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ATHENA'S POV:-

After about three hours of search, I was still unable to find a dress for myself. Every single time I rejected a dress, I saw irritation on Alexander's face. But he hid it almost immediately and encouraged me to keep on looking. He was determined to get the best dress for me. It was late and my stomach was starting to growl. I was starving. "Are you hungry?" He asked me while smiling.

All of a sudden, I was angry. I turned to glare at him. "No! My stomach is going crazy and making these silly noises for nothing!" I growled at him angrily. People passing by were staring at us, as they saw me yelling at their alpha. Like I cared. I was alpha myself and if he couldn't handle it, he shouldn't have married me.

That's what I told myself. But I was surprised when I heard him chuckling. He grabbed my hand without saying anything and pulled me toward the food court. He ordered two buckets of fried chicken for both of us. A bottle of beer for himself and I was not in the mood, he ordered a large iced cappuccino. I didn't bother to interrupt, I was pissed.

The food was in front of us in no time. I started eating without even looking at him. When I raised my head again, I jumped in surprise. Alexander was sitting right beside me. He was leaning way too close to me for my comfort. I would have told him off but he suddenly pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and gently wiped my face.

I had bits of chicken and some sauce smudged around my mouth and at the corner of my lips. "It was way too cute to see you like that. But I couldn't let others see that. Your childish and adorable side is only for me. For others, you are either an alpha or a Luna." He whispered softly as he was done wiping my face.

I turned my face as I could feel my cheeks burning. We ate as quickly as we could. I was exhausted and I wanted to go back home. I could only think about soaking my body in warm water and curl up in my bed and sleep for days. I was so exhausted with all that shopping.

I was standing behind Alexander. He was paying the bill while I was looking around, sipping onto my iced coffee. I had to admit, the first few sips were able to get me energized again. Just then, my eyes fell on the most beautiful red dress.

It had a red bodice but only to hide the chest. The rest was made of lace and it was see through. Until the waistline, it was see through, then the layers and layers of that same beautiful lacy fabric was creating the effect of the ball gown. But it was no gown. It was a blood red mini tiered layered dress. And it came with separate sleeves, made with the same laced fabric.

I gasped loudly as Alexander snaked one of his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to his tall figure. "Do you like that dress?" He asked me in a low tone. I was barely breathing. All of a sudden, he was rubbing the tip of his nose with my cheek, making me shiver. I wanted to get away from him or at least push him away from me, but my body froze again.

There was no kind of shock involved. My body liked being caressed by him. He took a step backwards as he heard me whimper. I looked at him, he was nervously rubbing his nose with the back of his index finger. The smirk on his face showed how victorious he felt after teasing me like that outside.

"Tell me, do you like it?" He asked me and that's when my eyes went back toward that beautiful mini dress.

I pouted sadly. The ceremony was more likely to be a wedding, just for his pack to know that their Luna has been found. "It's a mini dress and it's red. Marking was different, and it was held in my pack. Your parents will have a heart attack if I walk in wearing a mini red dress." I spoke in annoyance. But inside, I really wanted that dress. His arm snaked back around my waist and he pulled me toward the small shop of the older woman.

She didn't have a fancy boutique or ac shop. But the dresses hanging around her cabin were so stunning. For a moment, I thought of buying every single dress that was hanging around the cabin. "What is wrong with me? I am not the same girlie Athena. Why am I tempted to buy everything she has?" I asked myself but my eyes kept staring at each of the dresses she had.

"Ooo! This is a stunning choice. The color will suit her skin and her hair. She will look stunning." The old woman spoke as she carefully pulled the dress down. Without ruining it's crease, she packed it up in a long bag. "If you say, alpha! I have accessories to match the dress. Even a pair of elegant ribbon heels. They are also red." She offered but I was busy looking at the rest of the dresses.

"What do you say, Athena?" Alexander asked me and I just waved my hand at him to do whatever he wanted.

"Yeah yeah! Whatever!"

"Do you like all of these dresses?" Alexander asked me and I was surprised.

"No! I was just looking. Is that a crime?" I yelled at him and walked away. Though, I was so tempted to buy everything. It used to be something grandfather used to do. Wherever I used to lay my eyes on, grandfather used to buy it for me. Although my parents were not interested in me, my grandfather never left me. Despite his constant fight with his mate, my grandmother, he still spoiled me.

I was feeling this emptiness in my chest as I remembered how my grandfather had always been so excited about my marking ceremony. I was practically marked alone, just in front of my beta and Gamma. "We are done here. Let's go back home. Your dress and its accessories will be at the mansion tomorrow morning." Alexander whispered in my ear as he placed his hand on my back. He led me back to his mansion.

ALEXANDER'S POV:-

Once we got home, Athena went to the bathroom to soak her exhausted body in warm water. She wanted the ceremony to be held the very next day. And I had a lot of things to do. "Could you ask Cynthia why she was so sad all of the sudden? She really doesn't tell me anything at all." I begged Gordrix because he was the only way for me to know what she really wanted.

Because of what I did to her, she shut herself completely and caged her broken heart in a metal box so no one could reach it. "I remember you saying, she doesn't have a heart so she couldn't feel anything at all." Gordrix growled at me angrily. Gordrix had been angry at me for saying those words.

I was not sure how Athena heard me saying those words. And that broke her. There was not a single day passed by when I wanted to go back in time and kick myself in the balls before I would say those words.

Whoever said those words cut deep. Deeper than any blade, well, he might have been hurt so much by someone's words. "She is sad because she misses her grandfather. He was the only one who used to spoil her. Because of her looks, everyone in the Hound mansion was afraid of her. And stayed away from her." Gordrix replied after a while.

"Wait! I thought she refused to heal him when he was about to die. Now you are telling me, he was the only one who cared for her and was not afraid of her." I couldn't help myself but ask Gordrix that question.

"You can't understand how close she is to the soul of your dead sister. It's almost like she can feel every bit of pain Aurora went through. And for Athena, her grandfather was the reason why Aurora suffered so much." Gordrix replied calmly. I was left surprised again.