RiverThe awards ceremony after the tournament was the least of River's concerns. He had a few minutes to go to the restroom and splash some water on his face and wash off the blood from the wound in his neck. The healer had bandaged him up pretty good, and it wasn't hurting any more, thanks to his wolf genes' super healing abilities. So at least he didn't have to worry about that. But while he was in the bathroom, looking in the mirror, he had to ask himself a question.Was this what they both wanted?Outside of the restroom, his mother was waiting for him. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "I'm so proud of you, honey.""Thank you, Mom," he said, but as soon as she pulled back and he saw the look on her face, he knew that she had heard the lack of confidence in his voice."What's the matter?" Patricia asked. "You won. You are going to marry Ellie. You love her, don't you? I think the two of you are the perfect couple. She is your fated-match. I just know it.""Yea
EllieGetting ready for the dance this time was so different for Ellie than it had been just a few short nights ago when she'd been so excited to see River. That night, she'd gotten dressed in a beautiful silver gown, excited to see what the night had to offer. Tonight, her dress was red. It was sparkly and caught the light like the other dress. Checking herself out in the mirror, she had to admit that she looked good. But she didn't feel good. There was a heaviness in her heart she couldn't quite understand.River had seemed different. He'd been so standoffish at the award's ceremony. Even when she'd kissed his cheek, he'd seemed withdrawn. It made her wonder what his motivation was for entering the tournament to begin with. Was it possible he was only there because he wanted to win, and now that he had to claim his prize, he was regretting it?Her eyes went to her mother's saying above her mirror. That was the most important thing. Doing what was best for her pack. While she wanted
RiverSomething was definitely wrong with Ellie. Never before had there been an awkward silence when he was with her. Every other time they'd talked, it had been easy. The conversation flowed freely on both sides. Now, she seemed so uncomfortable in his arms, it was like she didn't even want him to touch her. He felt like she didn't want to speak to him at all.He couldn't think of a darn thing to say, either. They'd talked about his wound and the blood. They'd talked about how nice they both looked. Now what?"How, uh, how was your seat? During the contest?" he asked, knowing it sounded ridiculous. What a stupid question. What did he expect her to say? Comfortable?"It was good," she said. "I could see and everything." Ellie's head rocked back and forth several times, probably too many times."That's good," River said."Yeah."Another bout of awkward silence fell over them. River wanted the song to end so he could go get some fresh air. He never would've thought he would want to let
EllieNo bride wanted to get married with bags under her eyes. Ellie had done her best to fall asleep after the dance, but she'd laid awake for hours, tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling, contemplating what was going on between herself and River. She thought about Ulysses's interpretation and wanted to believe him, but in the end, she'd fallen asleep feeling like River was only marrying her because he had to, not because he wanted to.Sitting in a chair in front of her mirror, watching Shelby do her makeup, Ellie hoped no one noticed the puffiness beneath her eyes or the fact that they were bloodshot. She'd never been one for using sleep aids, but if she could go back and do it all again, she would've taken some melatonin the moment her head hit the pillow."You've got a lot on your mind, huh?" her best friend asked as she applied powder to the foundation she'd already put on. Ellie wasn't used to wearing a lot of makeup, so she had agreed when Shelby had insisted she let her
River"Wow! Look at you, all dressed up in a tux! You look like a million bucks!" Allen Stead, River's Beta, left his wife's side and stepped over to wrap his arms around the Alpha. River clapped his best friend on the back. "It's great to see you, man. Thanks for coming.""Sure, sure," Allen said. "We wouldn't miss it for the world." Allen released him, and River stepped over to Samantha to hug her as well. Baby Simpson, who was tiny at not even a month old, was sleeping in her arms."He sure is adorable," River said, looking at the sweet baby's face."Thank you, Alpha," Samantha said, smiling down at her baby. "He's such a good baby, too.""Yeah, hopefully he won't cry during the wedding and mess everything up," Allen said with a laugh. They had come to see River in the room where he was getting ready in a cabin, near the meadow where Michael had everything all set up for the wedding ceremony.River took a deep breath and sighed, pushing his hands deep into the pockets of his tuxed
EllieThe sun was shining brightly as Ellie made her way from her house to the glade. She decided to walk, even though Shelby was terrified she'd get her dress muddy. She'd be fine. The train wasn't that long, and she needed the fresh air.Her mind was swimming with worries. Everything from whether or not she would remember what she was supposed to say and when she was supposed to say it to whether River would want to have their marking ceremony that night or wait. She was a mess. Thankfully, her bouquet was big enough that it covered her shaking hands. She grasped it tightly and carried it in front of her chest so maybe no one would see her heart beating against her ribcage.They had made it to the cabins near the meadow when she saw a familiar form coming toward them. Ellie couldn't help but smile at how handsome Ulysses looked in his suit. "Wow! Look at you!" he exclaimed, coming at her with his large arms open wide.Ellie handed her bouquet to Shelby as Ulysses enveloped her in a
RiverHe had almost done it. He had almost convinced himself to go through with the wedding, to give Ellie the benefit of the doubt and follow through with the promise he'd made when he'd entered the tournament. If he hadn't happened to step outside right when he had, he'd be standing at the altar right now, waiting for her to make her way down the aisle on her father's arm, instead of speeding off toward home in his car.It was all making sense now. Why she'd been acting so differently the last couple of days. Clearly, Miss Ellie Knight was a fickle woman, her heart flittering from one Alpha to another. She thought she wanted to be with River one moment and thought she wanted to be with someone else another moment. She claimed that she and Ulysses were just friends, but they'd spent a lot of time together since the beginning of the tournament. Her feelings must have changed.River had heard what she'd said to him, right after she hugged him so tightly."A deal is a deal. I'm afraid
EllieThe tears that cascaded down her face had nothing to do with the utter embarrassment and sheer humiliation she was feeling at being left at the altar. Rather, Ellie was crying because she couldn't believe River would do this to her. She thought that he really loved her, that even though their romance had been a whirlwind, he was feeling the same thing about her as she felt for him.At least, she'd thought that was the case until the day before when he'd won the tournament, and then, suddenly, everything had changed. She had no explanation for it. Once she realized he'd driven away, Ellie had contemplated going after him, catching him, and forcing him to look her in the eye and tell her what the problem was. Maybe there was someone back home that he had feelings for. Maybe he just didn't think Ellie was the right girl for him. Whatever it was, she needed to hear it from his mouth.But she wasn't about to go after him and demand answers, not today. Instead, she'd made her way back