Chapter 5: The Revenge Wedding

~ Mira’s POV ~

Three days went by in a daze of silence.

Various stylists arrived, putting me in corsets and fixing my hair until my head hurt. I felt like a doll getting dressed to be shown off. Every now and then, Nicolas would come by to check on me, giving me a sympathetic look.

“Cheer up, Mira,” he would say the day before the ceremony. “This is not a funeral.”

“Is it not?” I asked, looking at my image in the mirror. I looked like a zombie.

“It’s a new beginning,” Nicolas tried to convince me. “Luca… He is complicated. But he is a fair person. Don’t push him too far.”

Fair? How could he think I should be nice to the guy who blackmailed me?

Nicolas gave me the wedding dress, stunning yet intimidating piece made of pure white lace and silk.

I was standing by the window, looking outside at the cityscape I'd never be able to roam again. "Is he going to kill me after the wedding? That's the plan?"

Nicolas exhaled and ran a hand through his shorter hair. “You’ve been watching way too many movies. Luca wants to protect you. If he wanted you dead, you’d already be in the foundation of a skyscraper.”

“Surely comforting.”

“No. He needs to protect himself,” Nicolas amended. “This marriage, this arrangement, protects you too. It means you’re pack-adjacent, which means you’re untouchable. In our world, family matters. Once you’re his, nobody will dare touch you without first declaring war on him.”

“Then how about those who don’t give a damn about war? Those hunting monsters?”

Nicolas narrowed his eyes. “Then better make sure the monster you married is scarier than the monsters hunting you.”

“Go ahead and throw your threats around. I have no problem with that. Just remember to leave me alone when you’re done.”

He threw the black box towards the bed beside the dress. “Now put this on. This is a family relic. And get ready. The car leaves in an hour.”

Just as he was leaving, he stopped.

“Mira?”

“What?”

“Please stop acting like you’re scared shitless. The wolves can smell it. There will be a lot of them out there, and not all of them are going to be nice.”

And with this cheerful warning, he left.

I wore the necklace, feeling the cold metal against my skin.

There was a knock at the door. It wasn’t Nicolas.

“Ms. Carter, I’m your driver,” he called out to me. “Mr. Moretti is waiting.”

* * * * * * * * * *

The house was like a fortified building. Iron gates, stone walls, security guards everywhere. There were so many people at the ball in the ballroom, including some elite members of the city and some of its more covert elites, the wolves.

Yes I spent 3 days searching about them. I knew a few more information about them now.

I could feel their eyes watching me intently. Judging. Whispers.

‘Human?’ ‘What’s a human doing here?’ ‘This is no she-wolf.’

My head remained bowed. All I saw before me was Luca. Standing next to the altar surrounded by an arch made of white roses. He looked handsome gorgeous in his tuxedo with the velvet collar.

By the time I got to him, there was no smile on his face. He didn’t take my hand gently. There were no pleasantries. He grabbed mine and held it firmly, his fingers intertwining with mine, holding me in place.

"Don't faint," he whispered, his mouth barely moving. "You are a Carter. You are tougher than this."

The priest started to speak. I blocked him out and concentrated on the warmth of Luca's hand. It was the only thing warm about the whole damn place.

The vows followed.

Luca looked at me and spoke in a soft tone meant only for my ears.

"I, Luca Moretti, take you, Mira Carter, to be my wife. I swear to protect you, to keep you safe from the of the world. But don't misunderstand what I say, Mira. This isn't love; this is possession. You belong to me now, and I don't share, nor do I forgive."

Gasps from the audience thought it was romantic poetry. I knew better; this was a threat.

"I...I take you, Luca Moretti, to be my husband."

"The rings."

We exchanged our bands. His finger was warm as I placed the platinum band on it. He forced the gold band onto my finger.

"You may kiss the bride."

My breath hitched.

Luca placed a hand on either side of my face. There was nothing soft in his eyes; there was only hunger as he bent down and kissed me.

This was no sweet kiss. This was a claiming; a claiming of me that had teeth and a brand that burned me with the fire and rage that filled his eyes. It was like nothing else before, but something primal and electric burned through my veins and sent a wave of heat shooting into my core.

He backed away, breathing heavily as if the kiss left him just as drained as me. He looked furious as he addressed the crowd.

“Let the feast begin.”

He walked ahead and I followed after him down the aisle when a familiar sight made me pause. Selene Blackwood. Tall, dark, beautiful and glaring at me from the front row as if I were the enemy. Her companion was an older man who glared right back.

“That’s Selene,” Nicolas whispered by my ear. “She was supposed to be the Luna and you just stole her crown with one signature.”

“I never wanted a crown,” I whispered back.

“Too bad for you,” Nicolas said. “Now you’re wearing it.”

Luca ushered me inside the reception hall and gave me a glass of champagne, his hand gripping my waist with unyielding force.

“Smile,” he hissed between his clenched teeth. “Act happy. The wolves are watching.”

“I’m smiling,” I snarled, forcing myself to do just that. “See? This is how happy I am.”

His mouth twitched but it was not a smile. “Looks like you haven’t changed. Terrible actress.”

“Neither have you,” I said quietly, lifting my gaze to meet his. “Trying to control everything, as always.”

His dark eyes sparked. “I’ve become better than ever, thanks to you. One time you controlled me. It won’t happen again.”

He let go of me to attend to another guest, leaving me alone in a room full of predatory eyes.

I looked down at the ring on my finger. I looked up at my husband, who hated me.

I had survived the wedding. But the marriage, I realized, was going to be a war. And I was fighting on the losing side.

* * * * * * * * * *