OPAL

The sight of my father waiting just outside the Lunar Chapel's doors makes my fragile heart turn to stone in my chest.

I feel Aunt Janice's eyes on me but refuse to meet her gaze. This is all my fault, not hers. She tried to help me and I put her in a shitty position.

I'm an adult. I have to face this.

Ignoring the occasional sharp stabs of pain in the space between my legs, I speed up, charging up the stairs, my fatigued legs burning. When I reach the top, standing mere inches away from my father, I meet his gaze steadily.

The look he gives me is terrifying.

"This is how you behave?" he asks in a low voice.

"Dad, I'm—"

"Inside. Now."

Swallowing my shame, I walk past him, entering the sacred space. The smell of incense hits me right away, a soft, herbal scent that immediately calms my nerves.

The interior of the chapel has been decorated with white flowers, which tends to be considered a good omen among us shifters. We walk down a short, wide path before reaching the main area, and right before we do, my father grips my arm tightly and forces me to face him.

Aunt Janice exclaims as she takes in the scene before her. "Walter—"

"Shut your mouth, Janice," he snaps. "This is between me and my daughter. She made a fool out of me, and it's only right for me to punish her as I see fit. Where were you last night?"

I gulp, my lips sealed.

"Hm?" he inquires. "What was so important that you blew off the Alpha Prince himself, a man who will be king soon?"

The longer I stay silent, the angrier he gets, but there's no way I'd ever tell him the truth. So, I'd rather not say a word.

"Oh, you won't talk?" he asks before striking me across the face so hard that I bite my inner cheek and taste blood in my mouth.

Aunt Janice gasps, horrified, before stepping in between us and shoving my father away from me a little too hard.

"How could you do this!?" she spits. "Marking her before the wedding!?"

My father runs his hand over his mouth before giving us both dirty looks. My stinging cheek adds humiliation to the cocktail of negative emotions swirling within me. I touch my cheek carefully as I meet his gaze.

"You're an embarrassment, Opal," he proclaims. "I don't know where I went wrong with you. Then again, maybe I do. It's your fucking mother."

"Enough!" Aunt Janice roars. "You've gone way too far! She's here now!"

"Do you know how stupid I looked?" he forces through his clenched jaw. "How idiotic I looked waiting for you to arrive while the prince stared me down? Do you!? Could you even imagine such a thing, you inconsequential brat?"

"Walter!"

"I'm sorry," is all I can say, though to be honest, now that he's hit me, it's like my fear has dissipated and I no longer care as much as I do. Almost like the storm has passed and now I'm just waiting for it to blow over.

He scoffs. "You're sorry?"

"How does this help?" my aunt asks hysterically. "They're waiting for us!"

Dad is about to say something in response when someone walks around the corner, stopping a few feet away, and we all tense up. "Walter. I see your daughter has made it."

"Yes, Alpha Prince," my father says, nearly stammering, sounding polite and meek, a sharp contrast to how he spat at me moments ago. "Here she is. My lovely daughter."

My eyes are downcast and my heart, suddenly remembering its torments, gallops behind my ribcage like a wild, mad thing. I clench my fists. He's here, standing a few feet away. The man I'll marry. If only I had the courage to look up and meet the gaze of my soon-to-be captor, I'd be able to put the curiosity behind me.

"Since you're all here, why the delay? We've already been waiting half an hour."

The sound of his voice. It's familiar to me. With a bated breath, I raise my eyes suddenly, stealing a glance at the man I'm going to marry.

A gasp forms and dies in my throat.

There's no way.

Absolutely none.

His gaze slides from my stuttering father to me. I can't even hear what my father is saying to him. I stare into the eyes of this man—the man who, last night, made me feel alive for the first time in my life.

It can't be. It simply can't.

What the hell is going on?

"Well, then," he begins, looking away from me. "Can we begin?"

His voice is tight. He sounds like he's always on the verge of shouting. My father nods before turning his head to look at me, motioning for me to move with his glaring eyes. My feet are rooted to the spot. Why's he here? How could the man I slept with be him?

"Opal," Aunt Janice says in my ear, giving me a small shove. The Alpha Prince is waiting for me to join his side, his arm crooked expectantly while his eyes seem to almost laugh at me. Or am I wrong? Is it amusement I see, or contempt?

Last night, it was easy for me to read him. His eyes were so open. His demeanor inviting. How can it be the same man? How?

Does he have a twin? A clone?

The next shove Aunt Janice gives me is strong enough to propel me forward. I nearly barrel against the prince, catching myself right on time.

I keep staring at his face, unable to hide my emotions. Then, I loop my arm around his and he starts to walk. My knees feel shaky and unstable. I think I'll trip and land on my knees in front of everyone.

How can this be?

I part my lips to ask him this before pressing them together seconds later, returning to my senses. I can't ask him that question, not here. This isn't the right time. Hell, what if it isn't him? Then, I'll be giving my darkest, most intimate secret away. No, I have to play it safe. Time will tell what happened last night.

Goddess, I feel light-headed.

The Alpha Prince stops as we step into the main room of the chapel. There are merely a handful of guests sitting on the firm cushions that cover the floors of every chapel. Upon our arrival, they all rise. I stare pointedly at faces I've never seen before in my life, then we start to walk again, moving closer and closer to the altar, where a priestess awaits, a tall red candle between her hands.

The ritual will soon begin—the one that will tie me to him until death, or a rejection, tears us apart. And I'm terrified.

Because for the first time since I was informed about this union by my father, my fears have changed, and I'm no longer worried about marrying the man who's somehow feared by an entire country and is known for his brutal personality.

No. I'm worried about the man who fucked me last night under the guise of being a male prostitute, and who, for some reason, is acting like he's never met me before today.