Chapter 6 A Bloody Wedding
The next day rapidly went by for Fernanda in Kozlov's palace. Before she knew it, it was almost nighttime and all preparations for the wedding had already been made.
Fernanda didn't stepped out of her room throughout, but she knew what was going on. She was going to get married to the most powerful ruler in the continent, and she wasn't ready.
Before the servants came in to dress her up for her wedding ceremony, Fernanda strongly fought the urge to run away or hurt herself badly. But it felt like she was being watched, constantly. But apart from that, she couldn't risk getting her father killed.
It took a lot of time before the maids could finish dressing her up. As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, Fernanda couldn't recognize who she saw. If it had been some other girl, Fernanda would have said she was the most beautiful bride she had ever seen.
Alpha Jordan and his wife arrived at the palace for the wedding thirty minutes before it started, his eyes were still red and somewhat swollen from Sebastian's assault the night before, but they both wore a big and proud smile as Caroline had suggested.
They didn't want the King thinking they weren't on board with the marriage any longer. Like Fernanda, it was also Caroline's first time to enter the majestic palace.
She couldn't hide the happiness on her face, her smile shone brighter than the chandeliers in the guest room they were asked to stay in. The beautiful visuals of the palace made her shivered in excitement.
She let out a small squeal when she saw a large portrait of the palace hung on the wall, and was about to nudge Jordan to look at it when she saw his pained expression.
"What is it, Jordan? It's your daughter's big day. Why are you looking so sad?" She queried him, looking slightly annoyed.
"We shouldn't have done this." He answered with a heavy sigh escaping his lips, Caroline rolled her eyes. "I should never had suggested giving my daughter to him as his bride in the first place, I should never have been so selfish." Caroline was already fuming by time he finished his sentence.
"What are you saying? How is letting our daughter marry a king being a selfish decision? She's going to marry into a royal family! A prestigious one at that. We ought to be happy for her." She told him a she moved closer to him and clasped his hands into hers, they were shaking already.
Although Jordan was trying his best not to look it, he was very much scared and still traumatized from what happened the night before. He was ashamed of how it took Sebastian getting him hurt to realize what he had done.
He had just placed his daughter like a sacrifice in front of a tiger to feast on. His pride as an Alpha was bruised and he was deeply ashamed of himself as a father.
He looked at his wife and shook his head, "You almost made me believe you actually consider Fernanda as your daughter for a second." The statement made Caroline froze, she stopped caressing his hands.
"No, you don't care about her, you only care about the benefits that comes from getting her married to a king. The least you could do today was pretend to be sad about everything, after what the king did to me last night. But no, you never cared about Fernanda." Caroline cleared her throat as she shifted uncomfortably on her seat.
She gently pulled her hands away from his knowing he said not one lie, she clasped her now shaking hands tightly together. "Now's not the time to get resentful towards me Jordan. Someone needs to be happy for Fernanda, it's a wedding not a funeral for God's sake." She said with a slight huff, patting her hair to make sure the strands aren't out of place.
"To Fernanda, it probably is a funeral." Alpha Jordan replied her in a stern tone. "I would actually advise ending this conversation right now. We do not want the King thinking we aren't in support of this union. We are lucky we got spared by him yesterday." Although Caroline was whispering, her voice were as sharp as a blade. She looked around to see if they were being heard by anyone all along.
They were both sitting in silence, each with their thoughts when the commander came in. "The wedding ceremony is about to begin, follow me." Levi informed them, his tone clipped and controlled.
Alpha Jordan and his wife followed Levi as he lead them to a different segment of the where the wedding ceremony will be taking place. Caroline let out an audible gasp when she saw how beautiful and highly decorated the part of the castle they were currently in, was.
The exterior beauty was nothing compared to the interior of a grand hall Levi lead them into, there were flower petals scattered all over the floor and on the aisle where Fernanda was to walk with her father.
Despite being werewolves, their wedding ceremonies had always followed the same traditions as those of humans. "I have never seen this kind of beauty in my life before, our dear Fernanda is so lucky!" Caroline continued to gush at the visuals of the wedding hall.
Jordan noticed that asides from the officiator who was quietly waiting for the bride and groom, and the commander, they were the only ones in the hall.
"Where's my daughter?" Jordan asked Levi as he was about to leave. The commander stopped and turned to stare hardly at the alpha, who also wore a stony expression.
"The King himself is escorting your daughter, all you need to do is wait patiently for them to arrive." He replied. "What nonsense! That isn't right, her father is supposed to walk her down the aisle, what kind of wedding is this?" Caroline blurted out, surprising her husband.
"You are both here to watch the wedding happen, not participate in it. What isn't right here, is how you aren't bowing your heads gratefully that the King was kind enough to even allow you witness the wedding." Levi snarled back at her.
He was a very tall and massive werewolf soldier that exuded an air of arrogance and dominance wherever he went. There is a reason why he is the second most feared lycan in the kingdom after the King.
"You should be ashamed of yourself for speaking this way to your future Queen's parents!" Caroline screeched at him and as Levi began to take a step forward, Jordan stepped forward to shield her from him.
He glanced back at Caroline and gave her a warning look, "Forgive my wife, Commander. It's our daughter's wedding, and she's just being paranoid." He said apologetically, knowing fully well that Caroline couldn't care less about Fernanda. She was not just expecting to not be treated like royalty.
The door to the grand hall suddenly got opened and they all snapped their heads towards it's direction, even the officiator who was busy minding his all along, raised his head.
Caroline gasped when Fernanda came into sight as the door opened, she looked so beautiful and gracious as her wedding dress illuminated the room. Jordan fought hard to hold back his tears as soon as he saw his daughter.
It was as if he was seeing Anya, his first wife and first love again after a very long time, looking so young and ethereal. Jordan's eyes were apologetic as they met his daughter's sad ones. He hated himself for not having enough power to stop the wedding from happening. Doing that now would be certainly be catastrophic for himself and his family.
Two female servants stood behind Fernanda, holding her dress while two other male guards were behind them as they ushered her in.
"Where is the king? You said he was going to walk her down the aisle himself." Jordan asked the commander who equally looked confused. Fernanda slowly and carefully walked to the spot where she was going to marry Sebastian, with the servants guiding her.
She held her bouquet tightly in hand while she walked, fervently wishing something bad had happened to the king and he won't ever be able to show up to the ceremony.
A guard approached Levi and whispered something in his ear. Levi nodded once and straightened his back before turning to face Fernanda's parents with a grim expression. "The King has something urgent to take care of, he will be here shortly. You are both asked to wait patiently till he arrives."
Jordan could barely conceal his irritation, this was the height of it. First he couldn't walk his own daughter down the aisle, and now her husband-to-be has something more important than his wedding to take care of?
"Is this a joke to the king? What could be more important and needs urgent attention than his own wedding today?" He barked at the commander, feeling disrespected and helpless.
Levi took two steps towards the alpha, towering over him with an arrogant smirk on his face. "You dare question the King? say one more word and face a dire consequence." He snarled.
"Step away from my father." Fernanda's voice broke in, she looked calm on the outside but there was a storm raging inside of her. "Please." She added softly. Levi hesitated, but eventually stepped away from the Alpha.
They all stood waiting for thirty minutes, Fernanda could feel her legs shaking already. Her hands were already tired from holding the bouquet, but she showed none of these feelings as she didn't want any problems for her father while he was still in the palace with his wife.
The doors of the hall swung open once more, and a terrified silence fell over the room. A chill washed over Fernanda, rooting her to the spot as she beheld the sight before her. Caroline clutched her husband's arm tightly, hiding her face in fear. Everyone, including Levi, the commander, immediately bowed their heads.
Sebastian stood at the entrance, his upper body bare and covered in blood that was clearly not his own. He reeked of danger and war as he strode confidently into the hall, unconcerned about his appearance.
The sight of him was utterly intimidating, as if he had single-handedly fought and won a brutal battle. Blood dripped from his body onto the decorated floor of the wedding hall as he strode down the aisle with a casual air.
His eyes never left Fernanda's for once, and she couldn't bring herself to look away from him. The more he approached the more it felt like he was luring her to him, dragging her into the depths of his hell. Fernanda wanted to run away, but there was no way out.
"My apologies for the time wasted," Sebastian said, reaching her side. He accepted a robe from a servant, who cowered fearfully, and draped it around his torso, concealing the blood from Fernanda's sight.
"I hope this slight delay doesn't stop this... Wonderful union." He said, glancing at Jordan, who couldn't afford to look up. A playful smirk flickered at the corner of Sebastian's lips as he turned back to Fernanda, whose eyes had now welled up with tears.
Sebastian wanted to wipe off the tears from her cheeks but she slightly stepped back, stopping him from reaching her. He looked at his bloody hand and sighed apologetically. "You may proceed with the ceremony." He commanded and the officiator began without hesitation.
It was then it fully sunk into Fernanda's head that she was really marrying Sebastian Kozlov.