The Sacrifice Mate

Chapter Three

Alma continued her tale "No one knows exactly what happened after that, but ever since, every century the Goddess sends an alpha to claim a bride, and together they rule the descendent pack and worship the Goddess. In exchange, as an act of mercy, the family of the bride will carry the Goddess everlasting favor and be rulers on earth"

By this time Esmeralda had stopped crying and said "So, if I don't accept to become the bride, Victor will not become lord of the Household. Some other family will rise to power and influence in Hunters Cove." It was a statement more than question. Alma simply nooded "But it is still YOUR choice" she said, drying the rest of her daughter's tears,she rose and left her daughter to do some much needed thinking.

Esmeralda barely touched the food sent to her room. Her family understood that she needed space and Alma kept Victor away from his sister at least for the night.

Esmeralda knew Victor would never fault her if she declined and subsequently ended his reign as Lord of the Household even before it began- which made the decision even harder.

She felt corned, restless, she needed to take a walk. It was almost midnight as she strolled aimlessly through the grounds, her mind busy with a thousand thoughts. Why did she always assumed she would be free from any formal obligation? Especially knowing her father... Could she really live with being responsible for her family's downfall? Not so much because wealth or position were that much important to her. But she knew Victor planned to do so much, especially to benefit the town! And well given her father carelessness and hinger for power, she could only assume that the next family who took over would not be very favourable towards him in particular.... As she walked she almost missed a faint rustling of leaves on grass, and she could almost swear she was being watched. She pushed the thought from her mind, it was late and no one trespassed into the estate grounds, Hunters Cove was a safe place and had been so ever since she could remember as a child. She sighed as she looked towards the heavens, there was a beautiful moonlight. Suddenly she heard a howl, and she look towards the direction of the sound to see a beautiful silver wolf, bigger than any wolf she had ever seen. It was striking and imposing as it looked at her, its eyes shining. Esmeralda barely blinked and it was gone. Was she imagening things? She decided to walk back home and try to get some rest, there was not telling what tomorrow will bring - their birthday parties were elaborate and tiresome enough, she couldn't even begin to imagine what this one would bring.

She got up early as she couldn't get much sleep with so much on her mind. As soon as she opened her bedroom door Victor got in still in his pajamas,it would have been funny had it been any other time. He made sure the doors were closed and turned to Esmeralda.

Victor:"Esme don't do it!" Esmeralda could even get a word in and he carried on "Not for me! Not for the family! Don't give up on your freedom" it brought tears to Esmeralda's eyes to see how much her brother cared. She hugged him and once he calmed down she replied

Esmeralda:"Victor, whatever my fate would be, I always saw myself at your side! Lets see where this takes us, before we make any decisions" she said sounding braver than she felt... But she had to reassure Victor. After all she was his older sister even if only by a second.

When they left Esmeralda's room, everyone in the house was already in a buzz preparing for the birthday celebrations. They had breakfast with their parents, Narcissus was both a nervous wreck and extremely excited about the extension of power he was so sure his family would earn. Alma, on the other hand, made sure to silently convey to her daughter as much support as she could. Making sure she knew that deep down it was her own choice and no one else's. Neither sibling felt particularly cheerful or festive so they ended up sitting underneath the oak tree, both hoping for some peace before they had to endure the party. Neither spoke a word, just enjoying the silence as much as they could while lost in their own thoughts.

The siblings hid for as long as they could without raising suspicion, but they had to go back to get ready, meaning, to look presentable for the party. When they got back home, the whole household was covered in blue hydrangeas and white candlesticks. Their mother Alma as always had been in charge of the decorations.

Esmeralda sat in her dressing room getting ready for the party. She chose a dark green dress that accentuated her eyes and made her red hair stand out. She let is loose, forgoing any elaborate hairstyles, letting her hair flow down naturally.

When she approached the massive stairway to come down she saw her brother, dreesed elegantly in all black aside from a tie that accentuated his eye color. They got down the stairway together as they usually did, although this time it felt different, as if it was the last time they were doing it.

Even without speaking a word about it, they descended the stairs slowly, looking for the whole world as if it was just for show, but to them it was to preserve this moment in time, in case it would be the last...

They joined their parents Narcissus and Alma who wore matching outfits, clearly chosen by Alma. They looked like royalty, ostentatious but in impeccable taste, as Alma knew that her husband liked to show off his power and position at every chance he got.

There was the usual line up of potential matches for Victor although this time it all seemed a bit more forced than usual. It felt intrusive to the twins, it was as if everyone knew that this time was different from all their usual celebrations.