Forget about asking him to marry her; Aria could not even find the courage to get close to him.
Tristan was sitting on a throne-like chair prepared for him while three beautiful ladies stood before him.
These ladies were the daughters of respectable Alphas who had been chosen mysteriously by the Elders, and now Tristan has to choose one of them.
Cole sighed and said, "Introduce yourselves." He thought this was a party for the Alpha to choose a bride, but no, it was all a setup. Those cunning people have already chosen for him, and all they want him to do is to make a choice."
The first lady took a step forward to Tristan and bowed before saying, "My name is Xylia, the daughter of Alpha Emerson, and I am ready to dedicate my life to serving you and your pack."
The second took a step forward and said, "My name is Lisa, the daughter of Alpha Carter, and I am ready to dedicate my life to serving you and your pack."
The third girl also took a step forward and introduced herself. "My name is Renee, the daughter of Alpha Harrison, and I am ready to dedicate my life to serving you and your pack."
Tristan couldn't help the yawn that came out of his mouth after the girls had finished introducing themselves. "Boring."
Immediately he said that word, Cole already had an idea of how this night was going to end, so he leaned towards him and whispered, "You have to choose one, Alpha."
"Which of them is the prettiest?" Tristan asked loudly.
Cole looked at the three girls and whispered, "They are all beautiful, but if I may give my opinion, then I think Miss Xylia would be a perfect Luna for the Golden Rills pack."
Tristan kept quiet for a few seconds before saying, "Cole, take me to the room upstairs and bring them in one by one. I would like to have a private chat with each of them."
Renee flinched when she heard that; she didn't even want to be here, but her father had forced her and insisted that if Alpha Tristan chose her to be his wife, then she must reject her mate.
This is crazy! She was sure the other two ladies were forced as well because who in their right mind would want to marry a man who killed his own mate?
Although this was an old mansion, he had been here at least twice with Alpha Tristan, so taking him to the main room of the house wasn't difficult.
"Why do you want to have a private chat with them? Just pick one and get it over with." Cole said after bringing Tristan to a room.
"Do you wish for an idiot to be your Luna?"
"Of course not." Cole immediately replied and then asked, "So, you are bringing them here to see the level of their intelligence?"
"Not their intelligence. Since the three of them were chosen by the Elders, then I'm sure they are going to one day be used against me. I need to know which of them will be less of a problem for me to get rid of in case things go south."
"You aren't even married, but you're already talking about getting rid of her. Can I... Can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead." Tristan said, facing his Beta even though he couldn't see him.
"Why didn't you ever mark Eva?"
"What sort of question is that?" Tristan asked with a frown.
"I was thinking, and maybe if you had marked her, then your bond with her would have been stronger, and she wouldn't have..."
"Cole, that's enough."
Cole immediately became quiet and after a while said, "I will go bring in Miss Xylia."
Tristan knew the moment Cole left the room, and for a brief moment, he thought of his former mate. Why didn't he mark her? What a simple question, if only the answer was also simple.
Back at the party, Aria and Hailey watched as Cole escorted Xylia upstairs, and Hailey whispered, "Aria, you must find a way to meet Tristan in the room he is staying in and act on what I have taught you."
Aria's cheek became red on the things Hailey had taught her, and she wondered if she would be able to act in such a way with a man she didn't know.
A few minutes later, Xylia ran downstairs with tears in her eyes, and Aria felt scared for herself. If he could make an Alpha's daughter cry, then what about her, who doesn't even have a pack?
Cole put on his charming smile and invited the second girl to follow him, which she did, and even she came back looking scared.
Hailey frowned and couldn't help but ask, "Why are they all coming back looking as if they have seen a ghost?"
Even others at the party were murmuring among themselves, and Renee felt so scared that her legs were literally shaking as she climbed the stairs to meet Tristan.
As soon as Renee saw Tristan, her legs gave out, and she cried, "Please don't hurt me!"
Tristan removed his black glasses, and Renee could see his dull brown eyes. "So you are the type that gets scared easily. Do you have a mate?"
Her father had already told her what to say. In case he would ask this question, so she said softly, "N...no."
"Why did the Elders choose you?"
"I don't know, but I was only following my father's order."
"Who is your father?"
"Alpha Harrison." Renee's voice trembled as she mentioned her father's name.
"Come closer." Tristan demanded.
Renee slowly stood up and walked closer to him.
Tristan stretched forth his hand to feel her face and then dropped his hand, saying, "You will do. You can leave."
Renee nodded and left the room. He had said she will do; does that mean he is going to choose her as his wife? If he were to choose her, her pack would benefit a lot from this union, but her life would be ruined.
Aria saw Renee coming back in a daze and wondered how a blind man had been capable of scaring three women.
Hailey gave Aria a signal to look at the staircase, and when Aria saw that it was Cole coming from the stairs, she suddenly collapsed on the floor.