Her Arranged Alpha Husband by Alicia Banks
Chapter 26
Teri
A week went by, and Teri didn’t see Ben. She had no idea where he was, but it felt off that he hadn’t come to see her. If it was going to be that long, Teri was convinced that Ben would have told her. She knew that she had to go find him, even if she was terrified of what she would find. She had put off going, simply because Teri feared what came next. She had sent Ben to his destiny, but it could just as easily be his doom.
That feeling was suffocating, and all Teri could do was try her best to make it all work. It was impossible to think that it could. She prepared herself to make the trek. She worried for Ben’s sake, but also for herself and her children. It would soon be apparent what she already knew; she was carrying Ben’s litter. Teri was freaked out at first, but now she was happy for what was to come, even if her future was not known.
She took one last look at the cabin, wondering if it was all going to be a mistake leaving it. She felt like she needed to stay put for her children’s sake, but something kept her going. Teri had to make sure that Ben was okay, alive. She had a bad feeling, and she couldn’t shake it. Teri had always been closer to knowing the future than she liked to admit. It was never that good to know what was going to happen next. That was likely because it seemed to be all bad news.
As she made her way carefully toward Ben’s village, Teri realized that she didn’t feel like she was a part of it. They were married and it was her home, but it didn’t feel like it. Ben’s dad and friend had ruined it. They were so alike. It hit Teri then, while she was thinking how they were both so disgusting in character. Of course, it was right there in front of their faces! Why hadn’t she seen it before?
Teri moved faster in the direction of her husband. He was in the middle of a nest of snakes, and he didn’t even know it. They were devious from all sides. Teri figured there was one person that she could trust to help Ben. She’d never met her, it was a long shot, but Teri focused on getting to the mother, Jill’s residence. She was the one that Teri needed to fix everything.
A part of her felt sorry for Ben’s mom. She was going to have to hear such horrible things, likely monstrosities, that she didn’t even know about. Teri tried to put herself in her position, but it seemed impossible.
When she got to where the Alpha and the mother lived, Teri hung back and got a read of the place. It was quite clear that the mom was not as guarded as the dad was. He had brought people with weapons when he had visited someone in the village. Now, there wasn’t a soldier in sight, and it made Teri feel like if the mom didn’t know, she was naïve or blind. Teri didn’t know which one would be worse.
She knocked on the door and was not greeted with a servant as she would have expected. She was instead greeted by Ben’s mother. She was not who she expected. Jill was a small woman, dark eyes that saw everything, and she smiled almost immediately. Jill said Teri’s name and then pulled her in close. “I have been dying to meet you. I am glad you are feeling better, dear.”
Teri knew then that Jill was naïve, and she was going to have to burst her bubble of reality. Teri didn’t know how she was going to believe it or if she would take it well at all. She hoped, of course, but that wasn’t what was going to change anything. Jill had a lot ahead of her, and Teri wished that she didn’t have to tell her. No one wants to be such a bearer of bad news.
***
After it all came out, Jill just sat there in the same spot, staring into her teacup. Teri touched her hand, wishing that she could take the pain away, knowing that she couldn’t. There was a moment where Teri had to wonder what would happen next. She did her best to try and figure out what to say, how to act. She was at a loss, just like Jill, and it was all her fault.
“I’m sorry…”
“No, this is good. No one ever tells me anything.”
Teri had to tell her not only all that was going on with her son, but also Teri’s theory that was worrying. She suspected that Mark and James were father and son. She also thought that was the reason why James was trying to refuse to make Ben the Alpha. He was going to get rid of Ben, Jill’s son and Teri’s husband, if they didn’t do something about it. Teri worried that she was too late, though she kept reminding herself that she would have felt something if Ben was hurt.
When it was all said and done, Jill asked the best question that she possibly could. “What can I do?”
“Well, where would Ben be if he just disappeared? Do they have a cell or something that they would use?” Teri asked with hope. If Ben wasn’t somewhere, it could mean that they’d gotten rid of him and that was not something that they could come back from. Teri was sure that she would do anything to avoid that fate.
“I know where he would take him, if he wasn’t going to kill him outright. I have to believe that he couldn’t go that far, but I know that there is no telling with James. I have seen him do some horrible things, but he always made it like it was something he had to do.”
Teri waited for her to tell her where they were. She finally prompted the older woman to spill the beans. When she said where she thought they were, Teri’s veins turned cold, and she was sure that she hadn’t heard it right.
“What?”
“Yeah, I know it sounds bad, but I was there for several months before James made my father see that we were meant to be together. James always wants what he can’t have and that was me for the longest time. I was put in that cellar to wait for him and for my parents to get used to the idea. They eventually did and then I married James. I have always known that he had the propensity for violence. I just hoped that it wouldn’t be used on me. I was so wrong to think that it wouldn’t be.” She looked off when she spoke. Jill was having a hard time with what was going on and Teri couldn’t blame her. The news she had given her was not for the faint-hearted. She was taking it better than Teri would have herself. She hoped her strength kept on for what came next.
“I don’t think that there is any plan in place to hurt you, Jill. I don’t want to suggest that there is.”
Jill shook her head, blonde hair shaking upon her shoulders. There was a part of her that knew that look. “If he is trying to hurt my son, then he is trying to hurt me. There is no separation.”
Teri agreed with the sentiment and before too long, she did her best to make sure that nothing was going to get in the way of that. She wanted to save Ben and having Jill on her side was the best thing that she could do. It was clear that Jill wanted to help, and Teri surely needed it.
They both got some supplies and agreed to go check out the cellar where Jill thought that they would be. She seemed nervous, but she was betraying her husband, so that wasn’t hard to track. Teri had a slight worry that she was being led into a trap, like she was going to be the one in the cellar for all times. She didn’t like to think that way, but it very well could happen.
Neither one of them was prepared for what happened next. Teri thought that they would be caught and suffer some horrendous fate. That wasn’t what happened at all. The punishment was to see Ben so unhappy, and Teri felt like everything inside of her was calling out to him. When she saw him in the darkness, he was obviously beaten, and he hid his face like he was going to be beaten again. What had they done to him in just a few short days?
It was Jill that went to him first. Teri wasn’t afraid of him or anything, but he was hurt so badly, and it wasn’t clear what she could do. She hesitated and she was very thankful that no one seemed to know that.
Since there was no one around and the cellar was deep underground a mile from the village, they were able to get him out and into the cabin. Jill helped her get Ben there and Teri thought she was going to stay, but instead she said she had places to go, and Teri just went with it. What else was she supposed to do?
His mom left and it was just the two of them. Ben could barely look at her, even after he was given something to relax him and hopefully get him to sleep. Jill had everything there and Teri was glad that she had gone to her for information. She hated to think what would have happened if she had done it herself. Likely there would have been more time taken and the state of Ben could have been worse. From Teri’s point of view, it was bad enough.
“It’s going to be okay, Ben, I promise.”
He sighed and pulled her in for a kiss. “I cannot imagine how I look. I was so worried about you and our kids. You were right, my dad wants to get rid of me, you, and the babies. He wants to put my brother Mark on the throne, not me.”
Teri wondered if she would have to tell Ben the same that she had told his mother. She hoped that he would just see that for himself. It was amazing the relief that she felt about it. Of course, she was sad that it had to be learned at all, but she was happy that now she would be able to move on. Ben knew the worst and he was safe. What more could she ask for?
His mind wasn’t as safe as his body was though. Ben had a lot of betrayal to deal with and she held him for the longest time, telling him that it was all going to be okay. Teri didn’t know if it was true or not, but she repeated it until one of them believed it.
They were going to have to make a plan to take back his birthright and to make the clan see that James had created chaos to mask what he was doing. Ben wasn’t at all sure what it was yet, but they were going to work it out together. Teri didn’t know what was going to happen next, just that it was going to be something big.
The two slept off some of the worries they had. Ben was better the next day and Teri had more light to see the damage the beatings had caused. Ben explained that he knew the secret of where the Pearls were buried, and he wasn’t going to tell them. It was his right when he was a child to know the spot, him and only him, but his father wanted Mark to know the location. Ben didn’t know what they were going to do with it, he said, but he had some ideas and none of them were good.
“We have to get to the stones and release them. If we don’t have the stones and the power, it will release us from all of the attacks. I always thought that dad was right, and the Pearls needed to be here for safe keeping, but how is anything safer? We are always on the run and being attacked. It makes more sense to just give the power back and no longer be a target.”
She didn’t know what that meant but knew that it was going to be a hard destiny to follow.
