The Vows

Chapter Three

“Join hands.”

The elder’s voice rolls through the clearing, steady and ancient, settling over the gathered packs like a command the world itself obeys.

I swallow and place my hand in Kael’s.

His palm is warm. Solid. Real.

The contact pulls me back into my body, back into the moment I nearly drifted away from. His fingers close around mine gently, as if he’s afraid of adding to the weight already pressing on my chest.

The clearing has gone still. Even the wind seems to have quieted, the Moon hanging high above us like a silent witness who will remember everything.

This is it.

The moment I’ve known would come since I was old enough to understand what it meant to be the Alpha’s daughter.

Duty doesn’t wait for feelings.

Duty doesn’t ask what you want.

I keep my gaze forward, fixed somewhere near Kael’s collarbone. I know if I look to the side—if I so much as glance toward the tall, unmoving presence beside him—I’ll lose the fragile hold I have on myself.

So I don’t.

I focus on Kael.

On the steady rise and fall of his chest.

On the quiet strength in his posture.

On the fact that he chose this too.

The elder begins the ceremony, voice deep and practiced.

“Marriage between packs is not simply the union of two wolves, but of lands, bloodlines, and futures…”

The words are familiar, but my mind drifts.

Yesterday afternoon.

I’d been standing in front of the mirror in my bedroom, sunlight pouring in through the window instead of moonlight. My dress hung on the wardrobe door, untouched, and for a moment I had pretended it didn’t belong to me.

I’d been wearing jeans and an oversized T-shirt, my hair loose down my back, dark waves reaching almost to my hips. My skin looked warmer in the daylight, less pale than it does under the Moon, and my eyes—deep brown, almost molten when light hits them—had stared back at me like they were searching for answers I didn’t have.

I’d tilted my head, studying my own reflection like I was trying to memorize the girl I used to be.

The girl who ran barefoot through pack lands as a child, racing the other wolves through fields that stretched forever. The girl who thought being Alpha’s daughter just meant more people knew her name.

“You’re going to be a good Beta Mate,” my father had said quietly from the doorway.

I hadn’t heard him come in.

His voice had been gentle, but firm in the way only Alphas can be. He’d looked older than usual, the past year of attacks carving new lines into his face.

I wanted to ask him if he was sure.

If he believed it.

If he thought I was strong enough.

But Alpha daughters don’t ask those questions.

Instead, I’d touched the thin gold chain around my neck, the small crescent pendant resting against my collarbone. A symbol of my bloodline. Passed from Luna to Luna and in my case, Luna to Beta. 

A reminder that my life was never entirely mine.

“…to stand together in war and in peace…”

The elder’s voice pulls me back.

Kael’s thumb shifts over my knuckles, a grounding gesture. He probably doesn’t even realize he’s doing it, but it steadies me.

This isn’t a punishment.

This is protection.

I lift my eyes to him.

He gives me a small nod.

We can do this, it says.

I draw in a slow breath.

“I, Kael Raventhorn,” he begins, voice calm and unwavering, “take you, Aelira Nightwyn, to stand beside me as partner and equal…”

His vows are honest. Measured. He doesn’t rush them. Each word sounds like something he’s already decided he will keep.

And guilt creeps in again.

Because he deserves someone whose mind isn’t fighting itself right now.

The elder turns to me.

“Aelira Nightwyn.”

My name feels heavier than the night air.

This is the part where I speak.

Where I choose.

Where I bind my life.

I don’t look to the side. I don’t think about grey eyes or black fabric or the cold disapproval that sliced through me earlier.

I focus on the warmth of Kael’s hand.

“I, Aelira Nightwyn,” I say, voice softer but steady, “take you, Kael Raventhorn, to stand beside me in duty and in strength…”

The words feel like stones settling into place.

“…to protect our packs, to honor our alliance, and to walk beside you in whatever future we must face.”

It isn’t a vow made out of love.

It was never meant to be.

But it’s true.

The elder nods.

The Moonlight feels brighter now, harsher.

I make a mistake.

Just one glance.

Darian stands beside Kael like he was carved from shadow and control. Dark suit. Unmoving posture. Grey eyes unreadable. If he feels anything about what’s happening here, he hides it perfectly.

And something inside me twists.

Because part of me is relieved he looks unmoved.

And another part… isn’t.

The elder raises his hands.

“Then before the Moon and the witnesses of both packs, this union is sealed.”

A murmur ripples through the clearing.

And something inside me settles.

Not into peace.

Into finality.

I have done what was required of me.

I have chosen my pack.

But as Kael’s hand tightens around mine and the ceremony moves forward, one thought keeps circling, quiet and relentless—

I have never felt more like I just lost something I don’t understand yet.