Free Web NovelChapter 197: The Next Most Likely
The priest gulped, smartly avoiding the death glare that Alpha Thorton gave him. Compared to Alpha Thorton, he surprisingly seemed more afraid of Damon, who was still glaring at him with all the ferocity of a man who intended to kill.
"Alpha Damon Valentine of Fangborne," the officiant obediently said, "do you take Miss Dahlia Elrod as your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to cherish, to honor―"
"No." Damon’s firm reply cut through the officiant’s words, disallowing him from saying anything further. "I do not."
The instant Damon’s reply was spoken, Dahlia hissed loudly. However, it wasn’t only due to his reply. If anything, the events that just transpired had long warned her that her perfect wedding dreams had gone up in flames.
To be exact, the sound that escaped Dahlia’s lips originated from pain. She dropped the necklace that she still stubbornly held onto, her hands jolting as she jumped back from the jewelry. The thin silver piece clattered onto the floor, seemingly harmless, but Dahlia’s groans of pain told a different tale.
Quickly, the smell of burnt flesh filled the cathedral. Blood spilled from Dahlia’s wounds, gushing out when it was previously cauterized by the sear of the silver.
The red lines on her hands looked as though her entire hand was about to rot off, and by the look of agony that twisted her face into various expressions, I could only imagine the pain, especially after she had held onto it for so long and applied so much pressure.
"I did warn you that you might lose a hand," Damon casually said. "Take this as a lesson not to touch the things — or people — that do not belong to you.
He closed the distance between him and Dahlia, and I watched as her eyes lit up with hope, wondering if he was there to check on her injury. Yet, he simply bent down and swiped the necklace from the floor, tossing it in the air a few times as he made his way over to me.
Dahlia’s face instantly fell. I felt a rush of amusement, though it wasn’t from me; Blaise wore a cocky smirk, trying his hardest not to actually laugh out loud.
Meanwhile, the entire cathedral watched with bated breaths as Damon stopped right in front of me, holding out the necklace.
"May I?" he asked. His voice was barely even above a murmur, but what was a murmur against the keen ears of werewolves?
I could only give him a defeated expression, turning my gaze to Blaise in search of help. Blaise simply shrugged, his lips twisting as he gestured for me to follow along with Damon’s theatrics. I didn’t need the mind link to guess what he was thinking; Damon must’ve been so repressed by all the acting he had to do with Dahlia that this was his way of closing the Chapter.
Who was I to deny him a show?
Against my better judgment, I simply sighed and turned around, adjusting my hair so that he could have a clear view of the clasp. I could feel Damon step a little closer to me, placing the necklace back to its rightful position.
For a moment, I wondered if I just jumped away now or refused to put the necklace on, would I be free of Damon’s hold? After all, this was a collar more than a gift of love. It was beautiful, but Dahlia did not understand the true meaning behind this seemingly glamorous accessory.
However, the mark on my shoulder tingled right as I thought that― Damon’s mark, to be exact.
What was I thinking? Even if there was no collar or necklace on me, I was still irreversibly tied to Damon and Blaise through our bond. Wearing this necklace would do nothing to change that fact― a mark can never be erased permanently.
Damon’s cold fingers brushed against my neck, pulling me from my thoughts as I took in a sharp gasp of air through my teeth. He didn’t linger for too long, but the onlookers could definitely tell that he was taking his own sweet time when there wasn’t a need to. If anything, it felt as though Damon was using the chance to tell those present that I wasn’t just his sister-in-law. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
I didn’t know how I felt about that. Damon hadn’t wanted to announce our relationship previously when we were in Ironclaw for multitudinous reasons. Now, in the presence of wolves from various other packs, it didn’t seem like a good idea either.
The click of the lock pulled me from my thoughts, and just like that, the necklace was returned to me. Unlike Dahlia, the silver did not harm me even in the slightest. It was cold against my skin and caused me to shiver from that, but otherwise, I could safely touch it. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
The lock didn’t budge either― Damon had made it clear enough that Dahlia was not going to be the luna of Fangborne, and as the woman who had marked Damon, I was the next most likely candidate.
It was unlikely that those who were attending the ceremony would understand the significance of this necklace to Fangborne, a fact I found great relief in. At least this wouldn’t seal anything between us in their eyes, just in case it was safer to keep it a secret.
Along with the rest of the crowd, Dahlia had previously maintained her silence. She still held onto her hand, her face in a matching shade of red. However, the moment Damon stepped away and placed his hands on my shoulder to spin me around to face him, she lost it. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
"You bitch!" she shrieked, her voice shrill and high-pitched. That was all the warning she gave before she pounced on me, shifting in a crack of bones as her beautiful dress tore into smithereens.
The hall immediately burst into chaos as warriors left and right began shifting. I jumped out of the way just in time with Damon’s help, rolling into his arms right as Dahlia landed where I was. She easily cracked that part of the podium, the wood flying into the air in dangerous splinters from the force.
However, the second she realized I hadn’t been crushed under her paw, her head swiveled around to look in my direction, murderous intent in her eyes.
