Free Web NovelChapter 15: Chapter FIFTEEN — THE ACCUSED BRIDE
Candace
"May the Moon Goddess bless this union."
And just like that, the mating ceremony was over.
I stood frozen at the altar while three fresh mating marks burned into my neck, throbbing hot beneath my skin. My mother’s necklace rested cold against my collarbone, the silver pendant trembling faintly with every uneven breath I took.
The church still felt too full of staring eyes and whispers I could feel scraping over my skin.
Alpha Milan rose slowly from the front pew and smoothed down the front of his jacket with measured elegance.
A small gracious smile pulled at his lips, but it never once touched his eyes.
"The Moon Goddess has spoken," he announced "and her will has been done. Let us proceed to the reception and celebrate what she has ordained for our pack."
A murmur of approval rippled through the hall.
Pack members began filing out of the pews in clusters, chatting softly amongst themselves while drifting past me as though I were part of the church decorations.
I almost preferred the open hatred from yesterday. This fake graciousness felt worse somehow because Milan’s words had not really been acceptance. As Alpha, every wolf in the room understood the true meaning beneath them.
"Those marks won’t mean much in a hundred and fifty days anyway."
"Poor Deidre."
"She handled it beautifully."
My throat tightened painfully. I was the one whose mates had publicly announced they intended to walk away from me in five months.
I was the one who would spend the next one hundred and fifty days watching them crawl back into another woman’s bed while carrying my mark on their skin and somehow she was still the victim.
My husbands stepped down from the altar toward her. Deidre let out a little laugh and flew straight into Ragnor’s chest like she belonged there.
A small silver blade slid carefully between my ribs watching him catch her so naturally.
One large hand cradled the back of her head while the other wrapped around her waist possessively.
Like she was the woman he had chosen.
Like she was the bride standing beside him moments ago instead of me.
Ryker’s jaw had been locked tight ever since the ceremony ended, fury still radiating from every inch of him, but the second Deidre touched his hand, his entire body softened.
His fingers immediately curled around hers while something inside my chest twisted painfully. Then he bent and pressed a kiss to the corner of her cheek.
Reign stood closest to her other side, his hand moving slowly up and down her back in long soothing strokes while she buried herself deeper against them.
When she tilted her face toward him, he brushed something invisible from her cheek with the pad of his thumb.
How could they stand there touching her when their marks were still burning fresh into my skin? How could they mark me and then hold another woman seconds later?
My nails dug into my palms while my wolf paced furiously inside me.
How can they be with her right now? The fucking audacity.
I exhaled slowly through my nose. We had bigger things to worry about than three men who had already made their feelings painfully clear.
Whatever the Pendragons thought of me, I was legally here now. Contest or no contest.
A strange weight prickled at the back of my neck. I lifted my gaze across the reception hall and found Cora staring directly at me beside the champagne tower.
Deidre’s best friend raised her glass slowly before tossing me a wink. My stomach immediately turned cold, I looked away.
The reception hall glittered obnoxiously with gold lights and crystal chandeliers. Long banquet tables stretched across the room covered in white linen and white roses—Deidre’s favorite flowers, of course.
I sat stiffly at the head table between two empty chairs belonging to Ragnor and Reign while Ryker’s sat on Ragnor’s other side.
All three remained empty.
Because my loving mates were seated across the room beside Deidre instead. Ryker leaned toward her, murmuring something low enough only she could hear. She burst into soft laughter while his eyes lingered on her mouth.
Ragnor stood behind Deidre’s chair with one hand resting heavily against her shoulder. His expression remained cold and unreadable, but once, when she turned away laughing at something Reign said, his eyes drifted across the room toward me.
The look lasted barely a heartbeat before his expression hardened again. Reign noticed me watching them. His hazel eyes held mine for one strange stretched second.
Then he deliberately leaned closer to Deidre and pressed his mouth against her temple.
The tiny crack inside me widened. Children darted around the tables laughing loudly while pack members lined up beside the gigantic wedding cake decorated with miniature figures of the triplets and me.
The irony almost made me laugh. They had made little sugar versions of a marriage none of us wanted.
I pressed harder into the back of my chair.
The Pendragon brothers had trampled my heart long before today. It should not matter anymore. Clearing my family’s name was the only thing that mattered.
Ignoring the ache spreading beneath my ribs, I looked away from them. Deidre could keep them. A sharp ting of crystal echoed through the room.
My gaze snapped back instantly. Deidre had risen from her chair with a champagne glass lifted high above her head.
"I want to make a toast," she announced sweetly, clinking her glass with a fork. Every conversation stopped mid breath.
"To my loves," A small smile lit up Deidre’s face as she turned to the triplets. "The men who have proven they will stand beside me no matter what."
I watched as Deidre maneuvered my wedding reception and somehow turned herself into the center of discussion.
"To GraceSpring pack," she added before finally darting her eyes in my direction across the room.
"And to our new Luna. May the Moon Goddess’s will be done."
"May it be done," the hall echoed.
Gee. Thanks, cousin.
Then she stepped away from the triplets and started walking toward me. I nearly groaned aloud. Ignoring her completely and walking out of my own reception was one luxury I couldn’t afford in the presence of the Pack’s prying eyes.
So I stayed seated while she approached slowly, hips swaying beneath her white gown.
She stopped directly beside my chair before setting her champagne flute gently on the table in front of me.
"I mean it, cousin," she said sweetly.
"Congratulations."
"Cut it out, Deidre," I muttered quietly. "The men who worship all that fake sugar aren’t here right now."
"You may think you’ve won," she whispered softly, the fake smile still plastered on her face. "You may think stealing the triplets from me means something."
"Bring it on then," I whispered back.
She grabbed her champagne flute and sauntered back toward the triplets. I forced myself not to look at them again when the sound of glass shattering violently against the floor reached my ears.
The entire room froze. Deidre’s champagne flute slipped from her fingers and exploded across the polished marble floor while she clutched at her throat.
"My lips—" she choked weakly. "My lips are num-numb."
Ryker caught her before she collapsed.
Her body convulsed violently in his arms.
Color drained from her face so quickly it looked horrifying.
Sweat prickled sharply across my spine.
No, she had to be faking, she always faked things but then she coughed. Blood splattered across the front of her white dress. The room erupted.
"Someone get the physician. NOW!" Ragnor barked.
Pack members scrambled backward in panic.
Aunt Elena shrieked loudly enough to hurt my ears while rushing across the room with Uncle Nathan and Dylan close behind.
The physician shoved through the crowd before dropping beside Deidre where Ryker held her in his lap. frёewebηovel.cѳm
I slowly pushed halfway out of my chair.
Oh Goddess, she was not pretending.
The physician checked her pulse before peeling back one eyelid. Whatever he saw drained the color from his face immediately.
"What is it?" Ragnor demanded dangerously.
The physician looked up slowly.
"She has been poisoned with aconite."
Silence crashed over the room.
"It’s still early enough to treat," he continued quickly. "But she needs immediate attention."
Aconite?
Goosebumps pricked my skin as I wondered how. One by one, furious faces began turning toward me and suddenly I understood exactly where this was going.
"My Alphas..." Cora’s voice cracked at exactly the perfect moment.
Her hands clasped dramatically against her chest while tears filled her eyes.
"I don’t want to cause more pain tonight. I really don’t." She shook her head sadly before pulling out a small bottle.
My stomach dropped. I recognized that bottle.
Deidre had handed it to me earlier.
"But we all saw Deidre was perfectly fine until she went over to congratulate Lady Candace." Cora sniffled softly. "And this morning... I saw her trying to throw this away."
The physician uncorked it before sniffing carefully. His face darkened instantly.
"It’s aconite, my alphas."
The room exploded and every single pair of eyes snapped toward me, their stares carrying heavy accusations they couldn’t mutter yet. I had not moved from this chair all night. I had not even touched her drink.
Why the hell would I poison her in front of an entire pack full of witnesses? My mouth opened but Ryker beat me to it.
"You stupid jealous slave!" he roared, his voice shaking the hall.
His eyes landed on me with such raw fury my insides twisted in painful knots.
"What did you do to our Didi?"
Not again!
