“Great Goddess,” the old man says, not caring that I’m barely able to stand. “We present to you the union of Beta Enzo and the Vampire Michaela. We ask that you bless this union. We unite the pair and accept the vampire into our pack. You will face the pack and repeat your vows.”
This is the only part of the ceremony I knew about. We both turn to face the pack.
“I, Michaela Kiera Jones,” I say, using my presenting name. “Accept Enzo Keane as my mate and bind my spirit to his.”
Thankfully, this isn’t anything like a soul tie. These are just words that connect us.
“I, Enzo Keane, accept Michaela Jones as my mate and bind my spirit to hers.”
The moment the words are out of his mouth, the markings on my arm and chest glow. When I look over, I notice his markings glow too.
“Oh my goodness, the goddess does bless their union,” someone says and a bunch of chatter goes up. It seems everyone is shocked at this, even though Enzo and Chayton had already told them.
Once the glow from our marks subsides, cheers go up around us. The next thing I know, there is a full-blown party going on.
chapter Twenty-seven
New Sight
Enzo
Iwatch as my pack celebrates my union. However, I don’t feel the slightest bit like celebrating.
I’ve had a lot of mixed emotions the last few days since mating with Michaela. Of course, disgust and remorse are in the forefront, but there is also this strong feeling of guilt. And this isn’t my guilt from mating with the thing that killed Ana, this is guilt from the way things have gone with Michaela.
It started that day I saw her in those woods, and I could feel her sadness and loneliness. Then coming home to Marley having cooked for me only for me to not eat. Even today, when I forgot about the gift for the ceremony. Instead of letting me take the fall and look like the unprepared Beta to my pack, she took the blame.
I’m not sure how to feel about her. I still believe the goddess blessed this union so that I can see behind that wall in her head.
Her laughter floats over the noise and causes me to look over at her. She’s leaning against a tree beside Luna. They are both watching Marley as she dances with Anya in the middle of the dance floor.
I pay attention to Michaela. Her hair is in a long braid hanging over her shoulder. I like when she pulls her hair backshowing off those beautiful features. Although I’m a fan of her wild curls too. Her face is bare, and she's wearing dark red lipstick showcasing those succulent lips. My wolf nearly leaped out of me when she stood in front of us, and I got a glimpse of her dark chocolate nipples and the perfectly shaved triangle of hair covering her mound. She’s fucking stunning.
However, I’m noticing the slight darkness under her eyes. Also, her skin isn’t glowing as it usually does. She’s hungry. I’ve picked up enough about the vampires to determine when they need to feed. I glance over at Marley, expecting to find the same features. Yet, she looks fine.
That’s peculiar. I wonder if her lack of food is why she’s been stumbling and moving slower these few days.
“So you’re mated now?”
I turn to Nadia. Her long dark hair is hanging down her back, and her green eyes stare back at me. Her dress hugs her thick body like it’s her lover. I immediately think back over the many nights she’s warmed my bed. As soon as the memory of her pops in my head, it’s quickly replaced with the memory of Michaela.
“Looks like it,” I say, shaking the memory out of my head.
She steps a little closer to me, her large breasts brushing against my arm. “I’ve been told that you’re just doing this to find out information about the leech.”
The word leech causes a knot to form in my stomach. I don’t like the idea of her calling Michaela that name. I shake the thought off.
“Something like that.”
“Lie,”my wolf growls. He is making it known he is not a fan of this she-wolf being as close to me as she is. I ignore his whining.
“I guess that means no more of our late-night rendezvous.” She runs her finger up my arm. I wait for the excitement. For that desire that usually hits me the moment I’m around her. Itused to be just the mere sight of Nadia would get my dick hard, but for some reason my member has not moved or jerked.
I plaster a smile on my face. Pinching her chin, I lift her lush lips up toward mine. I wonder if kissing her would make me hard. However, the only thing I notice is that no matter how full her lips seem, they are nowhere near as full as Michaela’s. Suddenly, even the thought of kissing her doesn’t sit right with me.
Letting her face go, I step back and look away. My gaze immediately connects with the light brown orbs of my mate.
“She saw us,”my wolf snarls.“You fool.”