Chapter 4

 I expected noise to consume the huge pack house, and yet it was eerily silent as I begin to descend from the bedroom. It gave me chills, finding it strange that everything is so quiet on such a rare day for their Alpha.

With no even a full day to plan, I thought it would be chaos. Apparently this pack exceed as wedding planners too. I thought with slight bitterness, hating that nothing is going to postpone today.

Triss remains a step behind me, guiding me from the mansion and out into the woods. At first I didn't feel much of anything, until we got further into the barely lit trees, far enough that Alpha Hardins begin to show through the space in the distance.

My legs falter.

"Stand tall, chin up, shoulders back." Triss whispers to me, adjusting my rigged posture.

Nodding faintly, I quickly do as she says knowing first impressions are everything. If this pack doesn't see me fit, I'll be walked all over and Hardin won't be able to stop it.

For my benefit, I keep my eyes forwards and steps steady, unwavering beneath curious eyes. Just like Triss said, the men ogle my bare flesh, while thewomen either gaze in awe or jealousy. Such a small change to my choice of clothes and this is the reaction it brings. Perhaps they're jealous that their beloved Alpha is choosing me, not that I feel like a queen.

The pack parts like the ocean for me to pass, leading me straight to a tall, freestanding stone building, huge pillars holding up a stone slab over the opening. Green moss crawls up the sides of the brittle stone, intricate designs clearly once covered the place but age seems to have taken its toll. Triss says this place has stood for almost four hundred years.

Understanding that I have to go inside alone, I slowly walk up the few large steps. The small bits of crumbled stone digs into the soles of my bare feet, I didn't dare complain.

Despite the dusk mid morning sky, it didn't provide much light inside the building. The only thing visible is at the far end of the huge building, a large  square missing from the ceiling, held up by four huge stone pillars. Resting in the centre lays a slab of rock, and Alpha Hardin stands right next to it.

I'm not human, light isn't necessary for me to see in the dark. Right now I wish I couldn't see at all, this entire room screams intimidation. Knowing so many strong men have stood here and married women far better than I, makes me feel small. As if I'm standing naked before hundreds of eyes, I didn't like it.

"Come." Hardin states.

I wasn't expecting sweet words and smiles, but being ordered to go near him wasn't what I thought would happen. In my own mind I assumed this would feel less terrifying being face to face with him, but it isn't.

Knowing better than to anger a Alpha in a place that is sacred to him, I quickly hurry my steps. Hesitantly, I place my hand in his colossal outstretched one, allowing him to pull me closer. Being as far from comfortable and relaxed as a person possible could be, I stiffly stare up at the barely lit sky above us.

The warmth of Hardins body seeps into my cold skin as his close proximity closes in on me, one deep breath and our chests would press together. I'd never felt so awkward.

The atmosphere shifts, his looming presence filling my vision as he towers over my smaller frame. I didn't want to look at him, immediately loweringmy eyes to his chest out of sheer dignity for myself.

"The more you fight it, the more painful it will be." Hardin warns me in a much softer voice.

Sweaty palms, frozen to the bone, I only nod my head. I couldn't speak, the words glueing themselves to my throat, stopping me from responding.

Hardin brushes my perfectly curled hair behind my shoulder, his rough fingers pressing under my jaw, tilting my stiff head. I didn't dare move, knowing he wants the extra access to my throat. Even if it makes my stomach ball with nerves and fear, I didn't flinch.

Not until his canines sink into the crook of my neck, piercing deep into my tender flesh with absolutely no remorse. At first it wasn't too painful, only what I expected it to feel like. I relax my shoulders and arms, allowing myself to simply let it happen, to give him what he wants.

Yet the pain grows, like a sudden match being lit inside my mind. I felt the presence of another, the pressure as Hardin attempts to force his way into my mind. As much as I want to let him in, it wasn't working.

Burning fire boils over my skin, my skull throbbing with electric currents that take my breath. It hurt, more than I thought it would. The pain quickly becomes agony, forcing me to squeeze my eyes shut and lock in place.

Hardin's warmth vanishes, somewhere through the excruciating torture I hear his growling, rumbling off the ancient stone walls. The agony prolongs itself, still not letting up despite Hardin moving away. His bite is causing it, forcing the first stage of the mating on me, yet something inside me simply isn't allowing it.

"AH!" Earth shattering scream floods my ears, making them ring sorely. Tortured, high pitched, a woman.

Me. I realise quickly.

I wanted to smash my head onto the concrete, anything to release the agony pulsing within my skull. As if my head is splintering, cracking in half to give Hardin a full view, that's what it feels like.

My body violently shakes under the agony, and it wasn't long before I feel myself weaken. My legs are the first to give way, the pain knocking me to my knees, right before everything goes deathly silent, still, empty.