The Wicked Wolf

White rose petals fell all around me, slowly and gently blown by the evening breeze. It would have been beautiful, straight out of an enchanted dream if not for the situation I was in. I take a shaking breath, failing terribly in wrapping my head around the last few hours. For it has been a terrible few hours. It all happened too fast and too much for anyone to take during what most would call the best day of their life. But that wasn’t my life. Because no matter how luxurious and beautiful my wedding is, no matter how good looking and dreamlike my betrothed is, I find myself helpless and confused, trapped in a corner like a prey with nowhere to go. My heart is in my throat and my ears are ringing as I stare at my supposed mate, the man that I knew I was going to marry since I was two, and feel… shattered. It did not feel real. It did not feel right. But how did I get here? How did it all turn so bad in such a short time? Just moments ago, everything was perfect, everything was just as it was planned. My father was proud of me, my sisters were supportive, and I was excited. So terribly excited. My beautiful wedding, my promising future as Luna, everything I had worked hard for years was erased within a single night. All of it. Gone. I stood in front of the crowd of the most powerful werewolves of the world, all invited to see me happily wed, all eager to watch the moment everyone has been waiting for, only for this disaster to happen. As I look back at them, my perfect white wedding and its important guests seem to be frozen in time, unable to move, unable to comprehend. In the crowd, my father’s face was red, too overwhelmed by rage to speak. My mother is well into her drink by his side, dazed and hiccuping. My four brothers are trying to make their way towards me in various states of anger, fighting through the crowd of guards that stopped them. And my sisters… oh my sisters. They didn’t know what to do. They could only watch. For what could they do at that moment? What could I do at that moment? Nothing. I couldn’t do anything. My betrothed, Hugo Bastian, the Alpha of the strongest pack in the world, stared back at me with betrayal, with hurt, with hate, and I could only stare back feeling empty inside. We were supposed to have it all. It was set in stone. Unchangeable. He and I. That’s how it was supposed to be. Despite holding everything back, forcing myself to feel nothing, to show nothing like what I was taught to do, my resolve quakes and fumbles in front of everyone in attendance. It leaves me lost and more than a little shaken. Such displays of emotion are unbecoming of a Rhys, a mortal sin, but here I was, laid bare in front of the entire werewolf world to see and to judge. “Vasi,” A voice so rough, so deep and so damnably compelling spoke from beside me. How could I forget? His calloused hand was on my cheek, sliding down to my throat, to my pulse and I thought he might choke me, but instead his touch was gentle and exploring. His harsh fingers trace the space between my neck and my shoulder… to where marks are placed. This man, this horror— he is the King. He is handsome beyond belief. And most importantly, he is wicked, so horribly wicked. He is a m u r d e r e r, vicious and mean and all things horrible. The scars on his face, all over his body said so. He k i l l e d his own family, his own blood and I’m sure he won’t have any problem getting rid of me as well. With all the disgust and with all the refusal that I give him, he only looks at me with a confusing mixture of cruelty and softness. The kind of softness in his eyes that feels like a caress of a lover. A deep, powerful growl thunders from Hugo’s chest, but even he, the most powerful Alpha, couldn’t move, commanded to stay like a dog by the man that ruled us into submission. The Wicked Wolf doesn’t even blink at the protests that my betrothed makes, his eyes only on me. I am frozen in place as well, but the only difference is… he didn’t order me to do so. He didn’t need to. One look and he could pin me in place. One look and he had me under his spell. “Are you going to k i l l me?” I ask, my voice surprisingly even. “No,” He mused, almost fondly. Too fondly for a man like him. He inches closer, his nose almost touching mine, his body heat searing my skin like he is branding me as his. He is so close, so painfully close that I fight the urge to keep my eyes from fluttering close. The Wicked Wolf takes a deep breath and smells me like I’m his next meal. “I’m going to keep you.” My stomach drops to the floor and I swear my heart stops beating. I wasn’t prepared for that. Nothing would have prepared me for that answer. More growls erupted through the room, I cannot tell from whom, but the combined ferocity shook the walls and the glass windows. Still, the Wicked Wolf does not flinch or look back, unbothered by the reactions around us and simply holding on to me as if we were the only ones in the room. Like we were alone in our little world. But I felt every stare, every pair of eyes that watched with bated breath as the King of my nightmares had his hands on my neck. His lips curved ever so softly then, making people gasp loudly at the sight. But to me, nothing was louder than the words that left his lips next. “You belong to me now.” My knees buckled and if he had not been holding onto me, I would have fallen. A wave of… something travels down from my scalp to the tips of my toes and settles along my stomach. But he wasn’t done. He was far from done. “And I want everything, Miss Rhys. Everything.” His words shot through my heart like an arrow, lodging deep inside me. It sounded like a promise, an oath said for all the werewolf world to hear. “When I’m done with you,” He trails off, his lips gliding along the side of my face in a tantalizing speed. “There will be nothing left.” Without allowing me a choice or even a word on the matter, the Wicked Wolf stands behind me. He twists me around, so I am facing the front and proceeds to wrap his arms around my chest possessively… protectively. Resting his stubbled chin on my shoulder casually as though he has done this many times before, he names me; “My Queen. Mine,” He takes my hand, the one that has my engagement ring with a diamond as big as a golf ball and, in one swift motion, slips my ring finger in his mouth, his tongue lapping my skin at a slow and antagonizing pace until I feel the sharpness of his teeth scrape along the length of my finger. He proceeds to pull and spit out the ring onto the floor, the last thing holding me to Hugo clattering on the ivory floor. The sound of it rang through my ears, rattling my mind. I gazed up at the Wicked Wolf who was resting his chin on my shoulder and when he smirked at me in a way that I felt like I was falling from grace, I knew that this was the end for me. Because I would soon find out just how much he was willing to take and ruin and corrupt. And I would soon realize that my life would never be the same after the Wicked Wolf takes me from my life, from everything I know and keeps me. Forever. For I was now his prisoner, his wife, his mate. His only and his forever. At least not if I can help it.