The gown didn't fit.
Satin bit into my ribs. A stranger was reflected in the mirror: eyes that were hollow where joy should have been, wild hair that was pinned as though to conceal defiance, and pale skin.
Mother, as fragile as porcelain, stated, "It must be today." "The ceremony can't wait. The coalition will fall apart."
I took a deep breath. "Then find Selene. Call it off."
Her eyes flashed with fear, then disappeared. With merciless accuracy, her hands pressed the buttons. "Today, you are your sister. Not a replacement."
I felt like screaming. I was stopped by the sound of a howl in the distance. Low—from the Draven pack—mourning, chilling.
The entrance of my uncle was hardly noticeable. Deeper frown, dark suit. "They're prepared. It is not appropriate to keep the Alpha waiting."
Alpha. The word hit like a rock.
We entered a stone-and-shadow-carved hall. Beyond the enormous doors, at the far end, framed by the forest, stood Thorn Draven. Broad, tall, and incredibly motionless. His cold, piercing grey eyes scanned me.
Grasping the bouquet, I staggered forward. I could only hear Thorn's eyes piercing me as the officiant talked about bonds, unity, and territory.
"Are you willing to accept—"
"I don't."
Like ice, the words fell. The room was filled with whispers, gasps, and chair scrapes. Thorn never took his eyes off mine. "I wasn't promised this woman. I won't commit to a lie."
Heat erupted. I wanted to move. to sprint. The stone floor was nailed to my feet.
Then everything was shattered by the night's first howl. Threaded with danger, closer, louder. The doors were smashed open by rogue wolves. The candles flickered.
There were screams. It lunged at me, a blur of fur and muscle. Time slowed—some impossible, whispered force inside me reacting before I even thought. I dragged it like iron, pushing a table in its way. Thorn was skidded into by the rogue. His eyes met mine as he stood up. suspicion. curiosity. Something that isn't said.
The room held its breath.
I felt the rogue's claws scrape against the edge of the table as it toppled, the metallic tang of blood hitting my nose. My heart hammered like a drum inside my chest, each beat echoing louder than the chaos around me. With unfathomable accuracy, Thorn's long legs closed the gap between us and the outlaw in a single, smooth step. However, it wasn't enough; my hands tingled and buzzed like the surface of a lake charged by a storm as something deeper stirred inside of me.
Mid-leap, the rogue froze. Its jaw snapped at the air as its amber eyes widened. The world itself had slowed, and I realized it with a jolt that made my stomach turn. The light from the candles stretched into long, quivering fingers that hardly touched the stone walls as their flames flickered in slow motion. Like tiny stars trapped in a glass orb, dust particles hovered. As though the surrounding air had solidified into water, the rogue's muscles tensed and then relaxed.
"Get moving!" My lips hardly formed the word, but I hissed under my breath. Without thinking, my limbs obeyed, moving me sideways and toward Thorn. The rogue slammed into the table as I pushed harder against it, falling to the ground with a long, hideous grunt in its slowness.
Thorn never took his eyes off mine. Suspicion curled into something darker as his wolf-gray eyes grew piercing. He just watched, seemingly attempting to gauge the unseen force that surged around me, without saying a word or moving.
The other rogues had also stopped, their attacks and leaps halting in mid-air. I could see the microscopic air vibrations on my skin and hear my own blood thumping in my ears. It was frightening as well as intoxicating.
Then from the darkness came a low growl. Thorn's wolves had completely changed, taking on massive shapes that were rippling with fur and muscle. With amber and gold eyes, they moved cautiously forward, circling the outlaws. However, even they appeared uncertain, as though the slowing of time had affected them as well, defying the laws they knew.
My hands trembled. I muttered to no one in particular, "I—I don't know what's happening."
With a voice like gravel sliding down stone, Thorn said softly, almost to himself, "You're not human." I could feel the weight of it as his eyes met mine once more. Not fear, but acknowledgment. as well as interest.
Like a shutter closing, the world started to move again. With a snarl that sounded normal once more, the rogue scrambled up after colliding completely with the floor. The other assailants lunged, their movements now frantic and chaotic rather than slow. My body reacted before my mind caught up. I moved at an unfathomable speed as I pushed, twisted, and ducked. Thorn was a perfect reflection of me, supporting and directing me through the chaos.
From the opposite end of the hall, a rogue lunged towards Thorn. I stopped without thinking and slammed a chair into it, making the stone room ring with the sound of the impact. With a low growl that sent shivers down my spine, Thorn swept past me, slaying two rogues with such accuracy that my chest ached with wonder.
The final rogue paused. There was an unseen pressure in the air, and I could sense their hesitation and the second-guessing that wasn't theirs. Then I raised my hands in a moment of irrational instinct. From the corners of the room, thin shadows began to curl and thicken like smoke caught in a tornado. The rogue was bound in a cocoon of darkness and held motionless and suspended as they swept toward it.
I could tell Thorn had seen it because his eyes widened just a little bit. The others dispersed, screamed, and backed away, leaving the hall in disarray.
There was silence. The smell of blood and smoke was strong. Finally, the candles stopped flickering. The dust settled. I felt my chest heave. Even though I had hardly moved my legs consciously, every muscle in my body cried out in exhaustion.
Thorn moved slowly and deliberately in my direction. His wolf-gray eyes looked at every inch of me, calculating and unblinking. There was suspicion, curiosity, and something deeper I couldn't identify for the first time instead of coldness.
At last, he said in a steady, low voice, "You... you stopped them." "And you're supposed to be human."
I took a swallow. My hands continued to tingle like they were alive with electricity.
With a quivering voice, I confessed, "I—I don't know how."
He tightened his jaw. "Power doesn't appear to be luck."
The words hung over me like a challenge and a warning all at once.
Nothing in my life had prepared me for this world, I realized at that moment. Not my sister. Not the ritual. Not even my quiet human life. Tonight, something had awakened. Something hazardous. Something I didn't fully comprehend yet.
Thorn, too... Thorn had witnessed it.
Nothing would ever be the same after this.