XAVIER
"Have you forgotten that tonight is a full red moon, and mates bonded on a full red moon cannot be rejected until after a period of a hundred and twenty days?" The seer spoke, the silence causing her voice to resound through the hall.
I could feel a headache coming on. The night had barely begun, and there was already so much drama. I palmed my forehead, feeling Eden wriggle in delight inside me. The hall was filled with murmurs and whispers of disbelief.
"Mates bonded on a full red moon cannot be rejected until after a period of a hundred and twenty days," I repeated quietly, my jaw clenched.
And it could not be anybody else but Emma? What cruel joke was the moon goddess playing this time? I was irritated, not just by her presence but by everything that was happening.
I recalled reading something similar, which I came across in an ancient scroll at the library: During a blood moon, the mate bond is sealed by a primal soul. It cannot be severed for a hundred and twenty days without consequence—madness, sickness, or even death.
The sharp gasp from the crowd made me realise that I had said that out loud. I looked up, and the shock in their faces was evident.
I reluctantly dragged my gaze towards the cause of this drama. Emma. She stood there, her brutally bruised body glistening with sweat. Her dress was ripped, the side of her face smeared with dried blood. Her eyes mirrored the pain she was feeling. She could barely keep them open. She swayed on her feet, it was almost as though she would collapse to the ground any second now.
Something snapped in my chest, raw and aching, and I blinked, shrugging it off. I was almost moved to step forward and help her, hold her so she wouldn't fall.
But almost immediately, I blinked the haze away. Sympathy for her? Never again.
"Alphas, you have to mate her immediately! She is in severe pain!" The priest's voice sliced through the tension like a knife.
Gasps rippled through the room, followed by whispers of silent protest.
Vera's mother was the first one to step forward.
"You cannot be serious!" She looked just as livid as she sounded, her eyes threatening to bulge out of their sockets. "You cannot do this to my daughter, this is a disgrace! This girl," she paused, turning to look at Emma.
"This Omega is ruining everything! My daughter was supposed to be mated tonight!"
The crowd bustled in agreement, pointing fingers at Emma. She opened her mouth to speak, but only a gasp was heard as Vera's mother's hand collided with Emma's already bruised cheek in a slap that resounded through the hall.
Emma fell to the ground from the impact, the reddish imprint of Sabrina's palm clearly visible on her cheek. The crowd seemed to be amused by it, entertained even. Nobody showed an ounce of pity.
Vera stepped forward, pointing a finger at Emma. "I don't know how she did it. She manipulated the bond! She's a witch—look at her! She cursed them, cursed us, took what was mine! You stole this ceremony from me! My moment!"
"You're pathetic," she turned to Emma. "You think standing here and pretending to be a saint makes you worthy of them?" She scoffed.
Emma flinched but said nothing as she fisted her torn clothes at her sides. Even in the face of pain, she was still strong, and that was one thing I admired about her.
I exchanged glances with my brothers and their expression was just as expected. It felt like a terrible nightmare.
"Say something!" Vera turned to us, desperation emanating from her in waves. "Tell the priest! You know this is wrong. You can't do this to me."
"You may now kiss her to seal the blood moon bond," the priest urged.
Vera shook her head in disapproval. I side-stepped her and walked to Emma with my brothers following behind me. The hall went silent in expectation of what we were going to do.
I leaned in, my lips brushing against Emma's before I took her bottom lip in my mouth. I swallowed the wince that slipped from her lips when I dug my teeth into the soft flesh of her bottom lip before pulling away.
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
Xander was irritated, and he didn't bother hiding it. He kissed her, eyes distant, barely touching her but claiming her all the same. On the other hand, Xerxes kissed her, then whispered in her ear with a smirk on his face, "You smell like dung from the stables. A bath wouldn't hurt, you know."
And maybe that was the last straw for Emma because a lone tear slid down her cheek.
Something twisted inside me. I blinked, and suddenly returned to the first day we met Emma.
Her knee was scraped and bleeding; she had fallen off an old tree. I helped her, took her to the stream close by and washed off her wound. Her smile was the brightest I had ever seen. She planted a sweet kiss on my cheek and muttered a thank you.
She was our first kiss, the thought gnawed at me, a feeling I couldn't name threatening to swallow me.
Back then, she didn't care that we were Alphas. We were just boys to her and felt like just boys with her. She laughed, teased and called us ridiculous names. She was our peace, our unexpected calm…until everything shattered.
It only made me wonder: Why did she do all that she did?
"You cannot be serious right now!" Our mother stood from her seat. The sound of her heels clicking against the floor was an unmistakable indication of how livid she was. "I thought I was clear when I said no son of mine would mate with an omega? You know what to do. Reject her. Now!"
I swallowed, the weight of her words settling down on me like a heavy load. My brothers looked impassive, but I knew they were just as livid about the whole situation.
Slender fingers wrapped around my bicep, nails digging into my skin. "Please choose me." Vera's voice cracked as she whispered, tears shimmering in her cheeks. "I've always been yours," she looked at me with hopeful eyes.
Vera's desperation was real. I glanced over to see Emma staggering, pale, clutching her sides. The intensity of the heat must have increased to an unbearable intensity.
The priest spoke again, "If you do not soothe her, the heat could kill her first."
My jaw tightened as a storm brewed inside me, the statement hitting me like a blow. She wasn't just my mate, she was in danger.
I thought to take a step forward when a guard burst through the door. " Beta Rolan demands the girl be locked in the dungeon immediately."
Hoots of approval shot up from the guests in the room. I turned to the priest, who had his hand up, silencing the crowd. When the noise died down, he replied. "No. The law states that she must remain close to her mates for that period of a hundred and twenty days."
So it wasn't bad enough that we were forcefully bound to her? Now we had to house her in our quarters? What crime had we committed that the moon goddess decided to be so cruel to us?
The crowd expressed their disapproval, but their opinion didn't matter. I caught Vera's glance. She was full-on weeping now, her eyes red and blazing with fury.
"I said it, didn't I?" She screamed, loud enough for the whole room to hear. "She manipulated every single one of us!"
The bond yanked at my core, and my instinct pulled me toward Emma against my will.
On cue, a low, strained cry eluded Emma's lips as she dropped almost lifelessly to the ground. Her body was trembling and glistening with sweat as she clutched her stomach, trying to contain the pain.
Xerxes was the first to move. He stepped forward, jaw clenched as he crouched down beside her, but the moment he touched her, he flinched with a wince, cursing under his breath like the contact had shocked him. I stepped forward, taking her into my arms.
I subconsciously ran my hand up and down her trembling arm in a soothing motion. Her scent was everywhere, subtle but insistent. It wrapped around my senses like a wildfire, my body responding before my mind could shut it down.
"Mate her, mate her, mate her." My wolf growled inside me but I suppressed the urge.
Damn this bond.
She opened her eyes slowly, and they met mine. They were filled with pain and something else.
I scrunched my nose, yanking my hand away. "You've done enough tonight," I spoke, my tone low and cold. "If this is your idea of reclaiming relevance, omega, you have failed. Spectacularly.
She flinched, but remained quiet, rising to her feet despite the shaking. She turned towards the door in an attempt to get away.
Xerxes' laughter tore through the hall. "Going somewhere, Wifey?" He snorted. "You're bound to us now, remember? That comes with certain…responsibilities."
Xander was already beside her, clamping his hand around her arm to hinder her.
Xerxes stepped behind her, almost too close, his breath grazing her ear as he muttered, "You're our problem now."
Her knees buckled again, but I grabbed the other arm before she hit the ground. The crowd parted in silence as we led her out of the hall.
There was no ceremony, no warmth, just possession wrapped in duty. The doors slammed shut behind us with a thundering finality. This ceremony wasn't a bonding; it was a cage, and she had no idea what hell awaited her in the bedroom.
The perfect wedding night for a worthless Omega.