Evelyn’s POV

About an hour later, Dominic and I walked toward the registry office. The closer we got, the heavier my chest felt. I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breathing.

At the entrance, the clerk standing there looked at us and asked, “Do you have your documents?”

I nodded quickly. “Yes. Right here.” I handed over mine, and Dominic followed with his.

The clerk glanced between us, eyes narrowing slightly at the mismatch in our appearance, but he said nothing.

Inside the building, I felt the pressure rising. Each step made me more aware of the weight of what I was doing.

I stopped walking. Letting go of Dominic’s hand.

He turned to me, concern flickering across his face. “Are you alright?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “This… this is all happening so fast. I’m… scared.”

He didn’t say anything at first. He waited, giving me space to breathe.

“I know we’ve talked,” I continued, trying to find the right words. “You’ve been around for weeks. But the truth is, we don’t know each other enough to do this.”

Dominic nodded slowly. “You’re right.”

I exhaled.

“But let me ask you this,” he added, his voice firm. “If you had to choose between me and Harrison who would you rather stand next to tomorrow?”

I blinked, caught off guard.

“Harrison,” he said, repeating the name like it tasted bitter. “The man who rejected you. Who cheated on you? Who offered you a place in his life only if you’d agree to hide in the background?”

I bit my lip, the pain still fresh behind my ribs.

“Or me,” Dominic continued, eyes locked on mine. “The man who may not have anything, but showed up when you needed someone. Who didn’t flinch when you asked the unthinkable?”

The silence between us grew heavy.

I looked at him carefully.

His clothes were simple, his posture quiet, but his gaze… it was kind and steady.

Harrison’s face flashed in my mind. Smirking, smug, surrounded by torn sheets and broken vows.

My mind was made up. “I choose you,” I said.

The words surprised me even as they came out.

But they felt right.

He smiled, nodded, and held out his hand. I took it without hesitation.

The few guests had gone when we got to the reception. Which was a relief considering what had happened.

The marriage registrar was a soft-spoken older man with reading glasses and a stack of paperwork that looked older than the walls. Dominic and I sat across from him, filling out the forms in silence.

When it came time to say our names aloud, I cleared my throat and said confidently, “Evelyn Northwood.”

The registrar nodded, writing it down.

Then he looked at Dominic. “And your full name, sir?”

Dominic didn’t flinch. “Dominic Blackwood.”

The pen froze in the registrar’s hand.

He looked up, eyes wide behind his glasses. “Blackwood? As in… Alpha Dominic Blackwood of the Ironclaw Pack?”

My heart skipped a beat. “What?”

The man looked between us. “You’re marrying the Alpha of Ironclaw?”

“No,” I said quickly, shaking my head. “No, no, it’s just a coincidence. Same name, different person. Right?” I turned sharply toward Dominic.

But he didn’t answer.

He just stared at the registrar, then back at me. The silence made my stomach twist with unease.

My voice came out quiet. “Dominic… what is it?”

He exhaled slowly. “There’s something you should know.”

My heart pounded in my chest, and I cut him off before he could say more. I didn’t want to hear it.

“I don’t care,” I said, holding up my hand. “Whatever it is doesn’t matter to me. I asked you to marry me, and you said yes. I’ve made my decision. I won’t regret it.”

He blinked, surprised. But I meant every word.

“I just want to move forward,” I added. “We’re married now. That’s what matters. We’ll live a good life together.”

My voice softened. “As long as you’re not… one of them.”

Dominic tilted his head slightly. “One of whom?”

I looked down at the table, then back at him. “The Ironclaw Pack.”

His eyes didn’t move.

“I could never marry anyone from that pack,” I said quietly. “Not after what they did to my mother.”

He took a sharp breath.

I continued. “My mother was killed by the Alpha of the Ironclaw Pack, and I promised myself I’d never marry into that pack.”

Dominic looked like he wanted to say something but thought better of it.

“I understand,” he said simply.

I exhaled, unaware I’d been holding my breath.

The registrar coughed softly, tapping the corner of the papers. “If everything’s in order, I’ll process the final documents.”

I nodded. Dominic signed. And just like that, it was done.

We were married. No rings. No vows. No crowd. Just ink on paper, but it still felt real.

“Thank you once again,” I said softly. “For saying, yes.”

He gave me a small smile. “You didn’t give me a reason not to.”

But even as we walked out of that room hand in hand… I could feel he was hiding something.

Once outside, I hugged my coat tighter around me. The shock of what I had done was threatening to overwhelm me.

But instead, I brushed it aside and turned to Dominic. “So… what about the wedding tomorrow? The reception, the banquet. How do we go about it? Everyone’s still expecting something.”

He looked at me calmly. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”

I blinked. “You will?”

He nodded. “Trust me.”

I wanted to ask how exactly a man who looked like he’d just climbed out of a back alley was going to arrange a wedding banquet overnight. But something in his voice made me pause.

“Alright,” I said softly. “Thank you.”

He gave a small nod, then pulled out an old phone and tapped the screen a few times. “I called you an Uber,” he said. “It should be here in five minutes.”

I stared at him. “You’re not coming with me?”

“I have a few things to handle,” he replied. “And I think you need time to yourself tonight.”

I didn’t argue. My head was spinning anyway.

The car pulled up to the curb a few minutes later. Dominic opened the door for me.

I slid into the backseat and gave the driver my family’s address. As the car pulled away from the courthouse, I leaned my head against the cold window and tried to breathe.

That’s when it hit me fully. I had replaced my groom the night before the wedding.

I stared out at the blurred city lights, the weight of it all pressing down on my chest. How was I going to explain this to my parents? To my aunts, my cousins, everyone waiting with gifts and cameras and carefully picked-out dresses?

‘Hey everyone, I caught Harrison in bed with Fiona, so I married a man I barely know instead. And, oh, by the way… he might be homeless.’

Great.

I was probably the first woman in the country to do something so insane.