02|The Absent Groom
1400 Words
“Princess Alina Stone.”
Alina stiffened as a voice called out from behind her. She instantly dislodged from Colin’s brief hold, her brows lifting as she turned around.
A hefty man with thick blonde locks and icy blue eyes stood before her. He had very handsome features and an aura dark enough to rival that of Luna Phillipha as he strode toward where they stood.
Alina’s heart thudded. “Could that be the dark alpha?” she asked her uncle through their secure mind link.
“No,” Colin responded dismissively, even as he leveled an interested gaze at their incoming guest. “When you see him, Alina, you'll know it’s him. That’s his brother, Fabian,” he replied.
“Now I have an idea of what he looked like,” she said again through the mind link.
“No, you don’t.”
“Why not?” Alina’s brow creased up impatiently. Brothers always have a twinge of resemblance to each other, do they not?
“They look nothing alike.” Colin beat down the thought, scattering it into the wind. “Different fathers. The brothers are as different as night and day.”
“I have seen him once. I have an idea of what he looks like, but the man in front of you is not him.”
She ended the link as they moved towards Fabian, reaching him midway, trying to look as clueless as possible.
“The bride marches.” She heard him say in a low and sarcastic tone.
“Howdy, I am the brother-in-law, Fabian.” He spread his hands, a comical grin lifting at the corners of his lips.
“That must be your father!” he continued, stretching out a handshake towards Collin, who quickly reciprocated.
He assumed Colin was her father, how convenient!
She and Colin looked nothing alike. Her uncle was somewhat strict and straight to the point, while she was sort of flexible and indirect. And character aside, he had blonde curly hair while hers was jet black. Her eyes were green, while his brown eyes had a soft look about them.
Alina exchanged little pleasantries with Fabian while Colin went across to the other side of the hall to watch while they spoke. She could feel his eyes even from across the room, watching her body language to discern what the meeting was about.
“Sorry, I wasn’t in attendance,” Fabian started. “Mother didn’t give me a heads-up that there would be an impromptu wedding, so I went hunting. Kindly excuse my absence,” he said with satisfaction written all over his face.
Wait. Was he…happy he wasn’t at the wedding? Alina thought for a millisecond. Her lips twitched. She didn’t know whether to be amused or offended so she pulled up an impeccable smile from the pit of her belly and skipped over the thoughts, pretending none of it mattered. “I’m happy to meet you, Fabian.”
Fabian’s thin lips pursed. His dark eyes roamed over her body from head to toe.
Alina’s throat tightened along with her fingers around the cup. His concentration made her uncomfortable, and it was difficult to guess what he could be thinking when his gaze was so unnerving.
“Stone?”
“Y-yes?” Alina blinked, stunned at the sudden mention of her last name.
“You are a very beautiful girl. But…I wonder how long you'll last here.”
Her brows furrowed. “Sorry?” Where the hell did that come from?
Fabian’s lips tightened even more. “Did no one tell you that my brother hated red?”
Oh…that.
“Very bold of you to wear one, and your advisor who picked this for you must really hate you.” He said, looking toward Colin at the other end.
The corners of Alina’s eyes lifted as she smiled, but she hid her glee with a lift of her cup to her lips.
“I picked red myself. But I hope my husband will be merciful. I should’ve asked, but everything was done in a hurry. We arrived in the early hours of the morning.”
“I see.” Despite her explanation, Fabian didn't look one bit pleased. “Learn to make sharp decisions. Lucien loathes clumsiness just as much as he cannot stand awkward women.”
With that, he turned and strode off, but not before Alina glimpsed the tiny glint of satisfaction in his eyes.
Was he happy the red clothes would spite his brother, or more concerned that he would be angry with her choice of color?
Princess Stone. Hearing that name being spoken out loud sounded strange.
It was a disguise because her real name had to go for her mission to truly succeed.
And Fabian?
Alina felt a shiver run up her spine as she watched his tall imposing figure disappear around the corner.
The thought of being a wife to his brother was terrifying enough. She wished there was another way it would all work out, but this was the only way.
Alina felt her stomach churn with disdain at the thought of Lucien.
At a point, she’d thought he would change his mind and show up somewhere along the wedding, but the whole ceremony had been done without him.
Her eyes swept through the room. She had no idea what he looked like. She wondered if he was somewhere watching her right now.
“Cringe!” She shook off the thought immediately.
Some whispered that they had never seen him, only heard of him, while others said they had only seen his shadow and never his face. Her uncle assured her he was human and a wolf but it’s still strange.
“What did he say?” Colin asked through the mind link.
“Nothing important, just exchanging pleasantries.” She steadied her tone and responded.
“Alina, be careful of that one.” Concern deepened the edge of Colin’s tone. “The apple doesn’t fall quite far from the tree. Hold eye contact always, they can almost sense when you are lying. This one is already a hundred years older than you are.”
A hundred? Goddess!
“My men will be in the shadows in the west woods should you need us. And remember Anis will always be with you.” The link went silent. And Colin, gone with it.
Her being a spy for the Fahren pack was to weaken Darkfur's defenses.
She looked up at Anis who had returned before the ceremony started, and noticed that she’d continued to follow her around, yet kept her distance.
Anis looked tired and drained. Probably from thinking about what she needed to do as a new bride’s handmaid, and from always giving her distance when Alina had to speak with a guest.
Anis had been her maid since she was a child. Thirteen years older than Alina, her advice was always golden.
And contrary to what Alina had told Fabian, Anis had found out long before their arrival that the dark alpha Lucien hated red. So they decided it was the right choice of color to wear.
What an idea to make sure the dark alpha notices her presence. Smooth plan, look who even came around.
A wicked smile crept at the corners of Alina’s lips. She let out a sigh of relief, feeling pleased with herself and Anis.
***
After the ceremony was over, and Alina was led to the Alpha’s chambers, she waited on a stool at the center of the room, her entire body taut with anxiety, yet no one came in for hours.
She resorted to sleeping in a corner of the room.
Then after what seemed like eternity, Alina’s eyes flickered open when she felt the soft tap of a hand on her skin.
She looked up slowly to see Anis standing there, and her brows furrowed to find that it was bright outside.
It surely wasn’t morning…was it?
How did she sleep for so long? She thought.
…And her husband, where was he? Did he come in, see her sleeping, and decide not to wake her up?
The thoughts came in all at once, threatening to give Alina a headache as she rushed to her feet.
Her eyes lazily searched the room again before turning towards Anis. “Where’s Lucien?”
Anis’s lips tightened.
“Alina, your husband didn’t come.”
- Writer
