And that's when I'm gripped with a tight pang of guilt.
How could I have been so mean to her?
Though Willow has agreed to the ceremony, she remains cold and unfazed by the extent of its significance, walking in with Rissa with her chin held high in defiance.
Suddenly, the den feels smaller, the candles flickering, casting an eerie glow on the stone walls, the restless shadows matching my own internal restlessness.
This is only a formality.
It's what I keep reminding myself of, even as Willow approaches, her beauty knocking out any sense I'm trying to cling to.
It's as if time slows down, the faint rustle of her white silk dress the only sound in the room as she comes closer. The sight of her steals the breath straight from my lungs, the way the fabric of her dress catches the candlelight, gliding over her curves like water, as soft and pure as she is. Her scar glints faintly with the angle of the soft candlelight, and I can’t help but appreciate how it makes her more beautiful.
Behind that scar lies a deep pain that only she has experienced, and that's why she appears untouchable now. Her champagne-blonde hair has been ironed out to appear like armor down her back to the base of her spine, her eyes crystalline blue, just like the eyes of the mystery woman that had been described to me.
Everything makes sense now, and yet, it just doesn't feel right. Especially when Rissa places Willow's hand in mine, and I don't feel the sensation of the mate bond flowing through me.
It's as if that bond has been severed, a cord cut by her indifference as she takes her place beside me. I frown as I stare at her face and her unwillingness to meet my eyes, knowing there's no way I could have imagined what I felt yesterday.
If Willow denies her witch powers, she's underestimating herself by a far stretch. If she has the ability to switch off like this, she surely has the ability to wield powers beyond her wildest imagination.
Even mine.
Turning slowly toward Elias, who stands before us, the weight of what we're about to do settles on my shoulders,pinning me in place. The head alpha's expression is calm, but his eyes carry that quiet knowing only another alpha could possess.
He's been in my shoes before—back when Luna Aurora, his mate, wasn't more than an omega, and the elders were ready to sacrifice her to the demons. Back then, no one knew that the witches were the key to defeating the demons for good, until Aurora had a vision and Elias believed in her.
Back then, Elias and Aurora couldn't see eye to eye, and it took them some time to overcome their differences and find love and safety in each other's arms.
Right now, there isn't much hope for Willow and me, her indifference clouding any hope that we can overcome this.
She's been through too much, and it's all my fault.
“Thane Savage,” Elias begins, his voice steady as he nods at me. “Do you stand here on your own free will, to claim this she-wolf as your mate in front of the Snehvolk Pack?”
“Yes, I do,” I say firmly, feeling Willow's aura tightening beside me.
Elias turns to Willow then, his tone softening slightly when he asks her the same question. “And you, Willow Barker, do you stand here on your own free will, to accept this bond before the pack?”
The silence that follows stretches longer than it should, prompting me to turn slightly to see her face, the scar on her cheek glowing as if something in her pulse ignited it.
My heart slows down, each beat like the tick of a clock, a countdown before she finally speaks, her voice cool and clear. “Yes, I do.”
Her agreement shouldn’t sting, but it does. She says it like it's been rehearsed, a monotonous response stripped ofmeaning. And yet, hearing it from her lips after everything that's happened still feels like a blow and a gift all at once.
A gift I don't deserve.
Elias nods. “Then, by the law of Snehvolk and the power bestowed upon me as the head alpha, I request that you turn to each other and make your vows.”
He gestures for us to step forward and join hands with a nod, and I hesitate briefly before reaching for Willow's hand. She stares at mine for a moment, as though considering whether it’s worth touching me at all. Then, finally, she places her hand in mine.
The spark that shoots up my arm nearly makes me flinch. I see it hit her, too, when her lips part on a gasp, her eyes widening just slightly before she blinks it away and looks past my shoulder.
Even now, she’s pretending nothing happened, pretending not to feel anything, pretending that this means nothing.
Elias clears his throat, the sound breaking through the terse silence and prompting me to continue.
I take a deep breath and stare at Willow's face while she refuses to meet my eyes.
