Chapter 184
Ellie POV
My mother rushed past me like I wasn't even there.
For a moment, I just stood frozen.
I watched the hem of her deep purple gown sweep across the marble floor as she dropped to her knees beside Vivian.
Her white-gloved hands hovered helplessly over Vivian's face, over the swelling red mark on her cheek and the thin trail of blood beneath her nose.
"Vivian," she breathed, helping her stand. "Oh, gods, sweetheart... what happened to you?"
Vivian sniffled softly.
Then she looked at me.
A quick, ugly glance filled with accusation.
But she didn't say a word.
My mother looked between us, confusion spreading across her face.
Then her gaze dropped.
And she gasped.
I followed her eyes without meaning to.
That was when I saw it.
Blood.
Dark red stains are spreading across the pale fabric of my wedding dress.
Slowly.
Unevenly.
The delicate stitching that my mother had spent weeks creating when she was barely more than a young wolf was being ruined before my eyes.
My fingers moved without thinking.
I touched the edge of the stain carefully, almost gently.
As if being careful enough could undo it.
As if I could somehow restore all the hours she had poured into it.
My mother's dress.
Ruined.
And somehow, that hurt more than anything else.
But my mother didn't move toward me.
Didn't ask if I was okay.
Didn't look at the blood on my dress.
She only stood there, holding Vivian like she was the one who needed protecting.
The music grew louder beyond the doors.
Waiting.
Everyone was waiting.
My mother was still staring at me.
Vivian was still leaning against her.
And I understood.
There was nothing here for me.
Not comfort.
Not understanding.
Not sympathy.
Without saying a word, I turned.
And I walked toward the chapel.
"Wait—Ellie!"
My mother's voice followed me.
I didn't stop.
I couldn't.
I had a wedding to get to.
And I already knew I would find no one waiting to catch me if I fell.
Dominic POV
The music had been playing for too long.
Long enough for everyone to notice.
Long enough for whispers to begin.
The guests shifted behind me, silk brushing against silk, jewelry clicking softly as people turned toward the doors.
Waiting.
I stood at the end of the aisle with my shoulders straight and my hands clasped behind my back.
A position of control.
A position of power.
Except my fingers kept flexing against each other.
I couldn't stop them.
Because for the first time in a long time, I felt like a man waiting for a verdict.
Not an Alpha.
Not a leader.
Just a man waiting to find out whether the woman he loved would still walk toward him.
She'll come.
She will.
It's fine.
But my body didn't believe my own thoughts.
My pulse kept rising.
Every beat echoes in the space behind my ribs.
Then—
The doors finally began to open.
Relief hit me so suddenly it almost hurt.
Light spilled into the room first.
And then I saw her.
My breath caught.
Ellie stood in the doorway.
A gasp moved through the crowd.
Because everyone saw it.
The red stain across her wedding dress.
Everyone saw the damage.
But Ellie didn't look down.
She didn't hide.
She simply lifted her chin and started walking.
Toward me.
Her eyes never left mine.
Her opal gaze caught the sunlight pouring through the glass ceiling, and for one impossible moment, the entire room disappeared.
The guests.
The ceremony.
The whispers.
Everything.
There was only her.
And me.
Something inside my chest finally loosened.
The anger.
The frustration.
The helpless rage I had carried since the moment she walked away.
Gone.
She looked like home.
Even with blood staining her dress.
Even with everything between us broken.
She looked like home.
When she reached me, she hesitated only for a second before placing her hand in mine.
Her fingers were warm.
Softer than I remembered.
I closed my hand around hers automatically.
Steadying her.
Protecting her.
Knowing how easily I could pull her closer if I stopped holding myself back.
"Your dress..."
I whispered near her ear.
Quiet enough that only she could hear.
She didn't answer.
She only turned toward the elder.
And waited.
My chest tightened.
Ellie POV
The world narrowed.
Not the crowd.
Not the massive glass ceiling above us.
Not the hundreds of eyes watching.
Judging.
Waiting.
Only him.
Only his hand was holding mine.
Elder Kinder stood before us.
His silver hair was pulled back neatly, his ceremonial robes embroidered with silver moons that shimmered whenever he moved.
He smelled faintly of sage and smoke.
Like every sacred ceremony I had ever witnessed.
My palms were sweating.
I tried not to look at the stain spreading across my dress.
The irony wasn't lost on me.
A wedding dress marked with blood.
Maybe it suited us.
"Today," Elder Kinder began, his voice carrying through the chamber, "we stand before the Moon Goddess not to witness the joining of two strangers..."
His eyes moved between us.
"But the recognition of two souls who have found each other again."
Again.
My brows furrowed.
I looked at him.
The old man simply winked.
What?
Before I could question it, he turned toward Dominic.
"Alpha Dominic."
Dominic straightened.
"Do you take Ellie to be your lawfully wedded wife? To hold forever, as the night sky holds the moon in its embrace, and bind your souls with the thread of fate?"
"I do."
His answer came instantly.
Certain.
Then he looked at me.
Something in his expression shifted.
"I vow that my presence will always heal you, so long as we remain together."
His voice was calm.
Steady.
Absolute.
And my heart betrayed me.
It fluttered.
Even after everything.
Even after I told myself not to feel.
"Miss Ellie."
Elder Kinder turned toward me.
"Do you take Alpha Dominic to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
His voice softened.
"To stand with him beneath the Moon Goddess's embrace, until the threads of fate return to her eternal kingdom?"
My throat tightened.
I had done this before.
The last time I made vows to Dominic...
I had cried.
I could barely speak.
I had wanted nothing more than to belong to him.
I had thanked the gods for giving him to me.
I had loved him.
Maybe I still did.
I lifted my chin.
Forced myself to meet his eyes.
"I..."
My voice faltered.
The crowd shifted.
The pressure became overwhelming.
I swallowed.
Tried again.
"I do."
The words left me in one breath.
And suddenly—
The room exploded.
Cheers.
Applause.
Voices rising around us.
Flowers began falling from above, pale petals drifting through the air and catching in my hair, on my shoulders, between us.
"All hail," Elder Kinder called, his voice rising above the celebration.
"Alpha Dominic and Luna Ellie of the Iverlons Clan."
Dominic didn't let go immediately.
Neither did I.
Because for one brief moment...
I allowed myself to pretend.
Pretend this was my first wedding.
Pretend there wasn't blood on my dress.
Pretend there wasn't pain between us.
Pretend we were simply two people who loved each other.
But I didn't cry.
I refused.
Instead, I wrapped my arms around him.
He lifted me easily into his arms, holding me like I weighed nothing.
Then he kissed me.
Deeply.
The crowd roared louder.
And for one impossible second...
I wish this really were the first time.
Dominic lowered me gently back to the floor.
Before I could say anything, he leaned closer.
His lips brushed near my ear.
"Do you want to tell me," he whispered, amusement barely hiding beneath his voice, "why you have a dagger strapped to your thigh?"