The Alpha's Exchanged Mate
The Alpha’s Exchanged Mate – Chapter 16

Alexander’s POV…

Watching her sleep so innocently and peacefully would definitely be the best part of my day. Still, she had already wished not to be in the same room with me. Was the s*x that bad? I honestly thought it was good. I could even say it was great, and that would be somewhat innocuous.

But after s*x, she decided she didn’t want to sleep in the same room with me, only to continue with her duties as my Luna, which was confusing for me to comprehend.

I decided to take advantage of the fact that she was sleeping and stretch my legs a bit. Sitting in this wheelchair can be so tiring and restrictive at the same time.

I didn’t want to wake her up, so I moved to the inner room where I would do a few workouts and afterwards moved to shower; she was still sleeping. I wonder if she sleeps this heavily or if it was because of last night.

When I wheeled out of my chair, I saw her yawning and stretching her hands.

“Good morning,” she greeted.

“Good morning,” I simply replied.

“You have dressed already; you are certainly good at helping yourself out.” She said, wearing her pyjamas robe. I would have complimented her on how beautiful she looked in the morning; she was naturally beautiful. But I wouldn’t tell her that; there was a gentle knock on the door; Edwina glared at the door.

“Are you expecting anyone this morning?” she asked, gawking at the door for a moment.

“That must be Caleb and Becca,” I replied and called out for them to come in, “I instructed them to come early,”

“Oh, okay,” she replied briefly as the door flew open. Becca and Caleb entered.

“Good morning, Alpha Alexander and Luna Edwina,” they both chorused. I glanced at Edwina to see her reaction, and as expected, her face looked indifferent.

“Good morning,” I replied.

“You are already dressed, Alpha,” Caleb inquired, who usually helped me dress.

“Yes, an advantage of having a Luna by your side,” I replied to him, but Edwina frowned because she knew that wasn’t true.

“You are so right, it’s nice to have you here, Luna Edwina,” Caleb acknowledged, and she gave a half smile. She had not uttered a word ever since they came into the room. I can’t help but wonder what was going through that head of hers; sometimes, I feel she goes to that place where only she can go.

“So, Edwina, I will be headed out. Becca will be your personal handmaid. You get to go with her everywhere you go.”

“You mean like a spy that gets to report my every movement to you,” she retorted.

I glared at her. I wasn’t going to let her hint to the whole world, especially my subject, that this marriage isn’t that of love but rather that of convenience.

“I am sure she is more loyal to you, considering you saved her from punishment,” I replied with a smile. I could see her hardened face soften as a smile formed.

“Isn’t that so, Becca?” I asked, facing her.

“I am loyal to the throne, sir,” Becca replied.

It was a politically correct answer, but I can’t help but get scared when most of my packs give that answer. I wonder what would happen to the night Howlers if we ever get attacked by the Sizzlers again and, this time, they accomplish their mission. Will I have a faithful pack who would stand by me or those who will stand by the throne and whosoever that is on it, even if that means swearing their allegiance to our rival?

“Caleb will be with me, he is my personal assistant. I will make a few stops and then stop by the office,” I explained to her. Still, her facial countenance seemed uninterested in any details I was giving her.

“Where would you be going?” I asked her, still trying to have a conversation with her.

“I will go visit my sister, ” she replied briefly.

I gave up on trying to have a conversation with her and simply nodded my head, motioning to Caleb to wheel me out of the room.

It was just day one till forever, so they say, and she is already making it so hard with the distant and cold reaction.

As we got into the car and Caleb drove me to the office, he noticed my mood.

“Are you okay, sir?” he asked, as he always does when we were alone, not with other people or in front of the pack.

Caleb and I were close; sometimes, I could even call him my friend. We would talk and rub our minds together; he was way older than me, in his mid-thirties and had way more experience than I did in certain areas of life.

“Caleb, what can I say? I don’t just understand her,” I muttered as I expressed my frustration to him.

“Isn’t it too early to try to understand her?”

“Too early,” I scoffed, “or rather too late, you mean,”

I could see him smile as he glanced at me through the rearview mirror, and his mouth cupped as he was about to ask a question, but he bit his lips to try to hold it back. I knew him too well.

“Speak Caleb. I don’t want to have to force you to actually have a conversation with me, do I?” I asked him.

“You don’t, but it is perplexing to see you are in this state too soon because if I could vividly remember, this was a marriage for convenience, not love.” He paused and then continued, “I want to know, what were your expectations when you wanted to get married to her?” he finally asked.

This is why I sometimes dislike Caleb. He asks the hardest question in the simplest form and expects the most profound answers.

“I wanted a wife, A Luna, but now it feels more like I have added to my problems,”

“In what way?” he asked again.

I hated that Caleb always knew how to ask the right question, and he asked them most respectfully.

When we were young and my father, the Alpha then, introduced me to Benedict as my Beta and my right-hand man. I was not sure this was what I wanted, but my dad convinced me then that the Beta wolf had to come from a particular lineage as a custom process.

I had also suggested that Caleb be made my beta wolf. Still, my father forbade it, stating that he comes from a lineage of omega wolves and therefore is not fit to become a Beta.

I now regret that decision that was made for me, and now, I have to live with the consequences for the rest of my life.

“What I want from her is what I never had with Sonia, peace,” I responded after a while of being drawn by my thoughts.

He swirled his left hand to the wheel as he took a sharp turn and paused at the traffic light.

“And you got married to a woman who doesn’t love you,” he muttered silently.

And I glared at him, I could only see the back of his head and the side of his face, but I knew he had a stern face that looked rather indifferent when giving such information. Caleb just wanted to say what he felt without giving out too much emotion or any form of judgment.

“The moon goddess revealed her to me before I was wrongfully coerced to marry Sonia. She was going to be my Luna, and that means the one who will ultimately bring me peace. ” I paused for a while, exhaled, and continued, ” I made a mistake when I decided to get married to Sonia. I turned away from my mate the moon goddess had chosen for me.”

“Why did you do it, though?”

“Why did I do what?” I asked him.

“Why did you choose Sonia? I know you, Alpha Chase, you are not a man who is easily convinced or persuaded into doing something. Why did you choose Sonia over your mate chosen for you by the moon goddess?”

I let out an exasperated gasp as I went back to that night after I had chosen to marry Sonia. I was restless and confused as I could have ever been, but what informed my thought that day was when I went into the library to read about the cases of a deficient wolf.

I found out that the likelihood of such a creature to birth a wolf was extremely slim, which meant I might not have an Alpha who would take over my legacy and also that of my forefathers when I am gone.

It was really heart-aching for me and was quite a struggle, but I did what I thought was best for the throne. Now, look how it all turned out.

“I thought about all I had to uphold as an Alpha. I needed an heir, and that was why I decided to marry Sonia instead of the mate chosen for me by the moon goddess,” I responded.

“Now, what changed, don’t you still want the heir?”

Damn Caleb, he always knew how to ask the right questions. At the right moment, he took the final turn that led to the high-rise building where my company was located and continued to take the straight road till he arrived and stopped the car.

“I tasted it and later realized that there was more to life than just having an heir. When I lost my mobility, I realized I might have lost my life also in the process. If that were to happen, I still wouldn’t have an heir to keep the legacy I was trying so hard to protect. That experience single-handedly changed my view on life and how I saw it,” I said expressively, and I could see a smile curled up on his face.

“We are here,” he announced as he got out of the car, and that was the moment I realized he had made me face a truth I had been avoiding.

The truth about my reality.