Chapter 6 The Wedding

"...We're going to exchange your blood with Jenna's..."

"...From now on, you'll be Jenna..."

"No... Stop! Please No!!" I screamed as I opened my eyes. I gasped sharply, trying to calm my racing heart, when I realized I was lying on a hard, wooden bed.

I was in a log cabin, it seemed. A handsome young man was kneeling by the fire, giving me an astonished look while roasting a hare.

"You're awake!" The man said in surprise. He dropped the hare and approached me.

I struggled to sit up when a wave of dizziness hit me. I couldn't help but muffle a grunt.

The man reached out to help me, then gave me a cup of water.

"You're lucky. If I, the Great Franz, hadn't happened to be nearby, you might have ended up in the mouth of some beasts."

After finishing the cup of water, I gave him a sincere thanks.

"How did you get to the edge of the Blood Shadow Pack's territory? Also, did you know you were running a high fever?" Franz asked.

I was in the Blood Shadow Pack's territory?!

"Could you take me to your pack?" I grabbed Franz's hand, excited that I had made it. However, my action pulled on my wound, and I coughed violently.

Franz was taken aback by my reaction and subsequent coughing. He quickly patted my back. "What's the rush? Don't you know how serious your injuries are? Oh, Moon Goddess blesses you. Come, lie back down!"

I shook my head, giving him a stubborn look and insisting, "I'm fine."

"Okay, fine. I'll take you there," Franze agreed with a sigh. "But why do you want to go to my Pack?"

I cleared my throat before speaking, "I need to find my mate. We were separated before this, but I know he's in the Blood Shadow Pack."

I didn't tell him the whole story. Lionel had a special status, after all.

Franz gave me an envious look. "I see. Friend, I kind of envy you. I've been turned for five to six years now, and I still don't know what it's like to have a mate. You're in such a hurry to find him, so the two of you must be very much in love."

When I thought of Lionel handing me the rose brooch under the moonlight, I couldn't help raise a smile on my lips.

I nodded.

"Okay then, lucky girl. I'll take you to my pack," Franz said with raised eyebrows. His eyes curved up when he smiled, and he looked cute.

"But it might have to wait. I have to find a Moonlight Herb first. I've got to give it to my best buddy as his wedding present, you know? I would have already had one earlier, but I picked you up instead! You were severely injured, so I had to feed you the Moonlight Herb I had. And now I have to find a new one."

Franz spoke briskly, never complaining that he had wasted the herb on me.

Moonlight Herb could relieve pain and heal wounds to some extent, and it could usually only be picked deep in the forest. It was precious because it was very rare.

"Thank you very much, Franz. You're my savior. I'll definitely find a way to repay you," I said, feeling gratitude toward him from the bottom of my heart. "But... why are you giving your friend Moonlight Herb for his wedding?"

Franz rolled his eyes. "I feel angry just thinking about this! He and I grew up together and we are more than brothers! But lately, I've been so busy that I haven't had the chance to return to the pack. And when I did, I didn't expect him to suddenly say he would get married soon and that his wife-to-be was very weak. That's why he asked me to find some Moonlight Herbs. I don't even know what his future wife looks like or even her name. Even though I don’t know her, I still have a bad feeling for this woman!"

I couldn't help but smile helplessly at him.

Just then, a burnt smell filled the air. Franz reacted immediately, jolting up and running toward the fire as he yelled, "My hare!"

His antics amused me, and I laughed.

"Hey, lucky girl! Could I get your name?" Franz asked as he picked up the charred hare.

"My name is Rylee," I said softly, giving him the name I had gone by for the last nineteen years.

Franz smiled brightly and said, "A pleasure to meet you, Rylee."

***

Five days later, Franz found the Moonlight Herb on the edge of a hidden cliff. He almost fell off the cliff picking this thing, but luckily I found a rope to pull him up. He was bruised all over by the rocks on the way up, but anyway, the herb was found.

I was also in better condition three days later. We decided to set off.

We arrived at the Blood Shadow Pack in the evening.

The place was lively and filled with happy noises. Colored lights hung everywhere, and the dark sky was as bright as day. The further we walked toward the center of the pack, the more people we saw. All of them had joyful looks on their faces.

"It's a good thing we made it in time," Franz said, releasing a breath of relief.

"We got in time? For what?" I asked.

Just then, two girls passed us and shouted happily with excitement, "Hurry up! Alpha Lionel's wedding is about to start!"

It felt like lightning had struck me when I heard those words. I couldn't believe my ears.

His wedding?!

I was here! Who was he marrying?

"Hey, Rylee! Wait up! Where are you going?"

I ignored Franz calling out to me and ran desperately toward the center of the square where the crowd was gathering.

Then, I jerked to a halt.

On the high platform, before the Moon Goddess statue, Lionel and Jenna stood side by side in their gorgeous wedding clothes.

The rose brooch that I thought was lost was now hanging on Jenna's chest. She was leaning close to Lionel, whispering something into his ear.

Lionel was as tall and handsome as I remembered, but the person in his eyes, was not me.

A worse thing I found was that the Mate Bond between Lionel and I had disappeared. I couldn't feel it anymore.

My parents watched the two with bright smiles on their faces.

...and there wasn't a single trace of worry or anxiety in their eyes.

It was as though my disappearance was nothing to them.

The scene before me was painfully harmonious, and I couldn't help but want to shield my eyes from the blinding light they gave off.

"Rylee, why did you suddenly run away?" Franz asked as he caught up to me.

Just as he came to a stop by my side, a guard stepped in his way and said, "Beta Franz, you're finally back! Alpha Lionel has been looking for you for so long!"

Franz shot me an awkward smile. "Sorry for not telling you who I am before. I was afraid you'd be uncomfortable, and I don't have many friends apart from Lionel so... Huh?!"

Franz suddenly exclaimed. "How do you and our Luna look exactly alike?"

I smiled miserably.

Just then, my father walked on stage and loudly announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, at this moment, Lionel Garcia, Alpha of the Blood Shadow Pack, and Rylee Richie, my daughter, are united before the divine Moon Goddess. May the Goddess bless them through adversity, protect them from illness and forget all sorrow. May they love and cherish each other, forever!"

Franz gave me a shocked look. "The one on stage is Rylee? Then who are you?! Did you lie to me?!"

"I didn't lie," I whispered.

"My Moon Goddess, what the hell is going on?!" Franz muttered.

Dad turned to Lionel and Jenna then asked, "Do you swear in the name of the Moon Goddess to love each other truly until forever?"

Jenna smiled shyly and said, "Yes, I do."

Lionel's lips twitched slightly. "I..."

"Wait!" I yelled, interrupting him and walking toward the high platform.

"Rylee, come back! What the hell?!" Franz hissed.

He tried to reach out to grab me, but I quickly shook him off.

At my outburst, the crowd had gone silent but quickly broke out into chatters. The people spontaneously made a way for me as I walked through the noisy crowd.

Ignoring Jenna's shocked and frightened face, I looked at Lionel and said slowly and firmly, "She's not Rylee!"

I turned to the tens of thousands of people below the stage, met their probing, skeptical eyes, and shouted, "I am the real Rylee Richie. I am Lionel's true mate. Your new Luna."

Then I turned and looked at Lionel, smiling.

The love of my life was standing right in front of my eyes. It was like all the pain I had felt all these days disappeared at this moment.

I looked into his eyes, waiting for him to come to me. I waited for him to take my hand and to give me his promise too.

…

It was like a century had passed.

"...No, you're not," Lionel frowned and finally opened his mouth.

"I can't feel our Mate Bond. "