Elaine Laurent

Elaine's pov

After spending the entire day listening to Maxwell mumble about how corrupt the world could be,by late evening,he suddenly stood up, grabbed my wrist firmly and started dragging me through the dark forest once more without slowing, muttering under his breath without even looking back to see the pain I was going through from the thorns that scratched my skin while we voyaged deeper into the woods.

“Slow down. Where are we going?” I squeaked in pain.

“Our wedding Elaine.This father of yours has failed to fulfil his own end of our bargain,” he growled. “He was supposed to be here an hour ago with a wedding dress for you. Maybe he has had a change of heart. You’ll have to get married with what you're wearing now.”

My heart skipped at the possibility of what he just said.If my father had changed his mind about this whole thing, that meant he might come to save me.Sadly,Maxwell was quick to pull me out of that fantasy.

“Don’t think he’ll come to save you, Elaine. He doesn’t even know the wedding location. Since he failed to bring the wedding dress, he won’t be attending either.”

I tried to yank my hand free, but it was completely useless. His fingers only tightened harder.But as the moon climbed higher in the sky, bit by bit, I noticed something change inside me entirely. A heat,the same one I felt the date he stormed in and kidnapped me began spreading through my body. I wanted him. Every inch of me craved him,to mate and be claimed by him. The harder I tried to fight it, the more ferocious the pull became. My knees felt weak while my breath grew shallow. Slick gathered against my will and the scent of him which was dark and wild only made it worse.

Soon we arrived at what seemed to be a waterfall. Maxwell did not slow down,rather he pulled me straight through the curtain of water and to my greatest surprise,on the other side, the waterfall revealed one of the most beautiful caves I had ever seen. The moon shone directly above through a slightly open roof, illuminating the cave.

I froze at the second view I noticed.There were guests. Many of them were seated in rows as if this were a real wedding. Among them were a few members of the royal court and most surprisingly, the royal wedding officiant himself. The moment they saw Maxwell, they all rose to their feet and bowed.

Someone even shouted, “Hail the one true heir!”

It looked almost like a weird cult to me.

Maxwell successfully dragged me to the altar or to be honest,partially dragged me because a greater part of me, the part ruled by the rising moon and the heat in my blood wanted to be there.

The wedding officiant began the rituals and we were made to stand facing each other. Maxwell’s eyes never left mine and when the time came, we recited the vows. My voice shook while I said mine,his did not. He did nothing to hide that he had waited decades for this day.

In no time, the officiant declared us bound. Maxwell claimed me as his bride with a ferocious kiss that I could not resist. His mouth was hot and demanding, and for a moment I felt completely helpless against the strength of his body and the fire he had ignited in me before lowering his head slightly to my neck where he bit me gently.

Immediately he did that under the full moon, every guest in the cave began to shift. Growls filled the air as they wolfed out,all except the wedding officiant, who simply dipped his fingers into a bowl of blood and marked both our foreheads.

Then he said, “It is time for you to consummate your marriage.”

I pulled back from Maxwell immediately, my eyes wide open in shock.

“What? You mean I have to have sex in front of all these people?”

“Shhh.” Maxwell placed a finger on my lips, then slowly slid it down the side of my neck. He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss there while the growling wolves around us slowly began turning back into their human forms. “You don’t have to think too much about it. They’re all your loyal subjects and we must do it in front of them if we want the curse to be broken.”

My body trembled with a confusing mix of heat and horror.Then, suddenly, a loud voice screamed from among the crowd.

“Stop this blasphemy at once!”

Our attention snapped toward the entrance. The crowd that had surrounded us parted and in the middle stood the royal Chamberlain and the head of the king’s army, flanked by armed soldiers.

Maxwell turned to me immediately. His eyes were already glowing red.

“Run and don’t look back. I’ll come and find you.”he said in a reassuring voice.

I broke into a run.This was the second time my wedding had been crashed. Maybe it simply was not in my destiny to get married.

I ran hard through the forest, my lungs burning coupled with my torn dress that was almost showcasing my nudity from catching on every branch but I did not stop. After what felt like an hour of pure flight, the trees thinned and the familiar walls of the Laurent castle rose ahead of me.

It was far too quiet as I walked in through the open gates and what I saw almost made me throw up.

There were piles of bodies littered across the compound and even inside the castle. Blood was everywhere,on the stones,the walls, soaking into the earth. My stomach curled up inside as I prayed deep in my mind that my family should not be among these piles.

Then I saw her.My mother laying lifeless near the stairs.

“Mom!”

I ran to her, dropping to my knees and carefully lifting her head onto my lap.

“Mom. What happened? Who did this?”

Her eyes fluttered open. A weak, bloody smile touched her lips.

“Elaine..You’re alive.”

She coughed and more blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

“Yes, Mom. I’m fine. Please tell me what happened to everyone. Who did this?”

“It was the royal guards. They accused your father of kidnapping you and working with the rogue prince. Your father, being who he was resisted arrest and we all joined the fight trying to defend him so they killed everyone including your father.”

Tears welled up so fast in my eyes that they burned. In the space of a single day I had been left without a family because of something I still barely understood.

My mother’s hand rose weakly, trying to wipe my tears.

“You don’t have to cry, love,” she whispered. “Just get as far as you can from here. I love you, baby. You have to stay alive so that you can avenge us. Run, Elaine. Run!!”

The last word left her with terrible difficulty before her body went still in my arms.

I held her for a long moment, shaking as the reality of it crushed me.

When I finally spoke, my voice was low and my heart was full of something that no longer felt like simple grief.

“I promise you, Mom. I’m going to find every single one of them who did this. And I’ll make sure their heads are severed from their bodies. None of them will survive what is coming. No matter what I have to do.”