MARIE
The pearls around my neck were my mother's, the veil was my grandmother's.The money that paid for this perfect, golden ceremony belonged to my late parents; their blood, their sweat, their empire and I had handed it all to him."Marie," my bridesmaid, my best friend, my sister in all but blood, fixed the veil over my curls, smiling like she wasn't the prettiest liar in the room. "You look stunning. He won't be able to take his eyes off you."I forced a breathy laugh. "God, I hope so Kelar. I've waited for this moment forever."She smirked, brushing her thumb over my cheek. "Forever isn't long enough."I should've known then but when you're alone, no mother to warn you, no father to shield you; you cling to the people who smile prettiest.The chapel doors opened, and every head turned. The weight of their stares nearly crushed me, but I held my chin high. A bride with no parents, no family left, carrying only ghosts with her.I told myself I wasn't alone. That at the altar was the man who loved me. That beside me stood the friend who swore she'd always protect me.The lies I told myself were much cruel than the ones they told me.He waited at the altar, tuxedo perfect, flawless skin tone, smile polished. His eyes softened or maybe I only imagined they did. My chest squeezed, my throat tight. Someone should've screamed then, should've warned me but everyone was silent as they watched me silently.The officiant's voice blurred as we joined hands."Marie," my fiancé said, his thumb brushing over my palm. "I vow to cherish you, to honor you and to protect you."Behind me, I heard it then.... A laugh, small, smug.My best friend Kelar, My bridesmaid.I tried to ignore it, but then she spoke."I object."The entire hall gasped.I turned in disbelief and shock, giving myself a pinch to wake me up from this nightmare. She stood tall, veil pushed back, face glowing with triumph.Her voice rang clear. "Because he's mine and he always has been."My stomach lurched, my mouth opened, but nothing came out.I turned back to Jeffery, desperate, needing him to laugh, to deny, to defend me but he didn't.
He smiled at her, something inside me shattered."You—" My voice broke, shaking. "How could you?"He didn't answer. She did, lips curling. "How could you not see it? He never wanted you in all the ten years you've been with him, only your money...your parents money, your name and connections. You were too blind to see what was plainly in front of you."The crowd buzzed, whispers slicing like knives.I felt the world tilt. Everything I had left....my parents' legacy, my heart, my trust....turned to ash in my hands."Marie—" he began, almost in pity but then the gunshot cracked the air.I stumbled, heat exploding in my chest, blood, My blood.My knees hit the ground, silk tearing, pearls scattering.The last thing I saw was my fiancé kissing my best friend over my collapsing body.
The last thing I felt wasn't sorrow; It was rage,Darkness,Claws, and Teeth. A voice curling through the void."You're mine now."
The first thing I heard was bass. Thumping, blaring bass that shook through my chest and rebounded through the floor beneath my feet.
I leapt upright, gasping, one hand still on my chest.
No blood, no altar, no fiancé kissing my best friend over my corpse.
Just bodies rolling together, neon lights flashing the air, and the smell of sweat and booze.
A club.
"Wha-the-what the hell—"
My voice cracked. I shoved trembling hands into my sides, pushing my dress up, searching for the hole. The wound. The blood that would be there.
Nothing.....My skin was intact. No bullet, No silk dress, either. Just a short, sequined dress stuck to my thighs, straps biting into my shoulders.
"Marie!"
I spun around. Kelar got into the booth beside me, drink in hand, laughing as if the world was just fine. My sister, My best friend. Alive. Not in a chapel, not with my fiancé.
My stomach churned.
"You okay?" she asked, her forehead creased. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I…" My throat squeezed. A ghost, No—worse. I'd seen my death.
I gritted a smile, though my heart raged as though it wanted to break free of my chest. "Just got dizzy. Had too much to drink."
Kelar snorted and shoved the glass toward me. "You barely had one drink. Relax. Tonight's a night of fun, let go."
Let go. My body longed to flee but I raised the glass anyway, pretending to drink, my lips barely touched by vodka.
Her smile stayed too wide.
Excuse.... I needed an excuse.
I eased out of the booth, legs shaking. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Be right back."
"Don't get lost," she joked, stirring her straw in circles. "You always seem to vanish unexpectedly."
I didn't answer, Couldn't, My skin was slippery, heat crawling up my back. The club lights on the edges rippled, streaks. My stomach tilted.
I elbowed past the crowd, stumbling over bodies, ignoring the hands that brushed against me, the whistles, the grinding of strangers. My vision narrowed.
The bathroom door closed behind me, cutting off the bass.
Cold tile, dim fluorescent lights, stench of perfume and bleach.
I gripped the sink, white knuckles, water rushing as I slapped my face.
"Get it together," I gasped to myself, watching water run down my chin. "It's just… a dream. A nightmare. You're okay. You're human. You're—"
My face flashed.
Not my face.
Another's.
A face with eyes molten gold.
I didn't move, water running from my hands.
"Hello, little wolf."
The voice drawled out of the mirror, dark and low, humming in my bones.
I swung my head back and forth. "No,No. I'm human."
His lips curled into a grin that curled my stomach. "You were human. Once but no more."
And I blinked, and he stepped out of the mirror.
Tall, Broad Shadows pinned to his frame. Fangs glinting beneath full lips. His presence mushroomed in the bathroom like smoke, chocking me, pulling me.
Every sense warned danger.
Every nerve flashed fire.
I moved back, but the sink butted hard against my hips, holding me in place.
"Keep the devil away from me," I snarled.
He cocked his head to the side, eyes blazing hotter. "You don't want me to."
"I do!" My voice was shaking. "I don't even know you."
"You will." His hand shot out, closing around my chin, tilting my head back. His fingers were steel, burning. "Your body knows me already, Your soul, Your wolf."
I bucked against him. "Stop saying that! I'm human!"
"Human?" His laughter was low and cruel and sensual. "Not anymore. Not since death took you. Not since I took you."
And then his lips were on my lips.