Chapter 3 #2
His vicious tone sliced through what few and futile efforts I had mustered to brace against what was coming, and his words stung even as they bewildered me.
Yet there was one peculiar detail about his furor that my overwhelmed mind noticed: he was making sure that only I could hear these words.
Oh yes, he was most certainly trying to intimidate me, but he didn’t do it theatrically like his brother, so that everyone could hear and mock me.
No, the Alpha’s focus was on me, and me alone.
No tricks, no games, just raw intensity.
“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I stammered.
Felix’s claws shot out an inch further, but then he glanced down and noticed the terrifying proof of his rage. With visible effort, he forced the wolf back inside.
After one deep breath, then a second, he gestured to the shredded remnants of the note on the floor. “That was from my brother, your groom. He has had a change of heart and decided that he doesn’t want to be tied down. No one knows where he is.”
The words hung in the air, but they refused to sink in.
I had hoped and prayed for this. Not just since learning what an asshole Hunter was, but for many long years before that, ever since I’d known that I was going to be given away to a stranger.
Now that it had finally happened, it didn’t feel real.
Felix lunged closer until his forehead was suddenly pressed right against mine, stealing the breath from my lungs.
“Did. You. Know?” he snarled. “Did you make a deal with Hunter? Did you ask him to leave? I saw it in your eyes at the Knocking. I knew you didn’t want this wedding.”
I couldn’t help it. The accusation was so preposterous that I couldn’t stop the incredulous laugh from erupting out of me.
Felix stopped and stared at me, stunned, which was probably the only reason I was able to keep going.
“What could possibly compel my betrothed to do something so selfish?” I hissed.
“At the Knocking, Hunter made it very clear that he was looking forward to playing with ‘his Omega’ until he got tired of me. There’s nothing I could’ve possibly done to entice him to disappear before he got what he wanted. ”
Felix’s brows drew together. “You better not lie. You’re saying you had no influence at all?”
“Influence?” I barked a bitter laugh. “Did you not notice how your brother delighted in tormenting me at the engagement? Do you think a bully gives up his toy just because the toy begs?”
“Well… he’s gone. And you expect me to believe you had no hand in it?” His gaze swept over me. “You didn’t offer him anything in exchange?”
“Like what?”
“You tell me. I bet there were plenty of ways you could’ve convinced him.”
I hated that I couldn’t even blame him for thinking so low of me. After what happened between us, it was easy to see why he’d think I was just some loose Omega who would spread his legs for any wolf that looked his way.
“Believe whatever you want.” My voice shook with the effort it took to keep my temper in check. “I had no power to keep him, and even less to change his mind about this wedding.”
Surprise flashed across Felix’s face. Perhaps he had never heard an Omega talk back to him before.
But regardless, with all the practiced stoicism of an Alpha, he managed to regain his composure and lock his expression down tight once more.
He surveyed the restless crowd before us, clearly thinking quickly.
“I can see your point,” he said gruffly. “However, it’s far too late to cancel. All the dignitaries have been summoned, the packs have been assembled, and the guests are restless. The SanGraals will be furious if this goes as poorly as the Knocking, and the Redrows can’t afford the scandal.”
On that last note, his gaze seemed to linger on a cluster of Redrows wolves near the front, most colored with a striking combination of black and white.
I wondered idly if there was any significance to that, but I was immediately distracted by Felix stiffening with resolve at my side.
With a decisive nod and tensing jaw, his eyes found mine again.
“There’s no other choice then,” he muttered.
A wave of relief washed over me, so all-consuming that I nearly gasped for air. But Felix wasn’t done.
“Gathered wolves,” Felix declared, swiftly moving to address the entire temple and seamlessly transitioning from a covert whisper to a rumble that reached to the four corners of the entire room. “My brother is indisposed. He will not be attending the wedding today.”
Frantic hushed whispers broke out across the temple, especially fervent among the Redrows, but all were immediately silenced when the Alpha continued.
“Therefore, I, the Redrow Alpha, will stand in my brother’s place to represent our pack and wed the SanGraal Omega in his stead. Upon Hunter Redrow’s return to his duties, the SanGraal Omega will be handed over to the rightful groom.”
This time, the room exploded into a cacophony of shock, disbelief, and glee. It was impossible to miss the pointed direction of the outright snickering amongst the uproar, which I soon realized, with a sinking dismay, was aimed at me.
“All of the Redrows are going to have a turn with him at this rate,” one of them guffawed to the others, who couldn’t be bothered less to hide their laughter.
My face burned in shame, and I had never been more thankful for the veil hiding my humiliation.
“We accept,” my father’s voice declared from where he sat among the SanGraal elders.
I wished that I could have been surprised by my father’s willingness to act on my behalf without my input.
I’d be foolish to expect anything else from Olif SanGraal.
All that mattered to him was the pack, not my feelings.
So I wasn’t surprised he didn’t even pause to think about it.
Just disappointed. Constantly disappointed.
My bridal veil and hazy mind did nothing to shield from me the exact moment when Felix turned to regard me once more. There was an oddly quizzical expression on his face, which was immediately replaced by what I’d come to assume was his signature scowl.
“I am only doing my duty,” he said, softly yet unmistakably declared as if to compensate for the embarrassment.
Was he trying to reassure me? Was this his way of apologizing?
Or was he reminding me not to expect love and affection from this alliance?
If it was that last option, then he needn’t have bothered.
There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell I’d expect anything but cold abandonment from this marriage, no matter whether it were to Hunter or his Alpha.
Before I could piece a response together out of my scattered thoughts, he was upon me in two short steps, flicking the veil aside like it was an inconvenience. He gave me a single racing heartbeat to catch my breath and gaze into his fathomless eyes before they closed.
And then he kissed me.
I was instantly pulled back to the glade and that first kiss.
Somehow, this felt far more real, and infinitely deeper than the Sealing Kiss that Hunter had given me at the Knocking.
Despite being nothing more than a chaste press of the lips, this kiss—this reacquainting of lips—shot straight down to my core, and every nerve fluttered in response.
My traitorous body wanted to bend against the Alpha, to let him take of me and take from me until there was nothing left.
The crowd erupted once more, but this time, their shouts expressed no disapproval.
This was a jubilant chorus of cheers and good-natured—well, better-natured—teasing.
Albeit, the youngest and rowdiest of the wolves were making most of the ruckus, but they more than made up for the venerated elders’ silence through sheer enthusiasm.
When Felix pulled back, I gasped and almost leaned into him again for more, but, by some grace, I managed to catch myself.
As I composed myself, I could have sworn I caught the glimmer of something in the Alpha’s silver eyes.
It was just a flash, and it was gone in an instant, but if I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was a perfect mirror of the glazed wonderment that I felt in my own soul.
And in the deepest, most selfish depths of myself, I hoped that he had felt that torture.
It wouldn’t be fair if I were the only one of us to suffer.
His touch felt so natural to me that I had barely even noticed as his fingers slipped between mine. But then he angled his body to address the elders that shared the stage with us, and I realized that the second act of the wedding, the Blood Pact, had begun.
Felix was fast and efficient as he pledged that I would have his pack’s protection.
I noticed that he was careful not to speak about specific individuals, neither himself nor Hunter, as the pact usually called for.
Instead, it was about how “the pack” would provide for me, and how I would serve “the pack” faithfully in turn.
I only half-listened to the words, the lion’s share of my attention on the perplexing nature of his grasp.
He was disconcertingly gentle as he held my hand, and I had a deep suspicion that it was mainly because he was so distracted and focused on getting the Blood Pact right.
When he wasn’t actively trying to push people away, his body defaulted to tenderness.
How strange, and how completely at odds with his cold, ruthless persona.
But now, before I had even settled, we had come to the final and most terrifying part of the Blood Pact, and I couldn’t focus on anything but what was about to be asked of me.
Two priests, one from each pack, approached us, carrying the sacred ceremonial dagger between them, which they then handed off to the Alpha with care.
Felix’s focus returned to our hands, and his grip tightened.
He singled out my index finger, then held it steady as he brought the knife to my flesh.
One quick flick and then it was over, though the sting lingered. A slit hinted at the scarlet beneath the skin, and a single bead of blood bloomed from inside.
His gaze locked with mine as he lifted my hand and, without a hint of hesitation, pulled my finger into his mouth.
And then he sucked.
It wasn’t gentle. There was a feral, unrestrained edge in the way he sucked the blood out of my finger, and from the low, rumbling growl my hand could feel vibrating from deep within his throat, he was enjoying it.
My mouth went dry as I watched. Could it really taste that appealing?
This was the part of the ceremony that I’d always wondered about the most. It sounded so disgusting, yet so perversely tempting.
If it could tame a ruthless Alpha into practically purring with satisfaction, it must not be all bad.
Being on the receiving end, however, was certainly illuminating. Sheer delight blossomed in my chest as I watched him submit to the bliss that he was feeling. As if I had control over him. I had to bite my lip to hold back my own responsive groan.
All too soon, it was over. Or at least, his turn was over.
I swallowed against the tightness in my throat as Felix’s lips slid off my finger.
The hilt of the knife felt heavier than I expected it to when he placed it in my grasp, but I was more nervous to grab his hand than the weapon.
I tried to set the blade at the proper angle against his thumb, but my hand shook so hard, I nearly dropped the dagger. Before I could completely lose it, Felix’s free hand closed over mine. His grip was firm and steady, the heat of his skin instantly comforting.
“Like this,” he murmured, coaxing me on.
I knew it was just because he didn’t want me to make any mistakes and leave him a gaping wound, but it was nice to imagine that he was being thoughtful for my sake.
I focused on his hand so intently that I almost didn’t hear the catch in his breath. A slight push, and it was done. The impossibly sharp silver pricked his finger, then his own bead of blood appeared.
My cheeks burned as I realized just how closely this act mimicked a fang slipping into flesh. I hadn’t realized this experience would be so deeply carnal from both sides. Just how much better must it be if you truly loved the wolf you were marrying?
I took his thumb into my mouth, my eyelashes fluttering as the anticipation swelled so intensely that reality could only have been a disappointment in comparison.
But then my lips sealed around his skin, and I felt Felix twitch in my mouth. I could feel his strength and his heat pulsing within me. And then I began to suck.
Sweet, savory blood filled me. I knew in my mind that it was only a few drops, but it felt like a nourishing feast after a whole week of fasting.
It filled me to the tips of my toes and fingers, and I knew that I had just discovered a new addiction.
I’d never tasted another wolf before today, not like this, and now the idea of a life without this was unthinkable.
For an eternity of seconds my tongue licked and lapped, invisible to everyone except Felix. Was this what all the other wolves had been whispering about behind my back? Was this the taste of the carnal pleasures that could only be found in the bond between mates?
A visceral groan bled up from the depths of Felix and poured into me, before he caught ahold of himself and gently pulled his thumb free. When I finally opened my eyes and looked up at him, I glimpsed such wretched longing on his face that it sapped the breath from my lungs.
“It’s only duty,” he said weakly, then cleared his throat and found his characteristic scowl once more. “Remember that. It’s only duty.”
But as he slipped a ring carved with the Redrow crest onto my finger, the only thing I could remember was how his voice had broken just mere moments ago. He wasn’t nearly as unaffected as he wanted to pretend.
That was a good thing… wasn’t it?
If he wasn’t as unaffected as all that, then perhaps, we could…
It was then my turn again, and I slipped the ring onto his finger. On a whim that, for better or for worse, I let myself follow without suppressing, I brought his hand up to my mouth and kissed the tip of his finger once more.
Felix’s nostrils flared, and his eyes blazed with a hunger that I understood deep in my soul.
No, he wasn’t unaffected at all.