Nina burst into her room panting heavily, her hands clutched around her neck.
Mrs Gina stood in the center with the two servants from the night before. All three stopped when they saw her, their eyes moving first to her face, then to the red handprint on her throat.
"What the hell happened to you?" Mrs Gina asked, her voice laced with worry.
Nina crossed the room and sat down shakily on the bed, the movement triggering another sharp cough. She winced and swallowed a hard lump.
Mrs Gina walked to where she sat and pulled her hand from her neck. "Who did this to you?"
Nina swallowed again. "I sleepwalked into the Alpha's quarters." Her voice was hoarse as she rubbed her fingers over her neck.
Silence fell over the room like a weight.
Mrs Gina blinked once. Slowly.
"The Alpha?" Her voice dipped, stretched between disbelief and horror. "You went into his room and you're alive?"
Nina stared back, confused by their reaction. She had expected shock over the near-death experience, not shock that she was still breathing.
"No one who has entered the Alpha's quarters has walked back out," Gina murmured. "Not breathing, anyway."
Nina's lips dropped open. "What?"
"You're lucky, that's what. Let me see."
Gina leaned closer as she studied the bruises, her jaw tightening. She exhaled and shook her head. "This will need heavy cover. My gods, if you wanted to die, a staircase would have been quieter. Why would you go into the Alpha's room right after I warned you not to?"
Nina lowered her gaze. Her reason wouldn't make sense to anyone, so she kept quiet.
"Girls, hurry," Gina ordered. "We have thirty minutes until the ceremony. Fix her and cover these up as much as you can."
The servants began working on her while Nina sat in a daze, still reeling from the fact that her life could have been snuffed out that morning.
In less than twenty minutes the girls were done and Nina walked to the floor-to-ceiling mirror to look at herself.
Her wedding dress was exquisite. Lace embroidery that looked like it had been handmade. Her skin shimmered under the warm lights as the girls arranged the hem of her dress.
"Hmm." Gina tilted her head. "The Matriarch sure selects the prettiest brides to die."
Nina's eyes fluttered and she immediately looked away from the mirror.
There was a soft knock on the door and one of the girls went to get it. The door creaked open and when Nina saw the guard standing on the other side, she shuddered.
"It is time," the guard announced.
Rodrigo stood before his mirror while Seven fastened the final button of his suit. His hair was cleanly pulled back, only a few dark strands escaping across his cheekbones.
His eyes were closed but his mind was still replaying the events of that morning.
Why did she come into his room? Did she have no sense of fear or was she simply stupid? He tried to think of a million reasons why she would climb into his bed.
Did his grandmother send her?
Or was she telling the truth?
There was a soft knock on the door and Seven signaled at the guard, who opened it.
The soft patter of the Matriarch's walking stick made Rodrigo's eyes flutter open.
"Leave us," she commanded.
Seven bowed and walked out with the guards, shutting the door behind him.
Rodrigo stared at her reflection in the mirror for a few seconds before he slowly turned around. "What do you want?" he asked bluntly, walking to the drawer. He took out a ring box and opened it.
"Rio, you of all people should know that all I do is for your own—"
"Grandmother, if you would please cut to the chase." Rodrigo raised his eyes. "I have a wedding to attend." He said,
The Matriarch's hands tightened around the walking stick as she clenched her teeth. "Alpha Boldron is dead."
Rodrigo's hands paused for a second then he took out the Alpha's band and wore it on it on his index finger. "Should I say this is great news? When's the funeral?" His lips stretched into a smile.
"It should have been great news, if he had not been killed by his younger brother Hades."
Rodrigo's smile died instantly.
The Matriarch crossed the room. "You know what that means."
Rodrigo clenched his teeth, his thumb rolling his ring slowly as he repeated, "When is the funeral?"
The Matriarch breathed. "In two days."
...
The weather was chilly outside the wedding hall, still damp from the rain the previous night.
Nina shivered as her father stood beside her.
Her father was holding her arm. For the first time in twenty-two years.
For a walk to her death.
She swallowed a lump in her throat as she bit into her tongue.
All her life she had fantasized about this. A pat on the head. A warm hug. A smile that reached his eyes. Something small to prove she mattered.
But it had all been futile. She had just been a foolish little girl who wished she could be loved.
Tears burned at the corners of her eyes and her fingers trembled. She bit harder on her tongue, holding it in.
No. She wouldn't let him see her like this.
Nina inhaled shakily.
Slowly, the doors opened.
The wedding hall was massive. Marble-engraved pillars lined both sides, candles flickering in golden chandeliers above.
Nina blinked as her eyes adjusted to the dim light.
The guests were few.
The Matriarch sat at the front with her back straight and her eyes already locked on Nina. Charlotte and Dominic sat to the left, their expressions unreadable. A handful of others filled the remaining seats—faces she didn't recognize.
Nina took a breath and looked toward the altar.
Her blood went cold.
Rodrigo stood there in a black suit, his expression blank, his grey eyes fixed on her. He looked like death.
But it wasn't him that made her stumble this time.
It was the man standing beside him.
Dante.
Nina's foot caught on her dress and she lurched forward, nearly falling flat on her face.
What was he doing here?
Her mind scrambled. Dante was the Alpha's cousin—of course he would be at the wedding. She should have known. What she hadn't imagined was that he would be the groomsman, standing right there at the altar.
And now he was looking straight at her, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.
If he recognized her—
Nina shut down the thought the minute it crept up. She clenched her teeth and immediately looked away from him.
She forced her legs to move. One step after another.
She could feel everyone watching her.
The walk felt endless.
But soon, she was there.
In front of Rodrigo.
Nina stepped an inch backward as the events of that morning replayed in her head. His hand on her throat. The way he had nearly squeezed the life out of her.
His gaze was locked on her now, but she didn't look at him.
She had been scared of him before. But now after that morning? Now she was terrified.
Her eyes flickered up briefly and met Dante's. She looked away immediately.
As if her day couldn't get any worse.
Jonathan released her arm without a word and stepped back to take his seat next to Marjorie, who looked like she had just won a trophy.
The priest stepped forward—an old man in long ceremonial robes—and began speaking, his voice echoing through the hall as he read through the Rite of Mates.
Nina exhaled slowly and pinned her eyes on the large wall clock above Rodrigo's head. Anything to avoid looking at him.
She could feel his gaze on her and she shifted her weight to her other foot.
...
Rodrigo stared at the woman in front of him.
She was gazing at the ceiling as though there was something inexplicably interesting up there. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides. Her shoulders were tense.
She was scared. Of him.
Good. She needed to be.
Because he wasn't sure if he would be able to restrain himself the next time she pulled any tricks on him.
He blinked. Studying her features for the first time.
She was beautiful. Her features were soft and innocent. Her eyes were large and round—the kind of eyes that couldn't mask a single emotion.
He could tell how scared she was from how they were glistening, almost tearing up.
His gaze dropped lower. Her neck was bare, the bruises from that morning carefully concealed beneath powder and makeup, but they were still visible.
Something flickered in his chest. He ignored it.
The dress clung to her body in ways that drew the eye. He frowned and pulled his gaze to the congregation, who looked like they had gathered to attend a funeral rather than a wedding.
Bored at the sight, he moved his eyes back to her.
She was more interesting to look at.
But the moment his gaze returned to her, they locked in hers.
Her lips parted slightly and her eyes widened. She immediately looked away, a blush creeping up her cheeks.
...
Shit.
Nina cursed under her breath. Why did he have to look at her right then?
Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure she was shaking.
"The rings," the priest commanded.
Nina lifted her head and forced herself to appear calm as she watched Dante stepped forward carrying a crystal-clear box of matching rings.
Nina's pulse spiked. She kept her eyes fixed on the box, refusing to look at Dante's face. She could feel his eyes on her, unwavering.
"You may exchange your rings," the priest instructed.
The hall fell silent.
Nina's eyes lifted slightly as she watched Dante present the rings to Rodrigo, who reached into the box and took out the smaller ring.
Her ring.
Nina's breath caught. Her skin prickled as he closed the gap between them.
She held her breath.
"Your hand."
His voice was soft. Smooth. Nothing like the cold, commanding tone from that morning.
Her lashes fluttered as she lifted her hand. It was trembling.
Rodrigo's fingers brushed against hers as he took her hand.
The touch sent a jolt through her body. She gulped.
He slid the ring calmly onto her finger, his movements careful, unhurried.
Once the ring had slid in, Nina immediately pulled her hand away as though it burned.
Rodrigo's eyes flickered. He noticed but she didn't care.
What the hell was he expecting?
"Luna, you may put the ring on the Alpha," the priest instructed when he noticed she was just standing there.
Nina blinked and reached for his ring with shaking fingers.
Rodrigo stared at her hand for a few seconds before extending his own toward her.
Nina looked at his outstretched hand. Long fingers. Strong. The same hand that had wrapped around her throat just hours ago.
She swallowed.
Raising her hand slowly, she slid the ring onto his finger. Her fingertips grazed his skin and she pulled back immediately.
She silently exhaled and stepped back an inch.
Then suddenly the priest's voice broke out across the hall.
"You may now kiss the bride."
Silence.
Two seconds passed as though everyone was trying to process what they had just heard.
Then chaos erupted.
Murmurs rippled through the small crowd. The priest never said that line. Rodrigo never kissed his brides. Something was wrong.
Nina snapped toward the priest in shock.
"I apologize for my mistake," he started. "This line wasn't here..." The priest fumbled with the scroll in his hand, sweat breaking out on his forehead.
Nina's gaze darted to Rodrigo. He was staring at the priest with cold, murderous eyes—like he wanted to snap his neck.
Then slowly his eyes turned to her, and her blood ran cold.