✿•+*☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ*+•✿The Journey.
The bonding process was over. I stared at my bleeding palm; it wasn't healing. I couldn't afford to let him see that I wasn't healing. I'm not a full-blood werewolf.
"Take a look at Miss Perfect, ever gentle. Tsk, tsk." Lizette walked toward me, arms crossed. "You are a silent killer, Novalyn, a husband snatcher!"
"Watch your tongue, Lizette," I replied harshly before walking away. Thank goodness she didn't bother coming after me. She stood there glaring at me like she wanted to kill me.
In the next few minutes, I would be leaving with a man I hardly knew. I hadn't even taken a proper look at him during the whole procedure.
Lizette went to meet her mother with teary eyes. Her mother gave her a reassuring look, but that assurance killed every hope of a better life in me.
It was time to leave. Luzzatto guided me out while the rest stood at the doorstep of the palace. Once outside, I sighted him standing beside the carriage with a cigarette in his hand. I couldn't help but sigh bitterly at the thought that I would be marrying a smoker.
To be sincere, I didn't feel anything leaving this place, except the memory of my late mother and Luzzatto.
The carriage held much elegance. I shivered slightly as I neared him, trying so hard not to breathe in the disgusting smell coming from that thing he was doing with so much seriousness.
Silas looked so relaxed as he opened the carriage and helped me in. As soon as he got in, the carriage door shut. I heaved a heavy breath... this was it.
The carriage started to move but came to an abrupt halt in no time. During this whole period, I dared not raise my head to look at the person sitting opposite me. The curtain on my side adjusted and Luzzatto appeared. He had that worried look on his face. He for sure didn't trust Alpha Silas. I also didn't know if I should feel safe or unsafe.
"Take care of yourself. I promise to visit you once I'm free," Luzzatto promised and kissed my forehead. I fought back my tears and held his hands tight, different emotions overwhelming me. I felt like my head was about to explode.
"Should I say never? You can't be free with all the problems of the pack. You have a lot to handle." I didn't realize I had started to cry. He wiped my tears with a smile, mouthing silently, be strong. He adjusted the curtains back. "I don't want to go." My lips moved, but no voice came out. I noticed the change in his expression before the curtain completely covered him from view.
The journey began not too long after. I couldn't believe it, I was now bonded to someone I barely knew. I couldn't even look at his face.
I knew his name was Alpha Silas, the supreme Alpha of the Amazonite Pack. I didn't know much about him, just that one line. Heaven knows how he and my father had conversed to create this bond with him. I just hoped things would go well.
I knew that, like others, he would put me aside once he found out about the vampire mark on my neck, and soon he would get married to Lizette.
I closed my eyes and rested on the wooden frame. I fell asleep soon after.
...
Lizette's room was a complete mess; she had destroyed almost everything in anger.
"I already told you to calm yourself down! She is nothing but a pawn in this game. She isn't even his mate. Once he finds his mate, he will push her aside. And besides, once he sees that mark on her neck... boom, game over. He'll abandon her somewhere in the pack."
Lizette didn't buy her mother's words. "It should be me in her shoes, Mother! I want him. He has always been the man I wanted since I saw him at the Alpha's ball, and you know that. I even rejected my mate because of this moment I just lost to Sheddayah."
Isabelle stood up and cupped her daughter's teary face. "If you want him, you know what to do. There will be a ball here in this palace. Luzzatto will be given half the responsibility of being an Alpha. Now that he is a member of this family, he will have to attend the ball."
Lizette looked at her mother like she was crazy. "Do you think I'm dying to see him? I want him, Mother. I want him all to myself!" She cried harder.
Isabelle smiled at her daughter's childish, obsessive behavior. "You should know how to make good use of the information I just passed to you. If you know in your heart that you really want him, then you should know what step to take to have him."
Lizette still didn't look satisfied. "What steps, Mother? I don't understand."
Isabelle pulled her hands away from Lizette's face. "You are way too innocent. You have to get exposed to get whatever you want...if you really want it!"
Lizette pouted. "Tell me."
---
By the time I woke up, it was already dark outside, but the carriage was still moving. If there was one thing I was glad about, it was the fact that he wasn't smoking anymore. Seeing as everywhere was nearly dark except for the lamp's faint glow, I peeped at him through my lashes.
His glossy dark hair, which had been tied in a ponytail earlier, was now neatly brushed back. He looked like he was communicating with someone through the mind link, so he wouldn't notice me. In all honesty, he was perfect beauty, but that didn't justify or cover up his cruel nature.
I didn't know how long I had been staring, but I snapped out of my daze the moment I heard his voice, almost for the first time.
"Am I that handsome to ignore?" he asked, his deep voice booming in my ear, snapping me out of my daze. I jolted upright and adjusted my seat. His lips curved into a smirk.
Feeling embarrassed, I defended myself. "I was only checking out who I got married to, since that's not a crime." My cheeks were probably burning red now. Thank goodness it wasn't that bright out there.
He only spared me a brief glance before going mute again.
Heaving a deep breath, I adjusted my seat and sat upright.
"Since you're awake now, are you hungry?" Alpha Silas asked. I turned my head slightly. This was the second time I was hearing his voice. It was so enchanting and magnetic.
His voice rendered me completely speechless.
"No," I shook my head. He kept quiet again, and I wished I could hear his voice a little more, but I couldn't. I shut my mouth and adjusted myself on the seat again.
Someone in my difficult position could never be hungry. If he hadn't asked, I wouldn't have remembered that I hadn't eaten anything since morning.
While we sat in silence, I wondered if the rumors about him being a vampire were true. If they were, then what if… just what if? Because there was no way he would have accepted the… no, Novalyn, it's not possible, so don't even think about it.
Even if I asked, there was no reason for him to reply. Moreover, he didn't look like someone who would have an easy flow in communication.
"How far are we from our destination?" I asked. My body was already aching from sitting too long. When was the last time I traveled? Truth was, I had only traveled once, and it only took a few hours, that was when I visited my aunt. Other than that, I was never allowed to leave the palace.
"Three days, two nights," he replied. I couldn't hold back my surprise.