Dark Alpha: A Fated Mates Novel

18: A ROYAL WEDDING

VANNIE~

Calm down.

Calm down.

It was just a simple case of not letting these people know that she was now working with the Sorcerer that tried to abduct her. The King, who could sense her thoughts and feelings, must not find out. Maeve, who would now be escorting Vannie to the apothecary where the Sorcerer's scent was still strong, could not find out.

Most especially, Zara, who could predict the future and present, could not find out about it.

Goddess, let the Sorcerer's spell work.
"It's your bound day!" Zara squealed, ushering in a horde of Omega servers with what looked like trays upon trays of fabric. "We're going to make you sparkle."

And they did. Amidst the excited noises of the women as the pulled and proded Vannie, she knew she was coming out of this looking magnificent. This was her Mam's wish for her. To get bound to a valiant wolf who would give her servers and shower her with the most expensive of whatever she wanted.
They brought her the perfume that the King had gifted a while ago, and she didn't argue when it was rubbed into her skin.

"Now Vannie, I know you must be nervous, especially about the things that happen in the King's mating bed," Zara said, to the delight of the other women.

Vannie wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I'm not going to ask you for lovemaking tips, if that's what you expect."

The Omegas tittered. "Ah. You'll let the King teach you himself. That's for the best, actually. You know the last thing he'd do is hurt you."

Indeed? So why did he hide that he knew about her brother? Why did he let her keep on thinking she had lost her entire family? And not only that, according to what the Sorcerer, Crom, had told her, the King also threatened to kill Enoch!

That thought brought about familiar anger. "Yes. I'll learn from the King alright."

As if that was a cue, a knock came from the door of the chamber. It must be a Keeper, because he refused to come in even after the Omega servers told him to. He must have heard that she didn't like Keepers near.
Finally, after all their coaxing proved futile, they went to him instead to see what he wanted. They let out shrieks when they heard what it was, and soon, the servers brought in what the Keeper had brought. "It's a mating gift, Your Majesty! The King sent it.'

They unwrapped the silk threads holding the gift, oohing and aahing all the while about the softness of the material. And there, after the final string came loose, was jewelry upon jewelry. Necklaces. Bangles. Rings. And in the center, catching all the lights of the room, was a golden crown.
All the gifts bore her family crest.

Gold was fae aphrodisiac, and the King just epically capitalized on it. Even Zara who couldn't see looked like she was in a trance. Vannie traced the surface of the first ring in her hand, feeling her heart in her throat. She wasn't immune to this ostentatious display, for the goddess' sake. Why did he keep doing this to her, acting like he wasn't a wicked person?

"The King's wolf must be getting impatient," the head server said shyly, gathering the threads back together. "He must be dying to mate with you. He has waited for you for a long time."

Vannie scowled, knowing that probably wasn't the reaction she should be going for after receiving a gift of this magnitude. "Right. I'll rock the King's world tonight."

Nobody seemed to pick up on the sarcasm. Zara laughed uproariously, and everyone else joined in, and Vannie would not be surprised if someone inputted a ribald joke there.

Zara, after gathering herself, said, "Now this may be an Inlands ceremony, but it's also a social event. Alphas from the other territories will travel down here for the ceremony, and it will be an opportunity for the King's enemies to scope the Inlands."

Vannie hoped that her guilty jerk at 'enemies' wasn't so obvious. "So?"

"So we have to give them a h*ll of a show."

And that, indeed, was what happened. At the tenth hour of the Moon, she was ushered down the stairs to the Great Hall in the palace.

She'd hoped having a hurried wedding would make everything impersonal, but Sin outdid himself. There were lilies and gold and greens. The crowd were on their feet already, waiting for her to show, and she knew that she defied all their expectations. Yes, the Omega servers and a little fae magïck had enhanced her appearance to a degree even she hadn't expected.

She took her place beside Sin, feeling his breath hitch when she took his hand. The King looked dumbstruck at her appearance. She wished she could read his thoughts, but before she could ask if she was to his liking, the officiating wolf began the ceremony.

When it was time to mark, Sin gave her his neck first. She still had her little fangs, so she pressed down on the chord of flesh in her mouth. The King made a sound of satisfaction when she broke skin, letting the first metallic taste of his blood rush into her mouth.

If there was a reason that his blood tasted so good, she was not going to examine it. Not now.

It was his turn to mark her. He leaned down to her height (which was far, far beneath him) and laid his mouth on her neck. He kissed the space gently. "I won't mark you, my Queen. Not till you ask it of me."

Shock filled her. No wolf would ever reject the chance to mark a mate. No wolf. It was the supreme sign of ownership, a sign to the rest of the world that she was a taken one. More than that, it was a sign of protection. If she bore his marks, anyone who looked at her would know that an Alpha left it there.

And yet, here was Alpha Sin, proudly bearing her own marks on his body, but refusing to return the favor. This disappointment churning in her stomach was another thing to examine later. Much, much later.

When he straightened away from her and faced the crowd, the message was clear. She owned him, not the other way around. There were no whispers or noises of disbelief, but the crowd had noticed it. For a Lycan who seemed to go on rampages after little provocation, Sin's restraint when it came to her was amazing.

At the blare of a horn, the crowd shifted to their wolf forms and went to their haunches, kind of like a bow, but in animal form. It was tradition, Zara had told her earlier. The humans had accepted her as their Queen, it was time for the wolves to accept her as their Luna.

Sin nudged her chin up and bent to her height again, this time claiming her mouth on a kiss.

Kiss.

She'd never been kissed before, but she knew she shouldn't like it this much. She shouldn't open her mouth for him like this, or love how he opened his for her. She shouldn't like the way he cradled her face, half like a gentle person, half like a crazed wolf.

He drew back away from her suddenly, gaze burning. And then, in a blur, just like the audience they had, the Alpha shifted into his wolf form.

The wolf before her was nothing like she was expecting. Actually, she didn't know what she was expecting. Sure, she'd known the daemon would be large, and it was. Like this, it was easily triple the size of every other wolf in the vicinity. Its eyes — Sin's eyes — were black as soot and intelligent.
But the rest of it was the color of goat milk.

She would never have thought that the daemon would be a snow-white wolf.

She bowed to it, remembering that this was not Sin. Or at least, not fully Sin. And in return, just like the rest of the people, he bent to his haunches to pay obeisance. This was the actual coronation, despite what the crown on her head said.

The Inlands and its King had been brought to its knees before her.

"Salvete regina Vannylla de Noir," the officiant called. And the wolves howled.