The Alpha Prince And His Bride
Book 2 The Alpha’s Forbidden Bride – Episode 29

I held a hand over my mouth to cover a scream of agony.

WHAT DID I DO?

James.

Oh God, James.

James . . . My mate.

Now I understood why he did what he did. He was only trying to protect me and even though it wasn’t the best way he could have done it, I understood that he wasn’t trying to intentionally hurt me. He pretended to be with Clara just so that I wouldn’t cause any more trouble for us after losing my memories.

No.

What did I say to him?

What was wrong with me?

I couldn’t do this anymore. Now that I remembered everything, I couldn’t let this wedding happen. I knew James, he wasn’t about to let me go. This meant that he would come for me and if he did, things would blow up in all of our faces. I needed to run.

We both needed to run. Somehow or the other I had to replace a way to get out of this mess, I had to get to the man of my dreams, I had to make sure that I didn’t lose him.

I jumped as I heard a knock on the door. “Eden?”

I felt relief wash over me at the sound of my beloved sister’s voice. If there was anyone that I wanted to see right now, it was definitely her. No one else would help me escape. My parents would think that it’s too risky and so would my brothers. They were always very protective of me and they would never allow me to do something like this while they were alive.

I pushed the wardrobe out of the way and pulled her into my room. Her eyes were wide with worry as they settled on my face. “What’s wrong, did something happen?” she demanded while looking around for something that could possibly be wrong.

“I remember. . . I remember everything.”

Her lips parted and her entire body became completely still.

I watched as tears formed in her eyes at my words.

She pulled me into her arms and held on tightly. “Oh thank God, I was scared that you’d never remember us.”

I returned her hug. “I did too, I really did but I’m so happy that I remember you. I remember it all; I remember everything we’ve been through together since we were young. I’m so grateful to have a sister as amazing as you.”

She leaned back and smiled. “I’m the lucky one. Believe me I am.”

“I need to ask you something.” I told her. “And I need you to be honest with me.”

I didn’t have any time to waste. It was almost time for the wedding and I couldn’t be here when everything started.

“Of course.” She answered immediately. “Ask me anything.”

“Do you have feelings for Hunter?”

Her eyes widened and she looked taken aback by my question. “Why would you ask such a thing?”

She suddenly looked nervous and this was the most anxious I ever remembered seeing my sister. That meant that she was definitely keeping something from me, I should have been able to see it. After all, we knew each other better than anyone else did. But I was always so busy caught up with James and the council that I missed all of the signs until now.

“Just answer me please. I need this answer before I do what I must.”

We never hid anything from each other before; I didn’t know when that had changed between us.

“I-I don’t know.” She whispered. “I feel something towards him but I can’t explain what it is. I know that we can’t be mates since he would have fought for me already and then there’s also the fact that his last mate was killed. There are so many negative factors preventing me from knowing exactly what I should feel.”

“But you do feel something when you’re around him?” I asked once more, still not receiving a clear answer.

She was hesitant at first but eventually nodded.

So I hadn’t been seeing things. All along Hunter must have at least felt something for Isabella. I don’t know what it was but for my sister to feel it as well, there must be something there.

“Alright.” I finally said, now I didn’t feel as bad as I felt before about what I was about to do. “I’m not staying here Isabella. I must see James. I know him, he will come and he will start a war. I need to prevent that. I must talk to him . . . I can’t marry Hunter. I can’t do it to myself and I definitely can’t do that to James. All along he’s been fighting for us and I haven’t been doing the same, I need to do my part now.”

I couldn’t go through with this wedding.

I just couldn’t.

At least now I knew if I left when Isabella knew the truth, Hunter would not let anything bad happen to her. I saw how protective he got when she was concerned. He wouldn’t let the council do anything to her, I was sure of it.

That was the only thing that kept me going.

“What are you doing?” Isabella demanded as I ripped the wedding dress.

I couldn’t run with this thing. I needed to make it less bulky and a lot shorter than it was.

“I’m leaving. I need you to provide a distraction for me and cover for me at the wedding. Let them think that I’m getting dressed. I just need enough time to get a good distance away.”

Isabella didn’t question me nor did she try to stop me.

I was right. I knew that she would support me in whatever decision I made. She always did.

Now it was just to get away from all of this.

. . . . . . . . . . .

~JAMES~

We were all positioned a little distance away from the council. Far enough that they wouldn’t be able to sense us but close enough that we would be able to barge into the wedding in time.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to calm my angry wolf. He had been restless since last night; we both knew that the time was coming close. Just the thought of Eden being married to someone that wasn’t me was enough to send me borderline insane.

I’ve always dreamt of the day I would mark my mate and have a reason to live for. Today, I would make that dream happen. I would mark Eden in front of the f*****g council if I had to.

I would show them all not to come between Eden and I ever again. I’ll show them never to separate two mates ever again; they will always lose the fight.

“We did well.” Austin said to both Lucas and I.

I followed his gaze and was proud to see what we’d accomplished. There was so many on our side that it looked like an entire army ready to fight for what was right.

Austin’s pack combined with mine alone was a sight to see. It always has been. Then the Blackners along with their people was just as big as our packs combined. And that wasn’t even half of their soldiers. But that wasn’t all, in the end; a lot of other packs chose to stand with us after everything we’ve done for them in the past.

The council didn’t know what was coming to them, neither did Hunter.

“James,” Lucas said suddenly as he stood up straighter. “You might want to have a look at this.”

I followed his gaze and held my breath. Running to us with incredible speed was Eden Cross. . . My mate. Her body was adorned with a wedding dress that had been torn in the worst way possible but somehow she still looked extremely breathtaking.

After I recovered from my shock of seeing her again, I pushed past some of the men blocking my way and ran towards her.

I only stopped when we were a few feet away from each other. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Why was she out here? And why was she alone? Did something happen at the council?

Before I had a chance to answer any of those questions, she threw herself into my arms and wrapped her own arms around my neck as she held on tightly. “I love you.” She cried. “I love you so much James.”

I stood completely still, not sure what was happening.

Was this a dream? Did the love of my life really just confess her love for me?

If this was a dream, I never wanted to wake up from it.

I gently pulled away from her and gazed down lovingly at her. “Eden,” I whispered. “I don’t understand . . . This doesn’t feel real.”

“I remember everything James.” She confessed. “I remember everything we’ve been through, I remember my family, I remember yours. I remember the council and Hunter. . . I remember how much I loved you and still do. I don’t ever want to lose you; I’m willing to fight for us now. I’m so sorry for how I’ve acted in the past, so sorry for not fighting for us and even sorrier for everything I’ve said to you before—”

Before she could say anything else, I covered her lips with mine. I tasted her tears as I passionately kissed her. I felt my body come alive at the feel of her beneath my arms.

“You don’t have to apologize. You did the right thing.” I assured her after breaking the k**s. I cupped her cheeks in my hands and stared deeply into her eyes. “I love you Eden Cross, I loved you from the first second I saw you and I will love you till the day I die.”

. . . . . . . .

~ISABELLA~

I was nervous.

Eden was gone and I was the only person that knew this. When word got out, I wasn’t sure what was going to take place.

I had to stall everything for as long as I could. This meant that I needed to lie to everyone until I was sure she had gotten a good head start.

I took a deep breath before walking into the ballroom, reminding myself that my sister’s life depended on me right now. I couldn’t let my fear prevent me from protecting someone that meant so much to me. Eden and I were inseparable and I would gladly give my life for her without a second thought.

I was still extremely flushed by her earlier question. I hadn’t expected Eden to ask me how I felt about Hunter. In truth, even I wasn’t sure how I felt.

For one, he was the same man that was bringing a lot of problems into my family’s life. He was cold and heartless and from what I’ve seen so far, a cold blooded killer.

But there was something else in him. He was damaged and confused, like a loyal dog that’d just lost his owner and was trying to recover from the pain by masking it with anger.

What was even more absurd was that I was the only one that seemed to see this side of him. Everyone else only saw the cold, emotionless beast.

Then there was the fact that I often got jealous whenever I saw Hunter around my sister. Don’t get me wrong, I would never wish badly on her and I only wanted her happiness. But when it came to Hunter, my emotions were all over the place. I didn’t want to feel that way, but it wasn’t something that I could control.

I’d managed to keep that part a secret from Eden. I didn’t know how she would feel if I confessed something like that to her. I also knew that there was absolutely no one I could tell that to. They would think that I was completely losing it.

I felt a sudden shiver straight throughout my body and knew that Hunter was close. I slowly spun around and saw him looking at me. Our gazes locked and I immediately felt a weakness in my stomach that travelled all the way between my legs. I had to stifle a g***n and remind myself that we were in public.

He examined my face as though he was memorizing every little detail about me.

I felt my face turn red. His eyes were so beautiful and completely pulled me in.

I hated this feeling. I didn’t want to feel like this for him. He was destroying my family and yet I was here growing all hot and bothered for him.

I held my breath as he walked past me without speaking a single word to me. I knew what his hands on my body felt like and I desperately wanted to feel it again.

This was crazy! He in no way touched me inappropriately once before. The first time was when he picked me up from a chair and the other was when he stopped me from hitting his chest.

I had no idea why those two small touches made me feel anything other than hate towards him!

His scent suddenly hit me hard and I had to fight to catch my breath. These feelings didn’t seem normal to me, how could I feel like this for someone like him?

I was miserably embarrassed. My body kept betraying me and I had no idea how to fix it.

At least now I didn’t have to stand here and watch him marry my sister. He didn’t know that however, no one else but I did. But it brought me peace to know it.

“Isabella!” The prosecutor called out to me. “Where on earth is Eden and why isn’t she down here as yet?”

I tried not to tremble under his dark and lethal gaze. “She’s still getting dressed prosecutor. She will be out in about ten minutes.”

His eyes narrowed. “She better be or your entire family is about to witness my wrath!” He threatened.

Oh God.

This was about to be a nightmare!