Alpha's Mated Princess

"Sarah."

The whole Salazar mansion echoed. A girl in oversized faded clothes ran at her best speed towards the main hall of the mansion. Her face was pale and her lips quivering in horror. She was panting hard by the time she stopped in front of a middle-aged woman with a caked face and a tight dress which threatened to tear apart at any moment.

"Good morning, Madam Beatrice." The girl said in a voice barely audible.

"You filthy bitch. How many times do I have to call you?" the woman roared, making the girl shiver.

"I'm sorry, madam. I was in the kitchen preparing breakfast." The girl humbly said.

"Forget it, just one more day and I don't have to see your horrible face in this house. After breakfast come to Fiona's room. For the last time, you will get to wear something nice." With those words, the women walked away leaving a puzzled Sarah behind.

Sarah walked back to the kitchen to resume what she was doing. On the way she heard another call, but this time from the only person who loved and cared for her. She hurried towards the door on the right. She turned the doorknob without knocking because it was the only door in this mansion which she could open without permission. She opened the door to the pleasant smell of fresh flowers. There, near the window sat an old lady in a wheelchair.

"Grandma. Did you call me?" she asked with a smile.

"My child, I want your help." She said.

"Just tell me what I have to do." Sarah said.

"My princess, after you finish all your work, go and pluck all the Jasmine first, even the buds, then cut down the Jasmine plant from the roots. Not a single root should be left." Her grandma said.

"Grandma! Are you insane? I know how much you love this Jasmine. You made me grow these when I was just ten. You love the smell of these flowers and so do I. I love them and feel heavenly when I enter this room." Sarah said, shocked.

"There will be no one to look after them after you go. They are soon going to cover the whole window and block the light. It's better if you cut it down. I should make the habit of living without them because it's going to remind me of you all the time." Grandma said.

"But, Grandma, I am not going anywhere," Sarah said.

"You will know that soon. For now, just do as I say. I know Beatrice has ordered you to go to Fiona's room after finishing your work. Don't make her angry. Just go and finish your work. Remember to finish all your work in this mansion before 7 in the evening. After dinner when everyone is asleep, come to me. Now go and finish your work."

"Okay, Grandma, once I set up the dining table, I'll bring your breakfast," Sarah said and retreated back to the kitchen. She started to work like a robot and finished all the work before the clock chimed nine. She hid in the kitchen before any of the Salazar family members came. It was a routine she had been following for years. Once she heard the last footstep fading away, she came and cleared the dining table.

After cleaning everything and doing the dishes, she took the breakfast for Grandma and herself and went to Grandma's room. She and grandma had breakfast together which is another routine throughout these years or at least from the time her grandmother got a stroke. Since then her grandma was confined to this room.

Sarah went to Fiona's room and she was taken aback when Beatrice pointed to a princess gown lay on the bed and said, "Tomorrow you will be wearing this, and remember you will stay mute as you always do."

Tomorrow was the 25th of June. How could Sarah forget that day? It was the only day she got to wear something nice. Every year on the same day, Beatrice and her daughter Fiona dolled up Sarah and presented her in front of a special guest. That guest always brought lots of presents for Sarah, none of which she had ever opened. The moment the guest stepped out of the mansion, Fiona and her brothers, Ben and Jack, snatched everything from her. They didn't even allow her to eat a single slice of the cake that the guest had brought for her. She got to taste it when she cut the cake and the special guest fed her. She was aware that it was her birthday as everyone sang birthday songs for her. But she had always wondered why the name they sang was not Sarah. If she was not mistaken, it would be her 18th birthday tomorrow.

"Go and get ready, wear some old clothes of Fiona's." Beatrice said and Fiona seemed to be angry.

"Why should I give her any of my dresses? She already has such an expensive gown." Fiona fumed.

"Go and finish any pending work. We have to leave in an hour." Beatrice said to Sarah ignoring Fiona.

"Madam Beatrice, pardon me but can you please tell me where we are going?" Sarah asked.

"You should be thanking me because I am going to take you to the salon. Now go and get ready. Fiona will call you once she decides which dress to give you."

Sarah went back puzzled. It's been ages since she left the premises of this mansion. She doesn't even know what it looks like outside this mansion.

"Mom, I am not going to give her any of my dresses." Fiona howled.

"We can't take her to the salon in those rags." Beatrice said.

"I am not going to take her anywhere. What's the need for all this? She is getting to wear such an expensive dress. I just don't understand why you are giving her this dress. Let her wear any of mine as always." Fiona said.

"We can't do that, honey. It's specially designed for her and she should be wearing it when Mr. Buchanan shows up. Or else years of waiting will go in vain. We can't afford any mistakes, honey. Go and get something for her to wear. We have to stay alert and take care that she doesn't utter a single word to anyone."

"Mom, what are you going to do with her tomorrow?" Fiona asked.

"Mr Buchanan is finally going to take her back and hopefully we are going to get paid huge for taking care of her all these years." Beatrice said.

"But what if Mr. Buchanan finds out that Sarah is not dumb?" Fiona asked.

"I do have a plan for that. Only Mr Buchanan has seen Sarah. Last time when he came he seemed really sick. I hope he will have already kicked the bucket. If not, we'll make some other plan to make you replace her. If everything goes well then you will inherit her fortune." Beatrice said with an evil glint in her eyes.

After cutting all the Jasmine plants, Sarah quickly prepared lunch before getting ready to go to the salon. It was the nicest day of Sarah's life. She saw the world outside the mansion. She even got to sit in a car. It took about a couple of hours at the salon and it was already six in the evening by the time they returned back to the mansion. Sarah hurried towards the kitchen when Beatrice called her.

"You don't have to do any more work today or else your nails will be ruined. We'll order the food."

Sarah was shocked to hear her words. As far as Sarah could remember, not a single day had passed by without any work for her. Even on the day of her birthday, she had to clean the whole house after the special guest left. It was rare for Beatrice to order food at home. The whole Salazar family goes out to dine leaving Sarah and Grandma at home.

After dinner, Sarah went to Grandma's room.

"Is everyone asleep?" Grandma asked.

"Yes"

"Take the wooden basket under my bed."

Sarah had seen that basket since she was small but never saw what was inside it. Sarah pulled it out and brought it to Grandma.

"Sit down and listen to me carefully. You have to leave this mansion tonight."

Sarah looked at Grandma horrified.

"My princess, I'm sorry I couldn't stand up for you when you needed me. This is not the life you deserve. This basket has your mother's belongings that I was able to hide from Beatrice. I don't have anything else to give you other than this." Grandma gave her an old money purse.

"It's the money I have been saving for this day. It will help you to start a new life. Beatrice tried to keep you illiterate but she doesn't know that I have taught you to read and write. The world outside is not always what it seems. Always be careful and try to hide your beauty. Take this basket and money and flee through the backdoor. Just go as far as possible before the sun rises. I don't know what they have planned for tomorrow. Just remember that I love you. Your mother and father loved you a lot and I am sure they will protect you." Sarah hugged her grandma before she left the mansion to find a new life.

***

At the same time, on the other side of New York, Alpha Leo was in his wolf form howling at his people trying to vent his anger on anyone in his path.

"Alpha Leo, please calm down. Everyone is out there searching for Luna. She will be found soon." Beta Kyle tried to calm the alpha but to no avail.

Sarah.

"Mama, your phone is ringing." My little boy, Teddy, came running with the phone.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

I took the phone and placed a kiss on his cheek. I checked the display and with a smile answered the call.

"Hello, Uncle Donald. How are you?"

"Hello, my dear girl. I am doing good, thank you. How are you and how's Teddy?"

"We are doing well and Teddy turns three in two days." I said.

"Oh, it's been three years since we met. Time flies my girl. So, what's the birthday plan?" Uncle Donald asked.

"Nothing special. I am just going to bake his favorite cake and take him out to the park." I replied because that's what I could do the best for him.

"Sounds great. Why don't you come over here and we could celebrate his birthday together?" Uncle Donald asked.

"What's the matter, Uncle Donald? You never asked me to come there. It's always you who visited us in the past 3 years. Are you alright?" I asked.

"I am absolutely fine, my dear. Don't worry about me. You wanted to move back to New York when it was time for Teddy's school. I have actually found a perfect job for you." Uncle Donald said.

"Really, where will we live?"

"Don't worry about that. Just pack your bags and come here. Teddy is going to love his new school."

"Okay, I will start packing. I have to prepare something for the trip. Teddy hasn't traveled such a long distance ever except for the first time but he was a baby then." I said.

"Sarah, my girl, you haven't either traveled this long in the past three years. You don't even know how to get here." Uncle Donald reminded me.

"Ohhh. I forgot. What am I going to do?"

He didn't actually know that I didn't even know the names of the places. Not even the name of the place I spent my whole life.

"Don't worry, I will tell Jacob to take you to the railway station. You just have to take the ticket to New York. Just call me when you get on the train. I'll be waiting for you at the station. Don't forget that it's going to take more than 8 hours to reach here. Take some toys and coloring books to keep Teddy engaged. Don't forget to take your special homemade cinnamon cookies." Uncle Donald said.

"I will, Uncle Donald. You should actually try my new recipe for banana chocolate lchip muffins. Teddy loves them. I need to hurry up. Lots of work to do. See you soon, love you and take care."

"Love you too and don't forget to give my love to Teddy. Bye."

I couldn't stop myself and squealed, making Teddy run to me.

"What happened, Mama? Are you alright?" Teddy asked with concern.

"Teddy and Mama are going to Uncle Donald. Teddy is going to a new preschool and you will make many friends." I kneeled in front of her son and hugged him.

"Mama, are we going to leave this home?" Teddy asked with teary eyes and it hurt me the most.

"Ahh, my baby, don't cry. I know you love this home and the people around. But Mama wants her Teddy bear to become a big man and for that, you have to go to school. Mama wants the best for my baby. If we move to New York, mama can send you to the best school." I tried to calm down Teddy.

"Mama, I don't want to become a big man. I just want to be your baby. I don't want to go to New York or the preschool there." Teddy said between his weeps.

"There are a lot of good things in New York. Big parks, shopping malls, tall buildings, cars, big buses, trucks and a lot more. Mama will take you to the parks and malls every week. You are going to love it all." I tried to convince her son.

"No, Mama, I don't want to go to New York. Ask Grandpa Donald to come here." Teddy said.

"You know that Grandpa Donald is getting old and he won't be able to travel this far. He wants you to celebrate this birthday with him. We will go there and stay with him for a few days. If Teddy doesn't like New York, we will be back to our sweet little home." I said, making Teddy wipe his tears.

"Is it a promise?" Teddy asked.

"Pinky promise"

I showed him my little finger. Teddy got excited to go to New York and started to help me. I became busy baking biscuits and cakes for the bakery where I usually supply.

Years of experience in the kitchen of Salazar mansion had groomed my cooking and baking skills. It had been my means of living for the last three years. The money grandma gave helped me to start a new life in this small town in the countryside. Uncle Donald brought me here and gave me his family house for me and Teddy to stay. For my safety, he also asked his friend Jacob to safeguard us until we settled down. That's how I started to live my new life with my baby boy.

After learning about my baking skills, Uncle Jacob helped me to get orders to bake cakes and breads. Since then I have been baking and earning enough for the two of us. I had saved a little to send Teddy to a good preschool and Uncle Donald knew about my wish. Now it's time for me to dream big and for that, we had to move back to New York.

By afternoon I had finished all my work and even put Teddy down for his afternoon nap. Then I started to take out mine and Teddy's clothes to pack. That's when I remembered that I didn't have any bags to pack. I just had the basket with my mother's belongings which had a few clothes that seemed to be expensive, a photo of a couple holding a baby, and a gold chain with a pendant. I have never used them. I opened it only when I got here. I have always wondered who the couple in the photo were. I have just kept it safe and I would until I could.

I looked at my sleeping boy and then at the clothes in my hands. Now I had to go and buy bags to pack these things and for that, I had to call Uncle Jacob. I can't leave Teddy alone here. Uncle Jacob and his wife Aunt Martha are the only people whom I could call my family. Aunt Martha used to stay with us until I became familiar with this place. She visits us often and helps me to take care of Teddy. If it was not for Aunt Martha, I wouldn't have known how to take care of Teddy as a baby. I haven't told them yet about moving to New York. I kept all the clothes on the bed and took my phone from the side table. It's a small keypad phone that Uncle Jacob gave me when I started to work. I dialed Uncle Jacob's number and waited for him to answer. Aunt Martha answered the call instead.

"Hello, sweetheart, how are you?"

"Hello, Aunt Martha, I am fine thank you. Is Uncle Jacob there?" I asked.

"Yes, dear, he is taking his afternoon nap. I can wake him up if it's important."

"Did Uncle Donald call you?" I asked again.

"Yeah, Jacob did tell me about Donald calling him but he couldn't attend the call as he was driving. I am sure he will call him back once he is awake. But why did you ask? Is there anything important?" Aunt Martha asked.

"Nothing to worry about. I will tell you when we meet. We will come there once Teddy is awake." I said before ending the call.

I got up and started to clean the house. I want to return it as it was three years ago. My eyes started to blur because of tears welling up. It's been the happiest years of my life I spent in this home. It was just an old two-bedroom cottage but it was the first place I was able to call a home. I never thought that I would be leaving this place so soon. But it's for my son and I would definitely do anything for him. Wiping the tears away, I finished cleaning everywhere including the kitchen. Then I neatly placed everything to be packed on the dining table which included toys and books of Teddy. I didn't have many things to pack. I would only need two bags. I was about to go and wake Teddy when he came out rubbing his eyes.

"Mama, why have you kept all my things on the table? Are you going to throw them away?" he asked with a worried face.

"No, baby, Mama was just collecting everything to pack them in bags. You know we are leaving tomorrow to New York to meet Grandpa Donald." I said.

"But you said we are just going to visit him. We will come back, then what's the need of packing everything." Teddy asked.

"Mama did promise Teddy that we would come back only if you didn't like New York. We can stay there if you like New York. If we don't take your things now and you like New York, then we won't be able to come back and take these again." I explained.

"Does that mean that we are never going to come back here if I like New York?"

"No, dear, we can come here and stay on vacation. Now hurry up we have to go and meet Uncle Jacob and Aunt Martha." I said.

"Are they coming with us?" His questions never ended.

"No honey, we have to tell them we are going. We also have to buy bags to pack our things." I said, "Mama, will we take the basket on the cupboard with us to New York?"

He is referring to the basket with my mother's belongings. He had already asked me to show him what was in it but I never did. I decided to leave the basket and pack all the belongings of the basket in a bag. That way Teddy will stop asking about it.

"No dear, we will not take the basket. No more questions, let's go and get ready." I quickly changed Teddy and got ready to go to meet Uncle Jacob and Aunt Martha.

"Mama, are we just going to Uncle Jacob's?"

"No, we have to go to the market to get new bags for our journey."

"Will you get me ice cream?" Teddy asked with puppy eyes.

"Not today, my dear. You catch a cold whenever you have ice cream. We have to travel a long distance and we can't afford to get you sick. Mama will buy you lots of ice cream on your birthday." I promised him. He lacks immunity and I can't risk his health.

"Okay, but can I at least get a candy floss?"

"Sure, you can have as much candy floss as you want. But first we have to go to Uncle Jacob." I said and went to take my bag from the small wardrobe.

I had almost emptied the wardrobe except for some documents and money. My eyes fell on the bank passbook and that's when I remembered that I needed to transfer my account to the New York branch. I never had to do or felt the need to do any transactions as I used the account to save money. Now I am going to need the money to settle down in New York. I took the passbook and kept it in the bag along with the small money bag Grandma gave me. I still had some money in it. I used some of the money from it to buy kitchen utensils, baking molds and an oven when I got the job of baking cakes, biscuits, and breads. After that, I decided not to spend any more from the small bag as I wanted to keep it as a remembrance of my beloved grandma.

After locking the door, I started to walk towards the main road holding Teddy's hand. Uncle Jacob and Aunt Martha stayed at a 10-minute walk distance. The roads here were small and rarely did some vehicles pass by. Aunt Martha was waiting for us by the door with a huge smile. Teddy ran and hugged her as soon as he saw her.

"Grandma Martha, we are going to New York to meet Grandpa Donald." Teddy couldn't confine his excitement.

"Is that true, Sarah?" Aunt Martha asked.

"Yes, Aunt Martha. Uncle Donald called this morning and asked us to go there. He wants us to celebrate Teddy's birthday with him."

I couldn't tell Aunt Martha in front of Teddy that we were moving permanently as Uncle Donald had found me a job.

"That's great news. That means we will have to give our Teddy bear his present in advance." Aunt Martha said thoughtfully.

"Yay, I am going to get my birthday present." Teddy jumped up in joy.

"Teddy, go inside and wake up your Grandpa Jacob." Aunt Martha sent Teddy inside so as to have a private talk with me.

"What's the matter, dear? Donald never calls you there. It's him who always visits you."

"Actually he has found me a good job so that I can send Teddy to a good school. You know I want to give him the best." I said.

"Does Teddy know that?"

"Yeah I told him but he is not happy to move out from this place. I promised him that we will stay there only if he likes the place. I have to do something to make him love New York." I said.

"Don't worry, my dear, he is a little kid and I am sure he is going to love the place. Small children often get attracted to new places and people, especially when there will be lots of places to play." Aunt Martha said.

"Aunt Martha, will you come with me to the market? I need to buy bags for the journey." I asked.

"I will come, my dear. But I think you will just need a small bag. We have one big trolley bag which we never used. You know we bought it to go and visit our son and his family. But we never got the chance to use it." Aunt Martha said with a sigh.

Aunt Martha had told me about her son. Uncle Jacob and Aunt Martha had a son Manuel. He and his family lived in California. Five years ago they died in an accident which was just a week before Uncle Jacob and Aunt Martha were going to visit them. They have always treated me like a daughter.

Uncle Jacob took us to the market in his car. Uncle Jacob took Teddy to a toy shop while I went with Aunt Martha to buy a bag. I was selecting the bag when I looked at the time and realized that the banking hours were about to end. So, I gave Aunt Martha my wallet and asked her to buy a bag for me and then I went to the bank and requested them to transfer my account to the New York branch.

We went back home only after having dinner with Uncle Jacob and Aunt Martha.

Uncle Jacob and Aunt Martha had bought a lot of gifts for Teddy and even a new dress for me. I felt really sad for leaving them but I had to for the bright future of my dear son.

The next day Uncle Jacob and Aunt Martha took us to the railway station and I cried while bidding farewell to them. I thanked them for all their help in the last three years.

After the long journey, we reached New York station. We were tired by the time we reached New York. Uncle Donald was waiting for us at the railway station. He took us to his home in his old car. Teddy was excited to see the tall buildings but was so tired that he fell asleep on his mama's lap. It took twenty minutes to reach his apartment. I carried Teddy while Uncle Donald carried my bags to his apartment on the second floor of the three-story building.

"You can use your old room. We will talk in the morning, my dear. For now, go and have a nice sleep." Uncle Donald said as he unlocked the door to the apartment.