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“I’m sorry, but I can’t marry you,” I repeated.
This time, the silence wasn’t from me closing it out. The silence that fell around us was suffocating as everyone watched in horror. They thought this was a done deal. The most attractive, strongest, most favored male in town shouldn’t have any problem getting the female he wants, right?
As the alpha’s daughter, I was the closest thing we had to royalty. Owen was the closest thing we had to a Prince Charming. Now that I was thinking back, I realized that everyone must have assumed we’d end up together. Especially once we started dating.
But he didn’t love me. I was a prize. A check box on his way up in status, a route to gaining that title of alpha for himself one day.
“Your father already booked the temple,” Owen said.
“Then maybe you should marry my father,” I hissed.
The confusion melted into anger. “You don’t have a choice. You were given to me years ago.”
I blinked. “What?”
“You think I went out of my way to woo you for no reason? You think I’d waste my time on you if there wasn’t a payoff in the end? You’re mine. There’s no point resisting,” he said.
I scoffed. “That’s not how this works. If I was on the fence before, I’d be fully on the other side now. I will never marry you.”
He smirked. “It’s cute that you still think you have a choice.” He grabbed my hand, and I tried to yank it away. He gripped so hard it was going to leave bruises. Peeling my fingers apart, he set the ring in my open palm, then forced my fingers closed around it. “Keep this. You’ll need it.”
As soon as he let go of me, I threw the ring. “Get the fuck away from me.”
With a growl, he charged me, pushing me until I was against the brick wall. The crowd gasped but nobody moved. “You are mine, you hear me?”
Suddenly, he groaned in pain, then released his hold on me. He sunk to the ground, covering his ears. Brow furrowed, he cried out as if something was boring into his brain.
“She saidno,” Jasmine called. Her hand was outstretched, her eyes fixed on Owen. “Leave before I finish what I started here.”
Owen dropped his hands from his ears and stood. He was red-faced and sweating. “You’re going to pay for that, witch.”
“I’d like to see you try to lay a hand on me,” she said through gritted teeth.
The crowd had backed up, moving away from Jasmine. I had never seen her work any kind of magic like that before and neither had anyone else. It was terrifying and amazing and I was so grateful she was on my side.
“Go home, we’re closed,” I shouted.
The crowd groaned, but dispersed.
“We’re not done here,” Owen said.
“Yes, we are,” I said. “Find someone else.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” he said. “I agreed to marry you.”
I tried to keep my expression neutral, but a flicker of confusion must have shown because Owen gave me a nasty smile.
“You didn’t think this was my idea?” He laughed, cold and cruel. “Marrying you was your father’s price in exchange for grooming me to be the next alpha. You’re a complication, but with time, I’ll break you properly.”
“Get off my property,” I hissed.
“As soon as we’re married, this shit hole is mine. And I don’t think you’ll have time to work here once you start popping out babies,” he said.
Jasmine lifted her hands in the air. “She asked you to leave.”
Owen held up his hands in surrender. “I’m leaving. But this isn’t over. You can do this the easy way or the hard way. The choice is yours.”
ChapterSix
