Chapter 3: the Bloodmoon ceremony

The night had descended upon them like a cloak of shadows, the moon hanging high in the sky, blood-red and foreboding. The Bloodmoon. It was said that when the moon turned such a color, destinies were sealed and fates were rewritten. For Seraphina Vale, the night was an omen one she had no choice but to face.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she stood before the altar, the weight of her decision pressing heavily upon her. Dorian Nightbane stood beside her, his presence like a force of nature, both overwhelming and suffocating. She could feel his power radiating, could almost taste the darkness that clung to him. His gaze was unwavering, focused on her as if he could see every secret, every doubt that flitted through her mind. His eyes, gleaming with intensity, made her feel as though she were standing on the edge of a precipice, staring down into the unknown.

The air was thick with anticipation, and the gathered crowd those loyal to Dorian, those bound by pack laws watched in silent reverence, knowing the significance of this moment. The Bloodmoon Ceremony was an ancient ritual, one that could not be undone once completed. It was the binding of a Luna and her Alpha, a joining that could either strengthen or destroy them. For Seraphina, it was a chance to survive, a chance to break the curse that had bound Dorian’s pack to death.

But as she stood there, hand trembling as it rested on Dorian’s arm, she couldn’t help but feel the weight of the chains that bound her. This marriage, this forced union, was nothing more than a trap a trap she had no choice but to walk into.

Dorian turned to her, his expression unreadable. "Are you ready?" he asked, his voice low, a thread of tension running through it.

Seraphina swallowed hard, her pulse racing. "As ready as I’ll ever be."

The priest stepped forward, his robes flowing like shadows, and began the ceremony with solemn words that echoed in the stillness of the night. "Tonight, under the Bloodmoon, we bind these two souls together, for better or for worse, in life and death. May the moon bear witness to their vows."

Dorian’s hand slid into hers, his grip firm, possessive, and unyielding. The bond between them thrummed, the mate bond that had snapped into place the moment he had claimed her as his. It was there, undeniable, like a thread woven into the very fabric of her being. She could feel it now more than ever, pulsing in time with her heartbeat, urging her to submit, to accept what had been forced upon her.

"I, Dorian Nightbane, Alpha of the Bloodmoon Pack," the priest began, his voice a low rumble, "take thee, Seraphina Vale, to be my wife, my Luna, in this life and the next."

Seraphina’s breath hitched in her throat as Dorian’s eyes locked onto hers, dark and intense, filled with an emotion she couldn’t quite name. It wasn’t love, not in the way she had once imagined it, but it was something deep and primal, as though he was claiming her not just in body, but in soul.

Her throat tightened, and she swallowed, her voice barely a whisper when it was her turn to speak. "I, Seraphina Vale, take thee, Dorian Nightbane, to be my husband, my Alpha, until death do us part."

The moment the words left her mouth, the ground beneath her feet seemed to tremble. The wind howled, the moon overhead glowing brighter, its blood red hue casting an eerie light upon the gathering. And in that moment, everything shifted.

A vision assaulted Seraphina’s mind vivid, sharp, and terrifying.

She saw Dorian her Alpha bleeding out in her arms. His body was limp, his eyes vacant, his chest barely rising as blood poured from the gaping wound in his side. She could feel the warmth of his blood soaking into her skin, could hear the rasp of his breath, slow and labored. His once proud face, full of strength and arrogance, was pale and twisted in pain. His eyes once sharp, once full of life were now clouded, staring past her, as if he no longer recognized her, as if he had already slipped into the void.

"Dorian..." Her voice broke in the vision, a scream of anguish that tore at her heart. She held him in her arms, helpless, watching as life drained from him. The bond between them, the mate bond, throbbed with intensity, and with every passing second, Seraphina felt herself weakening, as though she, too, were dying with him.

"No," she whispered, her eyes squeezed shut as the vision intensified. "This can’t happen. I won’t let it."

The blood of her vision seemed to seep into her skin, filling her senses with an overwhelming wave of dread. She saw herself cradling his broken body, the weight of his death pulling her into an abyss. She could feel the darkness, cold and suffocating, closing in around them. There was no escape. There was only the endless descent into oblivion.

"Seraphina!" Dorian’s voice cut through the vision like a knife, sharp and commanding. The spell broke as quickly as it had begun, and she gasped, her body shaking violently.

Her knees gave out beneath her, and she collapsed, the world spinning around her. Her hands flew to her face, her breath coming in ragged gasps as the vision slowly faded, leaving her shaken and breathless. The weight of the bond the curse had gripped her with such force that it felt as though her very soul had been torn in two.

"Dorian..." she managed to whisper, her voice trembling. "I saw it... I saw you die."

Her words hung in the air between them, heavy with the gravity of what she had just witnessed. Dorian’s eyes, once cold and detached, now softened slightly with something that might have been concern though it was quickly masked by his usual stoic demeanor.

"Don’t worry," he said, his voice low but firm. "It’s just a vision. It doesn’t mean anything."

But Seraphina wasn’t so sure. The vision had felt too real, too vivid, as though the Bloodmoon itself had shown her a glimpse of the future. A future where she and Dorian were bound not just by the mate bond, but by death. His death. And her own.

Her vision, like a dark prophecy, had struck at the core of her being. The curse had never been just a myth, a legend told in whispers. It was real, and it was coming for them both.

"I won’t let it happen," she whispered to herself, but even as the words left her lips, she wasn’t sure she believed them.

She was no fool. She had seen the vision with her own eyes. The Bloodmoon had shown her the truth of her bond with Dorian. Whether they wanted to admit it or not, their fates were intertwinedbby blood, by magic, by the curse that haunted him. If she didn’t find a way to break it, they were both doomed.

The priest’s voice rang out again, but Seraphina barely heard him over the pounding of her heart. She felt as though she were floating, her mind and body disconnected, suspended in a haze of confusion and fear.

"Dorian Nightbane, Alpha of the Bloodmoon Pack, and Seraphina Vale, now bound by the Bloodmoon, you are one under the moon’s gaze. May your union be strong and may the curse that haunts you be lifted by the power of your bond."

As the final words were spoken, Seraphina felt a strange sense of finality wash over her, as though there was no turning back now. She was his. She had no choice in the matter. And whatever came next, she would face it by his side whether she wanted to or not.

The ceremony was complete.

But as Seraphina stood, her body trembling, she knew one thing for certain: the future she had seen, the one where Dorian bled out in her arms, was a future she would fight with everything she had to change.

But how? And what price would she have to pay to survive?

Before she could gather her thoughts, darkness took her, and she collapsed into unconsciousness, her body betraying her after the overwhelming vision. When she awoke, she was no longer standing before the altar, no longer surrounded by the pack.

She was in a different place entirely.

Dorian’s chambers.

The room was dimly lit, the only light coming from the flickering flames in the hearth. She was lying on a soft bed, her body encased in warmth, but her mind still tangled in the web of the vision she had seen. The bond between her and Dorian thrummed, more intensely than ever, and it was in that moment that she realized something this was no mere marriage.

It was a battle for their very lives