The priests looked visibly uneasy standing before the ruined altar. Even their hands trembled slightly while preparing the ceremonial binding cloth.
One of them swallowed before stepping carefully over the cracked altar remains, clearly terrified of offending both the Moon Goddess and Malachi at the same time.
Della watched numbly as ceremonial wolves moved throughout the hall relighting silver flames around the ruined altar. The wedding guests slowly formed a circle around them, though many still kept their distance from her like contamination might spread if they stood too close.
Malachi still had his hands wrapped around her neck as one of the priests stood behind him and quickly threw the black ceremonial robes lined with silver over his shoulder.
Another one wearily came close to her, and hastily threw the bridal robe over her shoulder before he quickly backed away.
Looking at her, she appeared extremely anxious and terrified. Her leg pulsed from pain, and Della had to physically grit her teeth to stop herself from screaming out loud.
Then, the priest raised his ceremonial blade slowly and began, "By the Moon Goddess and the sacred bloodlines of wolfkind. We gather beneath the gaze of the eternal moon to witness the binding of souls,"
It sounded so wrong.
Marriage on a broken Altar. Marriage where Moonfire smoke still lingered, and marriage between the most powerful man and the most hated, weakest woman. It was like a nightmare she couldn’t wake from.
"Two souls shall now stand before fate itself. Once bound, their pain shall become shared, and their emotions intertwined. Their souls recognized before moonlight and blood!"
At that, Della finally looked up sharply.
Fear twisted instantly through her chest. This was the absolute worst. Malachi feeling her emotions is the perfect way to punish her, because he would always use it against her. He would want to see her crushed under his foot, feel what she feels and that would bring him utmost satisfaction.
The priest stepped closer with the blade and looked between them, "Extend your hands."
Della didn’t move, but one of the guards grabbed her wrist harshly, forcing her hand outward.
Malachi extended his own calmly.
The ceremonial blade sliced across both their palms at once, and pain burned across her skin from the cut as blood flowed out of the tear.
Then the priest pressed their bleeding hands together.
The moment their blood touched, something exploded through her chest and she gasped violently.
What the hell was that?
A red thread of light suddenly burst from beneath their joined palms, glowing brilliantly before the entire hall. Gasps erupted everywhere as the thread wrapped around both their wrists.
The sacred mating bond that occurs for any couple getting married. The shock came because no one expected this to happen since the altar was broken.
But that wasn’t all.
But something was wrong, and the thread glowed too brightly.
Silver light pulsed violently through it, spreading upward across Della’s arm in strange glowing veins while the shattered altar beneath them trembled faintly. The silver flames surrounding the hall flickered wildly, and several nobles stepped back in visible alarm.
Even the priest looked frightened now.
"What..." Someone whispered.
Malachi’s eyes narrowed for the first time that night.
Della suddenly felt it.
It was Malachi. Not his grip around her neck, but she could feel him... emotionally.
He was like a cold pressure slamming into her mind so suddenly she nearly staggered. She felt his rage, a terrifying amount of control, and the violence he held beneath terrifying restraint.
To put it short, he felt like an endless darkness wrapped tightly beneath iron discipline.
But just as she felt him, he felt her too.
Malachi felt her pain, and humiliation. He felt her terror that was so overwhelming it made breathing difficult for him.
His jaw tightened faintly, and something unreadable flickered through his eyes as the bond continued threading itself between them.
Della felt him react to her emotions instantly.
And somehow that made the humiliation even worse.
Because now he could feel exactly how terrified she was.
The thread tightened around their wrists finally, glowing brighter before sinking directly into their skin.
The bond was sealed, and the hall instantly erupted into horrified whispers,
"The bond accepted her—"
"A Rotblood?"
"How is that possible?"
Malachi released her neck immediately, his expression now even colder than before. He looked as her as though feeling her emotions had only disgusted him further.
Della could still feel fragments of him through the bond now. His rage was building up fast, and his cold looks were slowly turning into a ferocious glare.
And she knew he could feel her too.
Every ounce of her fear.
Malachi looked at her, and almost scoffed.
Her performance was absolutely brilliant. Captivating, infact. Her feelings almost had him believing she was innocent, but he was much smarter than that!
She had tried to kill them all, and every evidence in here pointed at that!
And he sure as hell was never going to believe a fuckin Rotblood!
The priest’s voice shook slightly as he finished the final rite, "Before moonlight and blood... the bond is complete. Malachi Astridge and Adelaide Barrett, henceforth, are man and wife!"
A deafening silence followed, and Della’s ears began to ring. This couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t. About an hour ago, she was with Lian, preparing to come and see her sister.
This couldn’t be happening to her! Life wasn’t supposed to get worse when all she’s done was suffered all her life!
What did she ever do to deserve this?!
"Prepare to leave!" Malachi commanded, pulling her out of her thoughts.
The guards of Eclipse Crown Pack began moving throughout the hall, gathering cloaks and weapons while nobles stepped aside for them quickly.
Della blinked. Wait...what did he just say?!
Leave?
Now?
Panic surged instantly through her.
Lian!
"Oh God—" She turned desperately toward Malachi, "Wait— my cousin—"
He didn’t even look at her.
"My cousin is sick," Della continued shakily, stumbling after him despite her injured leg, "Please, I can’t leave him here—"
Nothing.
He didn’t even act like she existed anymore.
She turned desperately toward the only person she thought might help her. The one other person that seemed to care for Lian.
"Beatrice." She said, breathing heavily.
The newly wedded bride finally approached slowly, with a soft smile planted on her face. She looked angelic in her gold silk dress that trailed behind her gracefully, and for one horrible second, relief almost hit Della.
Then Beatrice stopped directly in front of her and smiled.
Something inside Della went cold instantly.
The smile wasn’t... Beatrice. It was twisted and smug.
Beatrice leaned closer carefully, making sure nobody else could hear, "You really are the most gullible person I have ever met," She whispered softly.
Della froze.
"You believed every single thing I ever told you," Beatrice continued, her blue eyes glittering beautifully beneath the silver hall lights, "I used to hate how Father looked at you when Mother wasn’t paying attention. It was pretty clear how much he missed your mum, and saw her through you," She murmured, "Even when you disgusted him, there was always guilt there," Her smile widened slightly, and her eyes twitch subtly, "You had no idea how jealous that made me."
Della felt dizzy.
"And Ugh! You were always so desperate for scraps of kindness," Beatrice continued sweetly, "It honestly became embarrassing to watch, and so very entertaining. It was so, so easy to make you believe that I actually liked you, when all I have wanted to do since the moment I set my eyes on you...was peel your skin off while you screamed and watch the hounds tear off your bones and savour the moment the light leaves your eyes,"
Della felt her stomach churn. She was really gonna puke at any moment!
"And, did you know my favorite part?" Beatrice whispered, "You thanking me all these years for loving you," A soft laugh escaped her, "God, Della... I couldn’t freaking stand you!"
Della’s face drained completely of color.
"You wanted a sister so badly you never noticed I was feeding you to wolves from the very beginning, and we aren’t even close to the end of you, because if you haven’t realised it yet...we are now heading to the same place...a new Pack, and then...well, you’ll get to properly meet the real Beatrice Barett!"
Suddenly, Beatrice grabbed Della’s wrist and slapped herself with it across the face so hard she fell back.
The shock made Della pause as she looked down at Beatrice who now looked innocently horrified, holding her burning cheeks.
Everyone also turned to them.
And before Della could say anything, Beatrice was already crying with tears running down her cheeks, "Della, why would you hit me?" She trembled, gently crawling back, "I know you hate me and want me gone, and I came to say that regardless of everything you’ve done we are still sisters and I still love you with all my heart and that everything will be alright, but I never expected this...," More tears spilled, "Haven’t you done enough damage already?!"
Nobles turned toward them in alarm while whispers exploded across the room again. Several wolves immediately moved closer to Beatrice protectively as though Della might attack her again at any second.
"What—?" Della stared at her in complete horror.
"I still defended you!" Beatrice sobbed brokenly, "Even after everything you tried to do tonight, I still begged them not to kill you!"
"That’s not—"
She didn’t finish as a fist crashed into her face, and pain seared across her skill as Jaime struck her so hard she lost the little balance she had been hanging into completely.
Della hit the broken altar floor with a sharp cry, twisting her injured leg beneath her body. A sickening bolt of pain shot through her ankle instantly.
Della screamed.
"You insane bitch!" Jaime roared.
Before she could recover, he grabbed the front of her dress and yanked her upward violently, "How dare you touch her?!" His face twisted with fury as he shook her harshly, "After everything Beatrice still did for you!"
Blood trickled from the corner of Della’s mouth, hot tears streaming down her face, "She’s lying," She gasped desperately, "She’s lying, Jaime, she told me herself—"
Another slap sent her sprawling sideways across the cracked marble, more pain exploding down her leg.
The entire hall watched, and not a single person moved to stop it.
Della turned to her father once again, but he wasn’t even paying attention anymore.
Evangeline hurried toward Beatrice immediately, gathering her daughter protectively into her arms while glaring at Della like she was something diseased, "You vicious creature," She hissed. "Even now you still want to hurt her?"
Della could barely breathe through the pain now, "I swear by the Moon Goddess Luna, I didn’t touch her..." she whispered weakly.
"Oh, enough!" Evangeline snapped sharply. "Do you truly think anyone still believes a word out of your mouth? After you tried to kill us all? You’re a freaking abomination, Della! I can’t believe I ever loved someone like you!"
More murmurs spread throughout the hall, but this time they were more like background noises to her ears. Della felt so weak that she stayed on the floor.
Beatrice continued crying softly against her mother while Jaime stood over Della like he genuinely wanted to kill her.
But Della didn’t have the luxury to lay on the floor for long. She still had to make sure Lian came back with her. If she left them with these people, they were going to abandon him without a second thought.
And so, she pushed herself upward desperately despite the agony tearing through her ankle.
"Please," She begged shakily, looking between them. "Please don’t leave him here. At least, let me take Lian with me,"
"You’re still thinking about that sick mutt?" Jaime scoffed in disgust.
"He’s dying!" Della cried, "He needs his medicine—"
"And whose fault is that?" Evangeline snapped coldly, "If you hadn’t spent years poisoning this family with your existence perhaps the Moon Goddess would’ve shown mercy to him!"
"But Lian is innocent..."
They weren’t going to listen to her. She knew that much by now
Della then looked around wildly then toward the distant figure that had walked away from the altar.
Malachi hadn’t looked back once, but still, desperation was still hot in her chest.
"Alpha!" she cried, stumbling after him and nearly collapsing as she limped forward, "Please!" Her voice cracked, "Please don’t make me leave without him! He’s my sick cousin, I’ve been looking after him. Please, I told him I was going to return to him. Please!"
Malachi stopped walking, making every wolf in the room tense instantly. Della halted too for a moment, sensing the stirring emotion of rage in him, but she forced herself closer.
"He’s all I have. Please, let him come with us,"
Malachi slowly turned, and Della swallowed anxiously. His gaze landed on her bruised face, and Della felt another cold irritation pulsing through him.
Her desperation must exhaust him to the home.
"You should’ve thought about that," He said calmly, "Before trying to massacre an entire hall of Alphas."
"I didn’t—" She tried to say.
"Enough!" He exclaimed, cutting through her immediately. Malachi’s eyes held hers for one cold second longer before he spoke again, "If the boy survives, he survives. If he dies, he dies!"