V: Truth

-Kira- 

I pride myself in not allowing the smile to waver on my lips when he mentions Arkyn’s name. He wants me to be with Arkyn? When did he decide this?

“Pappa, Arkyn is my best friend!”

He raises his eyebrow and smirks. “Hm, that’s not what I see when you two are together but let me keep quiet before I get into trouble with your mother.”

Just then the door opens and my father’s smirk grows when my mother walks in with a look of disapproval on her face. “Kai, we’ve spoken about this-”

“I know, little wolf, and I will keep my thoughts to myself from now on,” he says. 

Something tells me they’ve spoken about this topic many times before and I don’t know how I feel about that. Did my father know how I felt about Arkyn? Could he see the way Arkyn felt about me even though I was oblivious to it up until a few minutes ago?

I can’t ask him more about this, because my mother walks over to me then and tuts when she sees my ruined make-up.

“Oh, Kai, I told you not to make her cry!” she exclaims and pretends to scold him. “Look at my baby’s ruined make-up now.”

“Fuck that, she doesn’t need make-up to look beautiful since she got her looks from you,” he huffs and my mother’s pretend reprimand slips out of her expression. 

Her features immediately soften and a light blush covers her cheeks. It still amazes me how my father can still make her blush after 21 years together.

She sighs and shakes her head. “Still a charmer after all these years,” she whispers, then pulls me towards the mirror to redo my make-up. 

This is what I want; a mate who still stirs my heart after years together. Except what I got was someone who I feel nothing for when he doesn’t look my way. How is my Mate Bond so messed up? How did mine become faulty?

I can feel the love in my father’s eyes as he watches my mother and me. I could always feel it whenever he looked at me. Even though my mother and I are closer than anything, this is what I’ll miss the most. Above all else, I will miss my father.

After my mother is satisfied with my make-up, she places her hands on my shoulders and her gaze goes from my father to me. “It’s time. Are you ready, my love?”

I exhale slowly and nod with a tight smile on my face. “I’m ready, Mamma.” 

The second I say this, her eyes shimmer with tears again and she groans. “Oh, this is supposed to be a happy day!” she cries and my father immediately wraps his arms around her when he sees the look on her face. She buries her face into his chest and I see her shoulders shaking. “I can’t say goodbye to my baby, Kai. I thought I could, but can’t do it!” 

I wonder why my mother bothered with redoing my make-up, because her words feel like a silver dagger to my heart. A hand goes to my mouth as I try to stifle yet another sob at watching my mother break down at the thought of losing me. But I don’t cry. I can’t cry anymore.

“I’ll be okay, Mamma,” I say softly and her head whips towards me. Her eyes are bloodshot and her mascara bleeding; it’s a good thing my father is wearing black. I walk over to her and pull her out of my father’s arms, then I place my hands on her shoulders as she always does to me.

“You raised me to be a proud, independent Volkova woman and I will never forget what you taught me; or you, Pappa. My love for dance comes from you,” I say to her, then turning to my father. “My fighting style and ruling with kindness, not cruelty, comes from you. But today my life as a Luna starts and although I know it is difficult to let me go, please know that your teachings have left me more than capable.”

My father and mother share a look and sigh simultaneously. 

“I think our work is done, little wolf. We raised someone with a strong heart and an even stronger will.” My father says and holds out his arm for me. “Let me hand you over to your mate, Printsessa, even though it will be the hardest fucking thing I’ll ever have to do.”

“Wait for me,” my mother says and nearly trips before walking to the mirror and fixing her makeup. 

My father frowns and walks over to her, and we both notice how pale she is and the beads of sweat on her brow. “Are you okay, my love?” 

She brushes my father’s concerns away and smiles. “I’m fine, it’s all the crying! See you at the end of the altar, baby.”

He kisses the side of my head as my mother saunters out of the bridal room. Then he covers my head with my veil and leads me towards the inside of the church. My heart flips right into my throat when the Wedding March sounds, and we slowly follow the bridal procession.

I keep my eyes on my mother at the end of the aisle; since she’s our pack witch and Luna, she will be overseeing the wedding. Her face is still flushed, and she looks like she’s about to vomit.

/“Pappa, please see to Mamma after this. Something’s wrong,/ I mind link my father and glance up at him, just catching the nod. 

I catch the concern in his scent and notice the same scent on my aunt Nova’s face as well as aunt Lily’s. They’re my bridesmaids today and are both watching her like a hawk. Something is up with her; she never gets sick or weary even after visiting other packs outside of our own.

My father then pats my hand just as we reach the end of the aisle and takes my hand in his. He looks up at Adryan, and when my eyes go to my mate, I immediately feel the pull again.

“I now hand my most treasured, precious gem over to you, and it will be your duty to protect her from this day forward. Worship the ground she walks on, cherish her and love her fiercely.” He says and places my hand in Adryan’s.

Adryan gives a curt nod and takes my hand. “I swear by my title as Alpha,” he says, his dark voice doing all kinds of things to me. 

Why don’t I feel this way when I’m away from him? Why do I only feel the pull of the Mate Bond when he looks at me, speaks to me, or touches me?

Adryan’s answer seems to appease my father because he nods, then clasps both our hands in his and walks away. My heart shatters right at that moment - my father has just officially handed me to my mate.

Throughout the ceremony, my mind is blank and I speak as if on autopilot; saying the right words at the right time and smiling when I should. A brief moment when my mother takes a breather, my eyes flicker towards the crowd and immediately fall on a scene that confuses me.

Arkyn is sitting in the second row next to a beautiful raven-haired girl I do not know. He RSVP’d his plus one, but I never thought he would actually bring a woman here, especially not after what I experienced in the bridal room.

Just as my mother announces that Adryan is about to kiss the bride, Arkyn looks away and lifts the woman’s hand to his lips, kissing it gently. 

This shocks me so much that I nearly forget to kiss Adryan back, but once I do, everything falls away. Every nerve ending stands at attention when he kisses me, and the crowd’s applause becomes background noise. But even as I am standing here kissing my mate, all I can think about is how this kiss feels nothing like Arkyn’s.

Afterward, the crowd of well-wishers come up to congratulate us one after the other and I get lost in the faces coming up to greet us. Everyone starts to look the same after twenty minutes until Arkyn walks up next with the raven-haired woman on his arm.

He takes Adryan’s hand and gives it a firm shake. “Congratulations, Helseth,” he says with a tight-lipped grin before turning to me. Those eyes that consumed me earlier still blaze with the same intensity as he wraps me in an embrace. “Congratulations, Blue.”

Even after that, I’m still only Blue? Did he kiss me to confuse me, or is it something more sinister? I need to speak with Arkyn before I go crazy with all these questions swirling around in my head!

“Are you going to introduce us to this lovely woman, Vega?” Adryan’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts and our eyes fall on the unknown woman. 

There’s something familiar about her, something I can’t place, and even as she narrows her eyes at me, I can tell she thinks the same.

Arkyn smiles and takes her hand again. “Yes; this is what I wanted to speak to you about earlier, Blue. This is Jade. She’s my fiance and soon-to-be Luna after I take over from my father in two weeks.”

And just like that, my entire world implodes.