The Monsters Beneath My Wedding Veil

Breaking point

In the great hall the silence stretched longer than anyone expected. Sandriner stood beneath the arch of white roses, her hand still resting in Sandrick’s. The High Priest waited with patient eyes. Hundreds of guests watched. Yet the words she needed to speak would not come.

Sandriner felt the mate bond pull harder than before. It was no longer a gentle thread. It was a living force that pressed against her ribs and made every breath shallow. Her wolf paced inside her, restless and angry at the vows that tried to claim her. The heavy dress felt tighter with every second. She saw the golden sunlight on the marble floor, the silver banners above, and the carefully blank faces of the High Council in the front rows. One of those council members had already sent a guard toward the eastern doors. She wondered how close that search had come to the forgotten prison.

Sandrick watched her closely. He kept his expression calm for the guests, but inside his thoughts moved quickly. He had noticed the slight tremble in her fingers and the way her eyes kept drifting, as if she were listening to something no one else could hear. He told himself it was only nerves. Every bride felt them. Yet a quiet doubt had started to grow since the night before. She had seemed distant when he visited her room. This morning she looked beautiful, but her smile never reached her eyes. He wondered if the arranged marriage still felt right to her. He had promised to give her time, and he meant it. Still, the kingdom needed this union. Peace needed it. He tightened his hold on her hand just a little and spoke in a low voice only she could hear. “Sandriner. You do not have to rush. If you need a moment, we can take one.”

Far below the castle, in the circular chamber of stone and silver chains, Delvis and Delhir felt every second of her hesitation.

Delvis sat with his back against the cold wall, eyes half-closed. The mate bond burned bright in his chest. He could sense her standing in the light, surrounded by people who did not know the truth. He spoke quietly to his brother. “She is fighting it. The vows are trying to bind her.”

Delhir paced the short length of his cell, chains scraping across the floor. His silver eyes glowed faintly in the dim light. “She should not have to fight alone. The bond is ours. It was never meant for that Dawson pup.” He stopped and gripped the silver bars. The metal hissed against his skin, but he did not let go. “Can you feel how strong it has grown since she came to us? The chains are weaker today.”

Delvis opened his eyes fully. He tested the weight of the silver links around his wrists. The metal did not bite as deeply. The mate bond was feeding them strength, slow but real. “If she speaks those vows, the bond will still hold,” he said. “But it will hurt her. And it will wake every old power we still carry.”

Delhir’s voice dropped lower. “Then we do not wait for nightfall. The council is already searching the lower halls. I can hear their boots. If they find the open path she left, they will try to seal us tighter.” He looked toward the iron door that led to the tunnel. “We need her to choose before they close every way out.”

Back in the great hall, the High Priest cleared his throat once more. “Lady Sandriner, the packs wait for your answer. Do you take Alpha Sandrick as your mate and Alpha?”

Sandriner’s lips parted. She felt the weight of every eye on her. She saw Sandrick’s patient face and the gentle concern in his blue eyes. She also felt the fierce claim of the two Alphas below, a claim that made the idea of saying “I do” feel like a lie. Her wolf snarled inside her, refusing the words. A soft blue flicker ran through the nearest candles along the aisle. Only a few guests noticed. Most were still watching her.

Sandrick’s thoughts turned sharper. He had seen the blue flicker too. It reminded him of old stories the elders sometimes whispered when they thought no one listened—stories about cursed fire and the true heirs who had vanished years ago. He had always dismissed those tales. The kingdom was stable under his family’s rule. Yet the timing unsettled him. His future Luna stood silent at the altar, the candles burned the wrong color for a heartbeat, and a guard had just been sent to the eastern wing on the council’s order. Something was shifting, and he did not like that he could not name it.

In the prison, Delhir suddenly lifted his head. “She is close to breaking. I can feel the struggle in her.” He pressed his forehead against the bars. “Come back to us,” he whispered, though he knew she could not hear the words with her ears. The bond carried the meaning anyway.

Delvis rose to his feet. The chains clinked but no longer held the same heavy finality. “If the search reaches this door, we will not remain quiet. The kingdom has lived on a lie long enough.”

Above them, Sandriner drew a slow breath. She looked at Sandrick, then at the High Priest, then at the side doors where the guard had disappeared. The mate bond pulled once more, deep and certain. She opened her mouth, still unsure what sound would leave it, while far below two Alphas tested the limits of their silver chains and waited for the moment the truth could no longer stay buried.