Death or Marriage

Rain

Reluctantly, my father reached beneath his shirt and pulled out a pendant. His fingers tightened around it before he spoke. “I carry this with me everywhere,” he said. “It’s a picture of my wife and me. I never let anyone else touch it. But to prove that I didn’t plan some kind of cruel joke today, I will show you all.”

“And what exactly is this picture supposed to prove?” Malcom asked.

“You’ll see which parent she resembles,” my father said bluntly.

He handed the pendant to Malcom, who held it up for Alpha Ryan to see. I couldn’t see the image myself, but I didn’t need to. The look that crossed Malcom’s face, followed by the sharp stillness in Alpha Ryan’s expression, told me everything.

I must have looked like her. Like my mother.

“Almost a carbon copy,” Malcom murmured to Alpha Ryan. “But Sapphire also resembled her parents. So, this could truly be a coincidence.”

“A terrible one,” Ryan snapped.

Malcom handed the pendant back, and my father tucked it away like it burned his skin. I swallowed hard. I wished I could see her face. My father had erased every trace of my mother from our lives just to please Diane. I had grown up never knowing what she looked like, only knowing that I wasn’t allowed to ask.

“What proof do you have that she’s lived with you since childhood?” Julius asked.

“I don’t photograph her,” my father replied coldly. “She isn’t part of my family.”

The room went quiet.

“You understand,” Julius said slowly, “that the proof you gave isn’t enough, and if you fail to convince Alpha Ryan that this girl is not an impersonator, you will die.”

“I have a photo.”

Hannah’s voice cut through the tension, and every head turned toward her.

“It’s from late last year,” she said quickly, already scrolling through her phone with shaking hands. “Around this time, you were already with your wife. It was my birthday. I was taking a picture in my room, and she was behind me. You can see her clearly.”

She handed the phone to Malcom.

They studied it for a long moment. My heart pounded so hard I felt dizzy. Finally, Malcom looked up.

“Unless Sapphire was in two places at once,” he said, “this is enough proof, Alpha.”

“It is,” Ryan said.

His eyes flicked to me, dark and sharp. Even though he now believed I hadn’t come to mock him, the anger hadn’t left his face.

“What should be done with her?” someone asked. “She’s hurt and –”

“With a face like that, I can’t allow her to walk around freely,” Alpha Ryan interrupted. “Keep her locked up somewhere safe while I decide what to do with her.”

****

It felt like forever before Alpha Ryan reached a verdict. I was taken to a room and left alone with my thoughts. I sat on the floor instead of the bed, afraid to dirty the clean white sheets. My reflection kept flashing in my mind. A face that had ruined everything.

I looked like the woman he had loved so deeply, the woman whose beauty was spoken of in whispers. I knew I wasn’t as beautiful as her. Maybe not beautiful at all. Still, something about my face was enough to make him furious, enough to make him want to punish me for simply existing.

When I came here with Hannah’s seal, a small part of me had hoped my life would change. I didn’t know how. I just wanted something different. A life where I didn’t have to hear hatred in every word spoken to me. A life where my presence didn’t feel like a crime.

But not like this.

If I had known this would happen, I would never have come. Then again, who was I kidding? When had life ever been kind to me? Cruelty had become normal. It settled into my bones as naturally as breathing.

My stomach growled, but even hunger didn’t bother me anymore. I was used to it. I never ate until late at night, when everyone was asleep and I could steal a few quiet moments to myself.

Maybe being executed wouldn’t be so bad. Because this wasn’t living. It was a prison, and I was already exhausted.

The door opened, and several women entered the room. They smelled like flowers and expensive perfume.

“Come with me,” one of them said.

They led me through long halls until we stopped in front of a large white door. When it opened, my breath caught. The room looked like something out of a dream. It reminded me of a spa, only larger and more beautiful than anything I had ever seen.

“Take off your clothes and step into the bath,” the woman said.

I hesitated only for a second before doing as I was told. Questioning orders had never ended well for me.

The water was warm and smelled clean, filled with soft floral scents. The women stepped into the bath with me, washing my hair, cleaning the dried blood from my skin, rubbing soothing ointments into my scalp.

As they worked, a strange thought crossed my mind.

Was this an execution ritual? A cleansing before death?

If it was, then maybe this was mercy. Maybe I would finally find peace after death.

The bath ended quickly. They dressed me in a white gown so beautiful I didn’t have words for it. Jewelry was placed around my neck and wrists. Soft makeup was brushed onto my face.

“Do you like it?” the woman asked, guiding me toward a large mirror.

I stared at my reflection. I barely recognized myself. I looked… regal. Important. Like someone I wasn’t.

It didn’t suit me.

“Yes,” I lied.

She nodded, satisfied, and led me back toward the main hall. The place where the party had been. I assumed everyone had gone home by now, disappointed after I ruined everything just by showing my face.

“Go ahead,” she said gently. “He’s waiting for you.”

I didn’t ask who. Even if I had all the time in the world, I wouldn’t have found the courage.

My hand shook as I knocked.

“Come in,” Malcom’s voice called.

The door opened on its own.

I froze.

The hall looked completely different. It was filled with people, far more than before. Murmurs rippled through the room as eyes landed on me.

Malcom approached with a faint smile and held out his hand. After a moment’s hesitation, I took it.

He led me forward, straight to Alpha Ryan.

He had changed too. He wore a white robe, his dark hair neatly combed back, revealing his sharp features. His face carried the kind of beauty that didn’t need effort, the kind that made people look twice without knowing why. Despite the faint curve of his lips, his eyes were still cruel when they landed on me.

He held out his hand, but I didn’t move. I kept thinking if I was allowed to touch a Lycan King.

I glanced at Malcom, and he nodded. Slowly, I placed my hand in Alpha Ryan’s. His grip was strong and rough, grounding and terrifying all at once.

The murmuring grew louder.

Ryan lifted his hand, and the room fell silent.

“Everyone,” he said, his voice powerful enough to echo through the hall without effort. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

Whispers spread like wildfire.

“I have an announcement to make.”

As he spoke, my eyes searched the crowd for my father. I prayed he was still alive. That he hadn’t been punished for me. He was the only family I had left. I couldn’t lose him.

“Normally, I would have waited longer,” Ryan continued, “but this cannot wait. As you all know, a woman who looks exactly like my late wife appeared on the very day I decided to move on and choose another Luna. An interesting coincidence you might say.”

His gaze dropped to me. For just a second, his eyes softened. Then they hardened again. His fingers tightened around mine, and a small whimper escaped my lips.

“But I do not believe in coincidences,” he said. “This is a sign from the Moon Goddess. A sign that I have been given another chance to see the face of the woman I loved.”

My heart stopped.

“So, without wasting another second,” he declared, “I will marry her tonight.”