Chapter 20: 20: Puppets On A String
"Deep breaths, Violet," Cassian cooed, trying his best to pacify his bride-to-be.
However, that only seemed to make Violet bawl even harder. She wept and sobbed as though her entire family had just been murdered. In fact, it looked as though she was crying even harder than she did when she thought that Willow was dead.
"I... I just... I thought..." she choked on her sobs, sniffing loudly. "I envisioned this day to be perfect. I-I didn’t think that this would happen..."
I stood a safe distance away. But even so, I could still hear the conversation between them. They tried to keep it as low as possible, but their voices carried with the wind, and it didn’t take a werewolf’s advanced hearing to listen in to what they had to say.
"You will look beautiful in anything you wear," Cassian continued to say. "And we can have a second ceremony to make it up to you if Cedar doesn’t come back in time. In fact, we can have as many ceremonies as you would like!"
"But it wouldn’t be the same!" Violet cried. "It’s my wedding. Without it, it would be imperfect. This is the day of every woman’s dreams..."
"I know, I know," Cassian said. He stepped forward and gathered Violet into his arms, tenderly rubbing her shoulders before kissing the top of her head. "We will wait a little longer for Cedar to return. You deserve this."
Violet nodded, but her shoulders would not stop quaking.
Rowan had his eyes trained on me the entire time. He had spotted me way too quickly and easily, and despite trying to blend in with the crowd to slip into the chapel, his eyes would not leave my figure even once.
The moment Cassian and Violet stopped talking, Rowan nudged Cassian’s arm. The latter looked up, still cradling Violet in his hold. He looked in the direction Rowan was staring at, and the moment he realized who Rowan was gesturing to, Cassian’s face turned as dark as a thundercloud.
"You!" Cassian growled from across the room.
His agitation caused Violet to look up. Her eyes widened in surprise when they landed on the dress I was wearing, and I didn’t miss the way she scanned me up and down, her lips curling into a scowl. It was perfectly tucked away, hidden by Cassian’s biceps, so much so that no one else could’ve caught her expression before she quickly masked it with her withered, fragile look.
"How dare you show your face here!" Cassian barked.
He carefully let go of Violet before taking a step towards me.
My legs felt as though they had grown roots into the ground below. No amount of strength I put in my legs could lift them up, and I could feel my blood draining from my face as I watched Cassian bloom red in anger.
Instinctively, my gaze flickered between Rowan and Soren. Rowan simply stared back at me impassively, as though he was watching two strangers argue over something that had absolutely no relation to him. Soren, on the other hand, furrowed his eyebrows worriedly.
Soren wasn’t my friend by any means, but he had shown me kindness more than once. Surely he would do so again?
An unknown burst of fear coursed through me. Gone was the brave woman who had the balls to dare the three Alphas to kill her if she died. For some sick reason, seeing Rowan’s indifference actually made my heart miss a beat.
I shook my head, my throat turning immensely dry.
However, before Cassian could close the distance, Soren reached out and held him back. My lips parted, exhaling heavily.
"Cassian, calm down," Soren said.
"Calm down?" Cassian echoed in disbelief. He turned back and met his brother’s gaze. "Calm down?! Are you hearing yourself, Soren? After everything she did?"
Miraculously, it was as though the seal had been lifted from the soles of my feet. They felt lighter, and most of all, they finally listened to my command. I quickly turned, wanting nothing more than to leave this place. After all, Cassian made it very clear just now that I wasn’t welcome.
Fine by me. I didn’t want to be here any more than they wanted me to be. If I could be pardoned from this ceremony, I was more than happy to curl up anywhere else.
Slowly, I began to sneak away, careful not to make too huge a movement or too loud a sound, lest it attract Cassian’s attention once more. I could still feel Rowan’s eyes on me, searing through my back, but I didn’t want to stand there. The longer I held his gaze, the more my heart began to race with anxiety.
I had never felt something like that before, even if the triplet Alphas had an oppressive, powerful aura about them. This was different― it was terrifying. But more importantly, only Rowan had this effect on me. Not Soren, and not even Cassian, who had made it very clear time and time again that he was the one I should fear the most.
A bad feeling churned in my stomach. I might know just why Rowan was different from his brothers.
He may not have marked me, but regardless of that, we still mated. In the Moon Goddess’s eyes, that may already be acknowledging the bond to some extent. My emotions and feelings were now nothing more than puppets on a string, with Rowan as their puppeteer.
"We don’t want to cause a scene," I could faintly hear Soren try to reason, but was easily overpowered by Cassian, who shrugged his hold off.
"We are the Alphas of this pack," Cassian argued back. "Even if we did cause a scene, who would dare find fault with us?"
"Please don’t fight!" Violet said, her voice much softer than the two brothers. Yet, it was still well-projected, loud enough for everyone who hadn’t gone into the chapel yet to hear. "Look, you’re scaring Briar away!"
Instantly, it wasn’t just Rowan’s piercing gaze on my back.
That bitch!
My heart was in my throat when I finally registered what she said. It only took me a split second, but that was still a split second too slow. Even though I was prepared to bolt right after Violet uttered those words, my speed still could not compare to that of an Alpha.
A large hand wrapped around my wrist, and with a bone-crushing force, tugged me backwards.
I gasped in shock as I spun around from the force, tripping over my own two feet. My hands reached out to brace for the impact before I could even think. If only I did think, however, as my hands landed square on Cassian’s chest. Once I realized what I just did, my eyes widened, and I looked up, just in time for my gaze to clash with Cassian’s fuming one.
