Faith's wedding was everything a wedding should be; a stunning bride, a happy groom, and all the trappings that came when the alpha's youngest daughter married the son of the most powerful pack in the United Kingdom. There was a lavish sixteen course meal afterwards, and the guests danced the night away while Faith and Fred consummated their marriage in the guest bedroom set aside for their use.
Yet at the same time, it wasn't.
It started when Faith and Fred had an argument at the bridal table, to do with Fred's past liason with his distant cousin. Angela was long happily married to Michael, but Faith refused to let it go, and the guests got to watch as the newlyweds bickered their way through all sixteen courses. My parents were mortified, while Alpha Adam and his wife Luna Sally fumed in silent censure.
The stoush continued through the dancing, and when the bedding ceremony took place at midnight, Faith brushed off the hands of the males picked to carry her to the marital bed, stating she was going to be sleeping alone tonight. My mother pulled her aside to try and reason with her, while Fred consoled himself by downing three glasses of wine in quick succession.
Eventually, Faith grudgingly agreed to let the bedding ceremony commence, but it was a sullen, half-hearted affair, and Fred was equally as dispirited as he let his cadre of picked females carry him off to join his bride in what would doubtless be an unhappy marital bed.
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The next morning, Faith cornered me as I helped lead the staff in the massive clean up. "You did this!" she screamed. "You put a curse on me, you stupid bitch! I'll see you ruined, even if I have to treat with the powers of hell!"
"Faith!" My mother stormed into the kitchen and seized her by the arm. "That is quite enough! Your sister had nothing to do with this! Now return to your husband at once!"
Cowed by the full weight of my mother's office as Luna, Faith subsided and stalked out, and my mother sighed. "Gods help us all," she muttered. "Chance, do us all a favour and elope, for heaven's sake."
It was one of the very few times she spoke to me without her habitual disdain, and while I was glad for this rare moment, I ached inside for the maternal care she withheld from me the rest of the time. "Your wish is my command," I said, and my mother actually smiled.
"You've a good head on your shoulders," she admitted. Then her friendliness was gone as she surveyed the mess the staff and I were still working on. "Faith expects an apology," she told me. "None of this was your fault, but she will not let it rest. When the noon bell rings, present yourself in the dining room."
I sighed and nodded. "Of course," I said, feeling the lead weight settle back on my heart as our brief closeness was abruptly brought to an end. In some ways, I hated it more when she dropped her cold mask and actually treated me as a mother should, because it made the times she reverted back to her usual haughty manner that much worse. But I wouldn't have traded those small moments for anything, no matter how much they hurt afterwards.
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Faith recieved my apology with a stiff nod when I came to the dining room at noon. I was spared from having to deliver it on my knees, thanks to my mother's intervention, which made Faith even more stiff in her acceptance. Fred was nowhere to be seen, and I feared the worst regarding the alliance which had seemed to come to a devastating ruin the night before. I refrained from commenting on this, but Faith coldly informed me he was out hunting. The promised mating had never happened, which had soured my sister even more, although according to my new brother-in-law, Faith had been the one to reject his advances. "She told me I was tainted," he said, his lip curling in disgust. "Said I was damaged goods because of a fling I had five years ago, for God's sake!"
I shook my head in sympathy. "Give it time," I said. "I'm sure Faith will come to her senses."
Fred gave me a lopsided smile. "You must've got twice the brains to make up for your sister's idiocy," he said. "Fair enough. Father's furious, by the way, just so you know. Your father needs to do a lot of making up to ensure the alliance isn't broken off. If my marriage isn't consummated by the third day, Father will call it quits."
I winced. "I normally don't advocate for acting against a person's free will, but I might have to use some otherworldly means to get Faith to see sense," I said. "I've a spell that can make her forget she hates you, and you'll get your consummation."
"I'll take it," Fred conceded. "I don't like it any more than you do, but if Faith never speaks to me again afterwards, it should stave off disaster."
"Leave it with me," I said.
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As it turned out, I never got the chance to use my somewhat illicit spell; Alpha Adam announced that night the alliance was over, after Faith had accused Fred of cheating, calling him every name in the book. Alpha Adam made it clear none of this was Fred's fault, and warned my father that Faith was forever a pariah to the Winter Snows pack. "She has no right to accuse my son of cheating," Alpha Adam summed up, his black eyes snapping sparks as he glared at my father across the redwood table. "Fred is innocent of any wrongdoing, since he was the one who approached your daughter, and not the other way around."
My father raised an eyebrow as he looked at me. "Fred and I talked when he came back from his hunt," I said reluctantly. "I didn't appoach him; he came to me to vent some steam."
My mother's lips tightened, but she said nothing, leaving it to Alpha Adam to pass judgement. "You are cleared of wrongdoing," he told me. "Fred assured me nothing untoward happened, and in any case, neither of you did anything that could be misconstrued as cheating. And it is not a crime for a man to speak with his sister-in-law, at least not so far as I'm aware. Stand warned, though, Chance. Your sister is not well liked by my pack, and if she does not retract her filthy lies, I will have the marriage dissolved by midnight tonight. I will allow her a chance to redeem herself until then, but if she refuses to see sense, then she will no longer be welcomed by any of the Winter Snows pack."
My parents looked like they wanted to tear out throats, starting with mine, but they acquiesced to the terms. "I'm sure Faith will realise her error," my mother said stiffly. "We thank you for your forebearance, Alpha."
But as the meeting broke up, I had the bad feeling things were about to go from bad to worse.
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