Chapter 49

Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Tonight was for Kai and me.

From miles away, SilverFang rang with wedding bells. Councilmen, royal subjects, influential figures, and other members of the Packs invited by the throne sat before us, and at the center of it all stood Kai and me.

"Your hand." Kai’s voice pulled me back to the present.

I looked up at him, and there he was, looking better than I’d ever seen him. He was dressed in a fine black tunic matching the same shade as his polished brown boots. His hair was styled with gel, catching the reflection of the moon as it bounced light like a mirror.

He enamored me. Alluring in every sense of his appearance.

I passed him my hand, and he guided me before the priest who gestured with his index finger. Kai, understanding the message, positioned us directly beneath the moon. Full in the night sky, the crescent shaped roof acted like a spotlight beneath the silvery beams.

Kai collected a knife from the priest and cut his palm. Then, he handed it to me. Without needing instruction, I inhaled sharply, taking in the heaviness of the air before cutting my own palm.

Before the blood could drip away, Kai locked our hands together. With our blood merged as one, we let the crimson pour into a goblet.

Silence loomed over us in the middle of the ceremony, almost as though nobody in the room dared to breathe. Everything felt still and cold, an eerie sensation clawing awake from my overthinking mind.

The stem of the goblet was lifted toward the moon, and a wine resembling the color of blood was poured into it. After a slight swirl, the priest handed it forward.

"To become one. To be protected by the Moon Goddess."

Kai drank first as the Alpha. I followed after him.

Following every lead Kai made, I turned with him to face the seated crowd, and behind us, the priest began once more.

"You have completed the mating ritual, and thus the ceremony has been fulfilled. Under the full moon, the Pack accepts your vows." A brief pause lingered before the priest finally concluded, "Now, I pronounce you husbands."

Bubbles filled my stomach, my smile widening as I bit my bottom lip, but before I could recover from the shock, Kai pulled me close, sweeping me off my feet and kissing me hard.

In front of the Pack.

He claimed me publicly, and now we were legally married. Kai was my husband.

I couldn’t believe this...

The later hours of the night passed in drinks, food, music, and endless greetings. I’d heard more names than I had in my entire life and exchanged conversations with countless unfamiliar faces.

My mouth ached and my body slowly wore down from the constant attention.

Still, the entertainment was engaging and captivating if I were being honest. The music drifting through the hall soothed my muscles and relaxed my mind, easing the exhaustion threatening to settle into my bones.

"Do we ever get to leave?" I slumped deeper into my chair before adjusting to face Kai.

He played with the rim of his goblet, and I assumed he was just as drained as I was.

"I pray soon enough," he replied, and internally, I groaned.

To keep the conversation alive, I nudged, "So... we’re husbands."

"I can’t wait to fuck you senseless when we get home."

"Kai!" I nearly yelled at the top of my lungs. "Have some self control."

"The happiness of knowing you’re legally mine pulls me closer toward rut with every passing second," he stated, and I rolled my eyes.

Another royal subject stepped forward to introduce himself. An Alpha, for sure.

Once he finally left, I resumed, "You know, this entire setting really does make me feel like we’re trapped inside some fantasy novel. Like we’re characters in a writer’s book."

Kai laughed softly, clearly entertained by my attempt to distract us from the exhausting formalities. "True, I agree. It feels old fashioned. Antique."

"Exactly."

"And I don’t fail to notice the entertainers are strangely focused on us," he remarked, a faint frown creasing his face.

My attention sharpened. "Uh, isn’t that because they’re entertaining us?"

"No... something feels off to me." Kai stirred uneasily before turning toward me. "I’ll be back, love. Stay here."

"No, Kai... no, don’t..." My voice faded before I could finish. He was already walking away, disappearing behind the towering pillars lining the castle interior.

I finished the rest of my drink only for another serving to immediately replace it. I groaned for what felt like the hundredth time. At this point, being Luna felt more like punishment than something glamorous to bask in.

A maid nudged me gently from the side, bowing deeply once she gained my attention. She slipped a folded paper toward me, her voice trembling.

"My apologies, Luna. I was instructed to pass this to you. Please, accept it."

She looked as though she’d seen a ghost, and it immediately piqued my curiosity. The moment I accepted the letter, she hurried away.

Then I read it.

My heartbeat spiked the instant I recognized both the message and who it came from. I crushed the paper in my grip and stood, leaving for the rooftop.

Each step heightened my pulse, my chest tightening while my legs carried me onward anyway.

The air blew harsher atop the rooftop, whipping the scarf around my neck and the loose flare of my shirt.

"Leo."

His eyes settled on me, hands clasped behind his back as a smirk stretched across his lips.

"Alex. I see you still remember my name."

Beads of sweat threatened to slide down my jaw as I stepped forward. "I assumed you wouldn’t come."

"And why wouldn’t I?" he mused before chuckling darkly. "Oh, right. Of course you’d think that. Because you backstabbed me, bitch."

"Leo... please..."

"Please?" His smile sharpened. "Is that the start of your apology?"

I held my head high, pretending to steady my breathing. Anything to stop him from sensing the unsettling emotions spiraling inside me.

"I’m not your enemy."

"Then who is?"

"I didn’t cause this to happen. If Kai wanted to be with you, he would be. We’re fated mates. That’s why things worked out between us. I didn’t steal him from you, I swear." I tried desperately to make him understand.

All this time, I’d wanted to find a way to speak with Leo properly. To apologize. To make him see things from my perspective and hope he didn’t entirely despise me.

But now, I wasn’t certain anymore.

The way he looked at me... the way he inhaled the air around me...

That was hatred.

Pure hatred.

And he made no effort to hide it.

"Why are you here?" I finally whispered.

"To properly hate you." Leo stepped closer, his shadow swallowing my frame like darkness tightening around my throat. "I wanted you to see the result of your actions. Me. Here. Alone, with nothing to show for all the time and effort I wasted. I housed you, bitch. I sheltered you and trusted you as a friend while Kai stayed with me. You’re a fucking little bastard." His voice dropped lower, more venomous. "You deserve to rot in the deepest pit of hell."

Suddenly, breathing became difficult.

"I... I’m..."

What could I even say?

How could I defend myself?

I cheated. I took away the person Leo cherished most.

He was right...

I deserved punishment.

And maybe that was why the One Tree left me.

Maybe I truly didn’t deserve anything good because everything I touched eventually withered and broke apart.