133 Not Quite an Epilogue

133 Not Quite an Epilogue
Stepping out of the momentary shock, I cover my mouth and notice how much Ruslan has changed. The charismatic and handsome guy had grown gaunt, lost weight, and I won’t hide it—he somehow looked older.
And where was that werewolf I had been crazy about, the one I’d been so obsessed with I almost wanted to end it all? Makes me want to do the classic facepalm.
He was wearing a worn tracksuit and some sneakers. His hair was messy, and to top it all off, he had a broken, swollen nose.
"What’s going on here?", I ask, trying to control my emotions.
"Oh! You’re here too!", the man barked. "I’m trying to get through to this chicken here," he nodded at the furious Galina, "so she’ll let me see the alpha! I think I’ve been punished enough because of you dumb women. Over five years of marriage with an insane cow is enough! I’m demanding a divorce! I’ve suffered enough! That crazy woman broke my nose while I was asleep!", Ruslan started yelling hysterically.
"Calm down, don’t shout like that," I try to reason with my ex.
"And don’t you start bossing me around!", the brunette yelled with hatred, his voice strangely grumbling. "Because of you, dumb and naive sheep, I ended up in this situation!", I saw Galina freeze, shifting her gaze to me. I’d have been shocked too if I didn’t know what a bastard this scumbag could be. "Look at you! All dressed up and fancy! Managed to cozy up as a little tramp to some important wolf, huh?"
I noticed the secretary turn pale and shrink into her chair. Then, refocusing my gaze, I saw behind Ruslan the furious Wayland. And he was absolutely enraged, his fists clenching with a crunch.
"Life hasn’t taught you anything", was all I managed to say before, with a menacing growl, Wayland grabbed the still-confused Ruslan by the chest and dragged him out of the reception.
I could have pitied the fool, run after Wayland, and begged for mercy… but no, the jerk never remembers his lessons. I could feel that this time, Ruslan wouldn’t get away with just a finger wag. But that’s his stupidity and his problem, so:
"Galina, be so kind, make me some coffee, please," I said, smiling at the still-flustered secretary, whose eyes had grown as wide as saucers, and calmly walked back into the alpha’s office.

\---

Our wedding took place in September. A wonderful time when the sun was still warm enough, but the exhausting heat of summer was gone.
As planned, the ceremony was held on the riverbank, located on the vast grounds of our home. Now it’s our special place for life.
Everything felt simply magical to me. A huge number of people from different corners of the pack came to our wedding.
Even the human mayor showed up! Of course—Wayland and he are colleagues, no matter how you look at it.
Everyone was happy, and I had never received so many congratulations in my life.
How I wished my parents could have been there that day. My mother would have helped me get ready to meet my future husband. Perhaps she would have given me some parting words, advice for married life. She and my father would have blessed our marriage. Knowing my dad, he would have surely had a serious talk with Wayland about what would happen if a werewolf hurt his little girl. My father would have escorted me to the altar and handed me over to my future husband.
But these were only guesses, dreams that were never meant to come true, which of course saddened me. However, despite everything, that day I was surrounded by many of my close friends. They are the best, for none of them bowed to the authority of the alpha himself or revealed my whereabouts when I ran away with Aiden.
Aiden.
By the way, he was the one who walked me down the aisle instead of my father. You should have seen the alpha’s face! He literally snatched my hands out of my friend’s grasp when we reached the ceremonial arch, where the wedding officiant stood. Even on this day, when I belonged to him fully, by all standards and laws, he still wildly jealously guarded me from the brunette.