Bloodbound [Alpha-series (II)]

Chapter 16

Drawing in a long breath, I watched as Henry slid a delicate golden ring on the ring finger of my left hand. The gentleness of his touch and the sparkle in his onyx eyes beard witness to the depth of his feelings for me, this man that held the whole world at an arm’s length.

Someone cleared his throat – the priest – and from the gathered crowd came a few scattered chuckles.

“Your turn”, Henry whispered with a smirk on his lips.

“Oh!”

I blushed ashamed when I realized I was expected to put my groom’s ring on, and quickly took his ring out of the box that was presented to me. The priest said something that I was supposed to repeat, then I took Henry’s hand in mine and put the ring on him that symbolized our bond.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!”

Sliding an arm around my waist, Henry pulled me closer and sealed our vows with a passionate kiss, earning him thunderous applause from the guests. He dropped his forehead to mine, a show of intimacy.

“From this day forth, I will have no other”, he solemnly vowed.

At his words, I frowned and brought some distance between our faces. Something in this sentence seemed … oddly familiar, and somewhat out of place, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

“I prepared a present for you.”

The big wooden double door swung open and Lín and Badu appeared, a gagged young man with an ugly headwound between them, hands tied behind his back and his feet in heavy shackles. A shocked gasp escaped me when the prisoner’s soft brown eyes met mine. John. The young, badly bruised man in their midst was John!

He desperately mumbled into his gag and brazed himself against their tight grip with all his might, but it was obvious he didn’t stand a sliver of a chance. At night, vampires were stronger than wolves, and this was two against one. Heart tight, I lifted my long white dress to make my way to my mate, but before I could move, my wrist was shackled by a cold hand.

“Let me go!”

The smile on the vampire king’s lips hadn’t vanished. Instead, it had turned into a chilling grin that made my skin prick in primitive warning.

“You’ll have a better view of the show from here.”

Goose bumps crawling all over my skin at that ominous announcement, I swiveled around and watched as all the elegantly dressed guest rose from their seats in unison, facing John with eyes of a glowing ruby red, two elongated teeth protruding from their mouths.

“No!”, I cried, fighting against the Council’s merciless hold of me as the bloodthirsty crowd closed in on John. His despaired gaze was still on me, the accusation in it so crushing it would have brought me to my knees had the Council’s grip not forced me to stay upright.

How could you betray me like this?, his eyes screamed at me.

Soon, the vampires had formed a tight circle around him, hiding him from my sight completely. A nauseating smacking sound cut through the air and the white roses decorating the chairs and parts of the ceiling slowly changed to an appalling crimson. A bloody puddle started to form under the vampires feet, making my gut rise. Goddess, what had I done?

Pulse hammering and heavily panting, my eyes flew open and I found myself tucked into bed. It took me a few seconds to understand that what I had just witnessed had been nothing but a nightmare.

“A bad dream?”

The question was asked in a calming voice, a hint of worry veiling the onyx orbs that intently eyed me from the foot of the bed. Vampires barely needed any sleep, so that the Council was already awake didn’t come as a surprise.