The ceremony was crowded.
Ella looked at the mirror. The dress was white. It covered the tattoo.
Roman stood behind her. Black suit.
"Ready?" he said.
"Fast," Ella said.
"It's done," Roman said.
He led her out.
The cellar was under the old mill. It smelled of wet stone and gasoline.
Ethan sat on a crate. His face was in the dark.
Marcus was there too. The former Alpha. He looked like a beggar. His clothes were stained with mud.
"He's marrying her today," Ethan said.
Marcus spat in the corner. "He didn't marry her. He branded her. I saw the look in his eyes when he took my daughter."
"We have to stop him."
"How?" Marcus looked at his hands. They were shaking. "The Enforcers. The council. They all eat from his palm."
Ethan pulled out a map. "The south gate. It's the weakest. The sensors have a three-second lag during the midnight shift change."
"He'll kill you, boy."
"He already killed me," Ethan said. He gripped a silver spike. "He took the woman I loved and turned her into a ghost. I'm just finishing the job."
Marcus stood up. He looked taller in the dim light.
"The old wolves are tired," Marcus said. "But we still have teeth."
White roses everywhere. They smelled of dust.
She walked. Everyone watched.
The High Priestess stood at the altar. Waiting.
Roman took her hands. His skin was rough. A vice.
"Do you, Roman, Alpha Enforcer, take this wolf to be your mate, to bind your soul to hers, in this life and the next?"
"I do," Roman's voice rang out.
"And do you, Ella..."
"STOP!"
The doors hit the wall.
Ethan was there. He looked a mess. Blood on his lip.
"Ella! Don't do it!" Ethan screamed, stumbling forward.
The crowd froze. Noise.
Roman didn't turn. He didn't even flinch. He just squeezed Ella's hands tight. "Ignore him."
"Ella! Stop!" Ethan shouted. "The contract... the witch... it's him! He did it!"
Ella's chest went cold.
"Guards," Roman said calmly.
Four large warriors tackled Ethan before he could reach the altar. They slammed him to the stone floor. Ethan groaned, struggling against their weight.
"Let him speak!" Ella cried out involuntarily.
"He is delirious," Roman said, turning her face back to him. His eyes were hard now. "He is trying to ruin your moment. He is jealous. Look at me, Ella."
Ethan lifted his head from the floor, blood dripping from his mouth. "Ella... you're my mate. Not his. You're *mine*!"
The confession hung in the air.
Roman's jaw tightened. A flash of murder crossed his face.
"Continue," Roman said to the priestess.
"But—"
"Now!" Roman said.
The Priestess flinched.
The Priestess fumbled. "Marking... binding..."
Roman tilted her head.
Exposed the jugular.
She looked past his shoulder.
Ethan. Pinned. Reaching.
Roman bit.
Iron.
His teeth were in her neck.
He pulled back.
"Mine," he said. He looked at Ethan. "Done."
He turned to the guards, pointing at the broken boy on the floor.
"Throw him out," Roman commanded. "If he returns... kill him."