Maya got to the foot of the altar and stepped onto the short stairway leading up the podium. She got to the top, feeling the stares of everyone on her back weighing her down.
She took a deep breath to give her courage before she turned so she was facing Keenan. She still couldn't lift her head to look at him, but she could feel his glare at the top of her head.
Between them was a high priestess. Maya could tell right away; their white attire and star-studded circlet were hard to miss. There were only five high priestesses in the whole kingdom, and they were only present for very important events. To have one at this wedding, especially one as improper as this, was shocking to say the least.
The drumming stopped as the High Priestess began to speak. "We are gathered here…" Her voice reverberated through the stone walls and echoed off the temple's pillars.
Maya let her eyes wander, perhaps to distract and to give herself something else to think about other than this humiliation disguised as a wedding.
The first gaze she caught was Alaina, who was standing below sneering at her. Winnie stood by her left, and Theo by her right. Theo looked distracted while Winnie hung close, looking up at the altar.
Asher stood behind Alpha Keenan, dressed in all black, while her side was completely empty. Maya shuffled on her feet as the priestess read out the vows. She was surprised she was still standing, considering how she felt mentally and physically.
"Do you, Maya Olsten, take Alpha Keenan to be your mate?"
Maya snapped out of the recesses of her mind at the mention of her name. She glanced at the priestess, who stared at her with soft eyes as she waited for her response.
Maya couldn't look in front of her. She could feel his aura and the anger that flowed from him relentlessly. She didn't want to see what lay in his eyes. She knew it would chew at what was left of her resolve.
"I-I do." It came out with a slight crack and she saw the way his palms closed tightly. Maya's breath hitched and she closed her eyes.
"Do you, Alpha Keenan, take Maya Olsten to be your ma—"
"I do," Keenan cut in before she completed the question.
Maya closed her eyes once again. Five-year-old Maya would be so happy that they were finally getting married, but the reality wasn't even close to the pretty painting her younger mind made.
"Give me your wrists," the High Priestess ordered.
Maya's hand shook as she lifted the hand nearest to the High Priestess. A disciple, also dressed in white with their face covered, stepped forward holding a golden goblet. She knew what was about to happen. It was a necessary ritual for any wedding.
Maya swallowed to brace herself, but she might as well have swallowed sand. Her throat was so dry that the swallowing motion hurt.
The priestess brought out a curved dagger with moon and star symbols on the handle. Maya felt her heart leap in her chest. However, the High Priestess was gentle and she made a small cut on Maya's wrist, as if accounting for the fact that Maya couldn't heal.
Her blood trickled into the goblet. It felt warm where it rolled down her wrist before pouring into the cup. Satisfied with the amount, the disciple pulled the cup away, but Maya didn't stop bleeding, so she clasped a palm around her wrist.
The High Priestess moved to Keenan, slashing him deep and fast. His blood gushed, spilling into the cup, but just when it looked like it would overflow, the blood started to clot and the wound began to slowly close.
The priestess took the cup from her disciple, who was quick to step back. Lifting the goblet high, she prayed for the Moon Goddess's blessing on the marriage.
"Drink," she stated at the end of her prayer, putting the cup to Maya's lips.
She could smell the metal and the mix of their blood; the smell of his overpowered hers. Her stomach churned in complaint as the blood touched her tongue. Perhaps if she weren't starving, it wouldn't have felt so nauseating.
The red liquid was warm as it poured down her throat, doing nothing for her thirst. She was grateful when the High Priestess finally pulled the cup away, and she clamped her mouth shut so the contents wouldn't spill out, forcing her throat to be still.
The High Priestess then put the goblet to Keenan's lips, and he drank the entire thing in one go without flinching while looking at her over the rim of the cup. His gaze was cold as he stared at her, but unlike before, Maya found that she could not look away.
The empty goblet was taken away, and the High Priestess looked at both of them with a soft smile. "With this ritual, I declare you bound. I pronounce you husband and wife, mates for life. You may kiss your ma—"
"Your Holiness," Keenan cut in. "The documents."
Documents!
It wasn't unheard of, but it was quite uncommon; only marriages like the prince or princess needed such formality. She glanced at Keenan. He was making sure she was bound to him legally too.
The High Priestess glanced at Maya with soft eyes filled with pity, and that was when it dawned on her that he had interrupted the order to kiss her.
"This way," the High Priestess said, leading them further back on the altar.
Maya gripped her bleeding wrist tighter as she suppressed her emotions one more time. There were blood stains on the edges of her sleeve, but Keenan was already moving with the High Priestess; she couldn't slow them down.
There was a table already prepared with a scroll in the center of it. Words had been inscribed on it with the royal crest at the very top and bottom: a full moon wearing a crown, surrounded by stars.
The scroll had clearly been prepared by the Alpha King. Maya wondered what the contents held but try as she might, she couldn't focus on the words. She also noticed that the ringing in her head was getting worse.
Keenan stepped forward first, picking up the quill dipped in ink. As he bent to sign his name, the emerald necklace slipped out from underneath his shirt, and for a moment Maya was thrown back to a time when things were simpler.
Suddenly, it felt as though eyes were on her. She pulled herself out of her thoughts to see Keenan glaring at her.
"Sign it," he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear.
She could hear the distrust and impatience in his voice. She nodded and stepped forward, feeling the ground sway beneath her. She let go of her bleeding hand and, with her blood-stained hand, gripped the quill.
It felt unsteady, but Maya pushed through and bent down to look at the scroll. The words danced before her eyes. She forced her eyes shut, hoping it would help.
It didn't.
Rather, it felt as though it made things worse. She was so dizzy that her head felt too heavy to hold up. She brought the quill to the scroll and as best as she could, she wrote her new name next to Keenan's.
Maya Keenan.
She had barely written the last letter when the quill slipped out of her hand, her bones turned to pudding and everything went black.