9

# Chapter 9: Jason's POV

It was like an eruption and that of a powerful volcano. The pandemonium that ensued after I gave my decision was something I couldn't have anticipated no matter how much I thought about it. I took in a deep breath and maintained my composure, finding the calm in the one person that had made me do this in the first place.

Just staring at her alone, I felt like I could overcome anything. As long as she was with me by my side, I could do this. I could find my own happiness and break free of the restraints of everybody and their expectations for me. She was staring right back at me. Her eyes fixated. Her spirited look was a little melted this time around. She didn't look all so fierce for just a while. No, she looked lovely and touched at the same time.

She knew why I did this. That it was all because I wanted to be with her instead. I didn't know whether it was right or wrong, but I knew that she appreciated it and that made it all worthwhile. Well, it's time for the rest of them to know also, I told myself internally as I walked right up to her.

Despite everybody shouting in the background and a couple of people even fighting, I had my hand on hers firmly the moment I reached her before looking into her eyes and asking her the crucial question that would determine everything. Of course, I loved her very much and wanted to be with her. The wedding could be changed from Fiona's to Lena's if only she would agree.

If she didn't agree, there was nothing I could do. I couldn't force her to marry me after all, but then all the sacrifice would be for naught. I personally thought that I had proven my love to her enough by making this one sacrifice out of the blue, even though there hadn't been any confessions yet. So, it should be enough. But if that wasn't it, if she still didn't trust that I loved her enough, then, well, I would really be broken and I would pay for this mistake without any compensation whatsoever.

A tear dropped down from her eyes as I held her, looking straight into those crystal blue eyes and feeling a strong sense and conviction that I had never felt before. The force of attraction between us was greater than the pull of a magnet, far greater than gravity also. It was something I didn't know existed, something I couldn't comprehend.

"Stop this nonsense this instant," a loud voice suddenly sounded. The voice was powerful, like the raging of an ocean, and at the mere sound of it, suddenly all the commotion ceased and all the noise became quiet. The clashing swords I had heard before of the different soldiers from Fiona's family and the Frostwood Pack also suddenly stopped, and I turned around to see a man towering over every other person, the very alpha of the Frostwood Pack: Marcus, my dad.

He was glaring at the spectacle— the absolute breakdown of order, with the most disgust in his eyes. I thought he couldn't look any more disgusted, but then his eyes came to me. I didn't know whether I had ever seen him that disappointed in anyone in my entire life, but this was definitely something deep. I felt like I had let him down as he stared right at me, his eyes stabbing me into a thousand pieces.

He turned from me to look at the people that had turned it upside down. "This is a wedding ceremony and not a war," he said, raising an eyebrow and looking around at people from the Ashford Pack.

Nobody from there spoke a word, making me feel apprehensive. Just as I thought Marcus was about to continue, Alpha Lucian stood up, his voice booming and completely matching the tone of Marcus. "What is the meaning of this?" he questioned. "We came here for the wedding of Jason to Fiona and why on earth is he saying something else right now?"

He wasn't even looking at me or asking my opinion. No, he was looking straight at my dad, as if to ask him why he couldn't keep his own son under control. My dad, on his part, didn't seem to be concerned by that at all, as he looked straight at Lucian and squared up to him. "That doesn't mean anyone should resort to violence now, does it?" he questioned, glaring at the soldiers and everybody in general. "It's just a wedding, and we all came here in peace for the festivity. There's no need for a fallout right now..."

"Oh, there will be a fallout alright!" Lucian interrupted, almost immediately glaring at him. "This is completely uncalled for, and this is humiliating. You are tearing the alliance apart that we have supposed to have completed today. The agreement is going to be destroyed, and you are going to be sorry for it."

Marcus seemed like he was about to speak, like he was about to defend me the way he had just a moment ago. Honestly, I couldn't understand the rationale behind it, why he would defend me at all, but he seemed to have his own reasons. I could see it in his eyes that he completely agreed with Lucian. He wanted me to marry Fiona and make sure the contract was sealed.

But he couldn't afford to dishonor his own name, and as much as he would love to grab a beer with Lucian and talk over my disappointment happily, that would simply be washing dirty linen in public. He had an obligation to the Ashford Pack, of course, but an even greater obligation to his own pack, and he couldn't bear to see them humiliated. It was probably because of that feeling that he spoke his next words carefully, but firmly.