The Alpha's Exchanged Mate
The Alpha’s Exchanged Mate – Chapter 12

Xander’s POV…

Getting back from the f*****g ritual of annulling the marriage of my mate to be; sometimes I wonder about the fundamental significance of some of these norms and frivolous shenanigans. They were sometimes lengthy and quite frankly unnecessary. Why can’t I just annul a freaking marriage? Why do I have to go dip myself twenty times in the river?

A lot of unanswered questions.

When we walked into the jail to pick up Benedict, he glared at me miserably, I couldn’t recognize him, he wasn’t even the shadow of the man I knew, he looked weak and unstable. Before then, he used to look muscular and in control, he used to be my right-hand man, but not anymore.

Growing up as the Alpha’s son, I knew it was my destiny to become the Alpha and so did Benedict. He also knew it was his destiny to become the Beta wolf, so we would always be forced to go hunting together as kids. Gradually, we developed a mutual friendship that was built upon the better good of the night howler’s pack. We would fight together to protect the realm; we weren’t the best of friends due to personality clashes, but we respected each other. I respected his strength, and I still do.

“His almighty Alpha Alexander Chase finally comes to visit a worthless man like me,” he said sarcastically as he approached me, his legs and hands dragged in chains.

“Beta Benedict,” I replied formally.

“So what brings you here with your many guards?” He asked, crashing into the side chair close to the entrance, I looked at him and his act of disrespect which was aimed at agitating me.

“I am f*****g tired, it is not easy being in here with chains all around you,” he said.

I knew what he was doing but I wasn’t going to bite.

“We will be headed for the stream of Luna,” I muttered to him.

His eyes widened and I could see his countenance change.

“What are we going to do at the stream of Luna?” He asked, still perplexed.

“I am getting married,” I stated.

“Congratulations,” he replied almost instantly with an edge of sarcasm in his voice, “But the last time I checked you do not need the Beta to get married, nor do you need to go the stream of Luna, don’t you know your culture anymore?” He retorted rudely to me.

I could feel my fist tighten as I began to boil up in resentment. The nerve of this guy, he betrayed me, slept with my Luna, got her pregnant, and still has the guts to disrespect me to my face. Was it because I was in a wheelchair? I was about to lunge toward him but I held myself back, I couldn’t risk a whole plan set in motion for just a temporal fist fight, as much as it is tempting, I will have to behave myself.

“Well, that’s because we want to annul her marriage with you before I can marry her.”

His eyes widened and I could see him trying to hide his disbelief, a smile almost formed on my face because I had managed to even the score.

“You are getting married to Edwina just to get back at me for f*****g your mate???” He blurted out with spite in his eyes, I could see his eyes transition from humor to disgust.

“Why would I ever do that,” I wasn’t asking but I sure made it sound like a question.

“It is quite barbaric of you, you know, you do know she is the sister of your mate.”

I didn’t owe him any explanation and if I am to be radically honest with myself, I didn’t have one.

“Don’t preach to me about the code of conduct because clearly, you didn’t have one when you f****d my mate repeatedly!” I retorted, I was at the tiniest point of losing it.

He laughed out hysterically, he knew he was already getting under my skin.

“Well, at least I am man enough to f**k her, repeatedly,”

F**k!

F**k!!

F**k!!!

Damn this wheelchair, that was when I realized I had a lineup of wolves behind me waiting for my command to attack.

I signaled to the gamma wolf behind me to deal with Benedict, I stood there as he threw repeated punches at him, and I began to wonder who exactly I had become.

“Stop,” I commanded, “We need him alive to perform the ritual.”

The gamma wolf stopped cleaning the b***d he had drawn from Benedict on his chest.

“I see you have the weak ones doing your dirty bidding now,” Benedict retorted again, spitting.

Is this guy f*****g kidding me? Does he want to die? I asked within myself.

“Shut up,” I said to him and turned to face the gamma wolf, “take him, let’s get going.”

“Yes, let’s get going to annul me from my marriage to that deficient woman, do you know how it sucks not being able to explore having s*x in your wolf with your mate? Oh well, you won’t know since you are stuck on that wheelchair___” I knew then I had to tune him out, else I wouldn’t make it to the stream of Luna without tearing him apart with my bear hands.

***

We got back to the night howlers’ territory in good time and I instructed some of the gamma wolves to take Benedict back to the prison.

I wanted to get dressed for my wedding, once I was able to successfully wheel myself to the room and lock my room door from inside, I stood up, I sighed as I did some air kick with my legs. I despised pretending to be crippled but I need to do it to discover who is loyal to the pack and the realm.

When the sizzlers attacked us, I had discovered a grave number of disloyal wolves, when I was truly crippled from the attack a lot of things changed.

Some of the wolves denounced the pack and swore their allegiance to our rival pack, it was also when I found out about my cheating wife and my unfaithful Beta. I had already started making progress toward recovery then but I pretended as if I was still crippled and watched a countless number of wolves show how dishonest they were.

I was about to reveal the truth in a couple of days about my well-being when Edwina came begging on behalf of her sister and the crazy idea of switching mates and making her my Luna came to my mind, then I also knew I needed to take this act further a little longer. I needed to test her loyalty, could she be loyal to an Alpha she didn’t love who also was in a wheelchair?

I quickly took my shower and wore the orange outfit that was lying on my bed.

I stood before the mirror for a while having at myself, standing and looking so dashingly handsome before I went back to the deceitful life I had formed on that wheelchair.

Then I heard a gentle sound from the door and I quickly sat down on the wheelchair.

“Come in,” I called out, and the door gently opened as Caleb, my dresser, entered the room. He was shocked to see me already dressed. I could see the disbelief in his eyes, I probably should have waited for him to dress me.

“You are already dressed sir,” he said silently.

“It was a whole lot of struggle, but I overcame it,” I replied triumphantly and he smiled, hdiding his surprise.

“Let’s go then, everyone is already seated in the courtroom.”

I wheeled myself from my room which I had them move downstairs for my convenience.

Caleb opened the door to the courtroom for me and I wheeled myself in. Everyone stood up immediately when I reached the front courtroom, I swivelled back so that I could face the entrance.

My hands were trembling, and I tried to hide it, I wasn’t sure this was the best decision but I was going to go through with it. The door gradually opened and everyone stood up again, I almost did too until I recalled that I was supposed to be confined to this God-forsaken wheelchair.

My eyes brightened as I saw Edwina appear in the courtroom, she looked so different, so beautiful, her dress brought out the Luna in her, and as I saw her walking gloriously towards me, beaming with a smile, I don’t know if the smile was fake but it sure does look good on her. She walked majestically like she had been trained all her life for this day, she carried herself as a true Luna should with an accommodating smile and pleasant looks. As she passed by, the wolves in the courtroom bowed to her, signifying their loyalty to her.

Once she approached me as tradition demands, she bowed down to the elders and then turned and bowed to me, Her Alpha.

“My Alpha,” she muttered gently and there were loud howls from the courtroom from all angles, it signified acknowledgement.

“My Luna,” I replied and took her hands, and the howling increased.

The ceremony began.