Chapter 102

The flickering light from the lanterns hanging around bathed his face, illuminating it. I pursed my lips into a faint smile, knowing he would catch it with his sharp wolf's eyes, even under the veil that covered my face. He didn't respond, remaining firm.

As the future alpha of the pack, he couldn't show emotions in public, as they were considered signs of weakness, and he could never appear weak.

The silence that surrounded us was regarded as respect. The packs attending the ceremony approved of the union. Only the soft howl of the wind, the rustling of the tall tree branches, the hooting of an owl, and the sound of my feet crushing the leaves against the ground could be heard.

I wondered if they could also hear the pounding of my accelerated heart through their keen hearing. Although my father hated me for it, this was a symptom of my body that I couldn’t and wouldn’t control.

Alpha Bason rested his eyes on me, looking as bored as always, as if nothing in life surprised him anymore and he was just doing overtime on Earth.

We stopped in front of Hunter, and I tilted my head slightly in a submissive gesture, exactly as they expected from me.

I was supposed to become a submissive wife, modest and a good provider of heirs.

I had already grown accustomed to being silent in the face of my father's harsh personality. Staying silent for Hunter didn't disturb me; he was already much better, more pleasant, and loving than the male who gave me life. What truly scared me was not being able to fulfill my duty and give him the heirs that were expected from me. This, in fact, was my greatest fear.

Hunter extended his arm and touched my face with the back of his hand through the thin veil. His eyes revealed nothing but a coldness I wasn’t used to seeing.

I swallowed hard, feeling my hands damp with sweat.

It was a mask. I told myself. A mask to maintain his unshakable leadership and the mutual respect of the other wolves.

“I’m handing over my firstborn, as per the pact sealed many years ago,” my father said, making sure to be heard across the rows of wooden benches so all the wolves could witness.

Alpha Caspian stepped forward, scrutinizing me from head to toe with a furrow in his brow.

“Indeed, a beautiful wolf,” he commented, his gaze lingering where my breasts gently curved against the silk fabric of the wedding dress. “I hope she is a better breeder than her mother, and gives my son an alpha.”

Thud... thud... thud...

My heart thumped in my ears, leaving me slightly dizzy.

Hunter laughed, tilting his head to the side, not taking his eyes off mine. The rest of the pack followed suit. I kept my head down, not making a sound.

Selena, on the other hand, let out a grunt of disapproval, but fell silent the moment our father’s gaze met hers.

I wanted to kill my stubborn, hard-headed sister for that. There would be consequences for her disobedience. He would beat her and leave her without food. How could she still defy him, despite all of this, when it would be so much easier to just... follow his rules?

"I can assure you that my pack won't be as... weak as my wife," my father snarled.

I pressed my eyes shut, feeling the pain of failure my mother felt pierce my soul. I hated that they were talking about it, that they could humiliate her in front of the packs. It was my wedding day, meant to be a happy occasion.

Caspian flashed the alpha a wolfish smile.

That was my father's deepest wound. And everyone knew it.

"I hope you're right, James. And that you're not deceiving me or handing me a useless wolf," Alpha Bason said, clearing his throat.

"Let's continue the ceremony, please. We are all looking forward to the banquet," he mocked, trying to break the tense atmosphere that had settled in.

Our parents were not friendly, they never were. They tolerated each other because they were stronger as allies than as enemies. But they only agreed to unite the packs when I was eight, after Lily, Caspian's wife and Hunter's mother, disappeared. After that tragic event, they gave in and sealed the union agreement.

Hunter grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him, placing me at his side, facing Alpha Bason.

I controlled my breathing and kept my arms close to my body, avoiding showing how trembling I was.

The patriarch looked at me, giving me a warm smile, and then to Hunter.

"We are here to celebrate the union of this couple and, finally, unite the two eastern packs!" he began, raising his voice so everyone could hear.

After we exchanged our vows, in which we would cut our palms, placing them one over the other in a blood exchange, we would go to a bonfire celebration, which would be held by everyone. Then, to the honeymoon, where Hunter would mark me as his wife, his wolf, and his property. It wouldn't be a mating ritual, since I wouldn't mark him. Mating was something serious and deep, where wolves became one. If one died, the other would too. What one felt, the other would feel. It was carried out by few alphas, only those brave enough to do it. Usually, with destined mates. Rare and unusual.

The next day, our parents would meet us to check the marks of Hunter's bite on me. And, finally, the ceremony would be over.

Alpha Bason held a silver knife with a wolf bone handle and raised it toward Hunter.

"Cut your palm and your bride's palm so we can begin the vows of union," he instructed. My father stepped forward, as did Caspian. — "Hunter, alpha of the East Eclipse pack, do you accept Savannah, of the East Twilight pack, as your mate?"

For a second, the world seemed to stop spinning, everything around us froze in complete silence.

Hunter stared at me, and a feral gleam crossed his brown eyes that I loved so much.

"No," he whispered, clenching his teeth.

I smiled, proud, not realizing the answer he had given. A series of sighs spread through the forest. My smile gradually faded.

"What?" Alpha Bason asked, as confused as I was.

In a swift move, Hunter threw the knife to his father and grabbed my arm with such force that I felt the marks of his fingers tattooed on my skin. With his other hand, he pulled the veil, exposing my face.

"How dare you reject my pack?" my father snarled. — "I demand an explanation of what's going on before I kill both of you."

He ignored him, keeping his attention on me.

I stared into his eyes, trying to find any trace of mockery in his tone. He wouldn't reject me on our wedding day, not after everything we had lived through and been through.

He loved me, just as I loved him. Didn't he?

He leaned in, aligning our faces.

"I reject you, Savannah! And I will make you the whore of my pack," he whispered, rubbing the back of his hand on my cheek. — "Have you told your father how you spread your legs for me? How you came, screaming my name, while I had my cock inside you?"

My eyes widened, and I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

He wasn't doing this. He couldn't be. He was... humiliating me, in front of everyone, despising me.

"I will kill you," my father growled, advancing.

"Tell your father, darling. Tell him what a slut you are. Tell him how you sucked my cock the last night we spent together, swallowing until you choked," he hissed through clenched teeth, tightening his fingers around my neck.

I shook my head, my eyes full of tears blurring my vision.

I was... breaking. Little by little, until there was nothing left of me, nothing left for him or anyone.

Hunter, my fiancé, my betrothed. My first love, my first in everything. He was... rejecting me at the altar, dishonoring me, depreciating me.

I gasped.

And then, everything happened too fast.

My father lunged at Hunter, but was stopped by Caspian, who pushed him away from his son, who kept his hands on my neck. It was a silent threat. He held my life in his hands and could kill me at any moment.