I felt faint.
Sweat ran down my back, and my palms remained sweaty and clammy no matter how many times I’d run it through the flared skirt of the dress I wore.
Isla had insisted Silviu’s disappearance had nothing to do with Callan and my worries were needless, so she had attempted to distract me. It wasn't working.
“You look beautiful, Sophia, stunning if you attempt a smile too.” She smiled at me, but I could see it didn't reach her eyes. She was scared, too, Callan was like a son to her, but here she was, making an effort to be strong, and I admired her for it. I couldn't find the strength to.
“Your mate is fine, little sister, and soon enough, he’ll be here.” Sephora comforted, fixing the last of the flowers on the bun she had put up my hair in. “And besides, there is nothing to be worried about when it comes to our uncle, right Natalie?”
Through the mirror, I watch her glance at Natalie, urging her with her eyes to pitch in something comforting to me.
Natalie rolled her shoulders and leaned back. “Yup, there's nothing to worry about when it comes to Silviu except for the fact that he’s a slimy bastard who has more secrets than anyone else I know and has managed to deceive everyone into believing the facade personality he’s put on for the longest time now.
Sephora sighed. “Here we go again.”
“Because I choose not to be blinded like everyone else? Yes, Sephora, here we go again, and I'm never stopping until everyone sees him for who he truly is. You, Father, the council. The only person Silviu Alden cares about is himself!”
There was genuine anger in Natalie’s tone. Her hands were balled by her side, and she stared at Sephora, her nostrils flared in a fury, it shocked me how quick to the anger she was. And her words about Silviu…?
“Stop,”
Sephora whispered, subtly glancing around the room. The two servants who had helped me into the dress I was wearing, Grace in the corner, quiet as usual, and Isla who was standing just in front of me. I could tell Sephora was embarrassed to have Natalie speak about our uncle so disrespectfully.
She was the future Alpha of our pack, after all, such awareness of her surroundings at all times must be part of her leadership qualities, and maintaining a level of diplomacy regardless was imperative too, but I wished she’d allow Natalie to speak, she seemed to hold a strong grudge against Silviu and from what I’d noticed, I couldn't help but lean towards her side.
“Speaking against him won't make you bad, Sephora, learn that you are the future Alpha female, maybe seeing the truth for what it is is something you should consider if you would like to rule well.”
And although her words weren't harsh, I could sense the hostility in her tone, and it bothered me. Sephora’s eyes had turned cold, the usual black orbs slightly glowing ember. “I am not going to be the Alpha, I am warning you once more to keep your mouth shut!”
Natalie said nothing, but I could see the taunt in her eyes that lingered, the curve of the corner of her lips into a triumphant smile, and with such a provoking expression, she could as well have said something.
“You don't want to be Alpha?” I asked softly, looking up at her.
It wasn't a secret that Sephora had never wanted to lead, but she had been born for it, born into it. She was the first progeny of an Alpha, and that made her the successor of the position. She had been born with the quality - a calm and level-headed nature befitting a leader, a wolf I remembered fifteen years ago to have been awe-worthy, the most empathetic and seemingly perfect amongst the five of us, so how could she not see this?
She reminded me of young Everett, the true Alpha of the Dark Wood Pack and if it hadn't been for the unfortunate event that had happened, someone like Alexander would never have ascended the position.
“It’s a duty that I do not feel capable of taking up.” Sephora’s voice was low-pitched, but still, it held a level of decisiveness as though this was a thought she had run through and had come to the final conclusion.
“If not you, then who?”
She glanced at Natalie wordlessly.
Natalie let out a harsh laugh that came out hollow and dry. “She knows I won't take up the position because why the hell! She has allowed that man all up in her head, feeding the growth of her self-doubt and insecurities, and this is the shell we are left with.
Sephora’s hand fell from my hair, and she turned to Natalie, rage brimming from her form so much that I could see her slightly tremble.
“Don't tempt me, Natalie.”
Natalie stood upright and flashed her a rueful smile. “Did I piss you off? I'm sorry, I genuinely didn't mean to.”
But she had, I could tell she was well aware of just the right things to say to push Sephora to irritation, and she made use of it. The reason she did so completely beat me, but I knew it wasn't for bad motives.
“That’s enough, please.” I intervened.
Natalie kept her eyes on Sephora when she spoke. “We are here for our little sister’s mating ceremony, aren't we? You don't want to turn this into another sparring now, do you?”
She had expertly twisted things into making Sephora look like the instigator, and it scared me how well she had done it without batting an eye, almost like this was something she had mastered over time.
Natalie worried me in ways she shouldn't. I knew she wasn't a danger to me, but she was still very much a dangerous person to contend with.
I turned back to the mirror to stare at my reflection, placing my hand on my stomach to work on the thousand knots it had itself bound to when suddenly, it hit me.
The smell of sandalwood.
The distinct smell I had finally come to associate with perichord and musk - the earthy smell only he seemed to possess so richly it was enough to get my heart racing, to elicit a thousand and one emotions from me, and cause a shot of desires to do everything illicit I had never thought of doing.
– Callan was home.
The door flung open, and without meaning to, I flew into his arms, throwing myself against him with such momentum it was a blessing that I hadn't sent both of us crashing to the floor. He caught me, his strong arms grabbing me by the waist, and he buried his face into the crook of my neck.
Heated excitement engulfed me, contentment swirling through every nerve cell in my body, and I could barely contain it - I wanted it to burst out my chest and flood the room with its light, I could bet it would be a burst of colors, one that would cut across the pack’s town, reaching far past its borders and that was when I felt it, something else, an emotion that resided just at the underside of my happiness - an emotion that wasn't mine…
Pain.
I pulled back from Callan, my eyes frantically searching his face to notice the grimace he was trying to hide.
“Callan…”
I felt a liquid trickle between my fingers, and when I looked down at my hands, my heart stopped - blood ran down my fingers, the same blood that was coming from his side, crimson completely soaking his shirt.