His Silent Temptation

Chapter 5 - Everything I Could've Been

S e l e n e

—

Killian had to be kidding. I stared at him for a moment and he gazed right back, as if asking what? I blinked for a moment and then another, realizing this was what he wanted from me.

I traded the wolf’s den for the lion’s cage. I jumped from one pot in the fire into another. And now, I was paying for this sacrifice. I could only hope it was much easier to escape from Killian than Malore. But who was I kidding? I went from the third to the first most powerful Alpha in the world. Who was there to help me?

Who would even want to? What would be their motive?

I shakingly reached for the ends of my dress, staring at him hesitatingly, and he held my gaze. Some said if you looked into his eyes for too long, he’d rob your soul. More like, consume it.

“All of it.” He flicked his fingers, almost gesturing to my underwear and bra as well. I held my breath, barely able to peel the white cloth off of me. Only then did he see how hard I was trembling.

Suddenly, Killian grabbed my wrist.

I froze.

Killian glanced at me, as if attempting to figure me out. Didn’t he know? I was an open book. He was within proximity now, even more so, revealing the golden specks tucked in the amber of his eyes. His hair was dark enough for it to be midnight blue. His skin was honey-kissed, and his biceps were defined even through his suit. During the bandaging, he had revealed his wrist, with a sliver of black ink running through it.

A devil disguised as a gentleman. If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve forgotten that in his werewolf form could rip a car in half.

“Does moving hurt?” Killian asked, almost in disbelief at how fragile I appeared.

My throat went dry. I immediately shook my head.

Killian softly frowned, his gaze growing irritated. My heart skipped and I could barely breathe despite my parted lips. He was going to hit me. That was Malore’s expression before randomly striking me in the face.

I squeezed my eyes shut, almost bracing for impact. A stiffening silence passed. Then, another. I waited for the pain, for the swish of my hair, for my face to swing to the side, but it never happened. Instead, I was met with eyes that bore a hole through my skull. Heat rolled off his body in waves, shrouding me thickly. He smelled delightful, but I was too frightened to even suck in a fistful of air.

“Show me on our wedding night then.”

Killian released me and rose to his full height again. I shakingly exhaled, surprised that he wasn’t angered by my antsy nature. I couldn’t help my flinching reflex trained from Malore’s presence.

A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.

“If you’re done checking out your new bride, we have a wedding to crash!” Chester’s playful voice called out, almost humored by his own joke. He twisted the knob and poked his head inside, almost expecting to smell something in the air.

Instead, Chester’s attention flew to me, his smile faltering a bit. I saw that expression often. The way their eyes glanced away to hide the disdain. A bitter after taste in their mouth.

Pity. Disgust. It was as if looking at just another werewolf was beneath him, just from my title.

“The councilmen are present, brother. By now, word has begun to travel, but not to them. Before the priest gets a damn heart attack from the sight of her and the previous bride finds out, perhaps we should begin walking down the aisle?” Chester humored.

I glanced at my bandaged feet. Killian didn’t bother looking.

“There will be no walking tonight,” Killian deadpanned. Whether he meant what followed after the wedding, or the literal ceremony, I didn’t know—not until the bullets and blood.

- - - - -

Before my father’s executions, I had been to a wedding twice a year. I was reminded of his fond gaze when I threw the flower petals and watched as they fell over my head, fluttering in the direction of a young boy my age. I remembered the bonding of two families coming together, the champagne clinking between bride and friends, the laughter between groom and buddies, and the sacred ceremonies under the moonlight.

One thing I didn’t remember was blood, bullets, and torn flesh. So, when Killian carried me bridal style into the wedding hall, everything that I knew for good was wiped.

“Killian!” A man had roared in the distance, pointing an accusing finger in disbelief. “How dare you bring in this wh*re!”

“Alpha Thornov?” The bride in white whispered, turning around with a smile only for her to scorn me. “Who’s this woman?”

I watched with worry as problems ensued. Killian stared with a cynicism that chilled my blood. He was, almost, amused, but the thought of his happiness seemed impossible.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Killian sniped in a voice everyone could hear. “I present to you, my wife, Selene Yves.”

Gasps surfaced. People glanced at each other in disbelief. Old men stood up in fury, only to be forced back into their seats by men in black who had snuck into the reception already.

“Wed us,” Killian snapped at the paling priest. We committed far too many sins underneath the horrendously decorated moon hanging over the venue.

Weddings were sacred. Weddings happened in the dusk of midnight with a trail of moonlight guiding the bride and groom. This was not a wedding. This was far from it. This was far from everything I had known.

“What is going on?” the initial bride demanded from beside Killian, her face twisted with hatred.

Killian’s original bride was nothing like me. She was loud and proud, her blond hair cascading as sunlight over her shoulders. She would’ve made the perfect wife for Killian. Most likely the daughter of an Alpha, an honored woman—someone I should’ve become. She would be the cream of the crop woman, bred and raised to dainty perfection.

She was everything I should’ve been. No, she was everything I could’ve been.

“Start the wedding,” Killian ordered the priest who began to fumble through his holy book.

“Y-yes, Alpha Thornov, well in that case, let’s begin with the vows—”

“We don’t need vows either,” Killian warned whilst glancing down at me. “Just the proper announcement.”

The priest held my gaze as if pitying me. And with another woman standing beside Killian, the poor priest began to read out the words that’d tie my fate with Killian.

The priest licked his dry mouth and flipped the page in his holy book. “Today, we gather in the holy matrimony of—”

Killian held up a hand. “Wait.”

Every pair of eyes snapped to Killian. All of the guests were already beginning to whisper to themselves. Older men began to get out of their seats from the front row, their face twisted with rage. They took a single step forward. Armed men in black stormed the venue, guns were drawn.

“Let the shots be fired,” Killian ordered.

BANG!

I stiffened in horror as the bullets flew past us. I gasped as the woman beside me was nicked by a flying bullet. Not a second later, a man tackled her off the altar, most likely protecting her.

It was almost as if Killian was immune to the shooting because he sure as hell smiled like he was. And that was perhaps the first time I saw his genuine happiness—when bullets and blood rained chaos over us.

“Let us go!” someone shouted from the crowd of senior citizens.

I realized they must’ve been Thornov pack elders. Or was it councilmen? Both titles worked.

“Sit back down, gramps,” Killian calmly spoke. “You wanted a wedding, didn’t you?”

Everyone was baffled. Admist all of the shouting and older men being forced into their seat, I watched as guests were one by one subdued by the men in black. I saw the priest’s mouth was moving, but I barely registered his words.

Suddenly, the priest made eye contact with me. “Do you, Selene—”

“For f*ck’s sake,” Killian muttered, sharply turning to me.

I was frozen and numb. He stared into my eyes, speaking words that the priest’s should’ve uttered.

“I may kiss the bride,” Killian deadpanned, his voice ringing out for the crowd to hear. He was impatient. That much was clear.

Before I could fathom or reject him, Killian bent his head. To the public, he kissed his bride. To the crowd, he sealed the deal. Everyone saw it with their naked eyes, but no one would ever expect the truth. No one would ever believe that this wedding between Selene Yves and KillianThornov should’ve happened long ago—when she turned of age.