Chapter 24
Alaric's POV
“A-HEM!”
I hear Lilia clear her throat in a comically annoyed manner.
The sound draws me from my distracted thoughts. I look at the officiant, who is staring at me expectantly.
This is my and Lilia's wedding.
Lilia and I are tucked in together under a beautiful canopy of red roses, pink peonies, and lush green vine tendrils.
The wooden pergola is covered with warm golden fairy lights that gently flicker, almost like the stars at night. Tucked in all around are miniature wooden and gold carvings. There’s wolves, and the moon, and that forest. They tell the story of our pack, of our people.
I can’t help but remark that Cara’s really outdone herself this time. I thought the proposal setting she made was wonderful, but this… This is… This is a wedding fit for a King.
I lean in closer to the officiant, trying to look contrite, “Apologies. What was that?”
Lilia makes a very upset little sound and her face falls. “Alaric! Are you kidding me?!” she hisses in a whisper.
I look at Lilia and she’s just beautiful.
Strands of pure gold have been woven into her hair, into her dark red braid. Diamond jewelry covers her throat and her wrists.
Her face, aside from the very alarmed look, would make any man or wolf stop in his tracks. Blood red lips, warm pink cheeks, big round eyes… she’s stunning to be sure.
Whatever her faults, whatever her harsh nature, Lilia makes a ridiculously gorgeous bride.
“Do you, Alaric Grant, take Lilia Auburn to be your wedded wife?” He repeats patiently.
I stare at him, furrowing my eyebrows. I do, I’m sure I do.
Don’t I?
Regardless, I must. I must take her as my wife, for the good of the pack.
I look back at the crowd and see hundreds of eyes looking back at me, waiting. Waiting for Pack DarkWood’s new Luna to be made official.
But I don’t see the pair of green eyes I’m searching for.
Cara’s.
“This isn’t right without her.” My wolf, Grey, repeats in my mind.
The seconds are slowly, painfully ticking by, and I can see the bead of sweat forming on Lilia’s forehead the longer I stall. She doesn’t look upset, she looks pissed.
I look into the crowd again and my eyes meet Eamon’s. I expect to see the same amount of anger as reflected in Lilia’s face, but it’s not there.
Suddenly, the entrance doors fly open and crash into the walls on either side. The crowd jumps.
It’s my butler.
He’s racing down the aisle towards me yelling, “Alpha King! Sir! Urgent news!!”
His face is a round red, and he’s in a panic. I can’t recall ever having seen him this way.
“Not now, you imbecile!!” Lilia shrieks at him, garnering more than a few shocked glances from the crowd.
“Hush!” I say to her sternly. I turn back to my butler, who’s nearly all the way up to the altar by now, “What is it?”
“There’s been an accident, sir! I need to discuss with you, maybe in private—”
I interrupt the butler with a single word, “Who?” My body is deadly still.
My butler glances at Lilia quickly before leaning into me closely, “Cara Wilson.”
All breath escapes from my lungs.
...CARA?!
An accident.
Is she hurt?
Is she alive?!
Grey paces in my mind, howling and growling.
“How serious?” I ask my butler.
“I’m not sure, sir, but I hear it’s not looking up.” He glances back towards the crowd, clearly uncomfortable with being the center of attention at a moment like this.
“Get a doctor on the phone. NOW!” I order roughly.
“Alaric!” Lilia’s voice sounds like something halfway between a plea and a demand.
I run a hand through my hair and turn to face the crowd. Hundreds of wolves have gathered here today to witness this wedding.
But they won’t get to.
“Wedding’s cancelled!” I yell into the crowd simply.
“WHAT?!”
“What did he say?”
“Cancelled?!”
“This has never happened before!”
The outrage from the crowd is palpable. People are leaving their seats en masse; some heading towards the exit, some towards the altar. The pack elders are rushing towards me, no doubt trying to change my decision.
All the color has drained from Lilia’s face, and, for just a moment, it looks like she’s seen a ghost.
Then a flash of realization crosses her face, and a strange smile hits her lips. “Cara’s been in an accident.” She whispers to herself. She sounds… She sounds happy.
“What have you done?!” I yell to her.
Grey is swearing and cursing her in my mind. His words are obscene enough to make a sailor blush. His snarl rips through my body, like he wants to take over.
I mentally tell my wolf to get a hold of himself. Shifting now would take everything from bad to worse. No, we need to talk to the doctor.
We need to hear if Cara’s alright.
Then we can deal with whoever is responsible for this.
I’m being surrounded by pack members, all speaking at once. They’re pleading with me from all sides.
“Alpha King, sir, you must reconsider!”
“Everything is ready, there’s no need to postpone now! You must go forward with the ceremony!”
“Cara can be dealt with later! The wedding must continue!”
The nobles are relentless. But they’re wasting their breath; I’m not having this damned wedding today and that’s final.
I knew this day felt wrong from the start. I should’ve trusted my gut.
“You should have listened to me!” Grey screams at me.
My butler pushes through the crowd of nobles, elbowing his way in. There’s a phone in his outstretched hand, reaching towards me.
“For you, sir! It’s the doctor!”
I snatch the phone from him and silence the nobles with a single warning glare. I need to hear the doctor’s words, not theirs.
“This is Alpha King Alaric Grant. Give me Cara Wilson’s condition.” I bark into the phone. Politeness be damned.
“Hello, sir. This is the chief of surgery here at the hospital. Firstly, I want to give you my deepest and sincerest congratulations on your wedding day—“
“Just get on the with it!” I yell at him. I don’t give a shit who he is or what he wants to congratulate me for. I just need to hear if Cara’s okay.
If she’s alive.
“Oh, right, yes of course!” He says sheepishly before continuing.
“The patient was in a vehicle accident and sustained multiple serious injuries. She has several broken bones and appears to be in the midst of a miscarriage.”
...What?!
“...A miscarriage?!” I ask.
Cara is… was… pregnant?
I’m flooded with memories of all those fainting spells, all those trips to the hospital.
The chief of surgery keeps going, “Yes, and it’s rather unfortunate, too. It appears she was pregnant with twins.”
