THE BETROTHAL
1102 Words
POV: Aria
I could not breathe. The words my father spoke kept echoing in my head like a dashing baby drum, crashing into each other until nothing made sense anymore.
Betrothed? Alpha Damien Bloodmoon, how? When? By whom? My father?
I stood frozen in the courtyard, my fingers curled into fists beneath my cloak. Wolves stared at me from every direction, their eyes filled with curiosity, shock, and something close to fear. Damien stood beside my father like he already owned the ground beneath his feet, like he already owned me.
“This is not happening,” I whispered.
My father turned to face me, his expression hard, unmoving. “It has already happened.”
My chest tightened. “You did this behind my back.”
“For months,” he replied calmly. “Negotiations take time.”
Months? This is so ridiculous. While I dreamed. While I trusted him. While I thought my life was still mine, minding my goddamn business.
“You knew,” I said, my voice shaking. “You planned this while I was still a child.”
Magnus stepped closer. “I planned this to protect the pack, my dear.”
“And what about me?” I shouted. “What about my mate?”
His eyes flicked to Kael, who stood rigid a few steps away, his face pale, his jaw locked tight, not knowing what to say.
“That bond,” Magnus said coldly, “is not suitable.”
The word hit harder than a slap in the face.
“It weakens our structure,” he continued. “It blurs the lines of command. I will not allow it.”
He turned fully toward Kael. “You will not mark her. You will not pursue her. You will not touch her again, not in your life and after life.”
Kael flinched like he had been struck in a cave unknown. My heart screamed, undiluted brewing inside my soul.
“You cannot order the bond away,” I cried. “You cannot control the Moon Goddess.”
Damien chuckled softly.
“You would be surprised what can be controlled,” he said.
He stepped closer to me, his presence dark and suffocating. His eyes traveled over me slowly, possessively.
“If necessary,” he continued, “I will claim you. A forced bond will override this inconvenience.”
Something inside me snapped instantly. Power surged through my veins, wild and furious. The surrounding air shifted, and pressure built until wolves staggered back. Silver light burst from my skin as pain tore through my chest.
I screamed as blood filled my mouth.
The incomplete bond burned like fire, ripping me apart from the inside. I dropped to my knees, coughing, my hands stained red.
“Aria,” Kael shouted.
My father raised a hand, stopping him.
“Enough,” Magnus said sharply.
The power collapsed back into me, leaving me shaking and weak. I looked up through blurred vision.
“You see,” my father said, his voice grim, “this bond is already killing her.”
I struggled to stand, rage, and hurt mixed into something unbearable. “You did this. Both of you.”
Magnus’s expression did not soften. “Kael did this.”
I froze. “What?”
He turned to face the crowd, his voice carrying. “My Beta has known about this bond for two years.”
The world tilted.
“What,” I repeated, barely able to speak.
Magnus continued, relentlessly. “He suspected it when she was sixteen. And instead of coming to me, he chose silence.”
I turned slowly toward Kael.
My vision swam, but I saw the truth in his eyes before he spoke.
“You knew,” I whispered.
He took a step toward me, ignoring the Alpha’s presence. “Aria, listen to me.”
“You knew,” I said louder. “For two years.”
“Yes,” he said hoarsely. “I knew something was wrong. I felt the pull.”
The pain that tore through me then was worse than the bond itself.
“And you said nothing,” I said. “You looked at me every day and said nothing.”
Magnus added the final blow.
“He has been taking suppressants,” my father said. “For two years. To dull the bond. To hide it.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“You hid it,” I whispered to Kael. “You lied to me.”
“I protected you,” he snapped back. “I wanted you to grow up without fear, without pressure. Without being bound to a man old enough to know better.”
Tears streamed down my face. “You decided that for me.”
“I decided to suffer alone,” he said. “So you wouldn’t have to.”
Damien laughed, slow and amused.
“How touching,” he said. “Tragic, really.”
He reached out. Kael moved instantly.
“Do not touch her,” Kael growled.
Damien’s hand closed around my wrist anyway. The bond screamed. Kael lost control.
He lunged, slamming Damien into the stone wall with bone-crushing force. The courtyard exploded into chaos. Wolves shouted. Guards rushed forward, then stopped when Kael shifted midair, claws tearing through the flesh.
Damien roared in pain as Kael’s jaws clamped onto his shoulder, blood spraying across the ground. Kael’s eyes burned gold, his wolf fully in control now.
“Kael,” I screamed.
He did not hear me nor listen to me. He slammed Damien again and again, fury pouring out of him like a storm. Damien shifted, trying to fight back, but Kael was stronger. Faster. Driven by the bond.
Kael’s claws raked across Damien’s chest, missing his heart by inches.
“He will kill him,” someone shouted.
Before anyone could stop it, Selene Nightshade appeared behind Kael.
She did not hesitate. A needle plunged into his neck. Silver-laced wolfsbane. Kael roared in pain, his body convulsing as the poison burned through him. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious before he hit the stone.
“No,” I screamed, rushing toward him.
Guards grabbed him, chains snapping around his wrists and ankles. They dragged his limp body across the courtyard, leaving a trail of blood behind.
“Stop,” I begged. “Please stop.”
No one listened. Damien staggered to his feet, wounded but alive, his eyes burning with rage and possession. Magnus turned to me, his voice final. “You will leave with Alpha Damien Bloodmoon.”
Damien smiled darkly.
“In one hour,” he said.
- Writer
