8
Lucia
The wedding ceremony and reception are being held at La Opala, the grandest hotel in Ashville. Callum has booked the entire place for the guests, making sure everyone celebrates the doom awaiting me.
I’m driven to the venue by the guards Callum appointed to monitor me. They form a wall around me as soon as I climb out of the car and follow me. Gritting my teeth, I walk forward and make my way toward the gilded doors of the hotel.
Valets and other hotel staff stare at my entourage. I doubt they’ve ever seen a bride walking into their reception area with such tight security.
Looking around the front lobby, I catch a glimpse of the preparations happening for the ceremony. The reception area is decorated beautifully with thick garlands and bouquets of white and lavender flowers. A subtle floral scent mingles with the air but every breath of the sweet fragrance chokes me.
I’m getting closer to a lifetime of captivity with every step inside the hotel lobby. Once the wedding is officiated, I’m going to be tied to Freddy and Callum for the rest of my life.
“This way, Lucia,” says Mrs. Adams, our housekeeper, leading me down a corridor.
“Where are we going?” I ask, trying to keep up with her pace in my heavy gown and high-heeled stilettos.
“Mr. Baldwin asked me to make sure you stayed inside a secured room. He hasn’t given his permission for you to roam around the premises.”
She leads me to a door that’s being guarded by four stocky men in black suits. I wait while Mrs. Adams unlocks the room for me.
Callum didn’t have to bother with these security measures. If I wanted to run away, I’d have done so years ago.
“Please, go inside,” she says, stepping back.
Quietly, I obey.
The moment I’m inside, the door is closed behind me.
Letting out a sigh, I look all around me, taking in the sparsely furnished room. There’s nothing here except for a single couch and a small round table with a jug of water on it.
Callum isn’t even bothering to sugarcoat my situation. I’m nothing but a captive in his hands.
Sweeping the long, wide skirt to the side, I sit down. Callum hasn’t even allowed me to keep my phone with me, so there’s nothing to do except count the minutes to my sham wedding.
From time to time, I feel cramps in my belly. My perfume spreads around the room, making it smell like the finest bakery. I could never imagine my brother to be this cunning and calculating.
He knows I wouldn’t be able to resist him when he’ll be the only alpha around when my heat strikes. Deep within, I’m determined to fight my instincts but from all the brochures about sex education I learned in school, I know an omega has very little control during a heat.
Once I go into heat, my body’s demand will turn into unimaginable agony. Without medical interventions, I’ll be forced to seek out the nearest alpha to relieve me during my heat. I wouldn’t even care who it is as long as they touch me and satiate my body’s hunger.
My nails dig into my palm as I fist my hands tightly. Callum planned this diabolical plan to gain complete control over me.
The minutes on the wall-mounted clock crawl by. The ticking sounds awfully loud in my ears, adding to my nervousness.
There are no windows in the room, exacerbating my suffocation.
Getting to my feet, I walk the length of the room. Several times, the hem of my dress catches under my shoes. I even hear the sound of ripping fabric a few times but I don’t slow my pace.
Who cares if I ripped the entire dress? Freddy and Callum would still force me to get married in that exact state without batting an eye.
I glance at the clock again. To my horror, only half an hour has passed.
With every passing minute, I feel like my lungs would collapse. Just the thought of Callum touching me brings on a cold sweat, quickening my heart palpitations.
I’m drowning and no matter how much I thrash around, there’s no respite. My knees give way, pushing me down on the plush carpet.
“Help me,” I sob in the still, quiet room. “Someone, please help me...”
I don’t believe anything will come out of my pathetic breakdown. No one’s ever come to rescue me, so imagine my surprise when a loud blast sounds from somewhere in the building.
The ground below me shakes. Even the walls rattle as two more blasts blow up somewhere in the hotel.
What is happening?
Pushing myself off the floor, I head toward the door.
Just as I’m about to reach for the doorknob, loud gunfire sounds just outside the corridor.
Can I let myself hope? Is someone crashing this wedding?
Despite the risk of being blown apart by bombs and shot down, I wrench open the door.
There’s no one in the corridor. The men guarding me are all gone! Screams of men and women, punctuated by the thunder of gunfire, come from somewhere far away.
I weigh my options. Callum can’t blame me for running away from the attackers. My life is worth something to him, after all. A dead sister will break his deal with Freddy Stone and cost him a fortune.
A smile rises on my lips despite the shrill, terror-stricken screams rising all around me. At this point, I don’t even care that people are dying. I’m simply relieved to have an excuse to run.
Picking up my heavy skirt, I dash down the corridor. If I keep going, I’ll soon reach the lobby and be able to make my way out through the front entrance of the hotel.
Reaching the reception area, I take cover behind a tall brass vase. Peering from the side, I find two men in black ski masks raining gunfire on the people who are desperately trying to hide behind the pillars or under the tables.
My gaze falls on a familiar figure in a bright fuchsia jumpsuit and a ridiculous hat with flowers. That’s Freddy’s mom , I realize, recognizing her. She’s hiding under a table and keeping her eyes tightly squeezed.
I should feel sorry for her but I don’t.
Mrs. Stone is in the same league as Callum and Freddy. Despite knowing her son is gay, she’s happily participating in this sham wedding that’ll ruin my life. I don’t even care if one of the bullets hits her.
Surprised at the savage thoughts running through my mind, I slowly creep toward the gates in the distance. My white wedding gown has probably camouflaged me against the white and pastel-shaded flowers covering every inch of the reception area because the shooter doesn’t spare me any attention.
I’m halfway down the hallway when someone grabs me from the back. A strong hand slaps over my mouth, cutting off the scream stuck in my throat.
“Where are you running off to, Princess?” A deep, luscious male voice hisses in my ear.
Something inside me reverberates at the stranger’s voice. I should be scared, even fighting him to get out of his clutches but I stand still, desperate to hear him speak again.
Gunfire rains down all around us but the two of us stand perfectly still.
“You’re still such a good girl, Lucia,” the man speaks again. This time I hear a hint of remorse in his voice. “It’s too bad you’re just as greedy as your brother.”
I’m not! I want to shout but his hand on my mouth keeps me from uttering a sound.
Warmth from the man’s body seeps into my chilled skin. Why am I having such a reaction to this stranger? Do I know him?
A stabbing pain suddenly flares at the side of my neck. It’s a second before I realize the stranger has plunged a needle into my flesh.
My body squirms and twists in a bid to get out of his crushing hold but his powerful arms cage me against his stone-hard chest. Within seconds, I feel my arms and legs going numb, followed by a heavy blackness that settles over my eyes. Within moments, I lose all consciousness.
Just get me out of here , I think, closing my eyes and welcoming the darkness.