Marriage Crashed

Noah's POV

The hall went completely silent.

I stared at my brother. His eyes were glowing green. His wolf was at the surface. His claws were showing.

He was serious. He would actually fight me. Here. In front of everyone.

"Brother, you shall not marry my mate." His voice echoed through the hall.

I laughed. It was cold. Hollow. "Get out of here, Neal. Before I kill you."

But he didn't run. He stepped forward. Slowly. Deliberately.

"You can kill me, brother. You can tear my throat out right here in front of everyone. But that won't change the truth. She is my mate. And you know it."

The crowd gasped. Whispers erupted. I could feel their eyes on us. Waiting.

I stepped closer to him. My voice dropped low. Deadly. "You think that matters? You think I care about your little feelings? She is my bride. She will be my wife. Tonight. Whether you like it or not."

Neal's eyes blazed. "She is not yours to claim! She never was! You felt the bond too. I know you did. But you're too cold to admit it. Too heartless to care about anything but yourself!"

I could feel my wolf clawing under my skin. The urge to rip his throat out was overwhelming.

"You think I'm scared of you?" Neal's voice was low. Dangerous. The voice of an Alpha. "You think I will just walk away and let you take her? She is my mate! The bond is screaming inside me! I would rather die than let you have her!"

I stared at him. Really stared.

This was not my weak, soft brother. This was an Alpha. This was the man who fought beside me in wars. The man who never backed down from a fight.

I had only seen him like this during battles. When lives were at stake. When everything was on the line.

And now, he was like this. For her.

"You would really fight me?" My voice was quieter now. "Over a woman you just met?"

"I would die for her," Neal said. Steady. Certain. "The bond doesn't lie, Noah. You know that. You felt it too. The moment she walked in. You felt it. But you chose to ignore it. You chose to claim her anyway. That's not strength. That's selfishness."

My jaw tightened.

He was right. I had felt it. The moment she walked in, something shifted. Something pulled. The mate bond.

But I ignored it. I had to. The curse. The curse in my blood. It would only break if I married her. If I bonded with her. If she carried my heir.

I needed her. I needed her body. I needed her blood to break this curse that had haunted me for centuries.

"You're willing to destroy everything?" I asked. "Our pack? Our family? Over this?"

"I'm willing to destroy anything that stands between me and my mate," Neal shot back. "And you know what? You would do the same if you were in my position. Don't pretend you wouldn't."

The silence stretched between us.

I looked at her. Valerie. She was trembling. Her red eyes were wide. Her face was pale. She looked terrified.

She was innocent in all of this. She didn't ask to be caught between us.

But she was the key. The key to my freedom. The key to breaking the curse.

I looked back at Neal. At his glowing eyes. At his trembling fists. At the wolf barely contained beneath his skin.

And I made a choice.

Not because I cared about her. Not because I cared about him. But because fighting him would destroy everything I had built. The pack. The kingdom. The power I had fought so hard to keep.

And if the wolves knew we were weak? If they knew we were divided?

Lucien and his allies would strike. The war would come. And we would lose.

"Fine."

The word came out like poison. Like it was being ripped from my throat.

"What?" Neal stared at me. Suspicious. Confused.

I forced my voice to stay calm. "I said fine. I am not going to fight you, brother. Not here. Not like this. Not in front of everyone."

I paused. Every word tasted like ash.

"But I am not giving her up either."

"Then what–"

"The only way this wedding happens today," I said slowly. Deliberately. "Is if you marry her too. Both of us. Right here. Right now."

The hall exploded into whispers.

Neal stared at me. Searching my face. Looking for the trap.

"You would share her?" Disbelief in his voice.

My expression was stone. "I would rather share her than lose her. And I would rather share her than destroy this pack in a fight with my own brother. That is the only offer I am making. Take it or leave it."

The tension stretched between us. Everyone held their breath.

Neal looked at her. His eyes softened. Something passed between them. Something I couldn't read.

"If this is a trick–" Neal started.

"It's not a trick." My voice was sharp. "I am not happy about this, brother. I hate it. But I see now that you will not back down. And I see now that the bond will not let you. So this is the only way. We share her. Or we destroy each other."

I saw the war in his eyes. The doubt. The suspicion.

Then he looked at her again. And something in him settled.

"I accept."

I felt something twist in my chest. Jealousy. Rage. I pushed it down.

"The ceremony will continue," I announced. My voice boomed through the hall. "But now, both of us will marry her. Both of us will bind her to this pack. This is the only way."

The priest stepped forward. Trembling.

I didn't care. I didn't care about her feelings. I didn't care about Neal's feelings. I only cared about one thing.

The curse.

She would break it. She had to. She was the key.

And I would do whatever it took to keep her.