Chapter 19%
The wedding day. It was finally here. My heart fluttered like a trapped bird in my chest, but this time, it was with pure joy. Today, I would officially become Luna of Nightshade Pack. Today, I would become Alpha Vincent’s wife.⠀
The grandest hotel, nestled beside the most gorgeous lake in town, buzzed with excitement Omegas fitted around me, fussing with my hair, adjusting the lace on my gown. My wedding dress, a cascade of ivory silk and delicate embroidery, felt light, almost like wings Every mirror I passed reflected a radiant, happy woman. I couldn’t wait to see Vincent’s face when I walked down the aisle I couldn’t wor to be his Luna, officially E
When it was time to get into the wedding car, the omegas guided me carefully, their whispers of good wishes following me. The car was a sleek, luxurious limousine. I settled into the plush backseat, the soft leather molding around me. The privacy screen was up, hiding the driver, but the car was warm, smelled faintly of new leather, and had everything I could possibly need for the short ride. I was alone in the quiet luxury, my mind already drifting to Vincent, to our future.
The journey started smoothly, the familiar sounds of the city–distant traffic, the murmur of voices – a comforting background hum But slowly, gradually, the city sounds faded. The buzz of human life, the gentle roar of passing cars, began to quiet. I frowned, a small, uneasy feeling prickling at the back of my neck. The road was getting eerily silent. Instead of the familiar buildings of the town, I noticed more and more trees, tall and dark, passing by the tinted windows.
My heartbeat, which had been a steady, happy rhythm, began to quicken, growing harsher, a frantic drum in my chest. A cold knot of dread tightened in my stomach. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t the way to the lake. This was the direction of the deep woods.
My breath hitched. My eyes darted to the privacy screen, then to the driver’s seat. The back of the head, the broad shoulders, the way the hands gripped the steering wheel… a sudden, chilling recognition slammed into me. No. It couldn’t be.
I leaned forward, my voice a strangled gasp. “Ethan?”
The car didn’t slow. The shoulders didn’t flinch. The silence from the driver was deafening.
“ETHAN!” I screamed, my voice cracking with disbelief and growing panic. “What are you doing? Why are you here? Stop the car!”
He didn’t answer. He just kept driving, the limousine plunging deeper into the dense, silent forest. My heart was a frantic bird against my ribs, battering itself against my bones. Hysteria bubbled up, choking me.X
“Answer me, you bastard!” I shrieked, pressing my hands against the partition, as if I could tear it down. Tears streamed down my face. hot and furious. “Why are you doing this?! Why are you making my life miserable? Let me go! My wedding! Vincent is waiting for me!!
Still no answer. He just kept driving, his silence a cruel mockery.
Finally, with a jarring lurch, the car stopped. We were deep in the woods, surrounded by a thick, impenetrable wall of trees. The silence was absoluta, suffocating. My breathing came in ragged gasps, my cries echoing in the confined space.
Before I could even process the stop, the driver’s door opened. Then the back door, next to me. I scrambled away, pressing myself against the far side of the seat, my eyes wide with terror
Ethan stood there, his face unreadable, almost blank. His eyes, though, were dark, disturbingly intense. He didn’t say a word. He just reached it., his hand clamping around my arm.
“No! Let gor” I screamed, my voice raw. I clawed at his arm, my nails desperate to break free, but his grip was like iron. He pulled me out of the car, and before I could even find my footing, he swung me up, carrying me like a sack of rice over his shoulder
“Put me down! You sick bastard, put me down!” I thrashed wildly, my fists pounding against his broad back, my wedding gown tangling around me, becoming a puffocating weight. My cries ripped through the silent woods. “Vincent! VINCENT!” I mind–inked, pouring all my terror all my desperation, into the call, begging him to find me, to save me.)
A sudden, sharp sting pricked my neck. I cried out, a confused whimper escaping my lips. My struggles weakened. My limbs felt heavy, weighted down. The world swam. Ethan’s dark head, his silent, relentless steps, blurred before my eyes. Then, darkness claimed me.!!
When I woke up, a heavy, dull ache throbbed behind my eyes. Disorientation clung to me like a damp shroud. I blinked, my vision slowly clearing. I was in a bed. A strange bed, with rough–spun sheets. My wedding dress, crumpled and dirtied, was still on. My head lolled to the side. The room was small, rustic, but clean. A fire crackled softly in a stone fireplace in the comer
A familiar scent wafted from what must be a kitchen area. The smell of cooking food. Bacon. Eggs.
Then I saw him. Ethan. He stood at an old, wooden stove, his back to me, humming a low, tuneless melody as if nothing in the world was amiss As if he hadn’t just kidnapped me from my own wedding!!
Pure, unadulterated fury surged through me, eclipsing the lingering haze of the tranquilizer. “WHERE AM 171 | shrieked, my voice raw,
strained
He turned slowly, a plate of food in his hand. His expression was calm. Too calm. His eyes, though, still held that disturbing darkness, that possessive glint. “You’re safe, Ivy,” he said, his voice maddeningly even. “I brought you somewhere we could talk.”
I scrambled out of the bed, my muscles stiff and sore. I rushed to the window, tearing back the rough curtains. My breath hitched. We were in the middle of nowhere. Just trees. Endless, towering trees. It looked like we were deep in the woods, miles from anywhere. A small, hidden bungalow house, swallowed by the wilderness.
Tears, fresh and hot, flooded my eyes. My voice broke, rising to a desperate wall “My wedding! My wedding is today! Vincent is waiting for me! You have to take me back! Now!” I pounded on the windowpane, futilely, my voice thick with sobs. “Please, Ethan! He’s waiting for me! He’s going to worry! Please, just take me back!”
His face hardened, the placid mask cracking to reveal the rage boiling beneath. He dropped the plate of food onto the counter with a loud clatter, the ceramic cracking. He moved towards me, fast, his eyes suddenly blazing with a dangerous light. He reached out, his hands
9:08 PM c.
grasping my face, his fingers digging in, forcing me to look at him.
His voice, a low, guttural growl, sent shivers of pure terror down my spine. “I will never let Vincent have you. I would rather die than let you marry another Alpha.”
“You’re insane!” I screamed, trying to pull away, but his grip was like a vise. His words were the ramblings of a madman. He was lost
He didn’t care. His eyes were wild, unseeing, focused on some twisted reality only he could perceive. Then, he leaned in, his lips crashing“. down on mine. I fought him, twisting my head, pushing at his chest with all my strength, slapping his face again and again. His kiss was rough, desperate, demanding. His wolf was roaring, a primal, possessive sound that echoed in the small cabin.”
“I love you, lvy!” he rasped against my struggles, his breath hot on my face. “I love you! I realized it too late, but I love you!”
I kept pushing, kept hitting, tears streaming down my face. “You’re out of your mind!” I screamed, my voice hoarse from crying. “I’d never believe you! You cheated so many times! You made my life hell! And now you claim you love me? Never! I will never believe your love!
