Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Mia sat in front of the vanity mirror, looking more ravishing than ever. Her curly hair was pulled behind her back and wrapped around with the use of pins to keep it in place, leaving two strands of curly hair at each side of her face, and a silver moonstone bridal headpiece was added to her hair. Her eyebrows were perfectly carved, and her lips were a pouting red. Her long, natural lashes were straightened and made more visible with the use of mascara. A pair of silver sterling earrings with an aquamarine gemstone in between draped down her ear holes, matching the necklace that sat beautifully around her neck.

She wore a silhouette white lace wedding dress with an applique lace pattern, long sleeves, and a V-neck, and she looked absolutely gorgeous. It fitted through the bodice and then abruptly flared out at the waist in a round bell shape. On her pedicured feet was a pair of ankle-strapped silver silhouette stiletto heels. She was more of the bride of the season.

“Oh, my goodness, Mia, I could pass you off as the goddess Aphrodite herself,” Rene exclaimed, as Mia stood up from the chair as they finished applying the finishing touches to her face.

Mia smiled. “Thank you so much, Rene,” she said.

“I’m going to cry now,” Emily said, feeling tears gathering in her eyes.

“Me too,” Riel chipped in. “Is it just me, or is it hot in here?” She asked as she fanned her face with her hand, and they chuckled.

“Please don’t, or you’ll make me cry too, and that will ruin my makeup,” Mia said, as her eyes glistened in tears.

“Don’t cry,” the three of them said in unison as they approached Mia, and they took turns hugging her gently before pulling away, and Lauren walked into the room.

“Are you…” She began to speak, but stopped when she was greeted with the gorgeous face of her daughter. “Mia, my goodness!” she exclaimed. “You look so beautiful,” she said as she approached her.

“Thank you, mother,” Mia replied with a smile as her mother held her and kissed her cheek.

“Are you ready?” She asked her.

Mia nodded. “Just a little bit nervous,” she replied.

Lauren cupped her cheek. “You’ll do good.” “Just breathe and smile,” she encouraged, and Mia smiled in a lovely way.

The whole pack of the Diamond Shadow was present in the Crystal Moon pack as they patiently waited for the bride. There was not a fight between the two packs because an announcement had been made days ago about the wedding arrangements between the two packs .

Despite all that, there were still some mild bickerings between the two packs that filled the pack house, but Alex paid no attention to any of them. He was engrossed in his thoughts. He kept wondering how he was going to put up with the talkative woman he was about to marry. He made up his mind that he was going to separate from her once they found a solution to the problem occurring in both packs.

He shrugged off thoughts of Mia as he maintained his stoic look, not bothered if she showed up or not. Hendrix tapped his shoulder from behind. “Guess what?” He said to him.

“What?” he asked, throwing him a sidelong glance.

“You’re about to be ticked off the bachelor’s list,” he teased.

“You’re quite lucky we are in the presence of a lot of people.” “I would have broken the bones and left you paralyzed,” Alex said calmly.

Hendrix grinned innocently. “Touche, but we both know that you would not dare to do that,” he replied, and Alex ignored him, refusing to get riled up by his words.

The hall door opened, and Mia walked through it. The hall was silent as they stared at Mia with jaws dropped, and Mia had a pleasant smile on her face.

Alex looked over at the door, curious as to why there were no bickering sounds anymore, and his eyes met Mia’s. She swallowed nervously, still retaining her smile, and Alex’s lips did not twitch up in a smile for a second.

His expression was still as blank and stoic as before, and Mia wondered what kind of man she was getting married to.

“She’s beautiful,” Hendrix said behind him, and Alex did not flinch for a minute, but his gaze held hers, unblinking and unwavering, and it sent nervous butterflies down Mia’s stomach as she could not look away from those green eyes of his.

Jayden was holding her hand, and when he got to where Grey was standing, in front of the papal priest, he placed Mia’s hand into Alex’s, officially handing his daughter over to him.

Alex held Mia’s warm hand with his cold fingers loosely on hers. He was not in any way feeling this moment. Not the wedding, not the marriage, not the people gathered in the hall, and not even she could make him have the tiniest excitement within or make him feel otherwise.

While Mia listened attentively to what the priest was saying, Alex paid no attention to him or the words coming out of his mouth, nor did he pay attention to the young woman beside him. He was lost in his own world. His world was one of affliction, pain, hurt, and bottled-up anger. a world he shared with no one with the fear of hurting them and bringing them nothing but misery and perhaps even death. Nothing at all incites anything in him.

He had no knowledge of how far the priest had gone in the procedures of binding them together until he felt a soft tap on his hand, and he looked in Mia’s direction.

She tilted her head in the priest’s direction, and Alex looked at him.

“It’s time to exchange your vows, Alpha,” he said to him.

Alex stared at him. “What am I supposed to say?” He asked in the least interested manner.

“Do face her, and say after me,” the priest instructed, and Alex let go of Mia’s hand, which he had no idea he had been holding for long, as he turned in her direction. The priest began to speak, and Alex repeated after him.

“I, Alexander Heartman, solemnly swear that from today, I’ll be your pillar when you need a shoulder to lean on.” I promise to... He said it without any emotions attached, and he swallowed when the priest mentioned love. “I love and support you,” he said so detachedly, and Mia stared at him, confusion wrapping around her mind. “From today, I pledge my right arm to protect you at all times,” he repeated nonchalantly, still having a stoic look on his face, and Mia wondered how a man could portray not the slightest emotion.

The priest turned to Mia, as it was her turn to say her vow. She finished saying her vow without blinking or breaking the gaze she held on him.

“With all that said, I pronounce you man and wife,” the priest proclaimed. “You may now kiss the bride,” he added, and Alex shot him a dead look.

“I’m not doing that,” he said, promising himself not to get angry, and Mia was flabbergasted and embarrassed at the same time.

“That isn’t quite necessary,” Jayden said to ease the tension in the air. He turned to the pack members. “Let the celebration begin!” He pronounced, and the pack members cheered and jubilated in hopes that their problem was about to be resolved.

Alex noticed a strange presence in the hall and left immediately to go after the person. Mia turned to look at him and discovered that he was no longer there with her, and she was appalled.