The Night I Chose My Enemy

Kaelira’s POV “Bless me moon goddess.” I mumbled as I opened my eyes. Immediately I heard sounds, servants scurried through the halls, their whispers barely audible, yet urgent, as if the rest of my life hung in the balance. “Be sure to handle the flowers with care!” I heard the voice of someone snapping from the walkway below my window. “It will be before noon when the Alphas arrive! Everything has to be perfect! The imperial council will also be attending, mistake is not an option!” I lifted my head from the bed and laid my palm on my chest, slowly caressing my chest to get rid of the nervous feeling that had suddenly settled there. Today I would become someone's mate. Today I take one step towards the duties my parents had before me. Today I would become what I was born to be…Today I would become an alpha of this great pack. Before I could think I heard a knock on my door. "Kaelira." My handmaid Wren, eyes bright with excitement, peeked her head in. “Before preparations are made your uncle would like to see you. He asked for you…” "Now?" I asked, as i my robe snugged around my shoulders. “Well I also asked him if it was now…because I knew you slept late last night and I did not expect that you would be up by now,” she said, "but you know him, he wants to see you before the whole pack gets here and it’s time for the mating ceremony.” I nodded and got off the bed, and followed Wren into the hall to my uncle's study. As I entered, Vaelor was already standing by the window, his hands behind his back, taking in the sight of the warriors below securing the perimeter of the grounds. I whispered, "Uncle. Good morning uncle… you asked for me.” He turned and as soon as he saw me, his face lit up with the smile I knew all my life. “There she is” he said he crossed the room and took my hands in his. “Greetings my alpha.” He said and bowed but I quickly stopped him before he could complete the act. “What are you doing uncle?” I asked, as I held his hand. “Don’t do this… please … “ “But I must my dear.” He said with a smile on his face. “Today is a great day for you, Kaelira, for all of us, my brave girl.” "I know," I said. He looked at me for a second; his gray eyes probing me as they always did when he thought I was lying. "You seem nervous." There was no point in lying to him, I said, "A little. He could see through me at all times. “Is this about Caedric?” He asked. “It’s just… I am supposed to be mated to him in a few hours but I don't love him, Uncle. Caedric. I still respect him but—" I started but he gently cut me off. “But you don't love him," Vaelor finished for me, his tone gentle, without a hint of judgment. “Don't worry, Kaelira, love doesn't have to start with every mating, it can develop. But more important than that, for an Alpha, is respect. Loyalty. Responsibility towards your pack.” He took my hands in his and squeezed. “Caedric will stand by you as a partner should, that is all it takes to build a life on. I only chose him because he reminded me of your dad when your dad was younger…but we can cancel the ceremony right now if you do not wish to go ahead… your opinion and happiness is all that matters to me. I’ll handle the council.” I lowered my gaze, and I was embarrassed at my lack of faith. “I believe you, Uncle," I said, "you have never misled me.” "Good." He released my hands and reached into his coat and pulled out a small wrapped bundle. “Before the day takes me from you, I have something for you.” He said as he placed a box in my hand. I carefully un-wrapped it. In the interior was a silver pendant that looked like a wolf in the middle of a howl, so delicate it was as if I were about to inhale. "This was—" Vaelor said, "Your father's. He wore it when he picked Seris as his mate and I have stored it in a safe place for all these years, waiting for the right time to return it to the family that it belongs to.” His voice became rough, as though he was choking on his tears. “This is what your parents would want you to be doing today, Kaelira! They would be proud of you!” I felt tears gather in my eyes, holding the pendant to my chest. “Thanks Uncle for all things, for raising me, for not letting me forget who I am.” He gave me a kiss on my forehead as he had since I was a kid. “Now go, Wren's waiting,to dress you, and I have guests to greet.” Midmorning and my chambers were busy with Wren and two other attendants, who were working their way through the layers of my ceremonial dress, weaving silver thread into my dark hair, attaching my father's pendant at my throat. “You know half the Werewolf Council is already downstairs,' Wren said as she zipped up the laces at my back. Alpha Renwick had come all the way from the eastern border and I had heard Alpha Draeven Nightbane had sent word that he may attend too; but it had not been confirmed.” "Draeven Nightbane," I said once again. "My uncle's rival." Wren said, "The same one…Him in the same room as Alpha Vaelor? You think the council accidentally sent him an invite or is he just using his influence to force his way in?” I didn't say anything, I just looked at myself in the mirror, at the woman looking back at me who was about to be a person's mate, and an Alpha in her own right. I imagined my parents, of the war that had separated them from me, and I vowed to myself that I would be a leader in their memory. When I arrived at the ceremonial grounds, there were already packs of packers and other officials from packs I had never heard of in council meetings. I saw faces that I'd studied for years, all of them gathered to see this. Shortly thereafter, Caedric came in, wearing formal blue, his face placid and composed. He extended his arm to me and said, "You look beautiful, Kaelira.” I took it and said, "Thank you.” He walked me forward with ease and welcomed guests with a polite nod, just as an Alpha's mate should. He had no reason to hesitate, no reason to show me ill will; not a single shadow of doubt. He was, indeed, respectful, steady, reliable, just what my uncle had promised. The ritual words and sacred binding before the council cast a round of votes in a blur of the ceremony itself. As the results came back, applause from the audience erupted and I was no longer just Kaelira Ashthorn. I was now Alpha Kaelira Asthorn. “All hail Alpha Kaelira Asthorn!” I heard my uncle scream the second the votes results were released. “Long live alpha Kaelira!” Every voice in the hall screamed as my uncle took the crown off his head and placed it on mine…marking the end of my mating ceremony and coronation. The festivities after went on far into the night. I stood in a line beside Caedric, meeting the members of the pack, and foreign Alphas as well, while Vaelor proudly introduced us as the future of the Ashthorn Pack. Everything felt right. It was as if things were finally getting underway. Toward the end of the night I saw my uncle near the steps of the manor, and embraced him. I said “goodnight, uncle. Thanks for the day.” “Goodnight, my dear,” he said smiling as he did, “I'll leave you now. Sleep well.” I never knew it would be the last time I saw that smile and I believed it. The ride to the manor reserved for our honeymoon shouldn't have taken more than an hour. Rather, the trees outside the window became more dense and the road outside the window more uneven under the wheels. “Caedric,” I replied, looking at the road I didn't recognize, “this isn't the route to the manor.” He didn't answer. Again, I said, "Caedric…. Caedric. Where are we going to? Hey driver! What’s happening? Someone say something.” Caedric ignored me and spoke to the driver. “Keep driving.” My pulse quickened. "Caedric, answer me—" The carriage came to a sudden halt. Before I could speak again, Caedric opened the door, grabbed my arm and dragged me outside into the cold night air. I came to a stop as I stepped onto the forest floor, where the darkness of the path in front of me had been met with my eyes. My uncle was standing among the trees, holding a knife in his hand. "Uncle?" I whispered.