The Alpha’s Curvy Cinderella - Chapter 42: Chapter 42

Grant POV
I yawned and sleepily rolled over, my body feeling pleasantly warm and feeling something soft snuggle against me, silky strands of something draping over my arm as I moved it. I frowned, my eyes slowly opening, my vision slightly blurry, my memory hazy as I tried to recall where on earth I was or what had happened. Where was I? Why did I feel so strange? Sarah was laying beside me, naked, her hair splayed across the pillows, a small smile curved on her face, her dark eyes watching me with curiosity as I sat up and glanced around the room, my vision slowly coming into focus. I was in a hotel room, I realized, one of the ones my mother must have reserved at the hotel the ball was being held at. But why had I come up here? I distantly remembered Sarah approaching me and requesting that we talk, but how had that led to this? I grimaced, my muscles aching slightly, feeling a sense of disquiet within myself. Something was wrong, very wrong, but I couldn’t discern what was making me feel this way.
Something is very wrong Grant. I don’t remember much of what happened, other than it’s blatantly apparent that we slept with that slut Sarah, again I might add.
I barely even remember that. What on earth possessed us to sleep with her? I thought you would have stopped me, Hades. What the hell man?
Dude, Like, I have no clue what’s going on. My memory is almost completely blank. I don’t know why I didn’t try to stop you. Oh wait he paused and I felt an overwhelming sense of pain suddenly in my chest it was because our mate slept with someone and I put a block up he snarled you accepted the rejection remember? You must have decided to sleep with Sarah after that.
The pain of remembering that Jordan had chosen to sleep with another, felt fresh and new, and my chest tightened. I had been reckless, using my pain as an excuse to sleep with the nearest available person, which had just so happened to be Sarah. Now I was paying the price for that stupidity. It could have been much worse, I tried to reassure myself, as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and wondered how much time had passed. At least I cared about Sarah, even if I wasn’t in love with her, not like I had been with my mate.
“Grant is everything alright?” asked Sarah in a sugary sweet tone of voice, sitting up in the bed and letting the bedsheets fall so that I could see her body and those gorgeous breasts of hers.
For a moment, my gaze raked over her, my eyes darkening as I eyed her hungrily, forgetting myself for a second.
I swallowed hard. “I think there’s been a mistake,” I said a little harshly, hating myself at that moment “I don’t know what possessed me to sleep with you” I continued, needing to get the words out and deciding that being blunt was the best way to make her understand my position “and I don’t want you to get any ideas but…”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it right there” she interrupted, her eyes blazing with fury, holding her hands up to prevent me from saying anything else, rage on her face “How dare you speak to me like that. Your future Luna” she snarled “and mate. I’m not just some tart that you can just toss aside like I mean nothing to you.”
I blinked. Future Luna. What on earth was she talking about? I hadn’t made her any promises. In fact, ever since I’d discovered Jordan was my mate, I’d deliberately avoided talking about that subject to Sarah. She was the one who was obsessed with the subject, not me. I ran a hand through my hair in exasperation. “Sarah we’ve been through this” I growled in annoyance “Things changed when I discovered Jordan was my mate” I added through gritted teeth.
“You accepted the rejection last night” she accused, kneeling on the bed and glowering at me “Not to mention you made certain promises last night, certain promises that you can’t take back. It’s too late now,” she said haughtily.
My eyes narrowed. What did she mean by that? She stood up and began to pull on her bra and panties as I fought to maintain my self-control. She grabbed her dress and began to shimmy into it. “What nonsense are you harping on about now?” I hissed as she did the zipper up on her dress and slid her shoes on, a triumphant look on her face as she faced me. “Haven’t you realized yet Grant? I’m surprised Hades hasn’t said or maybe he’s too much of a coward to inform you” she said thoughtfully “But you were hardly complaining when you did it and you wanted to I might add” she said narrowing her eyes and regarding me steadily as my confusion deepened.
“Will you spit it out” I growled?
She flipped her hair over her shoulder in response and showed me the nape of her neck, where the tattoo of a small black wolf and a curved G clearly showed. My heart skipped a beat.
No, I thought, I couldn’t have. But the black wolf and the G was unmistakable, the mark clearly mine. I swallowed hard. Hades paced back and forth in my mind, his tail swishing.
I don’t know how this happened. I don’t even remember doing it
he snarled.
It’s clear as day Hades. We marked her! f**k. You know what this means I snapped, pissed beyond all rational thinking. We could take it back. Refuse to accept it. Nobody has to know Hades said desperately.
Once you mark someone there’s no taking it back. You know that as well as I do. Do you honestly think my parents would let me become Alpha if I did such a dishonorable thing? I doubt Sarah would keep her mouth shut about it, do you? We’re well and truly stuck and it’s our own fault. We chose to mark her, now we have to deal with the consequences, no matter how much we dislike it.
She planned this Hades snarled She had to have done. How else could you explain the loss of memory and loss of control?
We felt the pain of our mate being with someone else. We lost control of our senses. We can’t blame that on Sarah. We were angry and we lashed out. As for the lack of memory, we did drink quite a bit before we came up to the room and then we drank more I reminded him tersely.
He shut up.
I touched my neck, tracing the mark and sighing heavily, grabbing my clothes and glumly putting them on, noting how rumpled and creased they were and not giving a damn in the slightest. My parents would get their wish. My future had been decided and I was not happy about it at all. Sarah watched me keenly, observing that it was wise to remain silent.
“I might have marked you, Sarah,” I said finally, as I did up my suit jacket, “but don’t think that automatically means that I’m in love with you. I care about you” I said, “but I don’t know that I can ever love you.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes “How can you say that” she burst out “after what we shared last night.”
“Because I realize that all I want is the love of a mate and not a chosen mate. But it is what it is and I’ll make the best out of a bad situation” I told her evenly as she went pale “I won’t back out of my word but I won’t give you false hope either.” “You just think that, but in time, you’ll fall in love with me. You were before, it can happen again” she blurted out.
“Maybe,” I said heavily, doubting it. After experiencing what the mate bond felt like, this felt hollow and meaningless. It wasn’t her fault, but I couldn’t help the way I felt either.
She fidgeted with her hands as I glanced around the room. “What now?” she asked in a small voice, blinking her tears away and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
I felt pity for her. It must be cruel to be in love with someone who didn’t love her back, not in the way she wanted them to. I gave her a tight smile and inclined my head. “Now we go and tell my parents the good news,” I said coldly “They’ll be so pleased to know that I’ve taken a chosen mate and I’m sure they’ll approve of my choice” I added.
I tucked her arm in under mine and almost stormed towards the elevator in a bad mood. I caught a faint whiff of Jordan’s scent and inhaled it deeply, regretfully, even as pain shot through me at the thought that another man had touched what was essentially supposed to be mine.
“Ow, you’re hurting me Grant” Sarah complained, once we were in the elevator.
I gave her a look of disdain but removed my hand from her arm and leaned my back against the wall, brooding. She rubbed her arm nervously. The elevator doors opened and we both walked out, Sarah forcing a fake smile on her face while I tightened my jaw and strode directly into the ballroom, in search of my parents, who were discussing something with some friends in the far right corner. We headed over to them and my parents quickly finished speaking and turned to us, wide smiles on their faces.
“Grant, Sarah” my mother exclaimed warmly “we were starting to grow worried about you. Is everything alright?” she asked, peering at us both as we stayed silent, a grim expression on my face.
“Um well” stammered Sarah as I raised an eyebrow and looked at her pointedly.
“Everything is fine mother, in fact, you’ll be delighted to know that I have decided to take a chosen mate after all,” I said quietly as my mother beamed and shot a look of satisfaction at my equally delighted-looking father.
“I’m so happy to hear that” my mother squealed, looking around the room excitedly “Who is the lucky girl and do I get to meet her?” she gushed.
I chuckled drily. “Oh Mother” I sighed, shaking my head and glancing at her with amusement “you already know the mate I have chosen.”
I stopped and grabbed Sarah’s hand as my mother’s eyes widened and understanding began to dawn in her eyes “I have chosen Sarah to be my mate and we have already marked each other as a sign of our commitment to one another” I announced as my parents eyes almost bulged out of their heads “I believe she’ll make an excellent Luna” I lied. Oh well at least the s*x would be good, even if everything else would be completely horrid, I thought with a grimace. It was more than some people had in their marriage. Somehow the thought didn’t comfort me as much as I’d have liked, even as my mother’s arms flung around me as she offered her congratulations and my father shook my hand warmly. Sarah on the other hand, was practically glowing, so bright that she could have lit the room up by herself if the power suddenly went out and then some. Suspicion began to lurk in my mind.