Vale Pack
Rhea Hayes had a warm smile on her face as she braided the hair of her best friend, Luna Violet.
Violet chuckled when seeing how beautiful she looked through the mirror. "As always, your hair-making skills are great. Do you know that the last time you made my hair, Sebastian complimented it?"
Rhea looked at Violet through the mirror in surprise. Everyone knows that their Alpha was a man of few words, and compliment was not in his dictionary.
Seeing her surprise look, Violet held Rhea's hands to stop her from braiding and then turned to her.
"I thank you for making me beautiful," Violet said.
Rhea was about to sign but then remembered that Violet didn't understand sign language. She had complained that it was too difficult to learn.
Rhea brought out her phone from the pocket of her gown and typed what she wanted to say.
'You are always beautiful.' Violet read aloud and laughed softly, "Thank you, but no one currently cares about my beauty. Their only concern is whether I am capable of giving the pack an heir or not."
Seeing the sad look on her friend's face, Rhea typed again.
'I'm certain you will one day have a child. Just keep hoping.'
Violet shook her head when she read those words and said, "I have until this year, Rhea. If, by the end of this year, my belly doesn't swell with Sebastian's pup, then I will be replaced. Both his family and council have already made a decision, and I have just two months till the year ends."
Rhea's heart aches for her friend. She could still remember how happy Violet was when she was chosen to become Alpha Sebastian's bride. This was done because the seer had said that the Alpha's real mate had died since the age of five, so there was no use in waiting for her.
'What will you do now?' Rhea typed.
Violet looked at Rhea, who was staring back at her with eyes full of innocence and naivety.
"There is a way, Rhea, and only you can help with this." Violet said softly.
Rhea frowned in confusion and typed, 'How can I help you? Tell me, and I will do it to the best of my capability.'
"You promise?" Violet asked.
Rhea nodded without a second thought.
Violet stood up from her dressing table to her bed. She sat down and patted the space beside her, asking Rhea to sit as well.
"Rhea, I want you to really think about this before refusing, ok?"
'Why will I refuse you?' Rhea asked, as if Violet was saying something strange. Rhea has never refused Violet, always doing whatever she says because of the fear of losing her. While she was being bullied in the pack for not being able to speak, it was Violet who had always spoken for her, so why will she refuse her?
Violet's chest felt lightened after Rhea's words, and it gave her enough courage to say, "I need you to sleep with Sebastian and bear his child."
Rhea's phone fell from her hands in shock, and she looked at Violet in disbelief and angrily began to sign to her.
Violet frowned at her hands' movement and said, "I don't understand."
Rhea glared at Violet and picked up her phone from the ground and began to type aggressively.
She shoved the phone to Violet, whose eyes darkened as she read Rhea's reply.
'Are you out of your mind! How can you even think of such a thing?'
"I know it sounds insane, but it's the only way. Please, Rhea, can't you do this much for me? Or will you be happy if you see me removed as Luna?"
Rhea immediately shook her head and was about to type again when Violet held her hands and said, "It will just be one night, and no one will know. Once your pregnancy is confirmed, then I will buy you an apartment far away from the packhouse. We can tell your dad that you are traveling to see a friend, and I will vouch for you. Then, I will announce to everyone that I am pregnant, and once you give birth to the child, it will become mine and Sebastian's, and you can go back to your normal life."
Rhea frowned and forcefully removed her hand from Violet. She picked up the phone and typed, 'I won't do it. I want my first to be with my mate and not your husband, and I won't get a normal life after doing such a thing. You can find someone else.'
Rhea stood and gave Violet a disappointed look before leaving her room.
Violet quickly rushed to the dressing table where she kept her phone and called her mother. "She won't do it." She sat on the chair, a soft sob leaving her lips as she cried, "What will I do now, Mom? How could Rhea even refuse me after everything I have done for her? I'm the reason she can hold her head up high in this pack. I'm the reason she is respected even though she is nothing but a mute." She lashed out angrily.
"Violet, have I not warned you to control your temper? It's fine if Rhea refuses; we can find someone else."
"No! Rhea is perfect because she won't be able to talk, and even if she did, no one would believe her, so it has to be Rhea! Mom, I just have two months till the year is over, and if I don't get pregnant, I will lose Sebastian. I can't lose him, Mom, I can't."
"Calm down, Violet." Her mother said in a commanding tone. After a while, she spoke again. "Rhea's world revolves around her father, so what if we frame him and have him arrested, and after that, you will give her an ultimatum to either agree to your demand or allow her father to rot in the cell?"
Violet's eyes lit up at her mother's suggestion, and then she asked, "But what will we frame him for?"
"I will handle it."