Lucy's POV
I have never been myself since I saw my mom's pendant in that wardrobe. The dots refused to connect, no matter how much I tried. Why would a piece of my mom's most cherished jewellery be found in the household of a ruthless Alpha?
I was still recovering from that, and now the Fang wedding.
If feeling awkward had a working dress code, I was definitely wearing one.
It wasn't a new thing that the gown was white, but why silk, and for all I know, sinfully expensive, but even with all the effort to make it the best, it felt more like a shroud than a dream come true, like someone's dream wedding. It was very tight at the waist, maybe to bring out my whole shape, and at the back, it was low and carefully stitched with only the kind of elegance in which queens or sacrificial lambs like me would be reserved for.
"You look extremely stunning," Lady Mayer praised, her eyes shining brightly like she was wearing it. And on my hair, she pinned a delicate veil to complete the beauty. "You have the perfect look of a Luna."
I bit my inner cheek, unable to comprehend what she was saying.
Luna?
No one deemed it fit to inform me that I had applied for such a position.
I thought I was only here to donate my womb, use it in baking a werewolf baby and in return cash out big time. I didn't sign up to marry the Alpha King of Intimidation, not in a proper wedding ceremony, but in some twilight ceremony and worst of all, in the woods.
But here I found myself… helplessly wearing white, and forced to walk toward the very man who, with no doubt, won't spare anything to control and own me.
A man obsessed with control.
The ceremony wasn't made public, and no one outside the werewolf tribe knew about it. It was done secretly in a deep forest behind Ryker's estate. Everything was done in secrecy, quiet, and sacred according to werewolf tradition, which I feared would greatly affect me.
Even though it took place within the werewolf kingdom, not everyone was permitted to attend. I walked in and noticed only two robed elders in attendance—I've never seen them before. Two guards also ensured everything went well as planned. Then again, there was the arrogant Ryker, handsomely dressed in a charcoal suit, dripping coldly with sin, making it look like a virtue.
He didn't spare me a smile when I got to where he stood.
He didn't even say wow or throw a random compliment to my new look, or even pretend he's concerned about me not being familiar with the rituals going on in the werewolf kingdom.
He did none of that, he just… nodded, too plain.
Everything happening there represents a scenario showing that I'm just a business transaction, and this wedding sealed it all.
"Ready for it?" he finally asked.
I swallowed an invisible lump already forming on my throat."Do I have any other choice?"
His eyes flickered annoyingly. "Not anymore, you abide by my rules."
The ceremony started most awfully, with a guttural chant from one of the elders. I listened carefully to see if I could recognize the language they were using, as it wasn't English. But it appeared to be anything I recognized. It somehow sounded ancient, emitting power, and since I didn't know what it was, it sounded like blackmail wrapped in poetry in my ears.
I tried everything possible to focus on my breathing: inhale and exhale steadily, erasing the thoughts of running away from my head.
The elder performing the incantation suddenly turned to me and, in a confused manner, handed me a small, dangerous-looking dagger.
Wait, what, why this?
I blinked in total confusion. "I'm sorry, but what am I expected to do with this dangerous weapon?"
"It's for blood bond," Ryker whispered beside me, still not turning to look at me. "Symbolic in werewolf wedding. And it's no big deal, just a drop."
"No big deal, but a drop of what? My own soul?"
But before I could argue again, he reached out and, like it was normal, pricked his right thumb gently on the Sharp blade. It was a single drop as he had said, and with that, the moonlight glistened like wine.
"It's now your turn," he said.
Of course, I know that no one will come to my rescue.
I took the blade, did the same thing he did to his thumb, and my skin broke, making me wince in pain. My blood flowed like a river, maybe because I'm not a werewolf.
He immediately reached for my hand, and on touching his pricked portion with the blood on mine, something strange happened.
It wasn't physical, though.
I didn't see it with my eyes, as it wasn't visible, but I knew something had happened.
Soul to soul connection, very electrical.
A strange warmth shot up from nowhere, reaching my arms. After roaming my whole body, it settled low in my stomach, and I could feel the baby's movement at the exact place.
The elder's voice resumed his incantation again, but louder this time.
Then, turning to Ryker, he announced.
"Congratulations, it is done," he declared joyfully. "She is completely yours now."
Uhm, what exactly am I hearing?
Yours as how?
I opened my mouth to object, not like it would change anything, but Ryker was two steps ahead of me as he moved closer to me. Before I knew what was happening, he brushed his lips on my cheeks, causing more electric current to run through my veins.
"Contract completed and valid now," he whispered in my ear.
And just like that, without my permission, I became the person I can't defend: Mrs. Alpha Ryker Howler.
We didn't kiss like newlywed couples do, and no ring showed we were married.
No vows were taken, music wasn't played, and even happy tears were not shed. Nothing was done.
It was just blood and deafening silence.
Ryker's icy fingers, which almost made me freeze to death, were still entangled with mine like a new prison.
Hope there won't be a honeymoon? I asked.