Take Back My Mate

The Wedding

Luanna's P.O.V.

Luanna wiped away the tears from her silver-colored eyes as a delicate white veil was placed onto her head. Slowly her cousin pinned it onto her pure white hair, being careful not to mess up the braids she had put in last night. Breathing in deeply, the bride calmed her mind and prepared herself for the walk down the aisle. This is what the pack needed after all, right? Her reflection didn't look very convinced by this, her eyes still red and puffy. Luanna, you need to suck it up! She mentally slapped herself. You are an alpha-ranked werewolf of one of the oldest packs still around! There are legends about how your people would come down on our enemies like a snowstorm but disappear into the night like a ghost. You need to summon some of that ancient power and use it now!

That was a long time ago though, and she knew it. Since then, their numbers had drastically decreased to the point where they could no longer protect their territory. The Moon-Sabers alpha, Gengrath, had given them an ultimatum. She was to marry his son, joining the pack as one, or the Moon-Sabers would take the territory by force. Luanna knew what that would mean for her people. Death and destruction. The unlucky ones that lived through it would be captured and spend the rest of their lives as slaves. As the alpha's daughter, it was her job to her people to go through with this wedding.

It's just the rest of your life. She sighed, trying to calm herself down so she could face her father with a little more courage. I have to show him that I will be alright. She turned and faced the door, wishing that when she saw her father that he could just whisk her away. Tell her it was just a bad dream, like when she was little.

As soon as she walked out of her dressing room, her father took her in his arms, pulling her close. She could tell he didn't truly want to let go. "I always imagined this day to be one of happiness." He inhaled sharply, anger and remorse coursing through his body. "Now it just feels like I have betrayed my own daughter."

Slowly, she pulled away from him. "Do not worry father, it was the role I was always meant to play." She smiled up at him, as he placed his hand on her cheek. "I will be fine, I promise. Besides, at least our people will not suffer because we decided to be selfish."

"Are you so sure they won't?" Fear was evident in his eyes.

"I will make sure of it. As the tribe's future Luna, this is a promise I will keep for our pack's sake." She meant this with all of her heart, even if it meant giving up her own happiness, she would not fail her family. Music started playing, indicating it was time, so she let the veil fall over her face, readying herself to marry a man who was a complete stranger to her. Awkwardly she placed her arm around her father’s, and they started their march together.

Every step she took down that aisle felt like a lifetime. To make matters worse, she was the center of everyone's attention at that moment. Everything will be okay. She reassured herself as they approached the halfway mark. Her father grew tenser the closer they got to the front. That was when a strange sensation washed over her, like a chill down her back. Her heart seemed to stop, and time froze as her eyes met a pair of red ones looking back at her. There was a lot of anger in them, though they were also full of tears. Why would they be crying?

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, her eyes turned away. She lost them as fast as she had found them, but she had other things at the moment to focus on.

Luanna had made it to the front of the church, and her father gave her a kiss on the forehead before stepping off the podium she had to say her vows on. He bowed respectfully, before joining his mate. Her mother was still in tears and quickly buried her face in his broad chest. Hesitantly she turned towards her 'husband to be', offering up her hands to him. Slowly he took them, as if afraid he might break her with his touch. His hands were large, and easily engulfed hers. They were slightly clammy though, and she felt hers begin to shake. Hesitantly she glanced up at him, absorbing what her partner looked like. He was slender built, with fair skin, dark brown hair and was imposingly tall to her. He looked down at her with a crooked smile as his dark sapphire eyes took her in. There was a dark gleam in them, and she didn't know how to feel about it. Overall, he had an imposing air about him.

As he recited his vows, they almost felt heartfelt, however his eyes held another story. It was like they were almost dead; his body was there but his soul wasn't. He slid the ring around her finger before placing a delicate kiss on her wrist, a sign he was not a threat to her.

Now it was her turn. She spoke every word of her vow perfectly, like she had rehearsed for the past week. However, she felt herself shaking uncontrollably as she attempted to place his ring on his hand. He very gently placed his other hand on hers, and after she took a moment to calm down, she was able to slide in on the rest of the way.

The vows were spoken, and as he lifted the veil off her face, Luanna felt like she was going to throw up. It was time for the kiss and she was so nervous. Tenderly, he took her face in his hands, leaning forward so they were looking each other in the eyes. The gleam was still there as he broke the distance. Closing her eyes, she readied herself for her first kiss but something unexpected happened. Very subtly, the thumb on his hand furthest from the crowd slid over her lips. He kissed it before giving her space again. She looked at him shocked and confused. Cheers could be heard all throughout the chapel, though she didn't register most of them. He gave her a wink before offering her his arm so he could escort her outside. In a daze, she took it and he walked her out of the building and into the waiting limo, where they would be driven to the gathering grounds where they would celebrate the merging of the packs.

She sat down across from him, making sure to put as much distance as she could from this unknown man. Seconds felt like hours though, as she fidgeted with her ring just waiting for the vehicle to start moving. When it did, though, she flinched at the sudden movement.

This didn’t go unnoticed by her ‘husband’, who seemed to reach out protectively but quickly pulled his hand back. The tension in the limo could be cut with a butter knife, and it was slowly driving Luanna crazy. She awkwardly fidgeted with her hair, letting the long braided locks fall around her shoulders.

"Well, now that we are married, I should introduce myself properly." Her husband cleared his throat, causing her to look at him, but only briefly. "I am Diablos, the first born son of Alpha Gengrath and the only living son of the late Luna Denisa" He smiled sincerely at her.

"It is nice to meet you, Diablos." She looked at her hands, the ring on her finger feeling evasive on her hand.. "I am Luanna, the first born and currently only child of Alpha Willas and Luna Ambriel." She paused, meeting his eyes with hers before continuing. "I have just turned 17, so I do not know what you think about being married to a minor." She couldn't help being a bit defensive, since she knew nothing about the man she was now married to and the rumors that she did hear were not good.

"No need to worry about that." He gave her a crooked smile. "I, too, am only 17." She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at this. “Funny how they put the fate of two packs in the hands of minors." Chuckling, he reached for her hand; however she couldn't help but pull back a little at the sudden, unexpected touch. "Sorry..." He mumbled before sitting back. "It's a bit exciting if you think about it."

"What do you mean?" She honestly didn't know what he could be talking about.

"We will get to be there when we first connect with our wolves. Moon Goddess permit, we will then connect with each other as true mates." He seemed very genuine when he said this, but she couldn't help but scoff at his comment. A pained expression flashed briefly in his eyes at her reaction. She was more than a little skeptical of what his intentions were though, so she didn't feel guilty.

"Why did you do that?" Her heart sped up as she thought of their 'first kiss' and how he did actually kiss her.

"I try to stay positive,and deep down I guess I am a bit of a romantic-"

"Not that….."

"Reach for your hand or?"

"The thing you did at the church.”

“You are going to have to be a bit more specific.” He leaned forward, fidgeting with his own ring as he did.

“You didn't kiss me. Why?" She snapped at him, surprising herself with the anger in her voice.

"I could tell you were uncomfortable with the whole thing so....." Diablos paused, looking down at the silver band around his finger, as if trying to find the right words to explain himself.

"I don't know if I should feel insulted or not." She raised her eyebrows at him.

"No, it was nothing like that.” There seemed to be hurt in his words, but she wasn’t in a compassionate mood to let them affect her. “I knew we were expected to kiss, however I got this feeling you didn't want that so…” He sighed, leaning back as he did. “I made it look like we did. Something they do in movies and shows. I mean, I wouldn't mind kissing you." It was his turn to look awkward now as he seemed to trip over his words.

"So, what you are telling me is that you did it for me more than yourself?"

"Basically. I didn't want you resenting me for a terrible first kiss."

"Who said it would be my first kiss?" She snapped, harsher than she meant. This got an amused look from him.

"I meant OUR first kiss but I take it that would have been your first ever?" The limo started slowing and she could tell they had arrived at the hotel where the party was being held, though she pretended not to hear his question. "I am even more glad now that I did that. I would rather your first kiss was more special than that." He reached for the door, opening it as he watched her with a playfulness in his eyes. "Now if you let me, I will show you our room for the night." Diablos stepped out before he held his hand out to help her up.

Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the sight of the grand hotel. It was in neutral territory, so no one clan owned it, but all clans did donate towards its upkeep. This was where a meeting of the pack leaders would be held, as well as other events, however she had never been there herself.

It almost looked like a fortress or castle to her. Four large towers stood at the four corners, and a large tower stood in the middle of each wall as well. There were two smaller towers placed in between the corner towers and the central ones, though they were not nearly as tall. Each tower was big enough to house a large clan comfortably, if the need ever arose. This would be, for example, where she would take her people if they ever ran off their land and, by werewolf laws, could not be attacked or threatened as long as they were on protected land.

Diablos reached for her hand, and she let him take it this time. He led her to the corner tower the Moon-Saber pack would be using during their stay. The inside was even more grand, on each wall portraits depicting some of the most famous werewolves of history. The ‘walls’ were actually very large corridors with more rooms down the long hallways. They seemed to be at least three stories tall themselves. As they entered the elevator, she could see the courtyard through the glass window. With how large the outside was, the space in the middle was even bigger, that she couldn’t even make out the other side of it, just the shape of other towers looming in the distance. Diablos pressed the button for the top floor, and the glass box came to life with a sudden jolt. Instinctively she grabbed at the thing closest to her as they started rising. Sadly, her stomach also began to rise into her throat, threatening to spill the little bit of food she was able to eat this morning. Until she felt her husband's arms wrap around her protectively at least, and that was when she realized she had grabbed him. She closed her eyes and buried her face into his chest though, as her body realized it was more afraid of the strange box than this man, for the time being.

"I take it you are not a fan of heights?" She felt his deep voice rumble in his chest.

She shook her head no. "If werewolves were meant to fly, we would have been born with wings."

Laughter rumbled in his chest now, and surprisingly she felt comforted by that. Slowly she breathed in, and his natural aroma filled her senses. It reminded her of a wood fire. "Honestly I am afraid of heights myself." She looked up at his face with surprise and caught a look that could only be described as crazed. "But being up this high, facing those fears gives me an adrenaline rush and this feeling...…." He inhaled deeply, while closing his eyes before looking down at her again while gently stroking her hair. The crazed look is completely gone and replaced with a look of longing. "It makes me feel...… free"

Luanna felt her heart ache for him as he looked away again. "I think I know what you mean." DING! The elevator door opened and she pushed herself away from him awkwardly. "So...….. you're going to show me to our room." Her stomach was back in her throat as he held out his hand for her, though this time she didn't take it. He shrugged it off and led the way.

He was a good bit taller than her and wasn't in heels, so she tried her best to keep up with him, however once he saw she was having issues keeping up, he slowed down his pace. The good thing was the suit they were staying in was directly across from the elevator. There was another door to her left, but she focused on the one they were heading to so she didn’t accidently look out the floor to ceiling windows to her right.

He held the door open for her, and as she stepped in she noticed that, just like the rest of the hotel, the room was huge. It looked like a high-class apartment with its own kitchen with bar seating to her left, an open dining room to her right and a living room in front of her with a balcony.

"I aimed to use the tower with the suit that had two bedrooms because I figured we didn't even know each other yet and...…. anyway, feel free to use either one. They both have bathrooms with showers, though I already brought your stuff into the bigger one." He honestly seemed embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head trying to think of the right words to say. "That one is the bigger one.” He pointed to a door on the left wall of the living room. “All my stuff is in that one." He pointed to another on the right wall on the opposite side of the living room.

"You are being really considerate considering...……." Luanna starts fumbling with the seams on the belt of her dress.

Diablos had hurt in his eyes. "Considering this is an arranged marriage to avoid war?"

Tears started spilling out of her eyes, "You say war, but for my people...….for my people it would have been a genocide." She looked up and was startled to see his eyes tearing up as well. Gesturing to the couch, he sat down and patted the seat next to him with a sad smile on his face, and a look that read 'Let's talk about this.' She vigorously shook her head 'no' before running into the bigger bedroom and slamming the door behind her. Quickly she locked it, not trusting him. Slowly her legs gave out, and she leaned her body against the door as she sat on the carpeted floor. Why do I feel wrong about this? It's not like I know him. Burying her face in her legs, she sat there for a while as she tried to calm herself down. Images of all her pack members flashed into her head, causing her heart to hurt that much more at the thought of losing them.

She thought she felt something push against the door slightly, and the smell of her husband entered her senses again. Butterflies started fluttering in her stomach, but she quickly shook that feeling away.

After she didn’t know how long, Luanna managed to push herself back up, and headed straight into the bathroom. Quickly she stripped out of her wedding dress, before tossing it off into a corner. It felt dirty to her, though she knew it wasn’t the dress's fault. She started up the shower before carefully stepping into it where she could wash all her remorse away in the hot water. She had to stay strong for her people, but in the silent moment alone she was free to let her emotions out.