Three: The wedding

Cara's POV

The hall, once filled with mocking laughter and leering faces, fell into a stunned silence. Murmurs spread like wildfire as everyone processed what they had just heard.

I myself, abandoned my manners and gaped at him, unable to believe he had actually said that. Even Darius who had preened over his control of the situation looked momentarily taken aback.

He recovered quickly and let out a long, booming laugh filled with ridicule. When it finally died down, he looked at Lucien, eyes gleaming with barely controlled malice masked with a thin layer of amusement.

“You? You want to claim her?” He mocked, his voice dripping with contempt.

“I’m surprised you even bothered to show your face around here Lucien. I heard your claws have been clipped.”

Lucien barely flinched, his calm, unflappable exterior firmly in place. He seemed a bit contained, but I wouldn’t at all describe him as a wolf without claws. He just didn’t seem all that interested in drawing them.

“My claws are just fine. I just haven’t been interested in crossing your path Darius.” I noted he didn’t call him Alpha like everyone else and Darius must have noticed it too because he snarled. “Unless you’ve changed your mind about mating this girl, she’s mine to claim.”

His? Who was he even? My shock had morphed into perplexion as I stared over at him, disbelief coloring my features.

“Why do you even want her anyways? You’re already so weak. Mating with an even weaker wolf will be the end of you.”

Lucien inclined his head, meeting Darius’s gaze levelly “It’s no concern of yours now is it? If I do wither into oblivion, then you’ll be all that happier to have me out of the way. So please step aside so the ceremony may continue.”

A ripple of murmurs went throughout the room, tension following it rapidly. There was bad blood after all, between the two Alpha’s. A silent power struggle within which I was entangled. My chest beat hard, gaze darting from one to the other. Darius glared at him for so long I was sure he was going to pounce on him, but just then he shrugged. With a single dismissive wave from him, his men quickly let him go.

“As you like then Valen.” He said striding away from the altar and then he was gone, his men rallying behind him.

The hall was much emptier, but there were still several surprised and uncomfortably interested eyes that watched as Lucien stepped forward to take Darius’s place.

He didn’t look anything like an eager groom. He barely looked at me, nodding at the wise-man and staring distantly into the wall behind me, boredom etched on his face.

I swallowed and stepped closer, still shocked at the sudden turn of events. This was not the man I had woken up intending to marry and I could hardly say I preferred being mated to this stranger any better. But it was either him or be bundled as the slave of the man who had just publicly humiliated me because I had failed to be of use to him the way he’d been promised.

“Take her hand.” The wise-man croaked and Lucien took my hand. My palms were sweaty, his cool and firm but he didn’t seem to mind.

“I’ll have to start with the vows again.” He said, not looking at all shaken or even surprised by what had just conspired.

“Do you, Lucien Valen, accept Cara Wylder as your fated mate and Luna, to lead beside you in strength and honor?”

Lucien’s eyes never left mine. “I do.” The wise-man turned to me. “Do you, Cara Wylder, accept Lucien Valen as your mate and Alpha, to follow beside him in strength and loyalty?”

I did my best to swallow against the lump in my throat and whispered “I do,” my voice barely audible, but enough to seal my fate. The wise-man nodded and held up his athame once more. “Now for the blood-binding.” He said and Lucien and I both held our palms up to him. Slowly and carefully, he drew a shallow line across my palm, blood welling up immediately, and then took the same bloody knife to draw it over Lucien’s skin.

He gestured for us to press our palms together and we did, facing each other but not meeting gazed. Lucien himself stared at some point above me, but I didn’t get the sense that he was avoiding me. He just seemed very uninterested in the happenings.

Blood dripped down from our interlocked palms and he held a bowl under it, gathering what little drops he could in it before our wounds clotted. Then, he offered us both sips of the blood. Immediately the blood toched my lips, my insides tingled, warmth drawing all over my body as a strange surge of energy moved through me. It was fleeting, but powerful, intoxicating enough to have me craving it again. I felt Lucien pause, as if the same warmth was spreading through him as well and then his eyes flew down to me, a mixture of surprise and something else I couldn’t name reflecting in their gaze. We locked eyes for only a few seconds before he slid his away, my breath catching in my throat the entire time.

The wise-man stepped back “By blood, by word, and by soul, before the Holy Selene and these witnesses, you are now bound for life as mates.” He announced, his voice rising with finality.

The room was silent after that and I glanced up at Lucien, searching for something—anything—in his expression, but he didn’t look at me. Instead, he released my hand and turned away, stepping back as if the entire ceremony had been nothing more than an inconvenience.

A weak, hollow applause rang through and I flushed in embarrassment as I was abandoned at the altar by my newly begotten mate. My father, meanwhile stood to the side in stony silence, his face twisted into an unreadable mask. I wanted to go to him but a servant appeared, taking me by the arm and leading me away as the butler announced the start of the feast.

The third dress of the day was extravagant, far more ornate than anything I’d ever worn before. Layers of shimmering fabric swirled around me as my face was washed then powdered once again. My mind wavered between disbelief and uncertainty. I had been rejected by the Alpha King and Lucien Valen had taken me as mate.

Aside from the rumors, I hardly knew anything about him. He had once been a powerful Alpha before tragedy struck. His fated mate had died years ago, and with her, much of his strength. Now, he was a shadow of the man he had once been, barely holding onto his title as Alpha.

Why had he stepped in for me, nearly challenging the Alpha King in the process? To that I had no answers.

The feast was already in full swing when I arrived at the ballroom. Laughter and music filled the air, the Alphas and their entourages drinking and celebrating as if nothing had happened. My father sat in a darkened corner, a chalice of wine in his hand, his expression sour.

I swallowed my nerves and gathered what little courage I had left, making my way over to him. I needed to talk to him. To say something—anything. “Father,” I called softly as I approached, my voice barely rising above the noise of the room.

He didn’t respond at first, his eyes fixed on the liquid in his glass. “W—We did it,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “I know we didn’t plan on me mating with Lucien, but—”

He cut me short with a bitter laugh and it was filled with such contempt that I cringed. “You call that a marriage? I knew you were naive but I didn’t know you were stupid.”

I flinched, taken aback by the venom in his tone. “What do you mean?”

“You’re happy about finding a mate in Lucien Valen? Do you have any idea who he is? Five years ago, he might have been a great match. But certainly not now! He’s a weak little thing, only still Alpha because his pack pities him. You would’ve been better off as Darius’s slave. At least he can protect you.” He snarled, loud enough that he drew attention from others.

“Father, I—” He waved me off, dismissing me like I was nothing. “I regret wasting so much time and resources trying to fix whatever you are. You’ve brought nothing but disappointment to this family.”

The words cut deeper than I could’ve imagined, leaving me hollow and raw. Tears stung the back of my eyes and I bowed my head to hide them, feeling so small I wished I could disappear. He drained his glass then and stood up, brushing past me without a second glance.

I stood there helpless, wanting the ground to open up and swallow me. My embarrassment doubled when I looked up to see Lucien standing a few feet away. I wondered how long he had been there. Probably enough to hear everything father had said but he seemed nonplussed.

“It’s time to go.” He said simply and then he turned around, striding away and leaving me with no choice than to follow.