by Karen Ruth
“Don’t worry, I am not as fragile as Lucas thinks I am.” I retorted, giving him the stink eye.
It was then that I noticed what he was wearing. He was in a Crimson suit, his messy hair flowing in the breeze. He was wearing a black tie and a pair of black pants. The locket that I gave him dangled from his pocket. I couldn’t help but smile that he wore it. The way he looked caused butterflies to flutter in my stomach. I had to shake my head to clear the thoughts. What is wrong with you Nina. He is about to be married. You cannot think of him like that anymore. I thought ashamed of myself. Lucas walked up to me and put his hand out.
“Will you dance with me?” He asked me, searching my eyes.
“Lucas, we can’t. If Adelina sees us, she will probably kill me, and you, oh and everyone else.” I retorted smiling at him. I pointed to each of us as I said our names. “But mainly me.” I said rolling my eyes.
“Nina, please?” Lucas begged. “There is nothing wrong with two friends dancing now is there?” He questioned me.
Instead of answering I just shook my head up and down once and took his hand. I couldn’t help but give off an exaggerated sigh. Lucas led me over to the dance floor.
“If she kills me, I’m haunting you forever,” I said as I smiled at him.
Instead of smiling like I thought he would, he frowned and looked at the floor.
“Relax. I was only kidding, there is no such thing as ghosts.” I tried again to make him relax.
He looked at me with one brow raised.
“Wait, there is?” I questioned him.
“Yep.” He retorted as he held the same saddened expression.
I stood on my tippy toes to lift his face up.
“Look at me, Lucas. Everything will be all right. You will find happiness with Adelina. Everything will work out in the end. You may not love her now, but one day you will.” I muttered quietly.
“Nina. We both know that isn’t true. Werewolves can only love one person their entire life, and I already found her. She is nothing like Adelina.” He responded with a saddened expression etched upon his handsome face.
“Lucas….” I started but was cut off by his hand softly brushing my face.
“Don’t worry about me, Nina.” He told me.
“Of course, I’m going to worry about you. If I don’t, who will?” I asked him jokingly.
He just closed his eyes and shook his head. His eyes sparkled.
“Dance with me already Nina.” He retorted.
“Just so you know, I do have two left feet. Don’t blame me if I step on you.” I said jokingly to him.
“Oh, just get over here.” He chuckled.
I began swaying to the music. The only thing that fluttered in my mind for the rest of the night was that I couldn’t let Lucas marry Adelina. It would destroy him and everything that he stood for.
Chapter 13
I was in the front row of the wedding, standing next to Cath. We were outside, and the weather was perfect. The sky was the most beautiful mixture of blue and fluffy white clouds. The wind blew gently, swaying the trees above. I smelt the air, unable to resist my instincts. My wolf loved the smell of the forest too much to turn down the offer. To my delight, I saw a few other werewolves do the same thing. I smiled at the sight.
“Nina, are you okay?” My sister asked me, concern in her alto voice.
“Yes, Cath. I am fine. Do not worry about me.” I flashed her a quick smile.
The chime on the castle went off. It was officially noon. I took a deep breath. It was time for Lucas to get married. As soon as I thought about him, I saw him walk down the aisle at a fast pace. Catherine gave off a confused face. His pace not matching the tempo of the music. It was then that I noticed I couldn’t focus on what anyone in the audience except Cath looked like. I shook my head. Maybe I was going crazy? Maybe I was too crazed on emotions?
At the start of the wedding, I was told that I was originally supposed to be included since everyone else in the pack is part of the groomsman. Unfortunately, as you can imagine, having me in the wedding was a big no-no to Adelina. It didn’t really bother me though; I wasn’t too big into special attention. I saw Reed make his way down the alter with some random girl I have never seen before. Someone from the Britain pack. As he reached Lucas, he gave him a weak smile.
“I’m sorry brother.” He said to him within his head.
Instead of replying, Lucas just clapped Reed’s shoulder and gave a weak smile.
One by one, all the members of the pack walked down the aisle. Next, it was Adelina herself. The audience stood up from their white seats and watched her. I had to admit, she was beautiful. Her long blonde hair was flowing down her back in waves. On top of her head laid a tiara indicating she was a princess. Within the tiara held a symbol I have never seen before. It was a wolf crouched low as if it was stalking something. It must have been an indication of her other pack. Her eyes glistened in the sun. As she reached the alter, she looked Lucas in the face.
“I can’t wait to be queen.” She whispered in his ear. “I am going to use this pack as well as my own to take over every pack in the world. Oh, and little helpless Nina over there, she is going to be exiled as soon as I get that crown.” She gave him a devilish grin.
I cocked my head side-ways. I knew that I was a werewolf and could hear things above normal, but I shouldn’t be able to hear that. I looked around, nobody else seemed phased by it. Lucas squinted his eyes at her in disgust.
“I can’t let you do that Adelina.” He snarled at her.
“You don’t have a choice. As soon as I marry you, we will go through the coronation to become king and queen. Then I will use my pack to overthrow you. You may be strong, but you can’t take a whole pack with you.”
I looked over at the rest of my pack. There was no way they couldn’t hear this. They were right next to them for Pete's sake.
“What the heck guys? Are you just going to stand there and watch?!” I yelled at them.
Nobody moved a muscle.
“You know what Adelina? You can’t do that if you don’t marry me.” Lucas snarled.
“And how do you suppose you can get out of marrying me now Lucas? You are far too late. Everyone is already here to watch.”
“I think everyone will be alright if I call it off. Most people will actually be relieved if I do so.” Lucas said glaring at her.
“Oh, you didn’t think that I already thought of that. Look behind Nina. There is a werewolf behind her with a gun, that is loaded with wolfbane. One shot to her head and she’s as good as dead. Call it off and I will tell him to do it. And all you will be able to do is watch as the love of your life dies before your very own eyes.”
“Watch me do this.” Lucas snarled again.
In one second, he was a human, the next, a black werewolf. He jumped on her and knocked her small body over.
“Help me!!!” She screamed.
In one snap of the neck, she was dead. Blood curled from her mouth, pooling the floor beneath her.
“You are going to pay for that!” Someone yelled from the stand.
“Then come kill me!” Lucas screamed from within his wolf.
In an instant, werewolves littered the lawn. It was pack against pack. I heard the click of a gun. Without even thinking, I dropped to the floor pulling Catherine down with me. Bloodshed pooled from everywhere. I heard a loud screech. I looked at the altar. Three wolves jumped on Reed. He was underneath them. I changed into my wolf faster than I thought possible. Caleb and I attacked the three wolves to get them off of Reed. We plucked them off one by one. When we got to the end of the pile, my heart dropped into my gut. Reed laid there flat on the ground with dark blood surrounding him. I knew right then that he lost too much.
“Reed!” I yelled franticly turning into my human counterpart to apply pressure to the wound on his neck.
“It is too late Nina. Take care of Lucas for me.” He choked out.
The next thing I knew was the world spun aroun
d me and everything went dark.
Chapter 14
I jolted from my moist bed. Damp sweat beaded my forehead. My hair was stuck to the side of my face as my heart raced a hundred miles per hour. I looked in the mirror, my eyes glistened as if I was about to change. I grabbed my chest and said to myself, “Nina, you have to calm down. Relax, it was only a dream.” I couldn’t get the images of my dream to stop playing in my head. I tried shaking my head vigorously, but they wouldn’t leave. I couldn’t stop seeing Reed’s dying body sprung on the ground in a dying heap. I couldn’t get his last words out of my head. I knew that I had to do something to stop this. I knew it. Even though I still believed I couldn’t tell the future, I had to make sure there wasn’t the slightest possibility of this happening in real life.
At that moment I didn’t care that I was still in my tank top and short short PJ’s. All I cared about was making my way to Devlon’s room as soon as possible. As I arrived at his door, I realized a guard was standing in front of it. He looked at me surprised but said nothing.
“Let me in.” I demanded.
He didn’t move a muscle or blink an eye.
“Sorry, let me ask politely, will you please let me in. This is very important.” I said to him trying to calm my raging temper.
Not to my surprise, he didn’t budge once again.
“That does it!” I screamed while stomping my foot. “LET ME IN!” I yelled at him at the top of my lungs.
A strange feeling of energy warped my body. I couldn’t help but shake my head in confusion. I looked at the guard hoping he would just open it already. Of course, he didn’t.
“I swear to God I’m going to freak out on you, and you do not want that to happen,” I growled at him.
The door swung open behind him.
“What the heck is going on out here?” I heard a familiar high-pitched voice speak.
“Oh, thank god! I thought I was going to have to beat this guy up!” I yelled relieved.
“Nina?” She asked as the guard stepped out of the way. “What are you doing here at 4 in the morning?” She questioned me, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“I’m sorry Amelia, I just really have to talk to Devlon. It is very important.” I rapidly spoke to her.
“Nina dear. You really should not go out of your room in that outfit. There are men all over that might not be able to control their desires.” She muttered to me.
I looked down and realized my outfit was a little more revealing than I once thought. My face lit up bright red. My shorts were so short that they barely covered my butt. My tank top was also so low cut that there was quite a bit of cleavage showing.
“I’m sorry Amelia. There just wasn’t time to change. I just really really have to speak with Devlon, like right now” I said to her desperately crossing my hands together showing the urgency.
“Very well Nina. Follow me.” She said.
I gently walked past the guard.
“I’m sorry dude. I didn’t mean to yell. I was just in an emergency. I hope you forgive me.” I muttered to him.
Amelia couldn’t help but give off a small laugh and shake her head.
“You are too sweet Nina. I worry about you sometimes in this life. You are too sweet for this world.” She whispered. “Is that bad?” I asked her concerned.
“In a way,” was all she said.
Amelia walked through the door and I followed.
She stood right in front of his bedroom door before saying, “he may not be happy to be disturbed so late at night.”
“I know,” I responded. “I just have to talk to him. Hopefully, he understands.” I responded, anxious.
“Nina dear. Would this happen to be about the wedding tonight?” She asked me in an all-knowing look.
“Possibly.” I responded, not wanting to admit she was right. She gave off a small smile before knocking on the door.
“Who is it?” Devlon’s voice boomed from the room.
“Nina is here to see you dear!” She yelled at the door.
“Nina? At this time in the morning? What’s going on?” He asked.
Just as Amelia was about to answer, Devlon opened the door.
“Good morning Devlon,” I said bowing to him. “I am sorry to wake you at such early hours in the morning, I need to talk to you. It is super important.” I prompted him.
“Come in,” Devlon said to me.
I bowed my head and followed.
“You two go right ahead. I will just wait out here in the living room.” Amelia smiled at us.
I inclined my head to her. “Thank you for everything Amelia.”
She nodded and smiled at me.
“Always Nina.”
Devlon shut the door behind me.
“What is wrong?” He asked with concern in his voice. “Is it about the wedding? You know that Lucas has to get married to Adelina.” Devlon said as he sat at the edge of the bed.
I huffed out loud. “Devlon, sir. It is about the wedding, but not what you think. I know that Lucas has to get married to Adelina, but he just can’t. Will you hear me out?” I asked him.
“I can promise to listen to you Nina, but I cannot promise that I can do what you ask.” He responded to me tapping the seat next to him.
I gladly accepted as I took the seat. I looked him straight in the eye with my hands on my lap. I gave out a loud sigh.
“I had a dream about the wedding.”
“A dream? Like the premonitions we were talking about?” Devlon asked intrigued.
“I really don’t know. I can’t tell what is real and what’s not. I’m still not even positive that they are premonitions. All I know is we can’t have that dream coming true.” I ranted on barely breathing between sentences.
“Nina listen to me. This is very important. What happened in the dream?” He asked me.
“You don’t want to know,” I said shaking my head.
He sighed. “Nina, I need to know what happened. If it is as bad as you are making it sound, this could affect everyone in the pack.”
I took a very long sigh before explaining everything that happened. From everything Adelina said, to the bloodshed, to Reed dying.
Devlon listened very closely to everything that I said. His eyes searching mine to make sure that I wasn’t lying.
“Very well.” Devlons voice finally broke out. “All the royals are already here. If Lucas does not get married, someone is bound to try and steal the throne. They will try to kill me. I have no doubt about it.”
I searched his eyes. They were filled with sorrow.
At that moment, Amelia walked in.
“Honey, you cannot stop the wedding. It will kill you and ruin the pack. I know that Lucas will do what is right for the pack. We raised him right. What about you Nina? Why won’t you marry Lucas?” She questioned me.
I stuttered for a moment. “You both know I’m not fit for a queen. Plus, I am soooo not ready to get married.”
“One day you will be ready,” Amelia said to me with confidence in her voice.
“But not yet,” I responded to her, searching her eyes.
“Dear, Nina is right. She isn’t ready to be a queen. What are we going to do?” He huffed more talking to himself than anyone else.
At that moment, a crazy idea sparked into my head.
“Devlon, is it too late to ask for that favor?” I asked him, lifting my eyebrows.
“Of course not,” Devlon responded, looking at me like I lost my mind.
“Are you able to change laws?” I asked them both.
“Theoretically, yes. Although some laws should not be touched.
“Why?” He asked me, scanning my eyes.
“Can you change the law where Lucas has to be married?” I asked him.
“Nina, that law was set in place a long time ago for a very good reason. We shouldn’t touch that.” He responded, shaking his head.
“But you can though, right?” I prompted further.
“Yes, in a way
he can,” Amelia said to me. “But we shouldn’t go there,” Amelia answered with sadness in her voice.
“Devlon, if I had to pick anything in the world to ask a favor for, it would be this. Can you do it?” I asked him.
He huffed out loud and placed his hand to his eyes.
“I don’t know Nina. I will have to think about it. This decision would have to include not just me, but the elders. Don’t get your hopes up though, if I had to give you an answer right now, it would be a no. No matter how much we love Lucas, this isn’t something we should mess with.”
I nodded at him. “That is all that I ask, for you to think about it.” I gave him a weak smile. “I will leave you two alone to get some rest. Thank you for everything guys.” I said looking between the two of them.
Amelia gave me a small hug and I returned it.
“Tell me what you saw sweetie,” Amelia said to me.
“You really want to know Amelia?” I huffed.
She slowly shook her head.
“I will give you the short end of the stick. Death and war.” I muttered.
I watched as her eyes sparked with horror.
“I figured,” Amelia responded.
I gave a slow nod. “Let’s just hope it was just a dream. I better get going.” I said to the two of them.
“Get some rest,” Amelia said to me as she walked me out of the room.
I just shook my head in acknowledgment.
As I was walking to my room, I ran straight into a stranger. He was only a few inches taller than me, same age, and had sandy blonde hair.
“Oops sorry.” I immediately apologized, embarrassed.
“Well hello, sweetie, what are you doing out so late all by yourself.”
“Uh, nothing,” I responded, embarrassed. “If you will just excuse me, I am just heading back now,” I muttered, dropping my gaze.
“Sure thing beautiful.” He cooed as he moved to the right to get out of my way.
“Thanks,” I muttered as I passed him.
I felt a hand slap my rear end causing me to jump forward and turn around.
“What the heck was that!” I yelled glaring at him.
