Page 14 of Cruel Alpha Beast
“I do,” Sawyer replies.
“And Lacey, do you vow to stay faithful to Sawyer so long as you shall live?”
I clear my throat, grimacing behind the veil. “I do.”
“Sawyer, please unveil your bride,” Lucas prompts.
Sawyer reaches forward and pulls the lace over my head, letting it fall over my shoulders. He stares down at me intensely,his eyes shining in the moonlight. Not dissimilar to how he looked at me the night we made Shea.
“With a kiss, you two will become alpha and wife, destined to rule over this pack,” Lucas continues. “Sawyer, if your intentions are true…”
Sawyer nods at his father, then looks back at me. He reaches down to grab my shoulders, then leans forward. He smells amazing, and when I close my eyes, it makes it that much easier to meet his face with my own.
The kiss is short, but soft. It was not as passionate as the first one we shared by the lake. Though still much better than the harsh peck I was anticipating.
“I pronounce you both husband and wife,” Lucas concludes.
My eyes open, and I see that Sawyer is still watching me with that intense look. A muscle in his jaw twitches before he turns away. The same way he always used to, only now I’ve learned it means nothing.
There’s a pang in my heart as I realize that right now, I have achieved the loftiest goal of my childhood. I stood here under an altar, with Sawyer across from me. I am now married to the man I once loved more than anything. And I am the mother of his child, though that wasn’t supposed to happen until much later.
My heart aches, knowing this didn’t go quite to plan. I never thought I would be forced to marry him, nor did I think this marriage would be his idea and not mine.
I want to cry, but I hold the tears back.
“Lacey,” Sawyer murmurs before I can turn to find Greg and my daughter. “Now that we’re married, you and Shea will becoming to live with me. But for the night, it will just be the two of us because…”
“You’re expected to consummate,” Lucas cuts in. “To make the bondofficial.”
My heart sinks deeper than it ever has before. I don’t even want to look at my husband right now. How can I possibly mate with him tonight?
Lucas steps away from the altar, leaving Sawyer and me alone. I whip my head around and see that Greg is already leading Shea away from the ceremony. Just before I can call out to him, Sawyer takes my chin in his hand and turns my head to look back at him.
“I have no intentions of consummating tonight,” he says under his breath. “Not unless you think you’re ready to.”
What feels like a thousand pounds lifts from my shoulders, and I can breathe again. “No.”
“I figured as much.” Sawyer nods, his eyes slightly downcast, before he continues speaking. “Still, we need to give the impression that we have to everyone, especially my father.”
“Okay,” I whisper raggedly.
“Now, come on, I’ll take you home,” he says, offering me a hand. “Jasper and Ellis have already taken your things to my—our—house.”
I stare down at his hand. The last thing I want to do is take it, but Lucas is eyeing us from afar, so I slip my fingers between Sawyer’s and follow him through town. We soon approach the largest house in the area, and Sawyer leads me up the porch steps.
In my childhood dreams, this was meant to be the happiest moment of my life. I would stare at Sawyer, unable tostop myself from crying as he led me into our home. I hate to disappoint my younger self because it couldn’t be further from the truth.
This isn’t what I wanted for myself. But at least I can rest easily tonight, knowing he won’t force me to do anything I don’t want to do.
Chapter 6 - Sawyer
I woke the next morning feeling far different than I had the day before. Yesterday, I awoke in a state of gloom, half-expecting the valley to be on fire at this point. But today, I feel like there’s hope on the horizon.
For one split second, I wonder what it is that’s making me feel this way. Am I dreaming? Could this all be an illusion?
But then I remember what happened last night. I married Lacey, the girl who got away. Though our wedding was not what I hoped it would be, I feel much better knowing that she and our daughter are within my grasp. Safe. Secure.
That’s right, I remember. After all of this time, I have found out that I’m a father. It’s still hard to reconcile, but there have been many moments where I’ve felt like something ismissingin my life. It must have been Shea.
