asked him.
“Not at all, I’m impressed.” He replied as a cocky grin appeared on his lips.
“Okay. Thank you…?” I replied and turned away from him.
I heard him chuckle.
“There’s a restaurant I often go to. I would love to take you there tomorrow night,” he told me.
My eyebrows sprang up in surprise, and I stopped to look back at him.
“I don’t remember you asking me whether I wanted to go; neither did I accept your offer,” I replied.
He closed the distance between us and took my hand.
He brought it up to his lips and kissed it.
“I’ll come pick you up from your house at around 7 pm.” He arrogantly went on.
“You do know I’m not Patricia, right?” I asked as my cheeks turned bright red.
Perhaps he confused the two of us.
A scoff escaped him as if he found my embarrassment amusing.
“I’m well aware.”
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I woke up feeling sour the next morning.
Why did I have to dream of the day Alphonso asked me out the first time?
At the time I thought he was charming.
A little cocky, but hot.
I felt so special, being singled out by a powerful Alpha.
My body still ached and was slightly swollen.
I took the small broken mirror I kept by the windowsill.
Tear stains remained on my face from crying through the night.
Fix your face; you still looked sad.
Slowly, I changed my facial expression to an emotionless one.
I always had it around my family.
Good.
I didn’t want Alphonso to see my tears.
Patricia came in the morning to heal me, as father had instructed her.
I didn’t have any servants, so I dressed myself.
I left my room to eat.
I found Patricia, my father, and my stepmother having breakfast together in the dining room.
I wasn’t allowed to eat with them, so I went to the kitchen to grab something for myself.
A car sent by Alphonso was waiting for me at the entrance of the mansion.
When I arrived at the Ramirez estate, I quickly entered the mansion.
Some servants told me that Alphonso was waiting for me in his office.
I made my way to his office, my heart feeling heavy.
What explanation would Alphonso give me?
I found him seated at his desk.
He was reading through some documents.
I clicked my tongue, irritated by his handsome good looks for a piece of shit.
He was tall, muscular, with broad shoulders, blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes.
The image of him and Patricia in here last night came to mind, and I wanted to leave.
It’s disgusting that he wanted to talk to me from here.
He looked up as I reached his desk.
“Rosa, you’re here,” he said, putting down the document.
“I didn’t talk to you yesterday because I wanted to give you some time to calm down.”
The fuck is he talking about?
My anger from the night before is the same today.
Did he think I would forget?
“You said you loved me; how could you do that to me, and on top of that at our engagement party!?” I snapped.
“I do love you, Rosalia,” he calmly stated.
“No, you don’t!”
“Look, your position stays the same. You will still be the Luna. This situation doesn’t change that,” he said as if reassuring me.
“Why would I be happy about that? Why would you sleep with her in the first place!?”
“Patricia will always be close to us due to her healing ability. It’s something useful to the pack.”
“So you won’t stop seeing her?! You’re going to keep fucking her?” The question left me.
“I didn’t say that. I’m saying get used to having her around.”
“Let’s just cancel the engagement, Alphonso,” I offered.
“Everyone already thinks you should be with Patricia.”
I was so over this whole situation.
Everyone thinks they belong together.
He’s clearly attracted to her, so he should leave me alone.
“Now let’s not say things we don’t mean.” He said, not taking me seriously.
“I mean it!” I persisted.
He stood up from his desk and came toward me and tried to cup my face in his hands like he always did.
I turned my head away to dodge them.
“Why? Why would you want me when you can have Patricia, the one with the ability?” I asked.
“Patricia has an ability, but that isn’t what runs a pack. A pack needs a leader, a mother, and you embody that perfectly to be a Luna,” he started.
I scoffed.
What a prick.
“You’re poised, graceful, smart. You’ve met the other pack alphas, have you not? On the surface, they seem unassuming, but they’re all predators waiting to attack. Patricia wouldn’t be able to handle that. Ignore what everyone else is saying; in years to come, they’ll understand why you’re the perfect Luna,” he continued.
“If you thought that highly of me, you wouldn’t have betrayed me.”
“The wedding will proceed as planned. You will be my Luna,” he growled out matter-of-factly.
The growl was so loud I felt it deep in my soul.
A shiver ran down my spine, but I still stood my ground and fiercely looked at him.
“It’s too late for that. I don’t want this engagement anymore. And I don’t want you, Alphonso!” I screamed and then turned away to leave.
I was done with him.
I barely had time to blink before he charged towards me and grabbed my neck.
A terrified scream left me.
He backed me until I was against the nearest wall.
“We are getting married, do you understand!?” He yelled into my face.
A wild look flashed in his blue eyes as his wolf fangs came into view.
I could barely breathe with how tightly he was gripping my neck.
My hands came up to his to remove them, but they didn’t budge.
This couldn’t be the same Alphonso that was so sweet to me and gave me expensive gifts and jewellery.
“Do you understand!?” He repeated himself.
Wide-eyed and trembling, my head shook in fear.
“Yes,” the answer barely made it out of my constrained throat.
He finally released me, and I grabbed my neck, sucking in a ragged breath.
Alphonso stared at me for a moment with a blank expression.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Rosa, but if you’re difficult, you’ll leave me no choice,” his tone oddly calm again.
He then turned away from me.
“I have something for you.”
I remained pressed against the wall, nervous about what he would do next.
He went to his desk and grabbed a small red box.
He returned and presented it to me.
‘Vanders’ was written on top of it.
One of Ramirez’s many jewellery store brands.
He opened it and revealed a large diamond necklace.
“It’s going to be part of our new collection for our Vanders’ brand. It’s worth 5 million Euros, and I want you to have it,” he informed me.
“It’s beautiful. Thank you,” I replied, fearing what would happen if I didn’t.
He had me turn around so he could put it on me.
My hands were visibly shaking as I lifted my hair for him, and he placed it around the neck he had just bruised.
“Now give me a kiss,” he demanded when I turned back to face him.
My eyes trembled as Alphonso’s mask slipped.
This is the life I would face if I married him.
I couldn’t… I couldn’t let it happen.
My father.
Alphonso.
They were all the same.
These men…