[Malia’s POV]
Just a day ago, Nivera had been the one sitting in front of this mirror and admiring herself. Today, I was the one who sat down there, touching the crystal beaded necklace around my neck as a smile clung tightly to my lips.
“You are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen,” my father said as soon as he opened the door of the dressing room and saw me sitting all alone, as I had sent away the stylist, maids and makeup artist since my dad wanted to see me.
“Of course, I am. I have all the beauty and elegance of a Luna,” I agreed.
“The people are overjoyed. They can’t wait to see you by the side of the Alpha and bow down to you,” he said.
“That’s how it should be. Why must anyone rule the people against their will? It’s a good thing we got rid of that peasant. She never once did fit in,” I said.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Are you sure those maids can be trusted? I hope they won’t end up saying the truth about how we planned the whole thing,” my dad said.
I chuckled. “They wouldn’t say a word unless they intend for their entire family to be wiped out. We can trust them,” I said.
My dad looked so proud of me, and he let me know that. “I am grateful to have a daughter like you, and I have never been more proud of you. I still can’t believe the next and subsequent Alphas will be from my family. We are now royalty. You’ve done well, Malia. Again, I am so proud of you,” he stated.
“It is all thanks to you, dad. You believed in me and made all this happen. However, I feel quite unsettled,” I confided in him.
“Why? You’ve gotten what you’ve always wanted. Nivera is out of the picture and you are on your way to becoming the Luna of the Crescent Pack,” he told me.
“I know, dad. It’s just… you know, only one of the rogues we sent to get rid of Nivera came back alive, and when he said it was a vampire who killed the others, I had thought he was lying. I am starting to think he was saying the truth. The Alpha also confirmed that Nivera was acquainted with a vampire. What if he comes to find her? What if he causes trouble because we killed her? What if…”
“Enough, Malia. Don’t jinx it. The vampire will not come, and even if he does, everyone is on the lookout for him. He might be strong, but he is no match for our warriors,” he said to me.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“I am, my dear. Now, put on a smile and come with me. The Alpha is growing impatient,” he said.
I gave a small smile. “Yes, father,” I said, then stood up in my white flowing wedding dress and linked arms with my dad after which we left the dressing room.
Usually, the wedding hall would be silent, but as I walked down the aisle with my father by my side, the people couldn’t contain their joy and kept cheering me on in support and looking on with big smiles plastered on their faces. It was as though no one even remembered the Omega that had walked down this same way just the day before.
My gaze locked with the Alpha King’s and we both smiled at each other, and soon, I had gotten to where he was and stood opposite from him. I had spent the last three hundred and sixty-five days dreaming of this moment, and finally, my dream had come true.
It was even more perfect than how I had imagined it, and as we exchanged our wedding vows, my joy knew no bounds as I just stood there, staring at the Alpha King and lost in his beautiful eyes. If only the Moon Goddess hadn’t interfered, it would have happened months ago, but like people always say, destiny can be delayed but it can never be denied.
We had come a long way and even when it seemed like there was no way possible for us to be together, the universe had said no. He was now mine forever, my Alpha King, my husband and the future father of my children.
“You may now kiss your bride,” the wedding officiator said.
I looked away shyly, and the people began to cheer. “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” they kept cheering, and as the Alpha came a few steps closer to me so that he was now directly in front of me and our bodies were almost touching, he blushed fiercely.
“I love you, Malia, today, tomorrow, and always,” he said.
A drop of tear fell from my eyes, and I pinched myself as my heart tingled. I smiled brightly, realising that this wasn’t one of my daydreams. This was real! We had been joined together as husband and wife, and I could now profess my love for him in front of everyone who cared to know.
“I love you more than you can ever imagine, Tee. Even in the afterlife, my feelings won’t change. I love you, I love you, I love you,” I said to him.
The people cheered and kept urging us to kiss already.
“Thank you for loving me. I’ll make sure you never regret choosing to be with someone like me,” he said, then cupped my face in his hands and brought his mouth closer to mine. I closed my eyes, anticipating the kiss, when all of a sudden, things went south.
It started with a woman screaming loudly, and my eyes immediately flew open. Tyler and I exchanged glances, wondering what had happened.
“How dare you interrupt my wedding with your scream?” Tyler roared angrily at her.
“Can’t we just have a peaceful wedding ceremony in this Pack?” the Gamma lamented.
The woman who had screamed fell to her knees in front of us. “The… the Omega… she’s alive. I saw her, and…” she was hyperventilating.
The bouquet in my hands dropped and I bit my lower lip, trying to make sense of the matter, while everyone else urged the woman to complete her narration.
I had had a terrible feeling all along. What if she was right? Had she truly seen Nivera? If that was true, had Nivera come back from the dead to get her revenge? My heart began to pound in fear and I moved backwards, biting my fingernails nervously. If Nivera was truly here, I would be the first person she took revenge on.
“That isn’t possible. Nivera is dead,” the Alpha said.
The woman shook her head. “No, no, she’s very much alive. I saw her attack the guards in front of the hall, then she disappeared. She… she… she dug out their hearts. They… they…”
Before she could finish saying what she had in mind, the lights instantly went off and I felt even more scared than before.
“No, no, no,” I said, as tears fell from my eyes. “This was supposed to be my wedding day,” I muttered to myself.
“Well, it was also supposed to be my wedding day yesterday,” Nivera’s voice echoed in all areas of the wedding hall.
People screamed out loud and began to take to their heels, but there was no room for exit. She made sure of that by slamming all the doors and shutting the windows with a bang. I didn’t know how she did that, and it was really eerie because even though we heard her voice, we could not see her or even her shadow, even with our supernatural werewolf vision in the darkness.
“Who are you? Where are you? Show yourself!” the Alpha yelled courageously, brandishing his sword.
“Tee, don’t make her even more angry, calm down. Let’s hear what she wants first,” I said to him, pulling him backwards.
He shook off my hand. “Why? Why shouldn’t I make whoever it is angry? Nivera is dead. If anything, this is her ghost and it won’t be a problem to ward it off. I’ve killed numerous people, who is she that she should be upset because she also died by my sword?” he asked angrily.
“I’m truly amazed by your courage, Tyler Jefferson. Too bad your courage can’t help you know what will happen next,” she said, and with that, there was a loud commotion in the hall as blood splattered on the walls and a few persons dropped dead.
“Malia, shouldn’t we apologise to her? I don’t want to die,” Delilah whispered to me, as she found her way with her vision to my side, even in the darkness.
“Don’t you dare say a word,” I hushed her.
“But…” she had hardly said another word, when like lightning, I saw a shadow-like figure move close to her and I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
“You lying wench!” she yelled in Delilah’s face, stretched forth her hand which she put into her chest, and Delilah’s eyes met mine filled with tears, before Nivera dug out her heart and she fell to the floor.
Tyler turned around, but it was already too late as the figure had disappeared again.
“Everyone, take cover!” he yelled, then directed his men to draw out their swords, and they stood all around, waiting with determination to get rid of Nivera, and it didn’t matter if she was a ghost or had flesh and bones.
I just stood there, feeling helpless. This was meant to be the happiest day of my life, but it had turned into a total nightmare with danger lurking all around. I was scared for my life and overcome by the fear as more people were struck down, that I might be the next to die, even before I got to wear my crown.