Page walked out of her father's office. She was sick to her stomach. Of all the low-down things that her dad had done to her, he had done the worst and she was already afraid that she would not be able to forgive him. Even though what was done was in her “own best interest”, Page worried that she would never be able to forgive him.
Page cursed under her breath as she walked back to her wing of the house. It was the first time that every single step of those stairs made her want to throw herself down them. It was the first time that the wing of a large castle actually made her feel like she was a prisoner. Page had never felt that way before, but she did now. Now that she knew what her future was supposed to look like and how little thoughts and opinions were actually made to go into her life. Decisions were made without her and now she had to live with those decisions.
She did not want to be the daughter of a powerful Alpha. While she had known for quite a while that she was likely going to have to marry someone that her father pushed on her, she hadn’t really thought of the reality of it. She was now seeing herself as the pawn to help him with whatever agenda he had at the time. She now knew how he was, what he was and how hehad gotten to be so powerful. Page knew that she would be used in a moment to appease his power need or whatever it was that he thought he was going to get out of the other clan.
Page tuned him out at some point, especially when it was made clear to her that no matter what she said, it was going to happen anyway. What was the point, she asked herself. He wasn't going to listen to reason. He had made up his mind and as she was the only daughter, it wasn't like he could put his plans on someone else. It was always on her shoulders to make him more powerful.
It was only when she got to the top of the stairs that she noticed there was someone following her. It was one of her father's soldiers and she asked him point blank what he was doing there. Page wanted her privacy respected, as it had always been.
“Your father said that you may need some extra protection for a while.”
Page didn't have to ask with that extra protection involved. It involved someone making sure that she didn't run away. She also knew how long a while was. Likely, the “while” was however long it took for her to get married. Another wave of disgust went through her and before she could say anything to give herself away, she went into her room and slammed her door. Another satisfying moment that would not last for long. She was informed through the door that if she caused him too many problems, she wouldn't have a door at all or any privacy until she was married off.
Why did it hurt her so bad to know that he knew what was going on, such a lowly soldier? He had more freedom than she did and that was another feeling that Page just absolutely hated.She was always told how she should be grateful for her position in life, but Page did not feel grateful.
She wished more than anything that her mother was still alive. Her mom wouldn't let this happen, she imagined, but maybe that was not true. She had been gone since Page was 10 years old, and the memories that she had over a decade before were fuzzy at best. She didn't trust them anymore. How could she, how could her mother that she remembered to be so wonderful and great, stay with her father? Likely their marriage was arranged like hers would be. Page never got to ask her, because once she was old enough to know those things, her mom was already gone.
All she could do was feel sorry for herself. Page flopped down on the bed and cried herself to sleep. She wasn't ready to make a plan, not yet. She wanted to live with her misery for a little bit longer and her dreams were filled with monsters that were husbands that she would have to mate and go to bed with. It kept her up the rest of the night, after she woke up with a jolt. Page didn’t want to go back to that place, even if it was just in the dream.
When she woke up, it was dark outside, and the soldier was still standing by her door. It was the same one as before, and she asked him to go get her something to eat. If there was going to be somebody watching her at all times, she should at least get some benefit out of it. Page was unhappy with the whole setup. She couldn’t believe what her father was doing.
“I do not work for you, Page. I work for your father, and he said not to move. I am not going to move. You know how to get what you need. I would suggest you stop playing games and just accept the situation that you're in.” He bit the words out to her, like he had the right to talk to her like that.
She did not like the idea of that at all. Page didn't want to just live with it. Page didn’t know exactly what he was talking about and what she was just supposed to accept, but her mind immediately went to the idea that she was supposed to marry a guy that she didn't even know. It wasn't going to happen. Page would find a way out of it; she would find a way to get away from her father.
Page hadn't really thought about it too much, but Page knew that the only way out was to run. Her father was never going to give her decisions in her own life. That's not how shifters worked. It just made Page realize that maybe she didn't want to be a shifter. She certainly didn't want to be the daughter of an Alpha. She just wanted a normal life. She just wanted to figure out who she was and what she wanted out of life and then do it. Was that so hard?
Page got dressed and went to the kitchen to make herself something to eat. The soldier bickered and made little snide comments the whole way, but Page just ignored him. She had a lot on her mind, and she honestly couldn’t have cared less what one of her dad's soldiers thought. The soldier had made it clear what he thought of her, so Page was just going to ignore it. All she could think about was getting away and possibly getting the soldier punished.
She made some soup and a sandwich and went to the dining hall to eat. The soldier was not happy. He apparently had someone that he was trying to get a hold of, and she reminded him very sweetly several times that he should just go and check on his girlfriend. She was likely in another man's arms obviously. That got her a dirty look, but luck was not on her side, because the girlfriend in question called him back rather quickly and he didn't have to go anywhere. Page was stuck wondering if he was ever going to give her some space.
That's what Page needed, space. She didn't need someone following her and watching her every step. She needed space, freedom, and Page was bound and determined to get it. She had already started a plan in her mind of how she was going to get out of there. The wedding that she was being forced to be in was soon, which didn’t give her much time to get away. She had to figure out a way out and she would. Page had to. She couldn’t live with the alternative.
***
She went the next day to see her father, and she overheard a conversation that he was having with the soldier watching out for her. The soldier told her father that she was planning something. It was true, of course, she was planning something, but it was too early in it for her father to know about it. Page worried that her dad would do something drastic because he was known to, and she would not be able to get away quick enough.
According to the conversation that she overheard, another soldier was being added to her detail and they were not to let her out of their sight. There was also the threat of the soon-to-be-husband being brought sooner. Page couldn't believe what she was hearing. She wished that it wasn't true, but she put none of it past her father. He always got what he wanted.
As she was leaving, Page had to cover her mouth so that the cry of misery did not escape loud enough to be heard and give her away. She never knew that life could be so different than what she had hoped for. Page had to come up with a plan and fast. With two soldiers watching her, it might be harder to get away, but she was determined to not become another victim of arranged marriages. She didn't care about tradition or how long it had been that way in the clans, Page knew that it didn't have to be that way, that people could choose love over obligation, and she wanted to be one of those people. Whatever it took.
Chapter 3
Randall
While there was a massive amount of anger inside of Randall for everything that was going on, his new-to-him brother being set up with the wife that he wanted was the final straw. That was what did the most damage, and it wasn’t just anger that he felt about it. It was betrayal.
Because of that betrayal and because he could not stand the idea of it being true, he had to go see his brother. He was honestly hopeful that Ethan was lying, and he was just trying to get under his skin, which he definitely had.
Insult to injury though, he had to wait for quite some time to get a chance to even speak to his brother because Ben was always so busy. When he finally did get in to see him, of course, it was his own brother that was there laughing and joking with Ethan. It was just like another stab in the heart, right to the quick.
When he saw the look Ethan gave him, Randall wondered if he even wanted to talk to his Alpha at all. If he did, he would know how unhappy he was and that he would possibly do something about it, but the truth was that he didn’t think Ben was capable of anything like that. Ben thought that he was weak, had called him that so many times. It wasn't that Randallwas weak, of course. He just didn't see the need to constantly fight. He had always found more value in working out problems, instead of fighting people over them. That was not something that a lot of people agreed with, especially since his brother took all by violence. Randall just thought there was a better way. Seeing Ethan then though, Randall wondered if his stance on violence was the wrong one. It certainly felt like it at the moment.
“Don't keep him up too long, Randall. He really needs to get some sleep. You know what his work habits are like. He doesn't listen to his body,” Ethan called back as he was leaving.
Randall looked at Ethan like he'd lost his mind. Maybe he had. “You barely know my brother. I don't think you have enough information to sit there and tell me what he does or doesn't need,” Randall heard himself snapping back. Even though he told himself that he was going to keep his cool, that was obviously not the case. He couldn't let any of it go. It all seemed ridiculous to him. Ethan didn't start anything right then and there; he was likely still trying to hide what he truly was from their older brother Ben. He managed to not say more and cause too much of a scene. It was easier said than done when it came to Ethan.
“What is going on out there?” Ben asked. Randall thought that it was pretty obvious, and he had likely heard some of it, so he didn't know why he had wanted him to say anything at all. He finally just mentioned that their father was an idiot. It was something that he had said many times before he found out about Ethan. His dad was even worse now, as far as Randall was concerned.
