2- The Rejection at the Altar
POV Lunara Grimwald:
Alessio would not oppose it, I knew that by the respectful way he treated me whenever we met.
I lifted my face, keeping my steps firm and determined as I walked down the corridor covered with dry leaves and white tulip petals.
Kellan stood behind his son, displaying a broad smile of satisfaction.
I blinked slowly, inhaling the cold wind of the early night and faced Alessio once again.
The flickering light of the lanterns hanging around bathed his face, illuminating it. I curled my lips into a faint smile, knowing he would be able to see it with his wolf’s sharp gaze, even beneath the veil covering my face. He did not return it, standing firm.
As the future alpha of the pack, he could not show feelings in public, for they were considered signs of weakness, and he could never appear weak.
The silence that permeated around us was regarded as respect. The packs witnessing the ceremony approved of the union. Only the faint howl of the wind, the rustling of the tall branches of the trees, the chirp of an owl, and my feet crushing the leaves on the ground could be heard.
I wondered if they could also hear the pounding of my racing heart through their sharp hearing. Although my father hated me for it, this was a symptom of my body I could not and would not control.
Alpha Giovanni rested his eyes on me, looking as bored as he always had, as though nothing in life surprised him anymore and he was merely biding his time on Earth.
We stopped in front of Alessio, and I tilted my head slightly in a gesture of submission, exactly as they expected of me.
I was supposed to become a submissive, modest wife and a good provider of heirs.
I was already used to silence, having grown under the harsh personality of my father. Remaining quiet for Alessio did not bother me; he was already far better, more pleasant, and more loving than the male who gave me life. What truly frightened me was failing in my duty and not giving him the heirs expected of me. That was, indeed, my greatest fear.
Alessio extended his arm and touched my face with the back of his hand, through the thin veil. His eyes showed nothing but a coldness I was not used to seeing.
I swallowed hard, feeling my hands drenched in sweat.
It was a mask. I told myself. A mask to keep his leadership unshaken and the mutual respect of the other wolves.
"I am giving you my firstborn, as per the pact sealed so many years ago," my father said, making sure his voice carried through the rows of wooden benches so that all the wolves could witness.
Alpha Kellan stepped forward, studying my figure from head to toe, a crease forming between his brows.
"Indeed, a beautiful she-wolf," he remarked, fixing his eyes where my breasts made a slight curve beneath the silk fabric of the wedding dress. "I hope she will be a better breeder than her mother, and grant my son an alpha."
Thump... thump... thump...
My heart roared in my ears, leaving me dizzy.
Alessio laughed, tilting his head to the side without taking his eyes off mine. The rest of the pack followed him. I kept my head lowered, not making a sound.
Elowen, on the other hand, let out a growl of disapproval, but silenced herself as soon as our father’s eyes found hers.
I wanted to kill my stubborn, hardheaded sister for that. There would be consequences for her disobedience. He would beat her and starve her. How could she still defy him, despite everything, when it was so much easier to just… follow his rules?
"I can assure you my daughter will not be as... weak as my wife," my father snarled.
I pressed my eyes shut, feeling the pain of my mother’s failure pierce my soul. I hated that they were speaking of it, that they could humiliate her in front of the packs. It was my wedding day, meant to be a happy day.
Kellan flashed the alpha a wolfish grin. That was my father’s deepest wound. And everyone knew it.
"I hope you’re right, Vittorio. And that you are not deceiving me or giving me a useless she-wolf."
Alpha Giovanni cleared his throat.
"Let us continue the ceremony, please. We are all eager for the feast," he mocked, trying to break the tense atmosphere that had settled.
Our fathers were not friendly, never had been. They tolerated each other because they were stronger as allies than as enemies. But they only decided to unify the packs when I was eight, after Aveline, Kellan’s wife and Alessio’s mother, vanished. After that tragic event, they relented and sealed the agreement of union.
Alessio seized my wrist and pulled me to him, placing me at his side, facing Alpha Giovanni.
I controlled my breathing and kept my arms close to my body, avoiding showing just how much I trembled.
The patriarch looked at me, offering me a warm smile, and then turned to Alessio.
"We are here to celebrate the union of this couple and, at last, to unify the two eastern packs!" he began, raising his voice so that all could hear.
After we exchanged our vows, in which we would cut our palms and press them together in a blood exchange, we would head to the bonfire feast that would be celebrated by all. And then to the honeymoon, where Alessio would mark me as his wife, his she-wolf, and his property. It would not be a mating ritual, as I would not mark him. Mating was something too serious and profound, where wolves became one. If one died, the other would die too. What one felt, the other would feel. It was only consummated by a few alphas, those brave enough to do it. Usually, with predestined mates. Rare and uncommon.
The next day, our parents would meet us to check the marks of Alessio’s bite on me. And then the ceremony would finally be concluded.
Alpha Giovanni held a silver knife with a wolf-bone handle and raised it toward Alessio.
"Cut your palm and your bride’s palm, so we may begin the vows of union," he instructed. My father stepped closer, as did Kellan. "Alessio, alpha of the Eclipse Pack of the East, do you accept Lunara, of the Twilight Pack of the East, as your mate?"
For a second, the world seemed to stop spinning, everything around us fell into complete silence, unmoving.