Her Arranged Alpha Husband by Alicia Banks
Chapter 2
Teri
“I knew I would find you up here.”
Teri smiled down to her sister from her perch on the backside of the roof. It was her special place where she came to be alone, usually when things in her large family were too much to take on. Teri loved her family, but they were a lot to take on and when she heard that the whole family was coming down for an announcement that she didn’t know about, Teri thought it was best to hide. She had been out there a while, trying to enjoy the fresh air and wondering what was to be announced.
“I didn’t want to be down there. Are people starting to leave yet?” Teri asked. Really, she wanted to know if there was still a bunch of people there waiting to hear the news. She wanted to know what the news was, before she showed her face again.
“No, mom and dad are waiting for you. They want you down there while they do the announcement.”
Teri scoffed. “Why do I have to be down there?”
Ashley sighed and sat down slowly on the edge of the roof next to her sister. Ashley wasn’t afraid of heights exactly, but she wasn’t comfortable up there like Teri was. That made Teri wonder what was going on for her to be there with her. Something was going on. Even though she didn’t want to think about it, she had to. It was becoming clear that Teri wasn’t going to be able to hide from it.
“You know what is going to happen, Teri. It’s time. You’re about to be nineteen and that is the time when you come of age. Dad has managed your future all this time.”
Teri wasn’t even thinking about that, and she was silent for a time, trying to put her words together. “What if I just ran off?”
Ashley shook her head, the blonde curls moving of their own volition. Teri had always liked her older sister’s hair, really everything about her. She had always looked up to her for everything, her style and grace, but not this. The future was the last thing that she wanted to talk about, especially considering that her future wasn’t for herself, but her clan. She had duties and her sister reminding her all of that made her sad more than anything else.
“Where would you go?”
Teri shrugged, feeling desperate. “I could go live out in the world with the humans.”
Ashley gasped, surprised that Teri would say such a thing. She knew all about her older sister’s husband and how he treated her. Ashley had marks most of the time and while she liked to blame it on being clumsy, Teri knew better. There was no way that her sister was so bad at walking to have “fallen” as much as she did. Teri wanted to do something about it, but no one seemed to care. Once her sister was married to Justin, no one cared how he treated her. He owned her.
“You know that they would never let you go.”
It was just the answer that Teri knew. She knew that she was stuck to be the good daughter that she was supposed to be. There was no way out of it. The family would track her down and bring her back. It was done a couple of times when Teri was younger and told about her future. Even when she was younger and didn’t fully understand the implications, she wanted to have no part of being married and someone else owning her.
Teri’s face was hot, and she couldn’t look at her sister. She didn’t want to think about what was about to happen. She had known for a long time, her whole life mainly, that her life was figured out by others and not her own. Her parents would make a deal for her, get money like they were selling her outright, and Teri was supposed to be happy to be wanted. She would much rather be alone, than to marry and be owned. The idea of it was hard to fathom and even harder to pretend that she liked it. When all other women waited impatiently and excited to find out who they would marry and be with, Teri had always thought it would be the worst day ever.
Ashley pushed her blonde hair out of her small-featured face. “You know, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. This could be the start of something great. The Elders pick just the right person for you. What could be better than that?”
Teri scoffed. “Like they did for you? I have read the laws, and they pick the perfect person for the male, not the female. We are an accompaniment to their life, not the other way around. They don’t care what we think of the match. I am sure that you wouldn’t have picked a man that was so quick to anger if you had a choice,” Teri said with a grim look. She had never spoken openly to her sister about the abuse, but now seemed to be the best time to get it out. Teri didn’t understand, and she didn’t think that she ever would.
Her sister’s beautiful face scrunched up and she was quiet for a time. “I think that the Elders got it right with Justin, it’s just taking longer than I would have liked for us to become as one. Justin is a strong fighter, and he is trying to learn to be softer. He is getting better at it.”
“Oh, great. He doesn’t beat your ass as much as he used to. I have seen the marks, Ashley. I know what he does to you.”
“The marks?” Ashley wondered out loud.
Teri answered about the bruises that she saw on her wrists all the time. There were more, all over her, and though Teri didn’t see any then, she knew that there were some floating around on her sister’s body.
“Oh, well, they are not what they seem,” Ashley started to say. Her face got red, something Teri could see even in the darkness, and she had to know what was going on.
“What is it, then? You give me a real reason that you are covered in bruises that doesn’t include your husband abusing you, then I will go downstairs and see to the party and the future I don’t want.”
Ashley grinned and Teri was nervous. What could the reason be, that would make sense? Why was she covered in marks, but because of abuse?
“It’s what happens when we are together, romantically.” Ashley could barely look at her, and Teri was trying to figure out what she meant by that. When she asked, because that was part of marriage she knew little to nothing about, the answer surprised her even more.
“You like it?”
Teri was confused. How was that possible? “That doesn’t make any sense.”
Ashley agreed, but then reminded Teri how little she wanted to hear about what Ashley was doing. As soon as her sister started to talk about the things that she did with her husband, Teri shut it down really quickly. She didn’t want to hear it, even if Ashley was bursting out to say so. The idea that she would want to be gripped and slung around made no sense.
“Do you want me to explain it to you?”
Teri made it clear she did not. The last thing she wanted to hear was how her sister and her husband liked to abuse each other and liked it. She couldn’t get the last part out of her head. It made no sense, it really didn’t. “God, please no.”
“Well, you need to get your head around it, Teri. You are about to be mated. The man you are going to marry is probably already on his way here. There is a twenty-one-day ritual that will have to be recognized. It can be a good time to get used to the idea. You knew it was coming, so you have to have been thinking about it.”
Teri agreed that she did know about it, but she had pushed it out of her mind as much as she could. It wasn’t something she wanted to do. She wanted there to be a last-minute change to the rules, that would make her immune to having to be mated. Teri wanted to pretend like her father wouldn’t sell her off, even as she had seen him do the same thing to her sister. “I just don’t want to do this.”
Ashley agreed that it would be scary. “But trust me when I tell you, Teri, I am happier than I have ever been before. No, my husband isn’t gentle, and he doesn’t treat me like a piece of glass that will break so easily. I like that about him. I like that he treats me differently than anyone else ever has.”
Teri scoffed, mumbling under her breath that she was still owned and that was why Justin did whatever he wanted to her.
“You aren’t going to get it until you open your mind to the possibility that it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. That’s what you have to do, Teri, just have an open mind. Your future mate is going to be here soon, and you don’t want him thinking that you aren’t interested. That would not be a good way to start a marriage.”
Teri shrugged. “It’s not like he would go away.”
Ashley clicked her tongue and shook her head at her stubborn younger sister. She tried to tell her that it was all going to be okay, but Teri wasn’t sure what to think of any of it. She didn’t really understand what came next, just that everything in her life was going to change for good. Teri didn’t like the idea of that at all. She liked her life and how it was now.
Following her sister downstairs, she went inside to the party, to hear the announcement that was going to change her life forever. One way or another, Teri was no longer able to hide. She had to come face to face with what was next, no matter how badly she wanted to run. Her sister’s words echoed in her ears, but Teri wasn’t sure if she believed them or if she even wanted to. It was going to be a disaster. She knew it.
