Chapter 8 Wedding Tomorrow
Emilia’s POV
I glanced over at the smirk tugging at his mouth. How much had he heard? Was he about to call my bluff?
Heat crawled up my cheeks. Not from embarrassment. From the fear of dying.
Sebastian held my gaze a beat longer.
He didn’t say it.
Mila’s eyes widened. "I’ll leave my son in your care, then." Her voice actually shook. "Our family will treat you well, Emilia. This I swear to you."
Before I could respond to such an unexpectedly emotional declaration, she continued. "The wedding will be held tomorrow. At the Emperor Hotel."
My breath caught. "Tomorrow?"
So soon? But if it meant fewer days dealing with the noise, with everyone’s thoughts crushing down on me...
If Sebastian’s presence somehow muted the mental chaos. And I still didn’t understand why. Then maybe rushing into this marriage wasn’t the worst thing that could happen.
"Absolutely not." Sebastian’s voice cut through the room. "I have a wedding every time I get married," he said flatly. "It’s too troublesome."
"Too troublesome?!" Mila shot to her feet. Five-foot-nothing of outraged mother. "This is Emilia’s first marriage! She deserves a proper ceremony! It’s our obligation. Our duty to honor her. Regardless of your jaded attitude!"
The air crackled with tension. Sebastian’s eyes flashed.
Then he turned and walked out without another word.
The door closed behind him with an ominous finality.
Mila sighed, settling back beside me. "He has such a terrible temper. But deep down..." She patted my hand. "Deep down, he’s not as heartless as he pretends. Don’t let him intimidate you, dear."
"I won’t." And I meant it. "I don’t mind his attitude, Luna Simons."
Her smile returned, brighter this time. "You’re going to fit in just fine here, Emilia. Just fine."
Mila called for the guide and told her to take me back to Frostridge Pack territory.
---
Today was supposed to be a good day, a day worth celebrating, the day I’d won my freedom. But before I’d even stepped out of the car, I spotted the one person who turned my stomach.
Brandon.
"Emilia." He pushed off from the wall as I got out, moving to cut me off before I could reach the door. "We need to talk."
"No, we don’t." I tried to step around him.
He blocked my path. His hand shot out to grab my wrist.
The moment his skin touched mine, his thoughts slammed into my head.
[Shit, she actually got chosen. This changes everything. Once I become Alpha of Frostridge, I can have both. Linda for show, Emilia as my mistress. The Simons connection through her would be perfect.]
I yanked my hand back as if burned.
"Emilia, please." His voice dropped to that soft, pleading tone he thought was charming. "I know I hurt you. I know leaving you for Linda was wrong. But I never stopped loving you. I made a mistake."
"A mistake?" I laughed. The sound came out sharp and bitter. "Is that what we’re calling it?"
"I was young. Stupid." He stepped closer, reaching for me again. "But now I see clearly. You’re the one I should have chosen. You’ve always been the one."
He actually believed this would work. Actually thought I was stupid enough, desperate enough, to fall for this transparent manipulation.
"You’re right," I said softly. "You made a mistake."
Hope flared in his eyes. "Emilia..."
"Your mistake was thinking I’m still the naive girl you betrayed."
Crack.
I slapped him without thinking.
Brandon’s head snapped to the side. For one frozen moment, nobody moved.
Then his eyes flashed gold. His wolf surging forward in rage.
"You bitch..." His hand rose, pulled back for a strike that would have broken bones.
"Brandon, STOP!"
My father’s Alpha command cracked through the air.
Brandon froze, his body locked in place by the force of Alpha’s order. His face contorted with fury, a growl rumbling in his chest, but he couldn’t move.
My father strode forward, positioning himself between Brandon and me, I caught the edge of his thoughts.
[Can’t let him hurt her now. Not when she’s about to marry Sebastian Simons. The alliance. The business opportunities. Everything depends on this wedding going smoothly.]
Ah. There it was.
"You dare raise your hand to my daughter?" Henry’s voice was cold.
"Get out of my sight," Henry commanded. "Before I decide this insult requires a more severe response."
Brandon stumbled back, shooting me a look of pure venom before fleeing toward his car.
I didn’t bother watching him go. Just walked past my father without a word of thanks, because we both knew why he’d intervened.
The house erupted the moment I stepped inside.
"You HIT him?" Dorothy’s screech could probably be heard in the next territory. "How DARE you strike your sister’s fiancé! The disrespect! The absolute..."
"Oh, shut up, Dorothy." I didn’t even look at her as I headed for the stairs.
"Don’t you speak to your mother that way!"
"She’s not my mother." I paused on the bottom step, glancing back. "She’s the woman who married my father and has spent the last decade making my life miserable. There’s a difference."
Linda appeared in the sitting room doorway, her face twisted with that familiar mixture of jealousy and spite. "You think you’re so special now? Just because Sebastian Simons picked you?"
"I don’t think I’m special." I met her gaze evenly. "I know I’m smarter than you."
Her face flushed red. "You... you won’t last three months! Everyone knows what happens to his wives! You’ll be dead within three months, and good riddance!"
The viciousness in her voice should have stung. Should have frightened me.
Instead, I smiled.
"You’re right," I said pleasantly. "I might die in three months. The curse might take me, just like it took the others."
I descended one step. Then another. Walking slowly toward Linda until she was pressed against the doorframe.
"But here’s what you need to understand, dear sister." My voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "During those three months, or however long I survive, I will be Luna of the Silver Moon Pack. I will be Sebastian Simons’ wife. I will have power you can’t even comprehend."
Linda’s breath hitched.
"So I suggest," I continued, "that you all be very, very nice to me. Because if I even suspect you’re trying to sabotage me, to hurt me, to make my life more difficult than it already is..."
I leaned in close enough that only she could hear. "I will burn the Frostridge Pack to the ground and take you all down with me. And when I’m dead? I’ll make damn sure Sebastian doesn’t give you people a single cent in compensation. You’ll lose everything."
I pulled back, my smile returning. Bright and cheerful and absolutely terrifying.
"Understand?"
Linda nodded mutely, her face white as paper.
I looked over at Dorothy and Henry. Both were frozen. Staring at me like they’d never seen me before.
Good.
"The wedding is tomorrow," I announced to the room at large. "At the Emperor Hotel. You’re all invited, of course. It would look bad if my family didn’t attend."