The Mate He Hates

Amanda’s POV

“Amanda, you are here?” Alpha Edward asked, sounding not at all happy to see me.

“Yes, I’m here,” I responded, glaring at him and then glancing at the lady seated with him.

“Why are you back?” Alpha Edward questioned, causing my frown to deepen. It was obvious he wasn’t happy about my arrival, and here I was worried about him, not knowing he was doing just fine without me.

“Father,” Liam ran up to him, and they hugged.

“My champ, how are you?” Alpha Edward kissed his forehead, seemingly happy to see his son.

“I’m fine, Father. I’m so happy to be back home,” Liam sounded so happy to be with Alpha Edward, and Alpha Edward had the same reaction.

“Why don’t you go in with Aunt Sophia,” I said to Liam, who seemed confused for a moment, but then nodded and moved away from Alpha Edward.

“I will see you later, Godfather,” he waved goodbye to Alpha Edward before leaving with Sophia.

The warmth and happiness in the room vanished, replaced by an awkward silence.

Suddenly, the woman stood up, her movements graceful and confident. She greeted me politely, “Hello, you must be Amanda.” Though her words were kind, there was an edge to her voice that made me feel even more out of place.

I nodded, too overwhelmed to speak. I glanced at Edward, hoping he would explain, but he remained silent, as if he were contemplating what to say.

“Alpha Edward didn’t tell me you were coming,” she mumbled, sounding not pleased to see me. Glancing at her, I couldn’t deny she had the perfect face, perfect body, and everything. Holding up my gaze, she gave me a challenging look, which made me furrow my brow as we just kept staring at each other with neither of us looking away.

Finally, Alpha Edward spoke, “She is Shalom, an old friend.”

His words felt like a slap. I had never heard of her before, and the way he spoke made me feel like I didn’t belong. I managed to say, “I see,” but I could hear the hurt in my voice.

Shalom smiled again, but it felt almost like pity. “I hope you’re settling in well,” she said, as if she didn’t expect me to stay.

I forced a smile and said, “Thank you,” even though I wanted to cry. I couldn’t stay there any longer. The tension was too much, and I needed to get away before I lost control of my emotions.

“I’ll leave you two to your game,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady as I turned to leave. But as I walked away, the image of Edward smiling at her stayed with me, and I felt a deep pain in my chest.

Getting back to my room, I rested my back against the wall and took a deep breath, trying to control my emotions. I didn’t want to feel broken-he doesn’t deserve to cause me pain anymore.

After a few moments of controlling my emotions, I went over to the bed and began unpacking my bags. While doing so, the door to my room opened, revealing Alpha Edward wheeling himself in.

“What do you want?” I spat in anger.

He didn’t respond; rather, he moved closer to me while I folded my arms and glared at him. “What do you want? Are you here to tell me how I’m not welcome here?” I asked, with anger bubbling inside me. I was still coming to terms with the fact that he actually looked so unhappy to see me.

“What happened? Did something happen over there? Matthew isn’t even aware of your coming.”

I frowned at his words and took a step closer to him. “Is there a problem with me being here? Am I disturbing you?” I asked with an irritated tone and heard him sigh.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

“Of course, you know that’s not what I meant. What I’m trying to ask is why you showed up all of a sudden….” I didn’t let him finish before I cut him off.

“That is because I want to stay here, and nothing you say or do will make me leave,” I declared in a tone of finality before turning around to unpack my clothes.

I could feel his presence as he didn’t leave immediately, but after a moment, he sighed and left the room.

Sighing heavily, I sat back on the bed, trying to wrap my head around all the emotions. I couldn’t explain why I couldn’t get the image of him with that lady in the sitting room out of my mind, laughing so heartily. He seemed so happy with her; she made him laugh so easily-something I wasn’t, and could not be able to do.

A knock landed on my door, and when I asked the person in, it was Matthew, who had a worried but concerned look on his face. “You’re back? What happened? Why didn’t you call me? Did something happen?” He bombarded me with questions, and I didn’t know where to start.

“Did something happen? Did Killian worry you? Tell me.” He urged worriedly.

“Who is she?” That was the first thing that left my lips.

“Who?” Matthew raised a brow, seemingly confused.

“The lady I met with Alpha Edward. Who is she?”

“Oh! You’ve met her? That’s Shalom, Alpha Edward’s childhood and old-time friend.”

“Childhood and old-time friend?” I scoffed. “Then why have I not heard anything about her?” I asked, feeling jealousy and unease. Just the mere thought of her was making me jealous.

“That’s because she’s been out of the pack for seven years now,” Matthew responded, while I frowned and looked away from him. I couldn’t explain why just seeing her laughing with Alpha Edward made me so uncomfortable and out of place.

“Did Killian do something?” Matthew asked, and I shrugged.

“Why don’t you ask Mother,” I murmured and turned my back to him. Obviously, I wasn’t in the mood to talk about what happened with Killian-I just wanted to forget it all. After all, that wasn’t what was actually bothering me; it was something else.

“I’ll see you later,” Matthew said before leaving the room.

After he left, I sat back on the bed, trying to sort through the mess of emotions swirling in my head. I couldn’t understand why I felt so threatened by Shalom, but I did. Her presence, her history with Edward-it all made me feel like an outsider in a place I thought was supposed to be my home.

Needing to distract myself, I decided to go check on Liam. But as I passed by Alpha Edward’s room, I heard sounds-soft, almost intimate sounds. Curiosity mixed with anger welled up inside me, and without thinking, I pushed the door open.

There he was, seated in his wheelchair, while Shalom was bent over, cleaning a wound on his abs. The scene before me sent a jolt of shock and anger through my veins. The low, almost sensual sound he was making as she touched him, the way she was so close to him-it all made me feel like an intruder on something deeply private.

“What the hell is going on here?” I demanded, my voice trembling with barely restrained anger.

They both looked up at me, their eyes filled with confusion. “What are you doing?” I demanded, getting closer to him, only to realize he had a cut.

“Move aside, I will do it,” I said finally, jealousy bubbling inside me. I should be the one-I’m the only one allowed to touch him.

“I’m a nurse, Amanda…”

“I don’t fucking care,” I yelled impulsively and snatched the first aid kit from her. “I will do it,” I stated firmly, leaving no room for argument.

She scoffed at my attitude and got up on her feet. Slowly, she moved closer to me and glared at me. “You know I can have him if I want to, so don’t dare me,” she threatened, loud enough for Alpha Edward to hear.

Furrowing my brow, I looked in Alpha Edward’s direction, wanting him to say something, but he didn’t. Instead, he just looked away.