The Alpha’s Substitute Bride novel Chapter 1

Kimani’s POV:

I couldn’t tell how long I had been standing in front of this door if I were asked, but what I knew was that I could continue to stand here for as long as possible. It seemed like a better option, to opening the door and facing the realities behind it.

I had seen him once and briefly too, everything had been so rushed that I had barely been able to capture any of his features and even my super smell had been unable to pick a scent of him. He had remained a proper mystery throughout the wedding process. It made me even more afraid. The bubbles that had formed in my stomach earlier in the day, from when I had stepped into the wedding dress were still very much present hours later.

The ceremony had been brief, too brief and awkward and I had spent the majority of it feeling self-conscious about the wedding dress that I had managed to get in the short time that I had been informed about my marriage. The dress had been too big and uncomfortable and the dirt that had formed a pattern all over the white dress from the terrible conditions the designer had subjected it to had been difficult to cover, so I had spent all the time worrying about it and trying to quell the bubbles in my stomach from my anxiety and nervousness, that I had been unable to properly get the face of my husband.

My Husband.

It still felt strange to even think about it, and just the thought of it was making Layana, my wolf, stir in distress.

Now, I wished that I had concentrated more on his features earlier. It wouldn’t exactly help the situation but at least it wouldn’t feel like I was about to open the door and face a complete stranger. I didn’t know what to expect but I couldn’t continue standing in front of the door. I needed to get out of the dress that was starting to make me feel overwhelmed and suffocated and take a hot shower. It had been a really busy day and I was sure the next day wasn’t about to be better so I needed all the rest I could get.

I finally pushed open the door and the room it revealed was even smaller than I had thought it would be. There was a small dresser by the end of one wall and the opposite wall had a door which I assumed would be the bathroom, then the bed was in the middle of the room. Those were the only things I could see so far, but the lack of basic necessities wasn’t the thing that had my attention.

It was the man on the bed.

The lights in the room were very dim and I could barely see his face, his eyes seemed to be on me though and it made me shift uncomfortably in my spot. I cleared my throat once taking a step closer to the bed, hoping to get a clearer picture but the one step didn’t do anything to help and I was too nervous to attempt another so I didn’t.

“Hey,” I called, my voice barely above a whisper. There was no response from the man on the bed and it caused me to take a step back since I could still feel his burning stare on my frame.

“I-I think I’m j-just going to take a shower.” I stuttered painfully, hoping he would at least say something to me, but I only heard a grunt and I forced my feet to turn around and head into the bathroom.

I pulled the T-shirt over my head next and once I was done, I moved to slip into the bed, moving as far away from him as the bed would allow. The silence in the room was almost deafening, I was sure I could hear a pin if it dropped in the next room. I didn’t know what to say and he didn’t look like he was interested in talking either.

Finally, after what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes later, he let out a heavy sigh, before turning and giving me his back. A soft gasp escaped my lips, but it wasn’t because of his delicious looking back, but because of the scars that were scattered around. All of them looked healed, but I could tell from the scars that they had once been very deep and painful injuries. They ran through his back in an interesting manner, one that made me curious about the stories they held.

A curiosity that burned within me until I gave in.

I reached out a finger to touch the longest one, located in the middle of his back and It happened so fast.

One moment my fingers were burning from the contact with the skin on his back and the next he was turning around and pinning me to the bed. His hold on me had me gasping painfully for air.