The Alpha's Exchanged Mate
The Alpha’s Exchanged Mate – Chapter 24

Edwina’s POV…

Warm and fluffy.

Those were the first thoughts that ran through my mind the moment I roused from my sleep and gained consciousness. Everywhere around me felt soft and very comfortable, and my entire body felt lax and fully sated.

The cool satin material of the sheets against my skin caused the hairs on the surface of my skin to rise, and the cocooning warmth that surrounded me brought back the memories of the previous night.

The last feeling of sleep in me ebbed as a blush rose in my cheeks when the event of the previous night rushed through my mind-sending my mind reeling, my cheeks heating, and my body tingling.

And then, finally, the scent of Alexander filtered in my nose, and I flipped my eyes open, taking a subtle sniff at the air, and smiled lightly when the intoxicating scent drowned me slightly.

I turned around on my side, and the sight of an empty bed made a frown paint my lips. My side of the bed was warm, but Alexander’s side of the bed sent a chilly feeling up my fingers when I ran them across his side.

It was obvious that he had been away from the bed for a while, and for some reason, the thought made me fume with anger.

I guess last night had been too beautiful. It was causing me to yearn for something more. And I wasn’t naive to begin thinking that because we had one of the most beautiful s*x last night, it automatically meant that we suddenly had a connection.

I sighed heavily before moving to sit against the headboard and wincing slightly when I felt a dull ache from between my legs. The soreness, for some reason, made a blush rise on my cheeks because it was also a reminder of what had happened.

The curtains had been pulled open, which meant that the maids had been here for their routine cleaning, and my bath water was running cold in the bathroom. For a moment, I wondered why they had not woken me up.

Moving out of the bed, I swung my legs against the side of the bed, and the moment my feet kissed the cold floor, I let the rest of my body follow along.

For a moment, I paused at the window by the side of the bed and just looking outside the window and watching the people attend to their business brought a certain calm to my body.

My stomach rumbled a little, and I remembered that I had barely eaten my food last night before I had been storming out in anger. And now it seemed like I was suffering the consequences.

I sighed once more before moving in the direction of the bathroom. The sweet scent coming from the soothing oils and flavoured soap that the maids had added to the water made me smile, and I moved to settle into the tub, sighing in satisfaction when the warm water instantly relieved the slight burning of my muscles.

I remained unmoving in the bath for what felt like a long time before picking the loofah that had been tossed into the water and running it along my body.

Once I had run the soft sponge through every part of my body, I pulled the plug out and drained out the soapy water, and began rinsing my body.

The soothing oils that had been added to the water did a great job of soothing me, and I felt much more relaxed than when I had begun my bath.

I moved to run a fluffy white towel across my body before pulling on a rope and quickly taking care of my oral hygiene. I paused when I caught sight of my face in the mirror, and the healthy glow on my cheeks caused me to frown in confusion.

I knew that I wasn’t in the best position at the moment. And for a while now, I had constantly been stressing over what this new chapter in my life would mean and how it would definitely change things for me.

The least I expected was that the stress and constant worry would be evident in my features, but that was not the case. My cheeks were a healthy glow, and when I smiled, it felt like I was living a perfect life.

But I let the smile die from my face, shaking my head when the reality of my situation surfaced to the top again.

I moved out of the bathroom and into the large walk-in closet that was a room on its own, and I moved towards my side of the closet, plucking out a few comfortable wears from the rack and quickly donning them on.

I looked to the floor-to-ceiling mirror that had been positioned at the end of the room, and when my reflection stared back at me in comfortable-looking jeans paired with a purple sweatshirt, I hummed in satisfaction before moving to pull a sandal onto my feet.

I ran a brush quickly through my long locks, sparing one last look at my reflection in the mirror before moving out of the room and in the direction of the dining room. The aroma from the space caused my stomach to rumble again.

I hoped to find Alexander settled in the dining room, having breakfast. For some reason, I just wanted to see him for once this morning.

The dinner that he had set out for last night had been beautiful, and I appreciated the effort that he put into it. It was too bad that it had not exactly ended on the best note.

The closer I got to the dining room, the more my stomach churned in anticipation, but the moment I stepped into the space and found it empty, it felt like my stomach dropped, and disappointment filled the space of the previous anticipation.

I settled into the seat and began to pile my plate full of food, picking one of the different arrays of dishes that the servers had arranged in front of me.

The moment I was done with my breakfast, I moved out of the dining room, back through the grand stairs, and in search of Alexander. I wanted to check what he was up to.

It felt like there were different eyes on me, and I squirmed under the supposed gazes. As I passed by some people, I heard a few ‘Good morning Luna’ from the people around, and I tried my best to acknowledge as many of the greetings as I could, doing my best to avoid eye contact because, for some reason, I feared that I might be judged in the eyes of some pack members.

The moment I got to the hallway that led to Alexander’s office, I met two guards positioned at the entry of the hallway, and I nodded my head in greeting to them and moved to get through the door.

The first thing I noticed about the two tall, burly guys was how they were looking at me like I were some sort of bug that they could squash underneath their feet.

Their eyes held mockery and annoyance at my frame, and the intimidating look that they threw my way caused a knot to form in my throat, but I cleared it away and tipped my chin up, forcing myself to hold their gazes even when everything in me wanted to recoil from it.

“Where do you think you’re going?” One of them drew out at me the moment that I moved to pass beside him, holding out a hand in front of me to prevent me from going through.

I furrowed my brows in confusion.

“I need to see Alexander,” I replied. I expected that he would let me go through once, but he only chuckled a mean, deep, taunting chuckle, one that his partner also joined in, and the sound grated on my nerves.

“And who exactly are you to strut over her and demand to see the Alpha?” He asked, and I frowned.

Was he kidding me? I had just been announced as Luna a few days before, and I’m pretty sure that members were present.

“Are you kidding me? I am your Luna, and I command you to let me through.” I instructed firmly, patting myself on the back when my voice came out strong and unshaken.

But my confidence melted away when the guards began to laugh awfully at me.

“Look who is trying to be all commanding.” Guard one said.

“The wolf-less, weak, puny girl who has zero strength or power.” Guard two chirped in.

And they began making fun of me, laughing loudly at my expense and throwing a couple of degrading jokes at my face.

It felt like I had no control when the tears began streaming down my cheeks. There was a physical pain in my chest, and a sob bubbled out of my throat.

I turned around and began heading back towards the room, not wanting to hear any more of their taunting.

The moment I shut the door behind me in the room, I moved toward the bed and flipped on it, letting out heart-wrenching sobs. I cried bitterly, and the sound of my misery filling my ears did not allow for me even to hear the creaking of the door as it opened and the sound of wheels against the floor.

“Hey.” Alexander’s voice whispered quietly by my side, and the tears seized for a moment in my throat.

I whipped my head in its direction. The Alpha had begun running his fingers through my hair, and the comforting action made more tears run down my cheeks.

Alexander began whispering comforting words softly in my ears, all the while running his fingers through my hair.

“I’ve had them taken care of, I promise.” I heard him say.

It took a while, but soon my crying eased, and I raised my eyes to Alexander’s, gasping softly when he met me with his own orbs.

It happened so fast, one moment, he was running his fingers through my hair and looking into my eyes, and in the next moment, his lips were slamming against mine in a passionate k**s.

My body heated at the contact, and the sound caused Alexander to run his hands into my hair and pull me closer to himself.

It felt like I was swimming in the pleasure, and when Alexander’s calloused, big hands entered into my shirt and tweaked at my nipples, I let out a soft sigh, adjusting on the bed to give him more space.

I moved to pull off my sweatshirt, but that was the exact moment that a knock came on the door, interrupting us.

“F**k!!!”

I exclaimed. This person had terrible timing.