My head throbbed as if someone were using a hammer inside my skull.
I groaned and rolled onto my side, only to feel a soft duvet under my fingers.
My mouth tasted like cotton.
I cracked one eye open and squinted against the morning sunlight streaming through the wide glass windows.
This definitely wasn’t my lumpy bed at the Knox house.
The room was much bigger than mine but sparsely decorated.
It was painted light blue, with a desk and chair against one wall, a random painting, and a simple bed.
Nothing more.
I sat up too quickly and instantly regretted it when my head started spinning.
I looked down at myself.
The itching pearl gown was gone.
In its place, I was wearing a plain white men’s T-shirt that hung off my collarbone, along with a pair of baggy grey pajama bottoms that trailed past my ankles.
”What in the world…” I muttered, my voice raspy.
My memory of the previous day came back in fragments until I remembered everything.
The hotel kitchen.
The curtain ties.
Locking Kristen in the closet.
The broken lock.
Walking down the aisle.
Lifting the veil.
LIFTING THE VEIL!
Dylan Burke.
The kiss.
My parents.
His parents.
The shouting match in the chapel.
The limousine.
The bottle of wine.
My face burned.
I had lied about drinking, gulped down three glasses of wine on an empty stomach, and completely passed out next to the most dangerous Hunter in Raven City.
”Oh god,” I whispered, pressing my hands against my face.
“What did I do?
What did I actually just do?” I had married Dylan Burke.
The terrifying Apex Hunter.
The man whose name made high-society families bolt their doors shut.
Not Holland Burke—the safe, predictable, perfect son.
Where the heck did Mr.
Perfect even disappear to?
That wasn’t important right now.
I threw off the duvet and swung my legs over the edge of the mattress.
My only goal was to find my clothes, find a back door, and disappear before Dylan realized his accidental bride was planning a quiet escape from Blackwood House.
I took one step toward the door.
[DING!
DING!
DING!] A sharp chime sounded directly inside my head.
I flinched and spun around.
“Who’s there?” A glowing, translucent blue screen appeared in mid-air right in front of my face.
White text scrolled across it like a computer terminal.
[ DING!
DING!
DING!
] [ HELLO, UNLUCKY ONE.
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR MARRIAGE.
] [ YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH THE MONSTER REFORMING SYSTEM AS A WEDDING GIFT.
YOU’RE WELCOME.
] [ HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO APPRECIATE THIS SYSTEM’S BENEVOLENCE?
] I blinked and took a step backward.
The screen moved with me, staying exactly three feet from my nose.
I swatted at it, but my fingers passed straight through the light.
”What?!” I gasped.
“What the…
What the actual fuck is this?!
Am I crazy?
No, wait, I’m already crazy.
Are you in my head?” The letters on the screen erased themselves and rewrote in real time.
[ YES, I AM.
] ”Why?” I asked, pressing my hands against my temples.
“What are you?” [ IT WOULD SEEM YOU ARE NOT A VERY BRIGHT ONE, ] the text read, accompanied by a faint robotic sigh.
[ SYSTEM WILL PREPARE FOR THIS SHORTCOMING NEXT TIME.
AS EARLIER STATED, I AM A GIFT.
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION?
] My blood pressure spiked.
”Did you just call me stupid?!” I shouted at the empty room.
“Fuck you and get out of my head!
Ugh!
As if my life isn’t already bad enough, I had to add a stupid talking migraine to it!” The screen flashed bright red.
[ WARNING: UNSANCTIONED HOSTILITY DETECTED.
] [ APPLYING EDUCATIONAL RECALIBRATION.
] Before I could ask what that meant, my vision blurred.
Suddenly, my own face filled my mind’s eye.
It was the moment from yesterday at the altar.
The camera zoomed in on my wide, terrified eyes, my mouth hanging open like a caught fish while Dylan reached for my veil.
WHAT THE ACTUAL FLIP?!
WHO INVITED THIS GUY?!
my own internal screaming echoed through my head.
The memory replayed.
Again.
And again.
My frozen, panicked face looped like some ridiculous GIF.
”Stop!” I squeezed my eyes shut and clutched my head.
“Please, stop!
I beg you!
Don’t make me go through that again!” The loop stopped.
The room came back into focus.
The screen glowed blue again.
[ …
] I took a shaky breath and smoothed down my oversized T-shirt.
Through gritted teeth, I replied, “Thank you for the wedding gift.
I’m most grateful.
In fact, I’d be even more grateful if you disappeared completely—and you don’t have to take your time doing that!” The screen didn’t move.
[ TARGET DYLAN BURKE IS CURRENTLY UNSTABLE.
] [ YOUR PRIMARY MISSION IS TO STABILIZE TARGET AND PREVENT WORLD DESTRUCTION.
] [ FAILURE TO STABILIZE TARGET WILL RESULT IN USER TERMINATION.
] [ CURRENT WORLD SURVIVAL RATE: 3%.
] I stared at the words in disbelief.
“I only stole a groom, why did I get a system?!” I yelled at the ceiling.
A sharp knock sounded against the bedroom door.
I jumped three feet in the air.
The blue screen flickered once and disappeared just as the door swung open.
Dylan stood in the doorway.
He wasn’t wearing his suit anymore.
Instead, he wore black tactical gear: fitted utility pants, reinforced combat boots, and a long-sleeved shirt with protective shoulder gear.
A silver crest was pinned near his collar.
He looked broad, intimidating, and ready for war.
He looked at me standing in the middle of the room in his oversized T-shirt, my hair sticking up in every direction.
”Who were you yelling at?” Dylan asked, his voice low and calm.
”Nobody!” I said quickly, my voice pitching up an octave.
“Just…
practicing my morning warm-ups!” Dylan looked at me for two long seconds.
He didn’t ask anything else.
He simply tossed a small bundle of folded black clothes onto the bed.
”Get dressed,” Dylan said, turning toward the hallway.
“You’re coming with me.” ”Wait, where?” I called after him, taking a step toward the doorway.
“Back to Raven City?
To the hospital?
To file for an annulment?” Dylan paused and turned his head slightly.
His cold eyes met mine.
”We’re going past the perimeter walls,” Dylan replied.
“Time to see if my new wife can survive the wild.” Perimeter?
Are we going to HUNT?
Did he hit his head or did I hit mine?
The blue screen flashed brightly in front of my face again.
[ MANDATORY QUEST: ACCOMPANY TARGET DYLAN BURKE TO WESTBRIDGE.
] [ REWARD: 50 SYSTEM POINTS.
] [ FAILURE PENALTY: 24-HOUR MEMORY LOOP OF THE ALTAR KISS.
] I stared at the screen in horror, then looked at Dylan, who was waiting by the open door.
”Close the door, please.
I’ll get dressed right away,” I said quickly.