Chapter 57: 58: The Choice

ALEX

A chill runs down my spine when I hear those words come out of Xavier’s mouth. I’m surrounded by his army of alphas.

~And every single one of them looks just as ferocious as Marius did when he lost control.~

Xavier’s eyes are twinkling with joy as confusion and fear begin to rise in the chapel. I can see in his face that Xavier came here for one reason.

To kill me.

But I know it’s not just me he’s after.

Ever since Ariel rejected him, Xavier has had it in for her.

But I’ll be damned if I let him touch a single hair on her head.

~Over my dead body.~

I charge at Xavier, letting out a guttural cry, but the nearest partially shifted alpha appears lightning fast and tackles me to the ground.

I struggle against his weight, staring up at his glowing red eyes as he pins me down, his claws digging into my arms.

I recognize him as Jack, the alpha from the Blood Moon Pack.

“Jack, it’s me. Stop!” I yell over the rising screams filling the chapel.

But the man I know is gone, replaced by a snarling monster. He has no control over his wolf.

Xavier approaches, peering down at me with a shit-eating grin.

“Alphas,” he yells out to the dozen red-eyed monsters already starting to cause chaos in the chapel.

“Attack.”

ARIEL

The moment I hear Xavier bark out his command for the alphas to attack, my body freezes.

~This~ is what the Moon Goddess was warning me about.

The Hunters weren’t attacking us directly, like I’d expected…

They were making someone else do their dirty work for them.

But how the hell Xavier got involved with them, I have no idea.

All I know is the red-eyed alphas are completely under his control, spreading through the pews, crashing wooden chairs and cracking stone tiles with superior strength.

Screams echo in the chapel as people scramble out of the way.

The chapel has descended into utter chaos.

I clench my fists, anger and adrenaline pumping back through my veins.

~That doesn’t mean we can’t fight back.~

“All lunas!” I find myself yelling to the crowd. “Get away from your mates! We need to get everyone to the palace and barricade the doors!”

“Warriors!” I hear General Dave shout. “Get women and children out of here first. Steve, put out a pack alert!”

My eyes dart to Steve, who has Louisa clinging to his side.

A giant alpha with dark brown fur looks at them murderously and lunges toward them, but I jump over a row of pews and intervene, pushing them out of the way.

I’m immediately backhanded by a giant claw and sent flying over several rows of pews with a crash.

Pain shoots through my body, my nerves screaming at me, and my vision goes white.

“Ariel!” I hear Alex yell out, his voice sounding panicked.

When my vision clears, I see him crawling away from two half-shifted alphas who are continuously kicking him down each time he tries to stand.

Xavier is following close behind.

I stagger back into an upright position.

I want to rush over to help Alex, but by now there’s a sea of red-eyed, partially shifted wolves between us.

The pack alert alarm rings out from phones scattered on the ground, sending a warning signal into the air.

~A little late for that now.~

I kick off my heels and rip the seams on either side of my dress up to my hips for mobility.

I’m ready to fight.

My heart drops in horror as I see all of my friends backed into corners of the chapel, partially shifted.

Amy and Marius tightly gripping each other’s hands, baring their fangs.

Maria trying to pull a crying child away from the chaos.

Dom and Helena holding Camelia, who is screaming bloody murder.

General Dave standing in front of a group of lunas with his sword drawn.

And Alex backed against his father’s coffin.

~What do I do?~

~I can’t help them all.~

All I can do is watch as the crazed, monstrous alphas snarl and pounce on the Royal Pack guards, knocking their swords aside and pinning them down, teeth bared at their throats.

Everyone in the chapel is being held hostage, corralled into corners or between pews by panting wolves with red venomous eyes.

But strangely, no one is restraining me.

I hear Alex cry out as two partially shifted alphas pin him against the coffin.

Xavier gets on top of him, clearly relishing the dominance as his hands squeeze Alex’s throat.

“Stop!” I yell out, and Xavier’s attention snaps toward me.

Alex’s face is blood red, and he’s gasping for breath.

“Please, Xavier, stop,” I plead.

Slowly, Xavier releases his grip, and Alex coughs violently, rolling over.

But the other two alphas keep their grip on him.

My ex-destined mate gives Alex a final disgusted look before standing up to face me.

“Why are you doing this?” I ask fiercely.

“Why am I doing this?” he replies, as if the answer is the most obvious thing in the world. “Ariel, I’m doing this for ~you~.”

When I hear that, I have to stop my jaw from dropping to the floor.

Xavier has said and done a lot of shitty things since he first rejected me as his destined mate…

But this might take the cake.

“For me? What the hell are you talking about, Xavier?”

“You know what I’m talking about. Ever since I showed back up in your life, I could see you struggling, trying to fight your feelings for me.”

He motions to Alex, who’s just now regaining his breath and struggling to sit up.

“Now you can finally leave this pathetic excuse for a king.”

The hatred that starts to rise up in my veins grows with every word that comes out of Xavier’s mouth.

~How dare he talk about Alex that way?~

“Ariel, don’t you see? The strongest alpha is meant to be king, and his destined mate the queen. It’s Fate. Every time we try to fight it, we only end up hurting ourselves. We have to accept what Fate has laid out for us.”

I look into Xavier’s dark brown eyes, trying to see the man who I once imagined having a future with.

But that arrogant yet harmless man I used to know is completely gone.

He’s been replaced by this monster before me.

And as much as I want to tell Xavier to go fuck himself, it’s probably not the best idea right now.

First, I’ve got to get Xavier to explain how he got these alphas under his control.

Only then will I know how to stop it.

“I have to admit, Xavier, it’s an impressive plan. But how’d you get the most powerful men in the continent to obey you?”

Xavier laughs. “Simple. The Hunters made me a deal. If I helped them, they would make me an army of alphas so I could take over the crown.”

“But I don’t understand… They took your child!”

“Giving them Xavi was just one of the sacrifices I needed to make. Besides, they were never going to harm him—only make him a stronger, more worthy heir.”

“You idiot, Xavier! They’re using you!”

“No, they only handed me the keys to the kingdom. And everything was going according to plan, except for one thing…”

He walks up to me and gently puts his hand on my cheek. I shudder under his touch.

“I didn’t expect that I would fall for you again.”

I slap his hand away.

“I’ve rejected you as my mate twice now, Xavier,” I growl. “And I’m doing it again right now.”

Xavier looks down, disappointed by my response.

Alex, still struggling against the alphas, cries out: “Ariel, don’t listen to—”

“SHUT HIM UP!” Xavier booms, and an alpha punches him into silence.

I feel my eyes sting with tears when I realize how helpless we all are right now.

Xavier turns back to me, raising his voice so everyone can hear:

“I’m giving you a choice, Ariel. In a few moments, I’m going to take the throne. There’s nothing anyone can do to stop it. When I do this, I can either kill everyone here. Like this—”

He snaps his fingers and all the alphas lunge excitedly, as if a meal has been brought out in front of them.

A cry of terror spreads throughout the chapel.

“Or…you can agree to be my queen, and we get mated tonight.” His eyes twinkle deviously.

“In which case, Alex and his family will be spared for now. After all, what is a mating ceremony without any guests?”

Once I hear what Xavier is making me choose between, my head starts to spin.

I’m completely powerless, and I feel my heart start to throb.

~An impossible choice.~

He kneels down in front of me…

“Ariel, I love you, and I will give you everything you could ever dream of. I will give you the entire world. I will give you far more than ~he~ ever could.”

I feel tears streaming down my cheeks.

I weigh the options in my head silently, but the pressure is overwhelming and I can’t think.

It feels like the weight of the world is on my shoulders.

I look at the terrified faces of my Royal Pack family.

~The lives that are in my hands.~

I look into the face of Alex, his helpless green eyes begging me.

But in the end, there’s only one choice really.

“Okay, Xavier…,” I say softly. “I’m yours.”