Selina’s POV
As I walked down the aisle, I felt like I was still dreaming. If only none of this were true. So, I don't have to bear all the prying eyes. Everyone is talking about why the bride at today's wedding is not Stella, but the little-known Selena. Oh, and by the way, a lot of them don't know that Stella found her mate, Ryan Green.
I felt as if my back was soaking wet and my legs were as weak as they had been after a long run, barely able to support my body. The eyes that stared at me, the mouths that opened and closed, the heads that whispered in each other's ears, all became spinning black holes, trying to suck me into the abyss of eternity.
My father gave me a gentle wave. I looked at him and his loving smile calmed my nerves a little, but the next moment his mind-link message to me was cold as ice.
"Be a proper bride. It's your duty, or I'll break your legs."
My duty? To whom? Father, Stella, or the whole Red Moon Pack?
I looked at my father. His expression did not change, but the smile in his eyes did not reach the bottom. His deep purple eyes were also like a black hole, and I could not break free from its drag.
My father motioned me to go with him, and I quietly followed him into the study. The first thing that caught my eye was a huge portrait of a werewolf. He is an Alpha, the ancestor of the Red Moon Pack, and in his hand is a ruby scepter. This staff has been passed down to my father for a hundred years. He cherishes it very much.
His hand moved impatiently, and the golden scepter fell to the carpet with a slight rubbing sound. Somehow, the sound reminded me of the snakes I had encountered in the forest when I was a wolf. They lurk in the grass, "hissing" spitting scarlet-forked tongues, waiting for the opportunity to kill their prey...
"Selena, now that you're married to Charles, I hope you'll be a qualified Luna."
"But dad... I can't... I'm not Stella." I lowered my head and stared at a lace pattern on the hem of my dress. I don't know what a qualified Luna is. No one ever taught me that. I'm not Stella, I'm not beautiful, I'm not a social butterfly. Nobody remembers me, nobody cares about me, and nobody even likes me.
At the mention of Stella, my father's anger was palpable. "Don't talk to me about her! She's a disgrace to the Red Moon Pack!"
……
My father's words instantly drew me back to the day after the ball. It was also in this study that our father slapped Stella when she asked to leave with her mate, Ryan Green.
Slap!
Her face swelled up all at once.
Stella cocked her head in disbelief. She has never been wronged. Ever since she was a little girl, she has been a pampered princess by our father. And this time he slapped her because of a strange man.
Her eyes were full of tears, and she looked aggrieved and sad. "Dad! I told you I don't want to marry that Charles! Besides, I found my fated mate. This is the arrangement of the Moon Goddess. No one can go against it."
The father didn't deny it. He mused, "But all of Newman's werewolves knew that you were going to marry..."
“I don't care! I'm leaving the Red Moon Pack with Ryan. You promised this contract marriage, and now you're going to deal with it. I am not the only daughter you have... you have her!” Stella startled me by pointing at me.
My father followed Stella's finger and looked me up and down, as if he didn't know he had another daughter until that moment. I suddenly shivered nervously, caught up in what Stella described as "the feeling of being stared at by the Devil.".
"Dad..." I said weakly, and I wanted to beg my father not to agree to the idea. Charles wants Stella, not me. Would he accept such deception?
"Selena, my dear sister, don't say no just yet. Think about it, Charles is the Alpha of the Black Valley Pack, and it's hard to find a husband like him on your own terms." Stella came over and put her arms around my shoulder, but I didn't feel comforted at all. Instead, I felt cold all over.
Our father acquiesced in Stella's words. "Selena, you are marrying Charles, and our pack needs this marriage."
His tone was casual, as if I were an object that could be moved from place to place and eventually to a cruel man's bed.
……
When he realized that I was distracted, my father hammered his scepter on the ground.
Knock.
The dull voice calls me back to the cold reality.
My father pointed the scepter at me. “You are the Luna of the Black Valley Pack, after all. Now, go back to your dinner party and stand by your husband!”
The strange, serpent-like sensation crept back into my skin, entered my body, and gripped my heart. If I stay in this room any longer, I won't be able to breathe.
I pushed open the door of my father's study and paced the darkened corridors. I leaned against the wall and sighed wearily as I stepped into the shadows around a corner, daring to show some despair.
The corridor was quiet except for the ticking of the grandfather clock. The relaxed music of the dinner party downstairs reached my ears and eased my mental discomfort a little.
However, the thought of going to be with my so-called husband made my stomach churn again.
I didn't have supper. There was only a little sour water in my stomach.
I was about to go downstairs when a tall werewolf came up the stairs. I know he's Charles' Beta Billy, because that's what I heard Charles call him.
"Ms. Taylor, Alpha wants you downstairs as soon as possible. We're leaving for the Black Valley Pack."
"What?" I froze on the spot.
This is so sudden! And I noticed he didn't call me Luna. Everyone knows the true purpose of our marriage. Starting with today's wedding, I'm about to become a disrespected Luna, the laughingstock of werewolves.
My father came out of the study, apparently having heard the news from this Billy. "No! Tell Charles the wedding isn't over. You can't just walk away. People will laugh at our pack."
"No one can question my decision. Billy, take Selena." Charles appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He was tall and strong, standing like a statue on the last step. He dropped his cigar impatiently and didn't look up at us.
From my point of view, I could only see the outline of his chin and half of his face was in the faint light of his cigar.
I smiled bitterly and looked helplessly at my father behind me. He was staring at Charles coldly. I realized that I was a tool in this marriage and that my father might not help me at all. With this in mind, I let go of my grip on my dress and walked slowly downstairs. I pray that something is going to happen and let me stay here. But nothing happened until I walked out the door of the hall.
A lively dinner party is just behind me. Roses, Champagne, fireworks, music... ... This is my wedding. Everyone is laughing, and only I am the irrelevant one.
No sooner had I gone out than my nominal husband yanked me along. He looked as if he were really in a hurry, rather than trying to get out of here because of the ridiculous wedding. I had to trot to keep up with him. We ran through the night. The trees, the stone carvings and the fountains in the courtyard are all leaving me.
Suddenly, I stepped on a pebble. My ankle hurt so much that I almost fell. My ill-fitting high heels fell off. These were Stella's wedding shoes. They're not my size. I wear flats and sneakers almost daily.
Charles stopped because of me. He turned to look at me. I heard him curse in a low voice, "What a stupid woman..." and then bend down to carry me in his arms.
The moment I was up, I almost cried out, but I held it in. Then something even more embarrassing happened: I didn't know where to put my hands. I grabbed Charles by the collar of his suit, and in a panic, I touched his bulging pecs...
Fortunately, Charles' car was parked in front of us. He shoved me into the back seat and treated me like a bag of luggage he didn't care about. Then he got in the driver's seat. The sound of the engine starting also seemed to release some kind of anger.
The car started and I was about to leave my home.
I was overwhelmed with fear. I know my future is uncertain. My heart is getting tighter and tighter, and my mind is so full of problems that I can't answer.
Oh, moon goddess... How am I supposed to get along with my husband in name, and how am I supposed to get a foothold in the Black Valley Pack...
