05 | Wedding Present.

E L E A N O R

The palace has already begun preparations for the grand royal wedding tomorrow. I can hear the sound of feet scurrying back and forth as they bustle about. Soon, I overhear a group of maids chatting as they walk past my door.

“I really feel sorry for the princess… It’s barely been a week since she lost her husband,” the empathetic one begins.

“Sorry?” Her companion scoffs. “She’s lucky and privileged. Not every widow gets the opportunity to remarry a drop-dead gorgeous supreme leader.”

“Marina, he killed her husband,” the third voice squeaks.

“Her husband would’ve killed him if he hadn’t. It’s a war; you don’t let your enemy go out of sympathy. I think she should be grateful for another chance,” Marina adds indifferently.

“You wouldn’t have another chance when I get out of here!” I yell.

“My apologies, Your Majesty,” she says, lowering her tone.

“Just go,” I grunt.

They are selfish—just like my father, who sold me off. Tobias died protecting them, and now they’re offering me as a peace offering to finalize a stupid treaty.

I grunt and settle onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling adorned with ancient paintings.

At sunset, I resolve to use the secret door in my bathroom. I’ll be back before they notice—hopefully. Sliding on my black hood, I turn on a lantern, taking quiet but deliberate steps toward the exit of the dark passage leading to the courtyard. I step into the silvery glow of the crescent moon, my feet crunching the dry leaves from the apple trees framing Tobias' grave.

I had requested he be buried here because he had proposed here. The castle has multiple courtyards, but this one is too special to let him be interred in a community graveyard. When my time comes, I want to be buried beside him.

I walk up to his gravestone slowly, removing my hood. I fall to my knees and let my tears flow. My home is gone, and I have to betray him to get him the justice this pack deprived him of—the very pack he died for.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I have to do this for you. It’s crazy because I don’t even want to. I want to be with you, but they won’t let me. I’m sorry.” I choke out. “I won’t fail you, I promise. I won’t give him the love I gave you. You’ll always have my heart, forever. I promise.” I wipe my tears as fresh ones spill over.

“You’re always crying.” The voice of the man I cut with a dagger echoes in the courtyard.

I wipe my eyes, gather my dress in my hands, and rise to my feet, shooting him a glare. “What are you doing here?”

“Nothing really... I was just taking a walk,” he shrugs, flexing his broad shoulders.

My eyes instinctively go to his hands, but instead of the cut, they’re soaked in blood. A perfect aesthetic for a murderer. His claws slowly retract as he walks toward me.

“Stay back,” I growl as Reina starts to stir.

“Or what?” He lets out a brief, cold laugh as he steps closer. Leaning in, he holds my hood in his fingers before letting it go. The smell of blood mingles with what I identify as agarwood. “Black again? Good thing you’ll be trying something different tomorrow.”

“Back off,” I seethe, shoving him away when he grabs my wrist, staining it with his blood. A hot sensation courses through my body, and my heart rate skyrockets, And then it hits.

“Mate.”

Everything freezes. My instincts scream to run, but my body doesn’t move. No. I’m not mated to the man who killed my husband.

I whip around and sprint toward the castle, my body on fire, heart heavy with the unbearable realization. Mate? No. This can’t be real.

But it is.

I dash around the courtyard and back into the castle, forgetting that I’m not supposed to be outside. Mate? I’m mated to my husband’s murderer? To the same man I’m set to marry tomorrow? I’ve always known the Moon Goddess had destined me for misfortune—from losing my mother at birth to losing my husband at nineteen, and now remarrying a week after his death to the man who killed him, my fated mate.

“Just accept it; Tobias is gone,” Reina mind-links me, urging me to turn back to the Lycan jerk and claim him.

“Maybe it’s best if I avoid having a wolf at all,” I retort.

Wolfsbane. I need to get wolfsbane. I need to find Dora.

I hurry into the castle, determined to remove her from my life before the wedding tomorrow. I refuse to accept a wolf who would betray me like everyone else. I know that Tobias was my chosen mate; I had planned on rejecting my fated mate when I met him, but I learned that both parties must agree for a rejection to be valid.

Getting that demon to reject me would be a waste. I’d rather lose this wolf.

“You think I chose this, Eleanor? The Moon Goddess did. Even if you suppress me, you can’t fight that bond,” Reina growls, but I ignore her and continue walking until I reach the castle. I am only a few steps away when I hear a loud scream from the entrance.

I rush to see a small crowd gathered, watching a scene with several sobbing maids. Slowing my pace, I approach them. There’s a massive fire with bodies being thrown into it, my fingers quivering as I try to process the sight. When I look up, I see five human heads mounted on wooden stakes right in front of the castle. I drop to my knees as realization sets in: my mother-in-law, three council members, and the final head—Dora.

I gasp for air as footsteps approach. The man squats to my level, leans closer, and whispers, “How do you like my early wedding present? You'll get one each time you test my boundaries again, beloved.”

In that moment, I knew I wasn't just dealing with the Lycan who murdered my husband. I was dealing with a monster and the devil.