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Chapter 31
~Rhiannon’s POV~
My gaze darted around the room.
The altar shimred. Ivory silk stread from every arch, draped in loops, while enchanted petals floated lazily through the air, never touching the ground.
I scanned the audience. The first row held the elders, their expressions carved in stone. They didn’t smile. They didn’t even look pleased. They were watching—waiting—for to stumble.
And I wouldn’t. Not today.
I kept my spine straight, my chin level. My gaze slid to Seraphina. She stood a little off-center, fists clenched at her sides, face tight with disdain. I smiled, just a little, and shifted my gaze to the girl beside her.
Mira.
She didn’t look away. Just blinked, slow and still, as if absorbing everything—like she always did.
Then... I saw him.
Alpha Solaris.
My breath caught in my throat. He was standing near the back, flanked by two unfamiliar n. His silver-blond hair glinted beneath the high-glass do of the ceremonial chamber. We made eye contact. My pulse thundered.
What the hell was he doing here?
I glanced toward the Alphas instinctively—but none of them seed to have noticed him. And when I looked back, he was gone.
A trick of the light, I told myself. A flicker of stress.
But the tightness in my chest said otherwise.
Before I could dwell on it, the High Priestess’s voice rang out like a soft bell. "You may kiss your bride."
A collective hush fell over the room.
My hand tightened on my bouquet, a carefully crafted arrangent of pale moonblossoms and silvery ferns. I turned slowly, facing them—my five mates, standing like shadows of fate.
Kael stepped forward first.
His expression gave nothing away. Not exactly warm, not cold either—but his eyes... they burned. There was a held-back hunger in them, buried under all that Alpha discipline.
Then he turned and gestured to the side. Soren approached, silent and respectful, holding a small velvet box.
Inside it sat a ring.
Not just any ring—a gold band cradling the clearest diamond I had ever seen. It shimred with light like trapped starlight.
Kael took my left hand, firm but gentle. "On behalf of my brothers and I," he said clearly, voice echoing, "we, Alphas of the Bloodfang Pack, do solemnly swear to take you, Rhiannon Vale, our mate, as our bride—to love, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. In this life... and the next."
My brows pinched faintly.
Eternity?
But I said nothing. I let the weight of the ring settle against my finger, the cool tal locking around like a final shackle.
"In it are our initials," Kael added, quieter now. "K. R. L. D. T. And yours."
I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t speak. So I simply nodded.
He lifted his hand slowly to my cheek, the back of his fingers brushing down to my jaw. Then he leaned in.
The room seed to hold its breath.
His lips t mine—not hard, not fast, but firm and claiming. It started as a symbol, sothing ceremonial... but quickly changed. His mouth moved over mine, slow and possessive. Then I felt the subtle parting of his lips, the brush of his tongue against mine, gentle but teasing.
My breath caught, and he deepened the kiss. Just enough. Just long enough.
When he finally pulled back, sothing flared in his eyes. Satisfaction. Ownership. Or maybe sothing deeper.
He stepped aside.
Riven ca next, dressed in ink-black robes with silver accents. His blond hair had been slicked back except for a few rebellious strands that curled over his temple. His eyes t mine—cool and calculating.
He didn’t speak. Didn’t smile.
He simply cupped the side of my face, thumb resting just beneath my jaw, and kissed .
There was no hesitation in him. His lips were soft but determined, moving over mine like a challenge issued and t. Controlled. Calm. Yet there was a barely contained storm beneath it—like he was restraining the urge to devour.
I matched the kiss—not fully, but enough to et him halfway.
He didn’t linger. He stepped back without a word, as if reading everything he needed from the pressure of my lips.
Then ca Talon.
His hair—rich brown streaked with red—shimred under the candlelight. Hazel-green eyes pinned with the sa quiet authority he always wore like a second skin.
He gave a slight nod, then leaned in.
Talon’s kiss was... brief but deliberate. He didn’t press hard or linger. Just a firm, sealing kiss like a knight bowing before a Queen he swore to serve. His hand brushed my waist gently—grounding. Steady.
Then ca Lucien.
He grinned before even stepping close. "I get to taste those lips again," he muttered, loud enough to draw a faint growl from Kael behind him.
Lucien’s tousled strawberry-blond hair looked freshly windswept. His blue eyes twinkled with mischief. And unlike the others, he didn’t hesitate to draw in by the waist.
He kissed fast and full, lips coaxing, playful. His tongue teased mine with a flick, and I gasped just as he pulled away, leaving heat in his wake.
I blinked, startled, and he smirked as he stepped back. "Still got it."
Finally... Darian.
He walked up slowly, eyes lit with sothing fierce and bright. His red hair glead like embers in the dim lighting, and his erald eyes found mine like they always did—no matter the crowd.
He said nothing until he stood close, close enough that our chests almost brushed.
"I get to kiss you today," he said, voice low and full of mory. He smiled a little, and I flashed back to that day—blood, escape, his grip yanking from danger.
Then his lips t mine, and it was fire.
Unlike the others, Darian kissed like we were already halfway to war. His kiss held a claim. A promise. A warning. He didn’t let go until I had to breathe, and when he stepped back, the air around us felt scorched.
The room erupted into soft applause.
The High Priestess stepped forward again. "By the power vested in , I present to you... your Alphas and Luna."
I stood still, but as I smiled and lifted my head, my fingers curled ever so slightly.
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