Chapter 82
Violet’s POV
I swallowed, turning to Theodore. My eyes were wide, but did as I was told. My hands were so small and delicate looking in his, trembling subtly. He smiled at me as the smoke weaved around our hands, tying them together.
I wasn’t prepared for the jolt of awareness that went through me as the smoke became solid. My attention was narrowed to the man standing opposite me. Theodore’s presence seemed to fill the space between us, his gaze steady, his expression calm yet utterly serious.
The High Priest spoke over us, but his voice sounded so far away until he asked Theodore to give his oath.
“In fidelity,” he said. My heart lurched. “In love. In peace and war…”
His eyes were glowing as he spoke. I could feel the magic he was evoking with his oath. I wanted to tell him not to be ridiculous, swearing the first king’s oath of marriage now, here, with all these people watching would not serve him, yet I couldn’t help but be swayed. His voice was so full of sincerity. Every word of the vows passed through his lips feeling heavy with meaning, as if if they were being etched into something deeper than the air around us.
When it was my turn to speak, I was almost at a loss for what to say. My eyes burned with tears. I was lost, and yet something in me answered him.
“For life,” I said. His eyes widened as I repeated the oath back to him in reverse just as the first alpha king’s mate had done. They had been on the eve of war. “In health and sickness. In love and kindness… Entwined and in service. In peace and war…”
He smiled at me. A soft, tender look took over his face. His gaze locked with mine, unyielding and steady. The words resonated between us. I felt… conflicted. Wherever this urge to give him this vow was in me, it felt genuine, and yet I knew that this was just a contract marriage. It felt unfair and yet perfectly right.
When it was time for the exchange of marks, my heart pounded against my ribs. This part was different, primal. My neck throbbed, the mark of the unwanted pulsed. I could feel something in me reaching out to him.
I felt Theodore’s hands steady on my shoulders as he leaned closer, his breath warm against my skin. He dipped his head. A shiver ran through me as his teeth grazed the side of my neck, and I braced myself for the pain, yet there was none. I felt the pressure, but the puncture of it sent a rush of pleasure through me so sharp and sudden that my legs nearly gave out, but I managed to return the mark, sinking my teeth into the skin of his neck.
He panted heavily in my ear with a low, contented growl. What followed was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. A surge of magic erupted between us, bursting into a brilliant light that engulfed the altar and spilled into the crowd. Gasps of awe echoed around us, but I couldn’t focus on them.
The light expanded, blindingly bright, and in an instant, everything shifted.
Theodore
The world around me dissolved into a haze of color and sound, and I found myself somewhere far from the ceremony. It wasn’t the hotel, nor anywhere I recognized.
I stood in the heart of a dense forest, the air thick with the scent of pine and damp earth. The sou leaves filled my ears, but there was something else–footsteps. Heavy, deliberate, and growing closer.
rustling
Before me, two wolves emerged. One black as the deepest night, its fur rippling like shadows, and the other a gleaming silver, luminous even in the dim light. They circled each other, gliding with no attention for the world around them.
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Chapter 82
Us. It was us. I smiled, relieved that my instincts were right
But then, the darkness came. A thick, malevolent shadow cept through the trees, reaching for the black wolf. The shadow was relentless, swirling around the black woits tendrils into the wolf’s fur and dragging it away. The silver wolf froze then took off with a mournful howl. aught in hesitation. Then, with a fierce snarl, it lunged forward, its fangs tearing into the shadow until it recoiled and dissipated.
The vision blurred, the forest fading, and I was pulled back to reality.
The light from the ceremony still swirled around us, bright and alive, but my focus sharpened on Violet. Her eyes glowed with a light I didn’t recognize, something otherworldly and ancient. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she gasped softly as the light began to dim, fading back into her brilliant gaze.
