The Alpha With Two Wolf's

Chapter3

The ceremonial chamber was filled with the scents of pine smoke and the anxiety of sweat. Wolves crowded the stone seats, their chatter fading to hushed tones as I entered through the large oak doors.

My bare feet made no sound on the icy floor. The white gown they had compelled me to wear felt akin to a shroud for the dead, the material irritating my still-healing bruises from the pit.

Yet none of that was significant when I spotted him at the altar.

Marcus.

My chest seized. He wore the deep blue ceremonial robes of a future beta, the silver threading catching the torchlight. His blonde hair became perfectly styled, his green eyes brilliant with something that made my skin move slowly. What's he doing here? Ronan stood inflexible beside the altar, his big body disturbing under his black ceremonial shirt. His dark hair fell throughout his forehead, and whilst his eyes met mine, I saw nothing. No warmth. No reassurance. Just cold, flat indifference.

"You better keep walking," the escort hissed in my ear, shoving me ahead after I hesitated.

My legs moved on their own. Each step echoed via the silent corridor like a funeral march. Marcus smiled at me, that identical charming smile that had once made my coronary heart race. Now it made me sick.

"Beautiful as always, Talia," he said loudly, sufficient for the front rows to pay attention. Several pack members snorted.

His jaw grew hard. "Shut up, Marcus."

"Just appreciating your bride, Ronan." Marcus clapped Ronan on the shoulder. "We grew up together, after all. I know how much you've always wanted... companionship."

The way he spoke made me feel sick.With his fist firmly planted, Ronan held his hands by his side.

I stood at the altar with a wobbly leg. Alpha Kael stepped forward, his ceremonial robes rustling.

"Tonight, under the blood moon, we bind these cursed bloodlines," his voice boomed across the hall. "Let their union contain the darkness that threatens our pack."

Soon the moon was reddening along the edges of the tall windows. My mouth dried up.

"The marking will commence," Alpha Kael announced.

It was my first full embrace with Ronan as he turned around.At eye level, I observed a slim scar that extended from his left temple to his jaw. His eyes were completely devoid of humanity.

His voice was so quiet as he spoke: ‘This is meaningless. Don’t confuse duty with affection.”

Before I could answer, his hands were on my shoulders.The heat emanated from his fingers on me.

He instructed, 'Turn your head away from me.'

So I did and tilted my neck to reveal the marking spot.The rhythm of my pulse pressed against my throat.

He had a warm, burning breath that I couldn't tolerate. “This will cause great discomfort.”

His teeth sank deep. Fire exploded through my veins. I bit my tongue to avoid screaming, tasting copper. The marking burn spread from my neck down my spine, like molten metal being poured into my bones.

The mating bond snapped into place like a whip c***k.

Pain. Rage. Bone-deep loneliness. The intensity of his emotions over me was so intense that it caused a gasp in my face. But underneath it all, terror. A blatant, instinctive terror that caused my knees to buckle.'

He relinquished me, his lips stained with blood. The crowd shook in triumphant screams.

“The union is finished,” Alpha Kael declared with a raised hand.

The crowd dispersed swiftly, leaving me with nothing but a steady footing. The connection between us, alien and unjust. It was like a storm cloud, and I felt Ronan''s emotions moving through me.

Marcus reached out to me at my elbow before I could keep it in motion.

“Talia, thank you.'' Marcus pressed something cold into my palm and said: ''Excellent wedding gift for you.''

“I have no desire to accept whatever it is you are giving me.”I attempted to repel him, but he kept insisting.

"Drink this tonight. Before you're alone with him." His green eyes were serious now, the charming mask slipping. "It'll help with the pain."

"What pain?"

Marcus glanced toward the windows. The blood moon was nearly complete, casting everything in crimson light. "Just trust me. Drink it all at once, right before…" He looked at Ronan, who was speaking with his father. "...Right before he changes."

My blood turned to ice. "Changes into what?"

But Marcus was already walking away, adjusting his beta robes. "Good luck, Talia. You're going to need it." He chuckled, and I could feel something cold in his smirk.

— — — —

Alpha Kael's private study was all dark wood and mounted wolf heads. He poured himself whiskey while Ronan and I stood before his desk like scolded children.

"The ceremony went well," Kael said, not looking at us. "Marcus will make an excellent beta when the time comes."

"He's not ready," Ronan said flatly.

"He will be." Kael's eyes flicked to me. "Your new mate will retire to your chambers now. The blood moon reaches its peak in less than an hour."

Something cold crawled up my spine. Through the bond, Ronan's terror spiked.

"Father—" Ronan started.

"You know the rules." Kael's voice was iron. "No exceptions. No delays." He looked directly at me. "And no interference."

I didn't know what that meant but it made Ronan's hands shake.

— — — —

The rooms in Ronan''s house were sparse, with only a bed and nook, and heavy curtains draped over the windows.He was prone to standing with his back against mine, shoulders bent.''

He said, “It's important to be honest, I don't believe in love. I don't trust in mates. Why? Because I don't believe in happy endings, which is not my cup of tea.”

“Why did you accept this?”

“The worse, you are the alternative option.” His voice was becoming sharper, he paused but he felt his throat had something to say more. “For me and for him.''

“Lira will be killed by my father if we do not have a bond.” Ronan added.

Outside, wolves began to howl. The blood moon was reaching its peak.

“You have to understand,” Ronan said as he held his hands down on the window ledge, his voice changing and deepening. 'I am not the same man you married an hour ago.'

'What do you mean?' I asked curiously.

He turned, and I stumbled backwards.His eyes had changed from dark brown to bright amber.His nails had penetrated into his palm which were sharp claws.

With a barely human voice, he exclaimed, “I'm sorry you asked.”

His facial bones began to shatter.

With hands screeching, I attempted to retrieve the vial given to me by Marcus. ‘It'll help with the pain,’ he'd said. Whatever was happening to Ronan, I needed my wolf. I needed to be strong.

I uncorked the vial and drank it down in one gulp.

The liquid burned like acid. My wolf, who should have surged forward to protect me, instead retreated deep inside my mind.

Wolfsbane.

Marcus hadn't given me courage. He'd given me poison.

I tried to shift, tried to call my wolf forward, but there was nothing. Just human fragility and growing numbness in my limbs.

Ronan was no longer Ronan. It was almost eight feet tall and covered in midnight-black fur as I observed it.The creature''s eyes were as gleaming as liquid gold, and its mouth was illuminated by the sharp, razor-thin teeth.

It stared at me with its burning eyes, and I couldn’t tell. No humanity. Only hunger.

Getting out was impossible for me as I stood weakly, poisoned with the wolfsbane. I manage

d to trip forward, and I was running towards the door.

The beast smiled and exhibited those awful teeth before me. And then it lunged.