THE WOLF KING’S BRIDE

CHAPTER TWO: THE CURSED VOWS

Elara POV

The words on the mirror seemed to pulse with a life of their own, burning into my mind until I could see them even when I closed my eyes. Welcome home, Queen.

The condensation dripped down the glass like slow, heavy tears, blurring the sharp edges of the letters, but the message remained hammered into my soul. I didn't sleep after that. Every time my eyelids grew heavy, I saw her face those silver eyes, sharp as a winter frost, staring through the fog of my dreams as if she were reaching out to claim the very air from my lungs.

I sat huddled in the center of the massive, cold bed, watching the shadows crawl across the ceiling like ink until the first hints of a gray, bruised dawn began to bleed through the heavy curtains.

Before the sun could fully crest the horizon, the castle bells began to toll. They weren't the celebratory bells of Vareth that rang for summer festivals; they were deep, heavy, and echoing, sounding more like a rhythmic heartbeat that refused to stop than a call to a wedding. The sound vibrated in my chest, a dull ache that reminded me with every strike that my old life was dead.

Liora entered my room just as the final toll faded into a haunting silence. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she moved with a frantic, bird-like jitteriness that set my nerves on edge. She didn't speak as she began to prepare me, her movements hurried and clumsy. Her hands shook so violently that she fumbled with the intricate laces of the new gown she had brought. This dress was different from the burial shroud I had arrived in it felt like it was made of woven moonlight, cold to the touch and so heavy with silver thread that it felt like a suit of armor.

"It's time, my lady," she whispered, her voice cracking as she finally secured the bodice.

"The King waits beneath the red moon."

"Red moon?" I asked, my voice sounding hoarse and foreign. I looked toward the window, where the light was unnatural. "The sun is barely up, Liora. How can there be a moon?"

"The omen of blood and vows," she said quietly, refusing to meet my gaze in the mirror. She pulled the laces tighter, forcing the air out of my lungs until I felt lightheaded. "In this place, the sky does not follow the laws of your world. Some say the red moon is a blessing, a sign of a bond that can never be broken. Others... others call it a curse that demands a debt."

"And you?" I pressed, catching her reflection. "Which do you think it is?"

She didn't answer. She simply smoothed the heavy skirt of my gown and stepped back, her face a mask of profound sorrow.

Outside, the courtyard was a vision of beautiful horror. The air was thick with the scent of ozone and ancient stone. The entire court had gathered, a sight that made my blood turn to ice. Hundreds of werewolves stood in perfect, silent rows warriors, nobles, and creatures I had only seen in the margins of forbidden books. Their golden eyes gleamed with an eerie, hungry intensity. Farther back, the humans from my father's realm stood huddled together like cattle. They looked pale and terrified, their knuckles white as they clutched wooden crosses, looking for all the world like they expected to be slaughtered as part of the festivities.

At the center of the courtyard, beneath an arch of jagged black stone, stood Kael. The wind whipped his fur-lined cloak around him, making him look like a dark god carved from the mountain itself. Above him, the moon was no longer silver. It was a deep, bruised crimson, casting a bloody, shimmering light over the stones.

When I reached him, the noise of the wind seemed to vanish. The world narrowed down to just the two of us. Kael extended his hand, his silver eyes locked on mine with an intensity that made it impossible to look away.

"You look afraid," he said, his voice a low vibration that seemed to settle in my very bones.

"Wouldn't you be?" I whispered back, my defiance the only thing keeping me from collapsing. "If you were marrying a monster in a land where the sky bleeds red?"

Something flickered in the depths of his silver gaze a flash of raw pain, or perhaps a deep-seated regret that he quickly masked with a cold stare.

"If I were truly the monster your father told you about, Elara," he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous level, "you wouldn't still be standing here to insult me."

I should have pulled back, but I placed my hand in his. That same jolt of electric heat from the night before surged through my veins, centering on the mark on my wrist.

The priest began to chant in a language of growls and sharp consonants that seemed to curl through the air like black smoke.

Kael took my hand and drew a thin, silver blade across his own palm. The scent of iron filled the air. He turned his hand upward, blood pooling in the center of his palm, and waited.

"Your turn, Princess," the priest said.

My hand shook so badly the blade nearly slipped. I looked at Kael, searching for a sign of mercy, but his expression was like stone. I gritted my teeth and sliced quickly across my own palm. The sting was sharp and real. Kael gripped my hand, pressing our bleeding palms together.

The world exploded in a flash of crimson light.

Heat flooded through me, more intense than any fire. The mark on my wrist began to pulse, glowing so bright it shone through my sleeve. A hush fell over the courtyard. Then, the sky darkened further, and the red moon seemed to catch fire. And then I heard it the voice from my dream, melodic and dripping with ancient malice.

"He was mine first."

The ground beneath us began to tremble. Guests gasped as the air turned heavy with the scent of burning roses. I saw cracks of silver light splitting across the red sky. The wolf-guards growled, their hackles rising as they formed a protective circle. Kael didn't hesitate; he stepped in front of me instantly, his massive arm sweeping around my waist to pull me against his chest, shielding my body with his own.

"Stay behind me!" he ordered, his voice rough and commanding over the roar of the wind.

"I heard her voice again," I whispered into his cloak, my heart pounding. "Kael, she said I was home."

His eyes darted to mine, sharp and filled with a sudden, dark suspicion. "Whose voice, Elara? Tell me exactly what you heard."

"The woman from the dream," I said, my voice shaking. "She called me her queen."

Kael’s jaw tightened until I thought his teeth might c***k. For a fleeting second, I saw raw, unadulterated fear in the eyes of the Wolf King.

"You heard nothing," he said, his voice firm, though his grip on my shoulder was almost painful.

"It was only the wind howling through the stones. Do you hear me? It was nothing."

When the shaking finally stopped, the priest rushed to finish the ceremony, his voice thin with terror. "By blood and moon, the bond is sealed," he said. "You are now one, until the moon fades from the sky."

Kael released my hand as if it burned him. His expression went distant and cold again. "It's done," he said. "You are Queen of Moonspire now."

The feast that followed was a tense, hollow affair. No one really ate. Kael sat beside me, a silent, brooding shadow who didn't touch a morsel of food. When it was finally over, he led me down a silent, drafty corridor toward the heart of the castle.

"You're quiet," he said at last.

"I'm trying to understand why the moon calls me Queen," I answered honestly. "And why you look at me like I’m a ghost you're trying to outrun."

"Don't listen to the moon, Elara," he warned. "It is a reflection of things that should have stayed buried. It lies."

"Does it?" I stepped closer, my defiance returning. "Or are you the one lying to me?

You saw what happened. You heard her too."

His jaw clenched. For a heartbeat, I thought he would walk away. But instead, he turned, his gaze boring into mine. "If you value your life, Elara, you will stop asking questions tonight. Some secrets in this castle have teeth."

He left me there, and Liora appeared from the shadows. Her face was ashen.

"My lady," she whispered. "Your chambers have been moved to the Queen's Wing. It is the King's order."

"The Queen's Wing?" I frowned.

"Please, my lady," Liora begged. "Don't argue with him tonight."

We walked in silence to a part of the castle that felt older and more alive.

The new room was massive, lined with mirrors framed in blackened iron. I hated them instantly. Liora stood at the doorway, refusing to step fully into the room. "My lady," she whispered. "Whatever you do... don't touch the mirrors. They remember her. Queen Seraphina."

Before I could ask more, Liora hurried away. I turned toward the largest mirror, my reflection looking small and fragile. My pulse pounded, and the mark on my wrist began to glow.

"It's just glass," I muttered.

But the moment my fingertips brushed the cold surface, warmth bloomed. The glass rippled like the surface of a pond. And then, a single drop of crimson liquid slid down the center of the mirror.

The candles in the room flickered violently and died. In the darkness, my reflection didn't pull back. It stood still. It blinked once, twice. But the woman staring back wasn't me anymore.

Her eyes were silver fire, her gown was dripping with fresh blood, and she was smiling. It was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen.

I gasped and turned away. When I looked back, the mirror was silent and clean.

The door creaked open, and Kael stood there.

"What happened?" he asked sharply.

"The mirror," I breathed. "It bled. And I saw her, Kael. I saw Seraphina."

Kael walked to the mirror and touched the glass. It was clean. He looked back at me, his eyes softening with pity. "The castle plays tricks, Elara. It feeds on fear. You've been through too much today."

He turned to leave, but he paused at the door. "Whatever you see in these mirrors," he said, his voice heavy with warning, "don't believe it's her. She is gone, Elara. She has to be."

As he closed the door, I saw his hand lingering on the wood, and I knew he was as terrified as I was.