Chapter 247

Chapter 247

ETHAN'S POV
Malia stood before the mirror, the wedding gown was a whisper of white against her skin. Even from across the room, I could sense her nervousness, the slight tremor in her hands as she adjusted the delicate lace at her throat.
"You're staring," she said without turning, catching my reflection in the mirror.
"Can you blame me?" I replied, moving to stand behind her. My hands found her waist, and I marveled again at how perfectly she fit against me…this woman who had changed everything. "You're breathtaking."
She leaned back into my chest, her warmth seeping through the thin fabric of my shirt. "Do you think this is madness?" she asked softly. "The wedding, the ritual... all of it?"
I considered lying, offering platitudes to ease her worry. But Malia deserved better than that. She always had.
"Yes," I admitted, meeting her eyes in the mirror. "It's absolute madness. But then, so is everything about us."
A small smile curved her lips. "That's not very reassuring."
"It wasn't meant to be," I said, turning her to face me. "It was meant to be honest. The rumors are true…the Blood Bond ritual could kill us both. But doing nothing guarantees a slower death as our enemies circle closer."
The rumors had spread like wildfire through both vampire and werewolf communitie….... whispers that the Vampire King was rushing into a doomed marriage, that the Blood Bond would drain the life from both participants, that the child Malia carried would never draw breath. Each day brought new variations, each more dire than the last.
"I'm not afraid of dying," Malia said, her chin lifting in that defiant gesture I'd come to adore. "I'm afraid of losing you. Of our child growing up without its father."
I cupped her face in my hands, struck again by the courage of this woman who had once been my prisoner and was now my salvation. "That won't happen," I promised, though we both knew it was a promise I might not be able to keep. "We'll face whatever comes together."
She nodded, her eyes never leaving mine. "Together."
I kissed her then, unable to resist the pull between us that had existed from the first moment I saw her. What had begun as hunger.... for her blood, for the power it contained.... had transformed into something deeper, something I had never thought myself capable of feeling.
Love. Such a simple word for such a complex emotion.
Her arms wound around my neck, her body pressing closer as the kiss deepened. The wedding gown rustled between us, a reminder of what awaited us tomorrow.
"You should go," she murmured against my lips. "It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the wedding."
I laughed softly. "I think we're well past worrying about conventional luck, don't you?"
She smiled, the expression lighting her eyes in a way that made my dead heart feel as though it might beat again. "Perhaps. But still, I need to finish the fitting, and you're a distraction."
"A welcome one, I hope," I teased, reluctantly releasing her.
"Always," she assured me, her gaze lingering on mine with a heat that promised more once we were alone again.
I forced myself to step back, to move toward the door. "I'll see you at dinner," I said, though leaving her, even for a few hours, felt like tearing away a part of myself.
She nodded, already turning back to the mirror, to the gown that symbolized so much more than a simple union. It represented a new future, a new balance between vampire and Nexus, between predator and prey, between ancient enemies who might yet become allies.
If we survived.
The thought followed me as I made my way through the corridors of Heaven and Sebastian's estate, where we had remained since the celebration three nights ago. The wedding would take place here tomorrow at sunset.... neutral ground, protected by both vampire and werewolf magic.
Sebastian had argued for postponing the ceremony until we could locate the witch queen, but time was a luxury we couldn't afford. My powers continued to wane, and with each passing day, the child in Malia's womb grew stronger, its unique energy signature becoming more detectable to those who knew how to look for such things.
No, tomorrow had to be the day. For better or worse.
I found myself in the gardens, seeking solitude to clear my head before the evening's strategy session. The scent of roses hung heavy in the air, mingling with the earthier tones of the forest beyond the estate's boundaries.
"Brooding again, brother?" Sebastian's voice cut through my thoughts as he approached from the direction of the house. "It's becoming a habit with you."
I smiled despite myself. "Planning," I corrected. "There's a difference."
He fell into step beside me, his presence familiar and comforting despite our complicated history. "Is there? Both involve furrowed brows and dramatic sighs."
"I don't sigh dramatically," I protested.
"You just did," he pointed out with a smirk.
I shook my head, unwilling to be drawn into our usual banter. "Have the scouts returned? Any sign of the witch queen?"
Sebastian's expression sobered. "Nothing yet. It's as if she vanished into thin air after deceiving me at the White Cave."
"Or she's hiding in plain sight," I suggested, a theory that had been forming in my mind since hearing Elena's cryptic comments about the witch's possible identity. "Someone close to us, perhaps."
"A spy in our midst?" Sebastian frowned. "Who?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "But the timing of everything.... my power loss, Gideon's appearance, the witch queen's deception.... it's too coordinated to be coincidence."
"You think someone has been feeding information to our enemies," Sebastian concluded, his eyes narrowing as he considered the possibility. "Someone with access to both our households."
I nodded. "It would explain how they always seem to be one step ahead of us."
"But who?" Sebastian pressed. "The staff have all been with us for years. The guards are loyal. Who else has that kind of access?"
The question hung between us, neither willing to voice the obvious answer: someone we trusted. Someone we loved.
"We need to be careful," I said finally. "Until we know for certain, we can't risk.... "
A commotion from the direction of the house interrupted me. Raised voices, the sound of something breaking. Sebastian and I exchanged a glance before moving as one toward the source of the disturbance.
We found it in the east wing, where Malia had been having her final dress fitting. The door to her chamber stood open, and from within came the unmistakable sound of an argument.
".... don't understand what you're doing!" Davlon's voice, tight with anger. "This ritual could kill you both!"
"It's my choice to make," Malia replied, her tone equally heated. "Mine and Ethan's."
I entered the room to find them facing each other, Davlon's tall form looming over Malia, who had changed out of the wedding gown into a simple dress. Despite the difference in their sizes, she showed no sign of intimidation, her chin lifted in that defiant gesture I knew so well.
"What's going on here?" I demanded, moving to Malia's side.
Davlon turned to me, his amber eyes.... so like his sister Heaven's.... flashing with barely contained rage. "You," he spat. "This is your doing. You've convinced her to go through with this suicide pact you call a wedding."
"Davlon," Heaven's voice came from the doorway, where she had appeared with Sebastian. "That's enough."
But Davlon wasn't finished. He turned back to Malia, his expression softening as he cupped her cheeks affectionately. "You were meant for better than this," he said, his voice dropping to a gentler tone that set my teeth on edge. "Better than him. You know that, don't you? Deep down, you must know."
Malia's eyes widened at his touch, her body tensing. "Davlon, you're not thinking clearly.... "
"I've never thought more clearly," he insisted, his thumbs stroking her cheekbones in a gesture that was far too intimate. "We could leave, right now. I could take you somewhere safe, somewhere he could never find you. You and the child would be protected, cherished.... "
Something in me snapped. The possessiveness that had always been part of my nature, the territorial instinct of a predator, surged to the surface with a force that surprised even me. Before I could think better of it, I had moved across the room and torn Davlon away from Malia, my fist connecting with his jaw with a satisfying crack.
"Ethan!" Malia gasped, but I barely heard her over the roaring in my ears.
Davlon recovered quickly, shifting into a fighting stance, his eyes glowing with werewolf power. "I was hoping you'd do that," he growled. "Now I have an excuse to tear you apart."
"Try it," I invited, welcoming the prospect of violence, of a clear enemy I could fight rather than the shadowy threats that had been haunting us for weeks.
"Stop it, both of you!" Heaven commanded, stepping between us with the authority that made her such an effective Alpha. "This is exactly what our enemies want.... to divide us against each other."
"He started it," Davlon muttered, sounding more like a petulant child than a grown werewolf.
"And I'm ending it," Heaven replied firmly. "Davlon, go cool off. Now."
For a moment, I thought he might refuse. His eyes remained fixed on me, the challenge in them clear. But then he glanced at his sister, and something in her expression made him back down.
"This isn't over," he warned me before stalking from the room.
As soon as he was gone, I turned to Malia. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"
She shook her head, though her hands trembled slightly. "No, he just... surprised me. I've never seen him like that before."
"Neither have I," Heaven said, her brow furrowed with concern. "Davlon has always been hot-headed, but this was different. Almost as if..."
"As if he were under some kind of influence," Sebastian finished for her, his expression thoughtful. "A compulsion, perhaps."
“Common, let's not ruin this, we have a wedding to celebrate “ Heaven a
dded and I nodded, it's either going to be a wedding or a disaster.