Chapter 4 - Emily
My ears drum with the deafening silence that’s fallen over the room, and I can feel everyone holding their breath.
“Emily and I will get married.”
Is he insane?
“Are you insane?” I blurt out, too stunned to hold back anyway.
As I blink, still reeling in shock, Delilah suddenly steps between Sean and me.
“He has a point, Em. I think it could actually work,” she says, trying to convince me. “I get it, you can’t marry him based on a mistaken bond like this, but it’s the only way you can unlock your powers in the meantime.”
My heart skips a beat and plummets to my stomach, where it twists and knots and makes me feel like I’m going to be sick.
They have no idea that we already share a fated mate bond—one that had been broken the moment Sean spewed those horrible words that night. Now, I’m supposed to marry the man who broke my heart? The man I hate?
“Isn’t there another way?” I plead with Delilah, but she shakes her head.
“Not unless you wait until we find a way to undo it,” Arianna replies. “Who knows how long it’ll take? And that will just delay your magic.”
Delay my magic?
I’ve been impatient so far. How am I supposed to wait even longer?
“And what did you say happens if I use my powers while he’s under this spell?”
Arianna takes a deep breath. “The bond will become stronger.”
Sinking into myself as I lean back, my heart breaks for the second time in my life.
How could I be so stupid as not to read that page properly?
“The magic will be unlocked.”
But it wasn’t the kind of magic I was hoping for. It was the kind that has Sean suggesting we get married.
He really has gone crazy, and it’s all my fault.
Ugh!
“Think about it, Em,” Sean says as he grabs a chair and pulls it up in front of me, then takes a seat like an eager, loyal golden retriever ready to be at my beck and call.
Oh no…
What have I done?
“It makes perfect sense,” he continues, eyes glittering like the soft waves of the ocean in the morning sunlight.
“We don’t have time to figure out how to break the spell, and we really need you to start honing your powers before the dark lord strikes.
And”—he straightens up and glances around the room, arms outstretched to the sides—“no one will be suspicious about us getting married. Not my father, or the rest of Silverfang. No one even needs to know you’re a witch until you’re ready.
And when you are, and we’ve defeated the dark lord, we’ll figure out how to break the spell. ”
I gulp hard, because what he’s saying makes perfect sense, and it’s even tempting.
“Sean is right,” Delilah concedes. “This will be a perfect opportunity for you to remain hidden. Sean can keep you safe while you train, so that nothing comes after you.”
“Yeah, we all know what it’s like being vulnerable while the dark lord is targeting us,” Arianna adds, and Gwen nods.
“You have an advantage, too, Emily,” she says. “The dark lord doesn’t know who you are. Your face was hidden in the prophecy he received. Donna was the only one who saw your face.”
“Exactly,” Donna agrees. “But it’s even more reason to stay under the radar, to get married and pretend like you’re just an ordinary wolf.”
I stare at my friends, my sisters, a frown furrowing my brows as I consider everything they’re saying. Everyone just lapped up everything Sean said, oblivious to the history we share, oblivious to what it means to accept this bond with him through a fake marriage.
My heart and sanity are at risk if I go through with this, but it’s a risk I’ll have to take, a sacrifice I’ll have to make for the bigger picture.
I drop my head and stare at my hands. “So…there’s no way I’ll be able to use my powers without him, right?”
“Right,” Delilah says softly, placing a hand on my shoulder. “You two are bound together, which means your powers are bound to him.”
“How far…” I gulp, pausing because the thought alone is heinous. “How far will we have to go?” I ask, keeping my head down. I can feel the air shift, sense Sean stiffening in front of me, but I have to know what I’m getting myself into.
“Only as far as accepting the mate bond verbally in front of an elder, within the rites of the pack, to fulfill the lunar binding spell on a werewolf level,” Delilah explains.
A wave of relief washes over me.
“I think I can manage that,” I relent, and Sean claps his hands once triumphantly.
“Great! Then we should start with preparations for the festivities!” he beams proudly as he throws me a wink that churns my insides.
“Is he always gonna be like this?” I whisper grimly, and Arianna grimaces.
“Hopefully it’ll stop when we break the spell….”
“Or maybe it won’t…” Delilah adds, turning to me and wincing as she shrugs.
What have I done?
***
By the time the mid-afternoon sun begins to descend in the west of Stowe, our friends from black ops decide to head home. I couldn’t be more relieved to finally get out of Sean’s house, and the moment Dominic—the last one to leave—walks out the door, I’m about to follow.
“Leaving so soon, Em?” Sean drawls from behind me, his voice low and sinister, causing my heart to skip a beat as if I were caught doing something wrong. “We have a wedding to plan.”
“A verbal mating ceremony,” I correct him, turning around slowly, cautiously, mentally clocking the vase on the entrance table to be used if he tries anything with me.
“Ah, yes! A verbal mating ceremony. You must be so relieved about that one.”
I gulp hard, watching him stroll toward me casually. “Delighted, actually,” I respond dryly as he takes a sip of his water.
I wish it were poison…
“So…” He stops behind the couch, leaning on the backrest and crossing his arms, his eyes flickering to the vase as if he knows what I’m thinking.
Then he smiles, so charmingly that I almost forget to hate him.
Almost.
“It wasn’t actually bullshit then, was it?” he grins from ear to ear. “You really did perform an enchantment spell on me…”
“Shut up,” I say blandly, rolling my eyes. “Did you stop me from leaving just to gloat?”
“No,” he chuckles. “I stopped you ‘cause I can’t resist you, remember? It’s no wonder I was crazy about you,” he taunts. “No wonder I just had to be around you last night.”
My eyes narrow at him. “So you were outside my window last night…”
He shrugs nonchalantly. “You only have yourself to blame for this.”
“I don’t need shit from you, Sean. I have enough on my plate,” I tell him sternly, but Sean remains unbothered.
He peels himself off the couch and proceeds to stroll closer, and with every step comes a pulse in my palms, as if my heart resides there.
It beats there, steadily at first, before it thrums with life.
A slow gasp escapes my lips, but I wear armor on my face so he doesn’t see through me. I can’t afford to let my guard down—not when I have to double-up on my defenses to ensure I don’t fall victim to his charm.
But Goddess knows that charm is dangerous, lethal when he’s standing so close to me. So close that I can smell the scent I’ve been refusing to acknowledge all these years.
Sandalwood and berries….
An odd pairing for the type of man Sean is.
He’s not supposed to smell warm or sweet like home.
But he does, and I hate him for it. He’s a predator with tricks up his sleeve.
An addictive scent, an infectious smile, a chiseled jawline framed with a dark beard that adds to the illusion, and a tuft of dark curls at the top of his head that I just want to sink my—
“I’m not gonna give you shit anymore, okay?” he says as he holds up both hands in surrender. “I’m sorry for just now. I thought it was fun teasing you, but I realize it’s wrong of me.”
I frown at his sudden ability to be accountable for his actions, still doubtful of his motives. “Does this mean you changed your mind about the marriage?”
Sean smirks as he lowers his arms. “Of course not. You heard the others. There’s no way out of this. You need me for your powers, and I need you—”
Sean stops abruptly, and my frown deepens. “You need me for what, Sean?”
He runs a hand through his hair, lowering his head and staring at me through the veil of his dark lashes, looking too mysterious, too good.
“You know why I need you around, Emily. I have this spell on me….”
My breath catches as I stare into his ocean-blue eyes, my heart skipping a beat before it races and completely knocks the wind out of me.
It takes every ounce of inner strength I can muster to pull myself together, to draw myself out of the curse of his penetrating gaze, just so I can spin on my heel and storm out of his house without looking back.
Perhaps I’m punishing him by putting this distance between us, but it’s only for the sake of my sanity. So why does it feel like I’m punishing myself?
It must be because I feel disconnected from my gifts by the time I’m at my cottage. The little sanctuary of my four walls feels empty now when I lock the door behind me, and the void can be felt around me, and internally, too.
I made the biggest mistake of my life when I took matters into my own hands and thought I could uncover my powers without anyone’s help. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I ended up surprising myself by binding Sean to me.
As if it wasn’t painful enough to be bound to him the first time around.
***
Five Years Ago
The heart rate monitor beeps uncontrollably, my own heart pounding as I will myself into routine movements. Panic fills my bones as I do my best to stay calm, so I drown out the relentless beating and focus on what I need to do.
A vial full of cortisone. A syringe. A needle. A patient with an incurable autoimmune condition.
The inflammation is attacking her lungs now, and it’s becoming harder to breathe. I rushed in to the sound of her wheezing as if she was going to throw up her lungs.