Escaping Wildfire

Gema

When dinner ended, Nora met me at the door to escort me back to my room. I was actually glad to be led away from them all as I could not bear to be in that room any longer. Alpha Marek continued to put on a facade of joviality throughout the entire meal as his son and daughter remained stoically by his side. My parents, on the other hand, were the picture of slowly simmering marital discord, with my mother discreetly avoiding my father’s touch as he avoided making eye contact with either of us.

I didn’t know whether I should be sad, scared, or angry. In truth, I felt a mixture of these emotions, with the rage I felt towards my father and Alpha Marek winning out.

As soon as I heard Nora click the lock on my door, I ripped off this costume of a dress and kicked off my shoes, picking them up individually to throw against the wall. I thought it would make me feel better to throw them, but all it did was make me realize how futile fighting any of this was. I ended up curled up on the loveseat in my underwear, crying my rage out.

I woke up the next morning still on the couch. There was no clock in the room, but it seemed to be quite early still as Nora had yet to make an appearance. I stretched out my sore muscles and went to the bathroom. I was a wreck, my previously curled hair was a rat's nest while the makeup Nora had so expertly applied was in smudges and trails across my cheeks, betraying my tears from the previous night.

I turned on the shower and stripped off the rest of my clothes. I made the water as hot as it would go, hoping the heat would burn away the crap from the last two days, but it didn’t help. I was once again crying in this shower, hoping the tears would help me feel better.

I walked out of the bathroom at the same time that Nora walked in with a tray of breakfast food.

“I’ve brought you breakfast, Miss.”

“Thank you, but you really must stop calling me ‘Miss’. We’re practically the same age.”

She looked down at her shoes. “It’s Alpha's orders, I must address everyone by a title.”

I simply nodded back, understanding dawning on me that she did it to not get in trouble with her Alpha. I wonder what punishments the pack members here get when they don’t follow Alpha’s orders.

“Alpha Marek would like to see you in his office when you finish your breakfast, then I am to take you to the den for your dress appointment. I’ll set out some clothes for you while you eat.”

I ate in silence and put on the sundress and sandals Nora laid out for me to wear. Before long, I was once again on my way to the man who had destroyed my entire world.

Nora knocked on the door, and the door opened to reveal Beta Griffin on the other side. He nodded his head for us to go inside, and the first thing I noticed was Alpha Marek sitting at his desk.

“There you are, I was just about to send for you.” Nora made a move to leave and curtsied to Alpha Marek before she turned to walk away. “Stay.” He said in a firm tone that caused Nora to freeze in place. His aura was strong, but certainly, he hadn’t used an Alpha command on Nora just now. She took a deep breath and nodded with her eyes downcast. Alpha Marek smirked, and for a second, I wondered what he was thinking that brought that evil look to his face.

“Sit.” He motioned for me to take one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“I want to make something clear to you. Your engagement and marriage to my son is not optional. You will do as I say, or there will be consequences. If you want your parents, your friends, and the entire rest of your pack to live, then you will be a good little girl and do as you are told.”

“And if I don’t?” I tried to make my voice come out strong and rebellious, but instead, it came out as a whisper.

“If you don’t, then you will be punished. I like my women willing, but Beta Griffin here likes a bit of a fight and would be more than happy to show you who is in charge here. Then, not only will your entire pack be done away with, but I will make sure to keep you alive so that you feel the pain of their loss for the rest of your miserable existence and know that it was you who brought on their demise.”

“But what if I find my mate?” I knew I should stop asking questions, but I couldn’t just roll over and do as told, that’s never been who I am.

“We make our own fate here at Wildfire. My son needs a strong mate, and you are the daughter of a beta and an alpha female, the perfect match for him. It doesn’t matter what either of you want. Your father already agreed to the match.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked up at him. His eyes were as cold as ever, and he raised an eyebrow at me. “So, what’s it going to be, save your pack or let them all die?”

I let my silence speak for itself, knowing it wouldn’t matter what I said anyway. He knew I’d never choose to let my pack be killed.

“Good, I’m glad we have an understanding. The dressmaker should be here soon, I’ll have your mother and friends meet you at the den…Oh, and Nora, you’ll need to stay to help her try on the dresses.” We both just nodded and silently walked to the door. Beta Griffin gave me a wink as we walked by, and I made a mental note to stay as far away from him as possible.

From an outsider’s perspective, it would seem I had simply rolled over and done as told, but I knew better than that. I had to bide my time with the Alpha and play along with his twisted game until I could get free. I knew I had to find a way to escape Wildfire and get to Noah, it was the only way we’d be free from this nightmare.

We walked into a large room with leather couches and bookshelves along each wall. I noticed my mom, Jasmine, and Jade were already there. My mother was embracing the girls in a hug as they wiped tears from their eyes, giving away that they had had an emotional reunion just minutes before I arrived.

“There you are, Mija. They told us you were with Alpha Marek. Estás bien? (Are you alright?)”

I nodded stiffly, “Yes, he just wanted to make sure I did as I was told. Either I marry his son or he kills the rest of our pack.”

Jasmine gasped, but my mother didn’t so much as flinch at my words, letting me know she already knew about this. “Did you know?” I asked anyway.

“Your father told me the night we arrived, but I don’t agree with it, and I am not happy with the decision he made for us.”

I simply nodded as she squeezed my hand.

Before I could say more, Aurora walked in with the dressmaker in tow. I didn’t want to be rude, so I introduced Aurora to Jasmine and Jade. “Please, call me Rory, my father is the only one who calls me Aurora, but I don’t like it.” She looked brighter today than she did last night at dinner, and I wondered if it had anything to do with her father’s lack of presence here with us.

“Alright, which one of you lovely ladies is our bride.” The dressmaker said with too much enthusiasm. I raised my hand slightly for her. “Wonderful, now let me look at you. I like to see what I’m working with before getting started.” She pulled me over to her and twirled me around as she assessed me. “Alpha Marek gave me strict instructions to find something elegant and worthy of royalty. He said to spare no expense for you. Now let’s get started. There were several racks of dresses and a dressing screen set out. “Let’s start with this one first.” She pulled out a satin ball gown with a long train and handed the dress to Nora who stepped behind the screen with me to help me change.

I stepped out to the makeshift platform and mirror they had set out for me. I looked at myself in the mirror, and I once again got the sense that I was playing dress up for the wrong event like I had with the red dress last night.

This dress was not at all what I would have picked for myself, and I hated it. I looked at my mom and friends through the mirror behind me, and they all seemed to be in various stages of distress. My mom’s eyes glistened with unshed tears.

“Not this one.” The dressmaker came up to me. “There’s no spark, you’ll know the dress when you feel the spark. Let’s try some more.”

She continued with a variety of dresses, most ball gowns in silk and lace, but nothing that felt like me. The more dresses I tried, the more I hated this, even Nora was starting to look distressed.

I stepped out wearing a V-neck, lace dress with a long train and lace appliques. I stepped up to the mirror, and again…no spark.

“This is the last one.” The dressmaker said dejectedly. “Was there any dress you liked best? I can make something custom, if you like, or modify any dress for you.” She wanted to please me and seemed a bit panicked that she would leave without finding me my dress. Would she be punished by Alpha Marek if we didn’t find a dress today?

“This one, I like this one. Can I see it with a veil and shoes?”

The dressmaker perked up as she rushed to bring out the veils. “Certainly, I recommend this one, but we can do something shorter or even longer if you like?”

She clipped the veil into my hair and set out a pair of satin heels in front of me. She stepped away and held up her finger. “One more thing.” She rushed over to one of her bags and pulled out a silk flower bouquet. She handed me the flowers and fluffed out the dress…“Now look, it’s perfect.”

I stared at my reflection in the mirror and saw a girl I didn’t recognize before me. This wasn’t how I pictured myself in a wedding dress. It was all wrong...the shoes, the dress, the veil. It was picture-perfect, but not me. The grim faces of my mom, Jasmine, and Jade said the same, even Rory and Nora’s facial expressions told me they knew this wasn’t right.

“Can I change out of the dress now?”

“Yes, of course, I’ll be back in a few weeks, after I make a few alterations, and we’ll have another fitting.”

“Thank you.” And with that, I went to change back into my clothes and try to forget this experience ever happened.