Chapter 2
Engaged
Monte
The next week passed in a blur as preparations were meticulously planned and executed.
However, as the bride, there was really nothing for me to do but sit and wait.
Most brides would be fretting and coming to terms with their impending nuptials, but I’d had years upon years to grow accustomed to the idea.
And now that it was finally here, a slightly different sort of apprehension plagued my thoughts.
And so I hid and watched. It seemed that any and every wolf from territories near and far had come to town for the wedding, so without even leaving my room I could watch a steady stream of chaos as tempers flared and friendships blossomed between the different packs.
Peering down at the street, I took in the sights and sounds and tried very hard not to think how difficult it would be to stand before all these people, their attention fixed solely on me.
Of course, I was also trying very very hard not to think about the kiss that should never have happened.
I still hadn’t decided if it had really been a flesh and blood wolf or a gift from the Goddess herself.
I wasn’t foolish enough to hope that it had been my betrothed, but a large part of me hoped that kissing Hunter Redrow would at least be similar, if not passionate enough to wipe the memory.
With a sigh, I sagged against the window, letting the thoughts drift away. Who was I kidding? No kiss could ever compare to that. It simply wasn’t possible, because if someone did get kissed like that every day, they’d die of sheer pleasure before the week was over.
Down below, the sharp tone of an incensed voice drew my attention to yet another argument—the hundredth such entertainment I’d witnessed today from my perch at the window.
“Why do I have to give up a week of fun for this foolishness?” a male whined. “Why can’t someone else deal with this?”
I peered out to look, but the pair had seemingly paused right below my window, forcing me to draw right back again before I looked like a nosy fool.
“Don’t act like a spoiled child,” another male snarled, his voice much deeper. “This is for the good of the pack. Would you think beyond your own needs for once?”
My jaw clenched. Even when the words weren’t directed at me, they stung like hell.
How many times had I been reminded to behave for the good of the pack?
How many times as a child had I cried about my fate, only to be told that my destiny was a sacrifice to be made so that everyone else could be safe and happy?
The two figures continued on, and I couldn’t help but lean forward and sneak a quick glimpse of them.
I instantly knew which was which, and I was more than a little pleased to see that the beleaguered male was handsome, with flowing black hair and vivid green eyes.
It would have been horribly unfair if he was small and ill-proportioned, like me.
Perhaps this wolf would have a chance to get away from his family and seize his own happiness.
It was more than I myself could hope for, but I could at least live out my daydreams vicariously through others like him.
“Fine, whatever, then you can handle all the arrangements,” he said with a heavy sigh. “I don’t actually need to be here for the dumb ceremony, right?”
“Fool,” the other snarled. “Of course you need to be here.”
The second wolf was swathed in a heavy black cloak despite the heat, so I couldn’t get a good look at his face. Perhaps if he’d been as animated as his packmate, then he might have turned and given me a glimpse, but he only glared straight ahead as he seethed at his disobedient kin.
The first groaned dramatically. “Fine, but I’m going right back out once this is done. I’ll need at least a month out in the countryside. Deal?”
I couldn’t help but grin. It seems that I wasn’t the only one about to have a miserable time at these ceremonies.
It was rare for two big packs like the Redrows and SanGraals to come together for anything, so it was no surprise that many other packs were trying to secure their own negotiations while everyone was gathered in one place for the festivities.
And now I felt even more sympathy for the poor, abused relation below me. I couldn’t help but root for him to break free of his overbearing pack and enjoy himself to the fullest. The pair didn’t seem far enough apart in age to be father and son; brothers, perhaps, or cousins.
But the rising volume of the argument soon humbled me at my eavesdropping post, and quickly withered my remaining amusement.
“You will not be running away as soon as the union is formalized,” the overbearing wolf hissed, stopping right in the middle of the street and gripping his companion’s shoulder.
“You will stay long enough to make sure it’s legitimate, and that is not up for debate.
The pack needs this marriage, you reckless pup. ”
A wave of nausea washed over me. No, it couldn’t be.
Surely I had misheard. Surely I was misunderstanding.
“I guess I’ll try,” the first snorted. “I caught a glimpse of him, and he’s at least a little cuter than I was expecting. “Who knows, maybe I won’t get tired of him as quickly as I thought.”
With cold clarity, I realized exactly what I was listening to. These two weren’t here for some unrelated back-room negotiating. No, they were here for the wedding, and I had a terrible, terrible feeling that the flippant wolf was Hunter Redrow, my betrothed.
Instantly, all my sympathy for a kindred spirit chafing against the bonds of familial obligations charred away.
If that was the sort of wolf I was going to marry, then I really was going to get abandoned again, wasn’t I?
Even after the Knocking and the marriage ceremony, I would still be barely more than the mateless object of mockery that I’d been for more than half my life.
And then one thought in particular cut through the churning chaos of my mind: there was absolutely no way the Goddess had endorsed this marriage.
There was no way that she had sent a messenger to kiss and bless me.
I really had allowed a complete stranger to shove his tongue down my throat and dominate me just a few days before I was supposed to give myself to another, body and soul.
The most horrifying part was that I’d rather marry that complete stranger, even knowing nothing about him beyond how intensely his kiss affected me.
Without warning, the door crashed open, and I was suddenly no longer alone. In a panic, I looked out the window once more, but the pair was long gone.
“Monte, what do—” Nena began as she stepped into the room, but then she stopped and watched me closely with a frown. “Woah, are you alright?”
“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” I tried to play it off as casually as I could, but I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d managed to regain my composure. If even a fraction of my thoughts showed on my face, then it was no wonder that my sister was watching me with that doubtful look.
“If you say so,” she said, her eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion.
“It’s just Knocking nerves,” I reassured her with a laugh that sounded unsteady even to my own ears. “Happens to everyone, right?”
“Riiiiight,” she said slowly, then folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe. “And you’re sure you would tell me if it was something else?”
A chuckle bubbled up within me, and I couldn’t contain it. “When did my little sister grow up so much? And more importantly, when did she become such a pain in my ass?”
To prove just how wrong I was, she stuck out her tongue and made a face, but there was a certain degree of relief in the smile that filled her face after. By some miracle, I’d managed to reassure her.
“Monte,” she said suddenly, looking a little uncertain.
A quiet, terse moment passed between us then as a wave of unspoken emotion washed over her face. All at once, she hurried across the room and embraced me in a deep hug, burying her face in my shoulder just like she used to when she was far, far smaller.
“Thank you for being such a good big brother.” Her voice was muffled, but I could feel the vibrations down to my very bones. “I know we don’t say it enough, but thank you for doing so much for our family. Without you… I don’t know where we’d be.”
I sighed, wishing that I were as brave and useful as she made me out to be. In truth, it didn’t take any particular skill or courage to be passed around in marriage negotiations, nor to be abandoned for years. Any spineless fool could endure that.
Nena held me tighter, and I held her close while I could.
At the end of the day, my own tumultuous misgivings didn’t matter.
Either way, I was going to marry a wolf I didn’t know, and if he was planning to treat me poorly, then I couldn’t say I didn’t expect it.
In truth, the only surprise had been that magical kiss in the forest, and it was my own fault that I ever thought anything could come of that.
Some moments are meant to be fleeting, and nothing more.
“It’s time to go,” Nena said before pulling away from me. She gave me an encouraging smile before looping her arm with mine. “Ready?”
Absolutely not.
“Ready,” I replied, before letting her escort me downstairs, to where my family was waiting.
As we approached the staircase, I felt my spine stiffen once more. I couldn’t do much for my family, but at least I could do this, and her thanks made it all worth it. After one last shared smile with my sister, she tugged my veil down to conceal my face, and down we went.
At the bottom of the stairs, we found our immediate kin dressed in their second-best finery, including my father. The best would be reserved for the wedding itself, but they made a spectacle nonetheless.