Aria kissing Noah is on constant replay in my head. Marcum had the entire kingdom sealed so Aria couldn’t leave and no one else could get in. Its two hours before our wedding and I’m on runaway consort duty. I take Aria to her room on her father’s orders and she heads into the bathroom to take a shower. She undresses in front of me like I’m not even standing here and I quickly turn away.
A sick feeling creeps into my stomach as I turn back around to face her. I watch her praying to Alpha it’s not true, but the more I watch her, the more I come to grips with the fact the girl I fell in love…the girl I’m about to pledge my life to, has defiantly given herself to someone else.
“You slept with him didn’t you?” I ask. I don’t really want her to answer, because hearing it from her lips would gut me, and I’m positive I already know the answer. Aria doesn’t answer me, but I know what she’s done. She’s plunged a galaxy-sized knife in my heart.
I close my eyes and pray to Alpha to give me strength. Her infidelity doesn’t absolve me from having to complete our impending nuptials, so I’m trapped by obligation.
Both her silence and reality takes their turn taunting me, until I storm over to the shower, swing open the door and step in. My eyes wash over Aria and I’m torn between wanting her and wanting to strangle the life out of her with my bare hands.
“Aria, look at me.” I demand. She turns to face me but there’s no remorse in her eyes. She wanted to sleep with him. “How could you do this to me?” I ask.
“How could you force me to be your consort?” She fires back.
“BECAUSE I FUCKING LOVE YOU!” I shout at her.
Calm down…breathe…don’t get angry…bad things happen when you’re angry…
“If you love me, let me go.”
“Stop talking.” I grimace.
“You’d be free to be with whomever you want.” She suggests.
I stare at her in disbelief. It’s as if an alien has abducted the love of my life and replaced her with a clone whose soul mission is to torture me. “No.” I shake my head. “You wanted to hurt me and you’ve succeeded. Congratulations. However, in two hours I’m going to keep my word to your father and make you my consort. After that you can do whatever the hell you want...you can screw the entire fucking Legion for all I care. This union will be just another shitty business arrangement between Royal Houses, and nothing more.”
If I stay I might physically harm her, so I leave. I tell no one about my suspicions of Aria sleeping with Noah and head to the Chapel where I prepare to pledge myself the beautiful bitch that just wounded me.
“Everything alright?” My father asks.
“Everything is just fucking great.” I snap at him.
“Whoa.” He reels back. “Time out son. Talk to me.”
“I just want to get this over with.”
“Did something happen between you and Aria?”
Yeah…she screwed Noah just to fucking spite me…
“Nope. I just can’t wait to consummate.” I reply sardonically.
“Well that’s one way of looking at it.” My father laughs.
He guides me to the room in the chapel where I’m stripped down to my underwear and dressed in all white.
I hope Aria doesn’t burst into flames walking down the aisle in that white dress…on second thought…
The entire time we wait to be summoned, I pace back and forth like a stark raving mad lunatic. Harm and Wake both try to pry information out of me, but I refuse to say a word.
Finally we’re summoned to the chapel where a member of the house of Superious waits for Aria and I to make our way to him. The double doors to the chapel are in front of me, but it’s the door to my left that opens up and I go blank.
As pissed off as I am, Aria still manages to blow me away with her beauty. I swallow hard, finding it difficult to stay angry with her. I have to look away. She’s standing next to me now and even her scent threatens to rob me of my anger.
The doors to the chapel open and all in attendance rise to greet us, then bow. When I imagined this in my head, I imagined this moment being less formal and more intimate. Less anger, more fucking. The ordained motions for me to take Aria’s hand in mine and I do so under duress.
Why does her hands have to be so soft and warm, like her body…hold it together Thien…don’t let her burn what’s left of you to the ground…
We walk down the aisle hand in hand and come to a stop in front of the ordained. He has us face each other and again my anger threatens to subside once our eyes meet.
Her gaze is unwavering, but it stings with betrayal and I have to look away. Aria doesn’t flinch as they cut her palm open. She keeps her eyes locked on mine. They cut into my hand, causing it to bleed, and then they place our hands over a spherule that captures our blood. The spherule quickly forms into light and ascends to the heavens. Once it reaches the heavens, Alpha gives his approval and my family’s markings appear on both our ring fingers.
I should be happy, but the thought of Noah having been with her keeps regurgitating itself in my mind. “The Alpha has blessed your union. What he has put together let nothing tear apart.” The ordained blesses our union.
What a fucking joke…Aria already tore us apart when she let know stick his…think about something else Thien…think about something else…
The angels began to sing, and sparks all over the legion spring to life, lighting up the entire galaxy. Aria and I are led out to courtyard where a spark of light engulfs us, taking us to my home, Blood Harbor. This is our new home.
We’re taken to my bedroom where we’re sealed in until we consummate, but neither of us wants to touch each other.
“Well, I’m ready whenever you are.” Aria sighs nonchalantly, plopping down on the bed.
I’d rather rip my own fucking eyes out and eat them…
“I hope you like disappointment.” I scoff.
You’ve had girls beg, plead and grovel at your feet…none of them have ever done to you what Aria has…none…make her pay…I hope she likes fucking herself, and I hope she knows we’re going to die in this room because I’m not touching her…
The only thing I plan on doing for the next several hours is mending. I lie down on the bed next to her, turn my back to her and shut my mind completely off.
Several hours later I open my eyes and Aria’s no longer on the bed. She’s searching my room and going through my things. “You’re awake.” She smiles.
Don’t smile at me…
“And you’re a terrible houseguest…why are you going through my things?”
Are you trying to find yet another way to wound me…?
“I had to do something while you were mending.”
You could have slit your own fucking throat and saved us both the headache…
“Why not start with going back and unfucking my nemesis.” I suggest.
“Is this what pledging myself to you is going to be like?” She asks. “If so, kill me now because I’m eventually going to die of boredom.”
Don’t tempt me…Deadly assassin or not, I’ve got your boredom right here…
“Why’d you do it?” I ask.
“Do what?”
“Sleep with Noah.”
“It’s what you do when you love someone.”
Love? Is she serious…?
“No, you give him your yin, not your body and definitely not one that belongs to me.”
“You upset I let him defile me first?” She smirks.
Alpha, please stop her mouth from moving….
Before I can stop myself I have my hand clenched around her throat. She smiles and begins to suck on my thumb.
Fuuuuuuuck meeee…
I snatch my hand away and she laughs. “Is this what you plan to do? Torture me?” I ask curious.
“You torture me by forcing me to be your consort, so why not.” Aria shrugs.
My loving you is torture…?
“Do you really want to spend eternity at each others throats?”
“I’m hoping to drive you to the brink of suicide sooner rather than later.” She quips.
“Good luck with that.”
ns 15.158.61.6da2
