Her Arranged Alpha Husband by Alicia Banks
Chapter 25
Ben
When he got up the next morning without Teri, Ben knew that he wasn’t going to spend much time dawdling. Ben had no choice. He needed to convince Teri that he wasn’t going to be able to live without her. It felt true enough, especially when he considered how badly he wanted to just leave with her. He would walk away from everything, the very reason that they had met and married in the first place. As soon as Ben had met Teri, that was pretty much all she wrote. Teri weaseled into his heart, and he couldn’t and wouldn’t want to get her out of it.
The only problem was he felt such a strong sense of melancholy when she wasn’t around. He was barely able to deal with the daily dealings and when he had to go see his father, that was when his day went from bad to worse.
“Son, I hear that you have lost your mate. Again. Is that true?”
Ben was quiet for a moment. It’s not like he hadn’t thought about being asked that very question. He should have known that his father would want to rub it in. Why hadn’t Ben thought of some kind of retort?
His father smiled in the most satisfied way. It made Ben’s heart sink. “Well? I see that you are speechless about it.”
Ben shrugged. “I don’t know if she is what I need. Like you said, we’ve been married and you have done what you promised. Your reputation and mine are still intact. It doesn’t mean that I have to pay for your weak mistake for the rest of my life. I want to break free of all of this before I am made Alpha. The ceremony is only in a couple of days, and it will be better to go into it single.”
“Ceremony?”
Ben grinned, secretly loving the look of confusion on his father’s face. He had no idea what was going on and that was probably for the best. Ben was smiling on the inside, as well as the out. It was nice to have his dad off guard for a change. He always liked to pretend that he knew everything.
“Yeah, it’s time, isn’t it? I talked to the Elders, and they say that we need to make it happen now. The spring will be upon us, and it is a good time to switch over, don’t you think?”
There was more hesitation and Ben could see that his father was not sure what to say. The hesitation was clear, but why? That wasn’t as easy to decipher. Ben knew then that his dad wasn’t planning on actually giving up the title. It hit him like a ton of bricks. He didn’t have to give it up, but Ben could take it. His mind swirled with all of the thoughts he was feeling, and it wasn’t long before he shook his head.
“It’s too soon. We can’t do it in the middle of a war.”
Ben scoffed. “Father, if that were the case, we would never switch over. You have made it damn sure that we are fighting everyone around us, neighbor and stranger alike.”
His dad told him that his words were likely caused from not knowing what the hell he was talking about. Ben could admit that he didn’t, especially when his dad was constantly changing everything. There was no telling what was real and what was being lied about. Ben knew that he was going to have to push it. His dad didn’t want to give up control.
“You’re not ready.”
“I am the same age that you were when you took over. I am ready.” Ben assured his dad and himself that he was. He wanted to be so badly, so if that had anything to add to it, Ben was going to take it.
James pressed his lips together and finally they walked in silence. The next thing he said to his son was that he was going to a meet-up with Mark. “You keep saying that you want peace and that I’ve warred too much, so you go and see what happens. Your friend Mark can go with you.”
There was a feeling of dread that came over Ben almost immediately. He didn’t know if it was because of his dad or his best friend that was less and less who he thought he was. Why was he telling him to bring Mark? It just wasn’t something that his dad would have cared about. It didn’t make sense, and he agreed, naturally he had to, and there was nothing else brought up about the two of them switching jobs. Ben didn’t know what to think when his dad left, but he had every hair on the back of his neck up on high alert. There was nothing that could be done. The more that Ben thought that everything was going to be okay, the more he realized that he was wrong. It was haunting to him that now he was going to have to look at Mark as his enemy. After what he did with his wife, that wasn’t that hard to understand, but it still hurt to do.
Ben got a few things ready before he left with Mark. Not only was he being set up to make peace when it was likely not an option, but Mark was there to what, finish him off? Ben hated how it all made him feel, how he couldn’t trust anyone, and that hurt more than anything else. Ben was quickly losing his father and his best friend. All of it was because of Teri and while he knew that it wasn’t her fault, Ben could see how it was easy to be a bit bitter about it. His life was going in one way a few months ago and now everything had changed. Ben didn’t know the ending to his new path and that made him nervous.
***
Mark was waiting for him. They went toward the meeting spot. Mark started talking like he did when he was nervous. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” he asked with a smile.
Ben didn’t buy it. He asked him again what was going on and then he added in his dad’s name. There was something going on there that he didn’t understand. Why were Mark and his dad so close all of a sudden, and why had they hidden it? What was the conspiracy that he knew was there, even if he couldn’t see it very clearly?
Mark just shrugged and then mentioned that the two of them had gotten closer while Ben was away. It didn’t sound right, but Ben didn’t know what he could do. He was stuck with Mark, slogging through the fresh snow and wondering when and what was going to go down. Ben’s body was tense, ready to start, but it didn’t happen when he thought it would.
When they got to the meeting point, Ben was just about to ask Mark when things had changed between them and he was made an enemy. It was on his head, Ben couldn’t stop it, but then everything was lost. Ben ducked down seconds before a bullet went whizzing where his head had been. He looked back to see if it was someone with Mark, but he was ducking down as well. The bullet had smashed the window out, knocking glass down on their heads.
“Who the hell is that?” Ben asked.
Mark said that he wasn’t sure, but they both figured it was the one that they had been trying to negotiate peace with. More shots were fired, and Ben moved the vehicle backward until there were no more shots. He sat up and looked at Mark. “Why do I have the feeling that my father called ahead and told them to fuck off?”
Mark started to say that he wouldn’t do that, but then he was silent for a moment before he shrugged. “There really is no telling with dad.”
Ben heard the difference. He hadn’t called him his dad, but dad. Was that the clue that Ben needed, but didn’t even know was there? It was not the time to bring it up, but Ben knew that the time would be there before he knew it. Whatever was going on with Mark and his dad was going to be figured out. Were they brothers? How many kids did his father have? That was the real question, and it was one that didn’t seem to have an easy answer.
