A different forever

HERA'S P.O.V

The stiff atmosphere, the thick air, the palpable tension, the brisk steps, the desperation in those steps to make everything perfect. None of these had been how I had imagined my wedding day.

The laughter I had hoped for was replaced with eerie silence, the smiles were replaced with dread, and the happiness with sorrow.

I opened my eyes on the request of the stylist, my gaze settling on the large mirror in front of me and despite the masterpiece that was staring right back at me, I couldn't help the dread that settled in the pit of my stomach.

'You have nothing going for you except your beauty, do not make me change that.'

The voice that rang in my head wasn't that of the man I had fallen in love with, the man I had dreamt of an eternity with but the memory that came with the voice carried his face.

Derek stone, the Alpha of the Black stone pack, my fiance looked down on me, the eyes I had always loved getting lost in were now threatening to swallow me whole.

His hands were wound around mine just like always however, instead of the safety I used to feel in them, my heart hammered aggressively and my instinct remained sharp lest they tried to go beyond the painful grip.

Taking a deep breath, I turned away from the mirror in a bid to push the painful memory away and my eyes settled on the puzzled stylist.

"Do you not like it, your highness?" She asked, a thin shred of disbelief lacing her voice.

I managed a small smile, understanding the lady's confusion. That was not the reaction she had expected, not after the effort she had put into it.

"You did well," I replied, hoping that would suffice.

I simply cannot bring myself to admit to liking anything about today.

Not when I am about to marry Alpha Eleazar, the Alpha of Elisora, the most formidable pack in the world, a lycan and a ruthless monster.

"Thank you, Your Highness." The stylist's disappointed voice cut through my thought forcing me to turn to her yet I couldn't do anything to cheer her up.

I lack what it takes.

"Allow me to call in the maids to prepare your dress." She said as she rose from a bow.

I only nodded absentmindedly as my treacherous mind began reeling again with the thoughts of escape.

To think I had spent the night trying to banish those thoughts.

' I am not a prisoner here. I had willingly consented to this.' but despite the amount of times I had recited this mantra,  not even my non-existent wolf was convinced.

Yes, I am a twenty year old werewolf without a wolf.

I had thought the moon goddess was saving the last for the best, but a year after my eighteenth birthday, I had begun to silently panic. And after what Derek had said at the altar, I simply could not be optimistic anymore.

The memory pushed it way into my subconscious and despite my resistance, I was forced to relive it, my heart constricting with every scene that passed.

'You simply do not have a wolf because you are not a true royal blood and seeing how you do not even look like your father, I will not be surprised if you aren't his to begin with.'

I had slapped him shut, the people had gasped at my audacity but I did not flinch, if he is Alpha Derek, I am equally Alpha Hera and he had no right to insult me like that, not in public and most especially, not on my wedding day.

However, after my father had pulled me off the altar in a tight embrace and had taken me home, after he had told me to simply lay on my bed and sleep the bad day off, I had begun to doubt myself.

What if he was right?

I had broken my vow to my father and had confided in Derek on the true circumstances surrounding my birth.

We were starting another life and the last thing I had wanted to do was build it based on lies.

I had called him to our usual resort, a serene place that provided a beautiful, undisturbed view of the ocean that laid east to the palace.

There I had laid out my heart, the bare truth in front of him.

The late Luna wasn't my birth mother, my birth mother was but a poor maid my father had impregnated before he had gotten married.

He had claimed she was his mate but royalty knows no mate bond as we do not marry for love or attraction. The marriage of a royal  built and destroyed country, it was to form an alliance and preserve history and my mother was nobody capable of fulfilling such.

Unlike what I had expected, Derek had been quite understanding. He had claimed to love me beyond whose blood flowed in my veins and right then, I had sworn to love him forever.

I chuckled at the cruel joke.

Forever had ended at the altar and had left me with no choice but to submit to the pressure responsibility bestowed on me and if I am being honest, I also did what I had to do to save my pride and at that moment, the only choice that made sense was Alpha Eleazar.