Enslaved To The Alphas-Chapter 172: Confused

Emira was determined to remain cheerful.

After spending nearly the entire morning wasting away in thoughts about those stupid flowers and how he had patiently tied them up with twine, she finally decided to join Ryn for the picnic by the lakeside. It had been arranged for the meeting and greeting of those chosen to go for the alliance and were now mingling with prospective mates.

Of course, the reason for coming here was also to see Alpha Cassian, who’d claimed he would be here all day and yet was nowhere to be found. Another reason for coming here was a bit perverse on her part. It was because she knew that Prince Kael would be irritated if he knew she was here. But it wasn’t her fault that he had not assigned her any work and she was free. So, if he was irritated, then it was his problem.

Ryn, on the other hand, was in her usual mood-bubbly, animated, and full of endless gossip about who had taken an interest in whom, who might have found a potential mate, and who believed they might have met their true fated mate among the visiting Redwood Pack.

Emira only half-listened. Her gaze was fixed in another direction, her thoughts caught up in the memory of what she had seen on her way here.

When Ryn began excitedly explaining how fated mates were always better than arranged ones, Emira’s attention finally snapped back to her, but only for a moment, long enough for the words to echo sharply in her mind. Fated mates. Was that truly better? Was that what she had just witnessed?

Because if it was, then she couldn’t understand any of it. Prince Kael—cold, distant, and seemingly above mere mortals- had actually taken the time to prepare a bouquet of flowers himself. For his mate. And what had Ramona Vye done with it? She had tossed it into the bin as if it were nothing.

Emira still couldn’t believe it. If she hadn’t seen the discarded bouquet with her own eyes, lying pitifully outside Ramona’s house she would have thought the entire thing impossible. But it wasn’t. It had been real, and that single image had refused to leave her mind even now. Wasn’t this the reason Zen had wanted her to get closer to Prince Kael? So that Ramona would see her in a different light? But that was not happening...

So much for the greatness of fated mates.

She sighed softly, brushing away a strand of hair that had come loose in the lakeside breeze.

Her expression hardened as her thoughts turned bitter. If fated mates were so perfect, then what was wrong with Ramona Vye’s head? How could anyone treat sincerity like that so carelessly?

And yet, as quickly as the thought formed, another thought followed and she found herself speaking before she could stop, "I think you are wrong Ryn. With a fated mate, we have no choice in a person’s character. If the other person is cruel, then they will remain cruel. We can’t change that, no matter how strong the bond is. But with a chosen mate, we can at least see the person for who they are before committing. We can decide for ourselves instead of relying on something out of our control.

Ryn turned to her, blinking in surprise at the sudden seriousness in her voice, but Emira only looked away, watching the sunlight flicker across the surface of the lake. Her voice dropped slightly, her tone carrying an edge of finality.

"I think fated mates are overrated."

She could feel Ryn’s gaze on her and when the other Omega said curiously, "No wonder you decided to not wait up for your fated mate and instead chose another bond. Are you now thinking of looking for an arranged mate?"

Emira smiled then. She’d given up hope for a mate at all. But with Ramona’s words and Alpha Lance’s orders to find a mate for herself, she knew she had no choice. She would indeed have to choose a mate soon enough...

Even as the repulsive thought of choosing a ’mate’ echoed in her head, Ryn continued," Just don’t go for Alpha Cassian, okay? He has a bit of an ’image’. He’s a dog among the wolves, taking advantage of vulnerable Omegas and leaving them when he is bored with them. I know he has his eyes on you because last night, he actually hogged up all your time..."

Emira nodded. She didn’t need to know about his habits to guess that. The man was quite slick and she wouldn’t trust him as far as she could throw him. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Just as she was about to say this, she heard Ryn continue," You don’t know this, but when he continued to hold onto you even after the dance, I thought Prince Kael would pound him to a pulp. I mean, His highness always has a dangerous aura around him but when I saw his gaze trained on you for a few moments, I realised that what he usually shows us is nothing..."

Emira turned to Ryn at that, startled by the words. "He’d been looking at them? But why didn’t she know? She’s turned her head a couple of times and his gaze had always been trained on Ramona and the crown prince. She shook her head. Maybe Ryn was mistaken...

Before she could say anything, Ryn caught her arm and hissed slowly, " Dam* it! Speak of the devil.... Shi*. The devils! Emira, if you want to avoid Alpha Cassian, you need to make a run for it now. He’s coming your way. And Prince Kael is just behind him..."

Startled, Emira was about to run away when another thought struck her. Prince Kael was also here. And then, perversely, instead of running away, Emira pasted a smile on her face, turned around and greeted the man," Alpha Cassian."

The man seemed startled that she had indeed greeted him but he seemed to quickly get over it as he covered the remaining distance between them and asked," Emi-ra. How are you doing this morning? I thought I might have to wait for the entire day but here you are, even before me...Did you miss me?"