Three

Chapter 3

Hope

My entire being froze up. I could not believe what my ears were hearing and my eyes were seeing. My fingers started to fiddle on their own as my breathing turned uneven.

"I don't approve of your suggestion. This daughter of yours has nothing to offer," Darius glanced back at me, his eyes raked across my body from my head, down to my toes, then back up to settle on my breasts. He didn't look interested in them the slightest bit, only curious.

He turned back to my Father. "I want Light and no one else. That was the deal. Find her and get her to return the Morati knife to me." Darius said with a firm tone.

My Father trembled on the spot as he racked his brain for another suggestion. My Mother was ahead of him, she threw herself in front of the Lycan King with desperacy written all over her features.

"Your Majesty, Hope is a fine young lady. She will bring you no trouble. She is beautiful, well-mannered, and most important of all, quiet. She is very quiet." My Mother spoke with urgency.

The next thing I knew, I was being dragged by her to stand in front of the Lycan King. I cast my gaze to the floor as I couldn't stand looking into his dead dark eyes. My Mother just wouldn't let me be. She shook me as she spoke up.

"Hope, you're quiet. Aren't you?" she asked, and I nodded slowly. She let go of me and clapped.

"You see. She's very quiet, she also has nice hips, and a fertile womb as well. Marry her in the meantime, you can even bed her if you like. Once Light is found, you can return her. There's no downside." My Mother was practically selling me off to my sister's to-be husband.

I felt so used and helpless. I never wanted to marry the Lycan King, but being the second choice, the last resort, it stung badly. I felt my throat clog up as tears threatened to spill from my eyes once again, but I swallowed them back. I just finished crying, I couldn't cry again.

With all that my Mother said, Darius still didn't look convinced. I didn't need to look at his face to know that. I could hear the displeased grunts he made as he continued to size me up.

"Do you want to take your sister's place?" I heard him ask, and I gritted my teeth.

"Of course, she does!" Both my parents said at the same time which seemed to anger the Lycan King.

"I wasn't speaking to you two. I was asking her." I could tell that the 'her' he referred to was me because, at the end of his sentence, I felt a chill on my chin as he made skin-to-skin contact with me. He used two of his platinum-ringed fingers to lift my chin so that I could look into those cold, dead, onyx eyes of his.

"Do you want to take your sister's place?" he repeated his question.

I felt like dying right then. No, I didn't want to. I didn't want to take Light's place but I couldn't say that. I would be dooming not only my family's reputation, but the entire Human race, so I nodded slowly.

He scowled. "Use words."

I searched for air before I spoke. "Yes, I want to take my sister's place," I said those words without flinching, he let go of my chin instantly, causing me to stumble on my track as I sucked in a lush amount of air.

"What do you think about that, my Lord? Should I have the handmaidens put her in Light's gown and sound the alarm bells for the change?" My Father asked in an excited voice, and I felt my lungs constrict as I found it hard to breathe.

So they were going to give me away so easily, and to a beast who would do nothing but tear me apart from within and outwith?

"None of that would be necessary." Darius dismissed with a wave of his hand. My Father and Mother were confused. So was I. Would he not marry me then?

"My Lord, what is the problem?" Mother asked cautiously tone, and the King's eyes narrowed down on me before he spoke.

"I would get married to her right away. I can not wait any longer. The moon shall be at its peak in a few minutes, and I have no more time to waste. We shall go to the garden right away." King Darius said impatiently, after which, he strolled out of the room using long strides.

Father moved fast behind him and Mother grabbed my wrist, dragging me along with her as she took long strides, walking out of the room, and tailing after the two men.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to cry so badly. He was going to get married to me right away. He wasn't even going to give me any time to gather myself or do anything. I found it hard to breathe as Mother kept dragging me behind her.

Once we got to the courtyard, from afar I could see that the wedding guests were already seated. Humans on one side, and Lycans on the other. Members of the Lycan army rounded the entire scenery, standing like stone statue barricades and scaring every Human.

Darius stopped before he walked the aisle, then he turned around and walked towards Mother and me. As if he sent a mind message to my Mother, she let go of my hand immediately and his own cold, large ones replaced them. I sucked in a sharp breath as he touched me.

He didn't give me any time to recover as he started to yank me behind him down the aisle. Everyone watched the scene with curious and horror-filled eyes. What they saw was a six-foot-seven beast dragging a five-foot-six Human who looked immeasurably close to tears.

Once we got to the altar, he stopped pulling me, though his hand was still wrapped around my wrist. I choked back on a sob as I steadied my footing on the altar. I was not going to cry.

The wedding moderator started the process almost immediately as Darius told him to. He started to spew out so many words that I couldn't understand. All I did was try to restrain myself from crying and falling to the ground.

It got to the point where the moderator instructed someone to bring a bowl and I was confused. I turned to Darius and spoke.

"A bowl?" I questioned, and he ignored me. My anxiety increased after that. One of the Lycans lurking around held a gold-encrusted bowl in front of Darius and me with a knife slanted across it. My heartbeat race quickened.

"You may now draw blood to seal the bond." The moderator said, and I ran mad. What did that mean?

I got the answer to my question as Darius shoved the handle of the knife into one of my palms. I stared at him as he stretched out his palm and said, "Cut me."

My lips parted in confusion. "What?"

"Cut me so that my blood can spill and we can get the show wrapped up." He spoke in annoyance.

I started to shake my head, disagreeing with what he just told me. As he watched my move, he hissed through his teeth, then his hand covered my own and he directed the knife to his free palm, running the sharp edge through his skin, and drawing blood.

I gasped at the sight immediately and he let go of me. His blackish blood spilled into the bowl at a rapid rate before his skin closed right back—Lycans were known to heal rather quickly. He turned to look at me after that. I knew what those cold eyes were saying already.

"Your turn." Darius grabbed the knife from my hand and held my palm open. I knew what he was going to do as my vision blurred.

"Don't hurt me. Please, don't hurt me." I couldn't contain myself any longer. The tears spilled from my eyes like rainfall as he sliced my skin mercilessly.

My red blood poured into the bowl, mixing with his blackish one and the moon reflected on the mix, giving it a kind of color that I could not decipher. After it was done, Darius flung my hand away from his clutches and turned to the moderator.

"The moon goddess is in alignment with the reunion. She blesses you both with long life and a happy marriage. The future will hold many great things for the both of you." He spoke, and his words angered the Lycan King as he grunted in disdain, causing the moderator to clear his throat.

"It is done. I pronounce you husband and wife." The moderator said with a smile.

No one clapped, no one cheered. The entire place was deathly silent, but I could hear a loud voice inside my head, repeating the same words over and over again.

'I'm doomed.'