1. Wedded

Caterina

Your wedding day should be the happiest day of your life, shouldn't it? As I look at myself in the floor-length mirror, the picture of a blushing bride, beautiful in every way possible. My long raven curls were hanging freely down my back, and my make-up accentuated my green eyes and full lips. I should be happy, excited and even ecstatic, right?

Today I will be marrying the man I loved, the man I fell in love with when I first saw him, the man who I thought was my fated mate.

Only for me to find out that he didn’t particularly feel the same way about me and saw me more as a nuisance.

How do you think I felt when I heard him say these words? The man who I thought was my mate turned out to be nothing of the sort. It was more infatuation on my side than an actual mate bond. Of course, he doesn’t know that I heard him say this; I happened to overhear him while he was in a meeting with my father.

So here I was in a wedding dress, feeling completely miserable and sorry for myself with not even a friend to cheer me up. I would much rather be on a stage right now, dancing my heart out to Tchaikovsky or Prokofiev, but honour decrees that I be here.

I suppose that I should feel happier. Sergio Andretti is the Alpha of the blue-blooded Onyx Myst Pack, the most well-respected werewolf pack in New York. Not only was he the alpha, but he was Capo and leader of the Andretti mafia family. In other words, I should be happier because my fiance was a powerful man.

But here I was, wishing I could be someplace else.

As much as I loved Sergio, and I had loved him with all my heart, I knew that I would never be happily married to him. He was always distant, cold and treated me like an annoyance instead of a lover. I would be nothing but a baby-making machine, churning out heirs for the Andretti family and doomed to be miserable.

Caterina, stop your nonsense and pretend you're in a play! I gently pat my cheeks and force a smile on my face. Today was my wedding day! I needed to smile and feel happier than what I did now. If I believe that I am happy, surely it will come to pass, yes?

My family would expect me to see this through with a smile on my face, especially my father, who was looking forward to this union to better his own connections in the mafia underworld. I think back to my family, how none of them was even in this room to help me prepare for my big day, and let out a sad sigh.

At least the Andretti family wouldn’t be worse than my own. Would they?

I sent up a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess, asking her for guidance and to help see me through today. I would be Mrs Sergio Andretti, the perfect bride and mafia wife, by the end of the morning.

A knock sounded at the door and caused me to turn around. When I do, I spot my little sister, Carlotta, as she peeks in with her eyes closed. Oh, boy, now I had to deal with this fake little puppet as well. “Are you decent?” she asks, and I let out a perfectly timed chuckle. “I am,” I answer her, and she opens her eyes before walking inside.

The unmistakable glint of jealousy flared in her green eyes, but it was gone just as quickly. “You look beautiful, Caterina - ever the virginal Mafia bride,” she gushes with a hint of envy to her voice and accentuates the word ‘virginal’.

I contain the roll of my eyes and only smile at her as she stares at me in the mirror, wondering why she was even here.

“Sergio is lucky to have someone like you by his side, and you’re lucky to have such a powerful man as your mate. Not to mention this gorgeous Spring wedding! Your babies will be beautiful, Caterina. I am so envious.”

Carlotta’s words cause me to do a double-take; why is she being so nice to me? She didn’t like me at all, even though we were blood sisters. Our mother favoured her over me for some reason. They all basically treated me like I was an Omega instead of the firstborn Beta.

“You will meet your mate one day, little sister, and when you do, it will feel like the entire world comes to a stop at the sight of them,” I say, explaining how I felt when I saw Sergio for the first time. It still hurts to know that the feeling was entirely one-sided.

I turn to look at Carlotta and notice the bruises and poorly covered hickeys on her neck and the top of her breasts. What has this perfect princess been up to, I wonder? I raise my eyebrows and I meet her gaze.

“Unless you’ve already met him?” I say with a giggle, and she grins at me.

“You never know, sister,” she says with a devious glint that I did not like.

We hear the organ sounding and look towards the door. “It’s starting. See you at the end of the aisle, Caterina.” She then kisses my cheek before leaving. My little sister’s attitude was completely different today; overly kind and showered me with compliments. This makes me feel uneasy, but I push the feeling down and cover my face with my veil. It was time to go.

My father waited for me at the entryway and had a scowl on his face.

“Hurry, Caterina,” he rushes me, and as I reach him, we link our arms. When I stepped into the church, I noticed that Carlotta wasn’t waiting for me as she had said. She is supposed to be my maid of honour, but she was not at her post. I didn’t like this at all.

What was she planning now?

Sergio was waiting for me, looking incredibly bored, but I could not help the happy feeling building in my chest. He looked impeccable in his suit, his muscular body barely containing it, with his raven hair slicked back and icy blue eyes blinking lazily.

Today I would be his, forever. My eyes drifted to my mother in the front pew again; she didn’t look happy for me at all but had a fake smile on her face. Her eyes scan the room as if she is looking for someone, then she looks at me again with disgust in her brown eyes.

Would I ever please them or make them feel proud to have me as a daughter? Even though I am eyed to be the next Prima Ballerina in the dance school I am in now and dying to attend Julliard, I doubt that I would ever be good enough.

We reach the end of the aisle, and my father places my hand into Sergio’s. He nods, and I join him on the podium before the priest starts the sermon. As he was going on about being joined in holy matrimony and linked to God, my eyes never left Sergio’s face.

I knew he couldn’t see me because the material my veil was made out of was quite thick, but he looked like he would rather be anywhere else but here. I sigh and resign myself to forever being his arranged bride - once wolves mate, they’re together for life even if the other person was not their mate.

“Since it is your intention to enter into Holy Matrimony, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and his Church.” The priest says, and I knew it was time for us to say our vows. Sergio sighs, then smiles. “I, Sergio Andretti, take you-”

A crackle of microphone feedback cuts him short, and the screen behind the altar that had been blank a few minutes ago now flashed to life with a video. By the sounds the people made on screen, it was evident that they were engaged in sex.

My face burns red with embarrassment, and I look away, uncertain of what to do next, but it is the name that the male whispered that stopped my heart.

“Carlotta…” he breathes out in reverence, and I realise that I knew that voice… I knew it very well. When I looked up at the screen again, only to have my heart shatter further; the sex tape on screen wasn’t just anyone or chosen at random. I stared up at the screen and saw it; he bared his fangs and sinks them deep into the nape of her neck as she let out a wail of ecstasy.

It was a mating ritual between Carlotta and my fiance, Sergio.