Chapter 2 #3
“Good one,” he said as he clapped his thoroughly unamused Alpha on the shoulder.
“Are you having second thoughts now that you’re seeing how feisty and adorable my little Omega is?
I dunno what the two of you were arguing about, but now that I’ve had a better look at him, I’ve decided that I do want him after all.
Sorry, Felix, but you’ll have to wait your turn. ”
Yesterday, the words might have made me soar. A handsome husband who wanted me? It was all I’d dreamt of for years, but after what I’d heard this morning, his flippancy disgusted me.
I peered at Hunter warily, watching the calculating gleam in his eye as he probably schemed how he was going to abandon me after he had his fun with me. Even now, he had easily recognized that I was a useful weapon to taunt his Alpha with in the moment, and used me accordingly.
“You don’t even know him,” Felix forced through clenched teeth.
Hunter laughed again.
“Well of course I don’t! Isn’t that the way it goes with these political arrangements?
” He looked me up and down slowly, appreciatively, hungrily.
“It’s too late to change your mind now, Felix.
I’m gonna have some fun with this one. Thank the Goddess for cute little sacrificial Omegas and the families that trade them around like chips at a gambling hall. ”
I could hear the hissed outrage of my pack, but none of them stepped forward to challenge Hunter.
Felix was the only one to bare his fangs and open his mouth to speak, but before he even got a word out, Hunter cut him off once more.
“And you don’t need to worry your big head, big brother.
” Hunter theatrically lowered his voice so that, ostensibly, only Felix could hear him.
“It will be no burden at all to bed this one. Just look at how pliable and ready he is.” His eyes roamed over me, taking their time.
“This Omega will do exactly as he’s told, both within the bedroom and without. ”
Every word rang in my head, and my entire being burned with shame at being humiliated so utterly and treated so carelessly.
To make matters worse, I was sure that if I could hear everything, then everyone else present could hear more than enough to make out Hunter’s meaning.
His whisper was a performance, and he calculated every syllable’s volume for maximum impact.
“In fact, why wait?” my groom continued with a careless shrug and a conniving grin. “I see that everyone’s here, so we don’t really have to go through the whole ritual, right? At the end of the day, the Knocking is for one thing and one thing only.”
That was all the warning I got before he pounced on me, ripping my veil away and kissing me with a violent greed that stunned me to my very core. Every drop of Omega blood in me quailed and whimpered as I endured the onslaught, his lips and teeth painfully crushing against mine.
I desperately waited for someone to come to my rescue, anyone.
Nena, my father, my pack, even Felix. But nobody came, and I belatedly realized that Hunter was right.
We really were just here for one thing, and even if he didn’t respect any of the rituals around the Knocking, everyone else did, and the Sealing Kiss was the most sacred of them all.
With this, we truly were engaged. With this invasive, demanding, one-sided kiss, he had just committed the both of us to a doomed marriage which he would happily neglect as soon as he lost interest in my body.
I was vaguely aware of the grumbling all around me, but I clenched my eyes tight so I didn’t have to see their disapproving faces as well.
Especially my father’s, whose presence I could feel beside Nena.
I could hear growls in the crowd saying that this was a disgrace, but I had no idea if they meant me or the wolf attacking me.
Hunter tried to force his tongue into my mouth, but I rebuffed him completely, surprising myself in doing so.
Before this moment, I’d thought that I’d let him do whatever he wanted as my mate, but if I was going to be with someone like him, boundaries were my only protection.
This was a line he wasn’t allowed to cross.
Finally, with a frustrated grunt, Hunter gave up and pulled away.
The entire kiss couldn’t have lasted more than a few seconds, but it had felt like an eternity.
I was left unsteady on my feet, and from the gloating, feral grin on Hunter’s face, I could see that he truly believed his skills were responsible.
It was clear that not for one instant had he considered that I’d hated the touch of his lips.
My dazed, vacant gaze drifted over to the Alpha, who watched with a snarl. Barely capable of conscious thought, I looked down at his lips. How had they tasted so much better? How had he been so much gentler even while being more dominating?
It was dreadfully foreboding that I’d felt more comfortable sharing a kiss with a monstrous stranger in the middle of a forest than I did with the wolf I was about to spend the rest of my life bound to.
If Felix Redrow could read my thoughts, he was disgusted by them. Then again, when he looked at his own brother, his snarl grew even fiercer, so I knew that not all of his fury was directed at me.
For a reason I couldn’t quite grasp, when he looked at Hunter with such disdain, I felt a familiar shiver run down my spine.
“If you’re done embarrassing our entire pack, it’s time to go,” Felix growled. He gave a curt nod to my father and sister, then turned and stalked away, completely ignoring the prepared tables of food and awaiting ceremonies that had been prepared for the day.
At his words, a gasp ran through the audience, but I was relieved.
I truly couldn’t imagine sitting and standing for the entire ceremony, not after everyone had seen me used so disrespectfully.
Perhaps they felt bad for me, but not a single one of them had tried to put a stop to it. The alliance was simply too important.
Hunter took a look around, and from the gleam in his eye, I could see that he was trying to gauge just how much he’d scandalized everyone. From his satisfied huff, he appeared to be pleased with the damage. With one last leering wink in my direction, he turned and followed his brother away.
An uneasy shudder wracked my body as I watched him go.
The rest of the Redrows followed, a few mumbling apologies as they went past us. They weren’t quite as shocked as the SanGraals, but rather resigned, as if they’d expected that Hunter might behave like this. It certainly would have been nice for us to have some warning, if that was the case.
My father’s hand gripped my shoulder in a not-so-gentle squeeze. I met his eyes, and he gave me a stiff nod. “You did well, Monte. The pack is proud of you.” He smiled.
Of course he smiled. He’d be the only one happy about this union. As Alpha, his duty to the pack’s wellbeing came before everything—even his own son. Always “for the good of the pack.”
I scoffed and shook my head, watching him move on to join a few of our elders as they prepared to leave the ceremonial ground.
Nena’s hand grazed my arm faintly, but I appreciated the touch nonetheless. At the very least, there was nowhere to go but up.
No marriage could possibly be as bad as this brief, lingering taste… right? Perhaps Hunter and I could build a peaceful existence together, one where we’d never have to interact with each other unless absolutely necessary. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he completely abandoned me after the deed.
As the Redrows retreated, I found my gaze drawn to the broad shoulders of their Alpha, the memory of our embrace replaying in my head. His touch, however rough, hadn’t felt nearly as degrading as his brother’s.
As if he could sense my thoughts, Felix turned just before he vanished from sight, his eyes instantly finding mine through the crowd. Even from this distance, my wolf felt the primal fixation of his eyes on me. All thoughts were singed from my mind, all except one.
Despite having no proof beyond our passionate kiss, I was absolutely certain that I wouldn’t be nearly so hopeless for the future if Felix had been my betrothed today.
Though I had no reason to believe that Felix would be a promising match for me, I knew in my blood and bones that it was true, and my wolf silently howled in mournful agreement.