4. Forced Marriage

The silence of the clearing was deafening. Thousands of eyes were pinned on Rosalie Ashford, but she only had eyes for Prince Cassian. 

There was so much pain in her teary eyes as she pleaded with her eyes, but he didn't offer her a single glance.

The silver threads of the mate bond were still pulsing between them, a divine bridge that was supposed to lead her to a life of love.

The bond was thrumming, live, and electrifying. The sparks were crazy where he held her wrist, but so was the pain as he squeezed, making her whimper. His grip wasn't that of belonging; it was a shackle.

"I, Prince Cassian Valen," he shouted, his voice echoing off the white stone of the altar, "recognize the Moon Goddess’s choice. I see the bond that ties me to this... Omega."

Omega... He called her omega. Was it because she was an omega? But she has a soul too. She feels pain as well.

He spat the word 'Omega' like it was poison. A murmur rippled through the pack. Rosalie’s heart stuttered. 

No, why am I thinking so negatively? 

There's a possibility that he'd introduce her as his mate. Maybe he was a bit hurt by her being an omega, but he wasn't that cruel to leave her. He'd give her a chance. The mate bond was a sacred thing. He'd surely give them a chance.

"But," Cassian continued, his eyes turning cold and sharp as glass, "a future King requires a Queen of strength. Not a pathetic taint who cannot even shift. A Prince does not mate with an omega."

Rosalie felt the blood drain from her face. She was completely paralyzed in her spot to the point she stopped breathing. Even her heart ceased to beat for a fraction of a second before it started beating at an abnormal pace.

"Cassian, please," she whispered, her voice a fragile thread. "The Goddess... she chose us." She whispered, her chin quivering and her heart a wreckage of her hope and dreams.

He finally looked at her, but there was no love in his gaze, only disgust. "The Goddess made a mistake. And I am here to correct it." He seethed viciously. As if in that particular moment, he wanted to strangle her to death.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. He was the same age as hers, so it was a bit difficult for him to control his temper, but he still did. His chest heaving with royal authority. 

"Cassian, please. Don't do this. Give us a chance. P...please give our bond a chance-"

"Shut up!" He gritted at her face as she flinched back. Tears were streaming down her rosy cheeks freely.

"I, Cassian Valen, Prince of the Northern Ridge, hereby reject you, Rosalie Ashford, as my mate and my future consort. I sever the bond!"

The world exploded in a white-hot flash of agony.

The silver threads connecting their hearts didn't just fade; they snapped like high-tension wires. 

Rosalie let out a gut-wrenching scream, her knees hitting the hard stone. It felt like her soul was being ripped out of her chest through her throat. The soul-crushing pain was so intense that her vision went black at the edges.

She clawed at her neck to breath but she only wheezed. The pain was so brutal. She had never felt such pain before.

Laughter erupted from the side. Her sister, Carolina, stepped forward, her eyes dancing with triumph. "I told you, Rosalie. You’re nothing but a shadow."

Cassian didn't even look down at the girl he had just shattered. He turned toward the dark, imposing figure standing behind him. Dominic Varkov hadn't moved. He stood like a statue of death, his amber eyes glowing with a terrifying light as he watched the girl crumble.

"My Lord Uncle," Cassian said, his voice regaining its arrogant edge. "We had an agreement. The debt the Royal Line owes to the Varkov bloodline for the last war, it is a heavy one. You asked for land, for gold, for power."

Dominic stepped forward. The temperature in the clearing dropped until the wolves in the front row could see their breath. The vibrating hum of his power was so thick it felt like a physical weight on Rosalie’s broken heart.

"I do not want your gold, Cassian," Dominic’s voice rumbled, a low, scary growl that made the High Priest tremble. "And I have enough land to bury your entire pack."

Cassian smirked, gesturing to the sobbing girl on the floor. "Then take her. As a trade for the debt. Consider it a gift from the Prince. She’s a pure-blood Ashford, even if she is a lowly Omega. She can be your housemaid... or your plaything. I don't care. She is yours."

The pack gasped. To be traded was a fate worse than death. It was a complete loss of dignity.

It was as if the earth beneath her disappeared, and she was falling into an abyss of darkness.

Rosalie looked up, her face wet with tears, her hair cascading down her side like a silk veil. She looked at Cassian. How could he do this to her?

She wanted to scream at Cassian, but she couldn't even breathe properly because of the pain. And who was to trade her? Rejecting her wasn't enough; he wanted to trade her off.

What a coward!

Dominic walked toward her. Every step he took was predatory, his heavy boots echoing like a heartbeat against the stone. He stopped right in front of her. He didn't look at the Prince. He didn't look at the pack. He looked only at the girl on her knees.

"You trade her?" Dominic asked, his voice dangerously low.

"She’s yours to settle the debt," Cassian confirmed. "Do what you want with her."

Dominic reached down. Rosalie flinched, expecting a blow. Instead, his large, calloused hand cupped her jaw, forcing her to look into his amber eyes. They weren't filled with disgust. They were filled with a dangerous glint that made her breath catch.

"Hmm." Dominic hummed as he tilted her face as if examining the goods. She had never felt so humiliated in her life before.

"You need to marry her right now and take her with you," Cassian said, and there were gasps all around. Everyone knew how ruthless Dominic was, and if he married the girl, she'd be better off dead than being the monster's wife.

"Why? Afraid she might cause hindrance in your new bond." Dominic said, looking at Cassian.

"She's pure blood. You can sell her off to the witches. Her blood is of great use-"

"I didn't ask for suggestions." Dominic cut off Cassian curtly.

He let her chin go and pulled to his mighty height.

"The deal is sealed," Dominic said. He turned his head slightly to look at the High Priest. "Perform the ceremony. Now."

"The... the marriage ceremony, my Lord?" the Priest stammered.

"Now," Dominic barked, the sound vibrating like a clap of thunder. "Do you want me to repeat myself?"

The priest shook his head violently in submission.

Rosalie’s head spun. Forced marriage to the man who might kill her the first thing in his black fortress. She was forced into a marriage in front of the man who had just rejected her.

As the Priest began the dark incantations of a forced union, Dominic leaned down, grabbing Rosalie's arm. He yanked her to her feet as she stumbled, almost falling, but he kept holding her arm to keep her steady on her feet. 

"The Prince was a fool to let you go, little wolf," he whispered, his voice so deep it made her tremble. His warm breath caressed her hair as she flinched away.

"I...I d... don't want this-"

Before Rosalie could say more, Dominic bit his own thumb and pressed the blood against her lips, sealing the marriage contract in front of the entire pack. Forcing her to drink his blood, she struggled but failed, and some blood got swallowed. 

She was so tiny against the beast, like a man.

She was no longer Rosalie Ashford, the rejected Omega.

She was Rosalie Varkov. And the merciless lord had just claimed her as his wife.