Sophie and Nicholas arrived at Blackwoods Forest and saw a sight that was unlike any other. The people who refused to even take one step close to this place were now all gathered together and the entire forest was sparkling beyond belief.
All of the trees were filled with beautiful wreaths of flowers and crystals that sparkled underneath the setting sun like the very first snowflakes of winter that were soon coming upon them.
When Nicholas and Sophie first reunited and saw each other at Cawden Academy, it was the start of autumn and the trees and their leaves were just changing to their gold, yellow, red, saffron, and bronze hues.
At the time Sophie ran away back to here in Hautingen, the fall seemed like a terrible premonition of how everything withered and died but it only turned out to give way to her finally understanding and knowing who Nicholas was.
A passing of seasons that welcomed and ushered in a new one.
Their days together here in the Blackwood Forest were one of the happiest days Sophie never thought that she'd ever had again and it was where the two of them fell in love.
Now that they were getting married, Sophie could feel the cool winter air already coming upon them and the first shy snowflakes coming down from the sky on the very day of their wedding.
It only cast a more magical and surreal feeling to Sophie's day as she took Nicholas's hand and the two of them walked down the center of the congregation. The villagers all stayed to the side and waited for the couple to reach the Village Elder.
The old porch steps where she once found Nicholas as a young boy were converted into where the Village Elder waited for the two of them to arrive and exchange their vows.
Sophie wished that her parents were here to see this and they would have fallen in love with how wonderful Nicholas was and she gave him a bright smile.
She was sure that they would have been proud to know that Sophie would once again experience what it was like to have a home filled with love like their own.
Nicholas gazed at her with a look that revealed his deep feelings towards her. Cherished and doted upon, he loved her dearly more than anything and anyone he could ever know.
He said it in his vows.
"I, Nicholas Ferdinand take Sophia Hansley as my wife. I promise to be true and to always be by your side in days of happiness and sorrow, and to live my days loving you until death do us apart."
The Village Elder glanced in Sophie's direction.
"Do you take Nicholas to be your husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?"
Sophie's eyes glittered with tears. "I do."
Without another word, Nicholas took Sophie in his arms and kissed his bride.
Behind the newly wedded couple, the villagers cheered and even settled into a round of applause. While none of them intimately knew either Sophie or Nicholas, a wedding was still one of the few events that could put people together.
After the wedding ceremony, the entire village feasted and celebrated together at Blackwood Forest. It was a joyous occasion that lasted until the night and where a bright full moon lit up the dark sky.
Nicholas, who found himself overcome with emotions felt his own body start to stiffen and without his consent started to change, but before anyone else could figure it out, he quickly entered Sophie's house and left Sophie by herself.
Sophie blinked but quickly figured out what happened and followed him into their hut and quickly shut the door. "Nic?"
A pile of the man's suit lay on the floor in a bundle while the silhouette of a dark wolf lingered around her bed. Sophie forgot that the man still hadn't taken the wolfsbane yet and finally understood what Nicholas meant by changing if he couldn't control his emotions.
The wolf's head was currently resting down underneath Sophie's bed and he was doing his best to recover. While he was incredibly thrilled with the wedding, the fact that he would have changed in front of the entire village if he delayed a second longer haunted him.
Nicholas was well aware of the repercussions and the fear that would erupt if it truly happened. People were already afraid of the woods and if they discovered that the groom was actually a werewolf…
What if they attacked the hut and Sophie?
He would never forgive himself if anything were to happen to her.
Sophie gently ran her fingers through his wolf's form fur and said. "So there you are, it must have been incredibly scary for you to transform when there were a lot of people… but you transformed because you were incredibly happy, right?"
The Nicholas wolf gave Sophie a small nod before he found himself engulfed in Sophie's arms.
"Well, I'm happy too," Sophie whispered to his ear. "So you don't have to feel bad about this, okay?"
After a couple of moments, Nick finally transformed back into his human form and while he was naked and in Sophie's arms, he wasn't feeling that much shy and was instead comforted by her presence.
"Thank you, Sophie."
Sophie gave him a smile. "We did share our vows together, didn't we?"
Nicholas nodded with a grin of his own, but then finally his cheeks heated up. While his wife was dressed gorgeously, he was now butt naked and that didn't sit well with him. He cleared his throat.
"If you don't mind… Could you turn around and close your eyes for a moment? I'll get my clothes and dress up," Nicholas said. "I think the villagers will start wondering where the two of us went?"
"They'll probably assume that we're spending our first night together." Sophie smiled sheepishly.
.
.
_________________
Ahhhh....! They are finally married! What do you think about this chapter?
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on fre(e)webnov(l).com