I should have known something was wrong when I saw the blood moon hanging low in the Miami sky that morning. But instead, I was too busy trying to breathe in the suffocating wedding dress that Vivian had picked out for me.
"Aria, stop fidgeting," my adoptive mother snapped as she adjusted my veil for the tenth time. "You look perfect. Just remember what we discussed. Smile, say your vows, and don't cause any trouble."
I nodded, even though my hands were shaking. The wedding dress felt like a prison - all silk and lace and pearls that cost more than most people made in a year. But that was the Rosewood family way. Everything had to look perfect on the surface, no matter what was rotting underneath.
"Where's Marcus?" I asked, looking around the bridal suite. "Shouldn't he be here by now?"
Vivian's face went tight. "He's... getting ready. Men always take longer than they should."
Something in her voice made my stomach drop. I'd only met Marcus three times before today. Three awkward dinners where he barely looked at me and spoke in monosyllables. But he seemed nice enough in his photos - gentle brown eyes, soft smile, the kind of guy who probably rescued stray cats and helped old ladies cross the street.
The kind of guy who was safe.
"I need to use the bathroom," I said, standing up so fast that my train tangled around my legs.
"Make it quick," Vivian called after me. "The ceremony starts in twenty minutes."
I practically ran down the hallway of the luxury hotel, my heels clicking against the marble floor. Everything felt wrong. The flowers were too bright, the music too loud, the air too thick. It was like the whole world was holding its breath, waiting for something terrible to happen.
I pushed open the door to the men's preparation room without knocking. "Marcus, we need to talk about—"
The room was empty.
Not just empty - abandoned. Marcus's suit was hanging on the door, untouched. His shoes were still in their box. But there was no sign of him anywhere.
"Looking for someone?"
I spun around so fast I nearly fell over. A man stood in the doorway, and he definitely wasn't Marcus. Where Marcus was soft and safe, this man was all hard edges and dangerous curves. He was tall - probably six foot four - with jet black hair and the kind of build that said he could break someone in half without breaking a sweat.
But it was his eyes that made my breath catch. They were amber, like liquid gold, and when the sunlight streaming through the window hit them just right, they seemed to glow.
"You're not Marcus," I said stupidly.
His mouth curved into something that might have been a smile if it had reached his eyes. "Very observant. I'm Dante Salvatore."
The name meant nothing to me, but the way he said it - like I should know exactly who he was - made my skin crawl.
"Where's Marcus?" I demanded. "What did you do with him?"
"Marcus had to leave suddenly. Family emergency." Dante stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "Don't worry. I'll be taking his place."
"What are you talking about? You can't just... you can't just replace the groom!"
"Can't I?" He moved closer, and I caught a whiff of his cologne - something dark and woodsy that made my head spin. "The contracts have been signed. The guests are waiting. Your family has already received their payment."
Payment. The word hit me like a slap. "This isn't a business transaction. This is supposed to be a wedding."
"Same thing, really." His eyes flicked over me, and I felt like prey being sized up by a predator. "Don't look so horrified, sweetheart. I promise to be gentle."
"I'm not marrying you." I tried to push past him, but he caught my wrist. His skin was burning hot, like he had a fever.
"Yes, you are." His voice was soft, almost conversational, but there was steel underneath. "Because if you don't, people will die. Starting with your precious adoptive family."
"You're insane."
"Probably." He let go of my wrist, and I could see the red marks his fingers had left. "But I'm also the only thing standing between them and some very unpleasant people. So here's what's going to happen. We're going to walk down that aisle together. You're going to say 'I do' with a smile on your face. And then we're going to go home and have a nice long chat about your future."
"And if I refuse?"
His smile got sharper. "Then your family learns what happens to people who don't pay their debts. And trust me, it's not pretty."
Before I could ask what the hell he was talking about, the door burst open and Vivian rushed in.
"Aria! There you are. We need to..." She stopped when she saw Dante, and her face went white. "Mr. Salvatore. I didn't expect to see you here."
"Change of plans," Dante said easily. "Marcus won't be joining us today."
Vivian's hands started shaking. "But the contract—"
"Still stands. I'll be fulfilling all of Marcus's obligations." His eyes found mine again. "All of them."
"Vivian, what's going on?" I looked between them, my heart pounding. "What contract? What obligations?"
"Nothing you need to worry about, darling." But Vivian couldn't meet my eyes. "We just need to get you to the altar."
"Like hell." I started toward the door, but Dante moved to block my path.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said quietly. "The guests are waiting. It would be... unfortunate if they had to wait much longer."
Something in his tone made me look at him more carefully. There was something wrong with his face - not wrong exactly, but different. His features were too sharp, his canine teeth too pointed. And his eyes... his eyes definitely weren't human.
"What are you?" I whispered.
"Your husband," he said. "In about fifteen minutes."
The wedding march started, and I felt like I was walking to my execution.
The hotel ballroom was packed with people I didn't recognize. I'd assumed they were Marcus's family and friends, but now I wasn't sure of anything. They all turned to watch me walk down the aisle, and there was something off about their expressions. They looked... vacant. Like they were seeing something completely different than what was actually happening.
Dante was waiting for me at the altar, looking devastating in a black tuxedo that probably cost more than my college tuition. He'd somehow found a way to make himself look like the perfect groom - charming smile, warm eyes, the picture of masculine confidence.
But I could see the predator underneath.
The priest started talking about love and commitment and till death do us part, but I barely heard him. I was too busy trying to figure out how to get out of this without getting everyone killed.
"Do you, Marcus James Henderson, take Aria Rose Blackwood to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"I do," Dante said, and his voice was completely different. Softer, gentler - exactly how I'd imagined Marcus would sound.
"And do you, Aria Rose Blackwood, take Marcus James Henderson to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
I opened my mouth to say no, to tell everyone that this man wasn't Marcus, that something terrible was happening. But then I caught sight of Vivian in the front row. She was crying, but not the happy tears of a proud mother. She looked terrified.
"I..." I started, and Dante's hand found mine.
His skin was still burning hot, but now I could feel something else. A vibration, like electricity running just under his skin. When I looked up at him, his amber eyes flashed gold again.
"I do," I whispered.
"You may kiss the bride."
Dante leaned down, and for a split second I thought I saw his eyes change completely - not just the color, but the shape. Like an animal's eyes.
Then his lips touched mine, and the world exploded.
It wasn't a gentle wedding kiss. It was claiming, possessive, like he was marking territory. His mouth was hot and demanding, and I could taste something wild and dangerous on his tongue. When he finally pulled away, I was dizzy and gasping.
The crowd erupted in applause, but it sounded strange - too rhythmic, too synchronized. Like they were all clapping to the same beat.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the priest announced, "I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Henderson."
Henderson. Not Salvatore. I was so confused I could barely think straight.
"Smile," Dante murmured in my ear as we turned to face the crowd. "You're the happiest woman in the world."
I plastered on a smile that felt like it might crack my face in half. Everyone was still clapping, still staring at us with those empty, doll-like expressions. It was like being trapped in a nightmare where everyone was playing parts in a play I'd never read.
The reception was a blur of congratulations and well-wishes from people who felt like strangers. Dante never left my side, one hand always on my back or my arm, like he was making sure I wouldn't run. Every time someone approached us, he would introduce himself as Marcus Henderson, and they would nod and smile like that made perfect sense.
"Having fun yet?" he asked during our first dance.
"Where's the real Marcus?" I hissed back, trying to keep my voice low.
"Probably halfway to Mexico by now. Smart man."
"Why did you do this? What do you want from me?"
"So many questions." He spun me around, and for a moment I caught a glimpse of the crowd. They were all watching us, but their eyes were glassy and unfocused. "We'll have plenty of time to talk later."
"These people... what's wrong with them?"
"Nothing a good night's sleep won't fix." His grip on my waist tightened. "Don't worry about them. Worry about yourself."
"Is that a threat?"
"It's advice. You're going to need it."
When the song ended, he didn't let go of me. Instead, he leaned down and whispered, "Time to go, wife."
"Already? But the reception—"
"Is over." He looked at his watch - an expensive piece that definitely hadn't belonged to Marcus. "Our car is waiting."
I wanted to argue, to demand answers, to scream at everyone that this wasn't right. But when I looked around the room, I saw Vivian watching us with tears streaming down her face. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she just pressed her lips together and looked away.
Dante led me through the crowd of well-wishers and out to the parking lot. A black sedan was waiting for us, the kind with tinted windows that screamed "expensive and probably illegal."
"Get in," he said, opening the door for me.
"And if I don't?"
"Then I'll put you in myself. Your choice."
I got in the car.
Dante slid in beside me and gave the driver an address I didn't recognize. As we pulled away from the hotel, I watched the building get smaller and smaller in the side mirror.
"Regrets?" Dante asked.
"About marrying a complete stranger who threatened to kill my family? Just a few."
He laughed, and the sound sent chills down my spine. "You have spirit. I like that."
"I'm so glad you approve."
"Oh, I do. This is going to be much more interesting than I expected."
I turned to look at him properly for the first time since the ceremony. In the dim light of the car, he looked even more dangerous. His features were sharp enough to cut glass, and there was something predatory in the way he moved. Like he was always ready to pounce.
"What are you?" I asked again.
"Your husband," he said. "That's all you need to know for now."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting tonight."
We drove in silence for a while, through parts of Miami I'd never seen before. The buildings got bigger and more expensive, the streets wider and emptier. Finally, we pulled up to a mansion that looked like something out of a movie - all white columns and sprawling gardens and fountains that probably cost more than most people's houses.
"Welcome home," Dante said as the car stopped.
"This isn't my home."
"It is now." He got out and walked around to open my door. "Come on. Let me show you around."
I didn't move. "I want to call my family."
"No."
"I want to know what happened to Marcus."
"Also no."
"I want to go home."
"This is your home now." His voice was getting harder, the genteel mask starting to slip. "The sooner you accept that, the easier this will be for everyone."
"And if I don't accept it?"
He leaned down so we were eye to eye. In the moonlight, his eyes looked almost silver. "Then things will get complicated. And trust me, sweetheart, you don't want things to get complicated."
I stared at him for a long moment, weighing my options. I could try to run, but where would I go? I could scream, but who would hear me? I could fight, but he was twice my size and clearly dangerous.
So I got out of the car.
"Smart girl," he said, offering me his arm.
I ignored it and walked toward the house on my own. The front door was massive - solid oak with stained glass panels that threw colored shadows across the marble steps. Dante opened it with a key, and I stepped inside.
The foyer was bigger than my entire apartment back home. Crystal chandeliers hung from a ceiling that had to be twenty feet high, and a staircase curved up to a second floor that seemed to go on forever.
"Impressed?" Dante asked.
"Terrified," I said honestly.
"Good. Fear keeps people alive."
He started walking toward what looked like a living room, but I didn't follow.
"I need to know what's going on," I said. "I need to understand why this happened."
He stopped and turned around. For a moment, his expression softened, and I caught a glimpse of something almost human in his eyes.
"You want the truth?"
"Yes."
"The truth is that your family owes a very large debt to some very dangerous people. The truth is that Marcus was supposed to be part of the payment, but he got cold feet and ran. The truth is that I stepped in to take his place because the alternative would have been much worse for everyone involved."
"What kind of debt?"
"The kind that gets people killed when it's not paid."
"And marrying me pays it?"
"Marrying you is just the beginning." He stepped closer, and I could feel the heat radiating off his skin again. "You're special, Aria. More special than you know. And some very powerful people want to make sure you end up in the right hands."
"Your hands?"
"For now."
"And later?"
His smile was sharp enough to draw blood. "Later, we'll see what you're really capable of."
Before I could ask what the hell that meant, he reached out and touched my cheek. His skin was so hot it almost burned, but there was something else - a tingling sensation that made my whole body shiver.
"Welcome to your new life, Mrs. Henderson," he whispered. "Try not to die."
Then he turned and walked away, leaving me alone in the massive foyer with nothing but questions and the growing certainty that my life had just changed in ways I couldn't begin to understand.
Outside, the blood moon hung low in the sky, casting everything in shades of red.