III: Wedding

-Kira-

My heart is sitting in my throat. I don’t recognize the woman staring at me in the mirror; the grown-up woman who will no longer depend on her Pappa for protection. The adult who will become Luna to another Alpha in a few hours' time.

My love for dancing will be a forgotten memory, my stuffed toy collection will be donated and my bedroom will be cleaned out. Kira Volkova, the Alpha Heir, will fall away, and Kira Helseth will take her place.

I didn’t want a big wedding. I wanted the Volkov Mating Ceremony, but Adryan refused me. He said that I am to take his customs and forget about my own; it's the only reason I’m standing here being dolled up.

The women who have tended to me and turned me into this stunning bride I don’t recognize, all leave the room and I see my mother walking up behind me. 

Caterina Volkova - the woman all the girls in our pack aspire to be. She was always my rock; the one person I could depend on through everything, and now she’s looking at me with tears running down her cheeks.

“Mamma, please!” I cry out and fan my tears away. “You’re going to make me ruin my makeup!”

This doesn’t stop her, though, it only makes her sob even more. She runs over to me and places her hands on my shoulders, looking into my eyes as if she’s about to lose me and never see me again.

“I don’t think I can call you my baby anymore,” she says with a trembling bottom lip and touches my cheek. “Look at you, all grown up and about to get married. Where did the time go?” 

I wrap my arms around my mother and forget all about the makeup that took two hours to complete. I knew this would happen, knew that once I saw my mother that I wouldn’t be able to stop my tears. It pales in comparison to what I will feel once I see my Pappa, though; I just know that I’ll shatter into a thousand little pieces. 

My mother pulls away and takes my face in her hands. “Let’s clean you up before Amanda kills me,” she says, referring to the make-up artist, then goes to grab a tissue and redo my makeup. 

“This dress was truly made for you, Kira; Adryan will fall in love all over again,” she says as she gets to work on redoing my make-up. 

There’s a question I want to ask her, one that I’m dying to know; I do not know if Arkyn is here. He RSVP’d a while ago, but we’ve barely spoken since he left my dress fitting almost two months ago. I text him, but he doesn’t reply; my calls go unanswered too. I have no idea what I did wrong the last time I saw him and it’s killing me not knowing.

“There, all done!” my mother says and turns me towards the mirror again. She did a perfect job; apart from my red-rimmed eyes, you can’t tell I was sobbing a few minutes ago. 

“Thank you, Mamma. Listen-”

A knock on the door silences my words, but whatever I was about to ask melts away when Arkyn’s head pops in through the door. His eyes are closed and he’s wearing that cocky grin I love so much.

“Are you decent?” he asks and my mother chuckles before walking over to him.

“And if I’m not?” I shoot back and his eyes open. 

The smirk immediately drops from his face as he steps inside and his mouth slightly opens when he sees me. My mother tries to hide her smile and touches my shoulder before walking towards the door and doing the same to Arkyn. 

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” she says, then closes the door behind her.

Now it’s just the two of us alone.

He walks over to me with one hand in the pocket of his suit pants, all the confidence of an Alpha heir in the way he walks. It always amazed me just how delicious he looks in a custom-made suit, and right now he looks good enough to eat.

“Wow isn’t even the word to describe what I see right now,” he says, smiling, and my heart does a flip. He comes to a stop in front of me and tilts my chin up. “You look beautiful, Blue. So beautiful it makes my heart ache.”

I smile and try to make light of the situation. “Since when are you one for sweet words, Vega?” I tease, and his smile wavers slightly.

He shakes his head and I watch as his eyes flicker to my side and back to me again. “Since I know I’ll be losing my best friend today,” he says, his lips a tight line as he caresses my chin.

“You’re not losing me-”

“I am,” he interjects, and his hand slides from my chin to my neck. My heart is pounding so loudly in my ears and I am sure he can feel it with his hand on my throat. “I am, and it kills me knowing-”

He stops himself and grins, then shakes his head again. “Adryan is lucky to have you as his mate, but if he hurts you in any way, just know that I don’t care about any treaty we may have. I’ll kill him with my bare hands.” He says possessively.

I don’t doubt his words at all and for the first time today, I let out a laugh, and it actually feels good. The grin on his face falters slightly, and he sighs. 

“Fuck, I’m going to miss you, Blue,” he says, his fingers gripping the back of my neck while his thumb caresses my pulse. “But even if you weren’t getting married, we would see less of each other since I’ll be taking over as Alpha in two weeks.”

My eyes widen when he says this. “What?! That’s amazing, Arkyn!” I exclaim and wrap my arms around his neck in an embrace. “You’ll make a magnificent Alpha.”

It’s when his scent hits me that I realize I’ve made a huge mistake. Creeping past his delicious signature Creed Aventus cologne, there’s another scent I never took notice of and I feel a pull in my core as soon as it hits me - Vetiver and Creamy Sandalwood. He smells like the forests behind the Volkov estate… he smells like home.

“Thank you, I’m glad I have your vote of confidence,” he chuckles and then lets out a long sigh. “Good luck for today, Blue. I’m sure Adryan will make you happy.”

At this, we break off our embrace, but for some reason, his hands remain on my waist while my arms stay around his neck. Everything falls away when Arkyn looks at me; his crimson gaze burns into me and my body feels like it’s been pushed into a furnace.

A bead of sweat trickles down my back and my heart constricts when his eyes briefly flicker to my lips, then back to my eyes. The din of the church quietens down, my breath quickens and I lose all sense of reason when I see the hunger in his split Lycan eyes.

Then he claims my mouth in a kiss that sets my entire world ablaze. My mind goes blank and all I can feel are Arkyn’s lips on mine; these lips that I’ve dreamt about for years… claiming me when they shouldn’t. 

He tastes like berries and whiskey, his pierced tongue playing softly against mine and forcing my submission. His beard scapes against my already sensitive skin and I moan into his mouth. This makes him press himself more against me and I can feel his cock hardening against my belly.

It was a brazen kiss that held nothing back, deepening by the second and causing my wolf to howl with desire, even though we both know this is not our mate. The kiss turns cruel, devouring my will to resist, and just as I am about to let go completely, a knock sounds at the door. 

“Kira?”

My father’s voice is like a whip, and we immediately separate. Arkyn’s eyes meld into one, his face flushed and his heartbeat racing as fast as mine. I can feel the blush reddening my cheeks as we both come to the same conclusion at the wrong time.

We feel the same way about each other.