Wife...
What?!
Many gasps came after those words, and it was followed by a kind of heavy, trembling silence Della had never experienced before.
Not even one person objected. No one suggested that she should be killed, taking steps back as though there was no coming back from what Alpha Malachi had just proclaimed.
Because there really was no coming back.
To be married to Malachi, was to live in a world far worse than death, because the man himself was a walking wrath.
The shock and horror on Jamie’s eyes alone confirmed her fears, because even he hadn’t anticipated it getting to this point. Evangeline, for the first time, actually stared at Della with genuine pity.
Augustus’s eyes remained cold.
The only person standing up there that actually seemed excited by this...insane development, was Beatrice. There was a light smirk on her red lips, and behind her soft, teary eyes were something that twinkled with raw satisfaction. She looked ready to start trembling from happiness.
"Begin the Ceremony!!" Malachi’s deep voice ripper again through the crowd, forcing some nobles to jolt back, "And Bring the bride up here!" He added, still staring directly at her.
Maybe it was the sheer adrenaline of the announcement, or something entirely else, and Della’s body had moved on her own before her mind could process it. She had forcefully ripped the iron trap out of her skin, and both legs moved as she began running like hell.
Surely, she didn’t get far enough.
Eclipse Crown guards caught up to her in a second, and she was dragged back effortlessly up by two of them. Her struggles and screams fell on deaf ears, till they threw her right under Malachi’s feet.
Della hit the floor so hard pain ripped through her ribs, and some shattered remains of the altar tore against her palms as the guards forced her down, blood dripping steadily from her injured leg onto the sacred marble beneath her.
Her breathing came uneven and frantic while the entire Grand Hall stared. The earlier shock of the marriage announcement were gone, and they were all back to staring at her like a traitor and filth.
"Father—"
"You should be grateful," Augustus interrupted coldly, "Alpha Malachi has offered you mercy."
"T...this isn’t mercy!" she cried back, "You know it’s not...!"
"Good!"
Della stared at him like she no longer recognized the man standing there.
Just then, one of the Eclipse Crown elders present at the wedding stepped forward immediately, fury darkening his old features, "Alpha Malachi, this cannot happen," He said sharply.
He had to be same of the strongest steel to be able to speak to Malachi like that, which had everyone guessing he was no ordinary Pack elder.
"That creature was caught beneath the sacred altar with Moonfire in her possession. She should be executed before Sunrise, not elevated into nobility."
Several voices instantly rose in agreement, their voices whispering fearfully behind him,
"She attempted mass slaughter!"
"A Rotblood inside Eclipse Crown is a disgrace!"
"And what of Lady Selene Vale?" The elder continued demandingly, "You are already bound to another bloodline—"
Della’s head snapped upward weakly, trying to process the new information.
Another bloodline?
Another bride?
Her stomach twisted violently. She was gonna be so sick!
But Malachi remained completely motionless, and the whispering voices quickly faded. That pressuring silence came back, and kneeling so close to the cause of this intense pressure made Della feel like she was standing in the middle of a hurricane.
Instinctively, she tried backing away.
Big mistake!
Malachi moved suddenly, faster than any wolf Della has ever witnessed. His hand closed around her throat before she could crawl more than a foot, and gasp tore from her lips as he hauled her upward effortlessly, forcing her onto shaking legs. Her injured ankle buckled immediately, but his grip held her upright.
The way his fingers were wrapped around her throat felt less than being choked and more like being owned. Like he was telling she belonged beneath his hand, and he was free to do whatever he wanted to do...with her.
Della grabbed weakly at his wrist, panic flashing across her face as his fingers remained locked around her throat. He thought he would choke her at any second, but his grip was just tight enough to remind her that he could, at any given second.
"Please..." she whispered hoarsely.
Malachi looked down at her trembling face with terrifying calm, tilting his head a bit, "You seem confused."
His grip tightened slightly.
"Or are you still unaware that your life stopped belonging to you the moment I spoke?"
A broken sound escaped her throat before she could stop it, and chills shot up her spine.
There was a sharp inhale from Alpha Leopold as he finally stepped away from his perfect bride. He looked disturbed, only stopping when he was close to his brother, "This will destabilize Eclipse Crown," He said, "You should listen—"
Malachi finally glanced toward him, and Leopold paused mid sentence under his elder brother’s stern gaze.
"Then let it." Malachi replied.
Della could barely breathe beneath the panic swallowing her whole. Every stare she was given by the nobles in the room was getting worse and worse by the second.
"I didn’t do this," She whispered desperately, tears burning her eyes now, "I swear I didn’t!"
Malachi looked at her, and she instantly wished she had kept her mouth shut. She expected his grip to tighten and end her right there for speaking to him without lowering her head — even though she couldn’t at the moment...not that he cares — but what came next was a flat reply.
"I’m sure you didn’t."
A few nobles gave quiet scoffs, and her stomach dropped once again.
Sarcasm.
Of course.
Humiliation crawled hot beneath her skin as she lowered her eyes quickly, shame flooding her chest so violently she thought she might collapse.
"Alpha Malachi, enough!" The audacious elder barked this time, clearly angry, "This has gone too far. A Rotblood cannot stand beside the Eclipse throne. The Pack could collapse entirely! The sacred Altar of the IronRidge Pack has been corrupted by her presence. That thing destroyed our ceremony and desecrated sacred vows. This marriage cannot happen!"
The elder was right, for the sacred altar now lay partially destroyed beneath silver scorch marks and shattered marble.
Ceremonial vows have never performed on broken ground, because it was considered cursed among wolves, and even condemned by the Moon Goddess herself.
One of the priests swallowed nervously before speaking, "Alpha... the ceremony cannot proceed here anymore. Please, listen to Elder Ravaryn,"
Everyone expected even Malachi to pause at that. Instead, he looked down briefly at the shattered altar beneath their feet.
Then back at Della, whom was still bleeding all over the sacred stone, still shaking like she was some innocent thing.
It infuriated him even more.
"We’ll proceed here anyway." Malachi stated calmly.
The Priest visibly paled, and he took a shaky step forward, "But Alpha, the altar has been tainted—"
"So has the bride!"