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Zoe didn’t look in my direction at all as Demetrius walked her down the aisle.
It was though she didn’t want to face me, probably because it would have meant admitting that she was about to make one of the biggest mistakes of her life and it was a mistake she was making for me.
A part of me hoped that maybe I was wrong. Maybe she had an alternate plan that she hadn’t told me about, a way to get out of this at the very last minute. Maybe she was going to pretend to faint or something. They’d have to take her to the hospital, and then she would get away.
But before I knew it, Zoe and Demetrius were standing in front of the altar.
“Who is giving this wolf away?” the wedding officiant asked as everyone took their seats.
“I do,” Demetrius replied. I could hear the smile in his voice, and it made me sick. He’d never had a presence in our lives, but suddenly he felt he had the right to ‘give’ either of us away? It was really nervy of him.
Demetrius shook Sal’s hand and then took a seat in the front row.
As Zoe moved to stand next to Sal, I noticed that she didn’t look so dirty anymore. I was pretty sure she’d freshened up since I’d last seen her. Her hair no longer looked like she’d been rolling around in dirt all evening. It was dark, but I wasn’t sure if there were even dirt stains on her dress anymore. Was it the same dress she’d been wearing earlier?
Actually, on second glance, I realized that it wasn’t the same dress. There was lace at the hem, which hadn’t been there before. She’d definitely changed into another dress. She’d also put on a veil since the last time I’d seen her.
My stomach clenched. I knew my sister wouldn’t have made the effort to change into a new dress and a veil for no reason. That told me she was planning to go through with this. I just didn’t know why.
What had happened since the last time we’d spoken to make her even think of going through with something as outrageous as this?
“You didn’t tell me your sister was getting married,” Jax whispered to me.
“That’s because I didn’t know.” I swallowed hard. As much as I wanted to tell him everything, to spill my heart out to him, I knew I couldn’t when Demetrius was within earshot.
I also figured there was probably no point in telling Jax until the Memory Serum had worn off (if it wore off), because I wasn’t sure how it would affect things he learned right now. I didn’t want to waste my breath on something he might not even remember later on.
“We’re gathered here today to join these two wolves, Salvatore LaTorre and Zoe Evans, in holy matrimony,” the officiant began into a microphone. “Salvatore has asked that we read an excerpt from the Book of Wolf: A Way of Life by Craig Harsboro.” He flipped through the pages of a small booklet, cleared his throat, and then began to read aloud. “When two wolves fall in love, it’s different from any relationship that a human may go through. There’s an instant attraction to one another, which is later followed by soul-binding. Once two wolves’ souls are bound, it’s permanent. It lasts until death.”
I swallowed hard. That was why Rafael had said there was no such thing as divorce in the werewolf world. If Zoe went through with this and her soul somehow ended up being bound to Sal’s, there was no way she would be able to get out of it.
A voice in the back of my head told me that if Zoe and Salvatore ended up soul-bound, the way Jax and I were, there was no way she would want to get out of it. The very thought of being away from him would be too painful for her to bear.
I hoped she wouldn’t have to go through it. Not with someone who I knew she didn’t love.
Closing the book, the wedding officiant glanced from Zoe to Sal. “Now, I’ll let the two of you read the vows that you’ve written for each other. Salvatore, will you read the vows that you’ve written for Zoe?”
My stomach dropped again. How could the two of them have written their own vows when they didn’t even know each other?
Unless Zoe had lied to me and she actually knew Sal better than she’d let on.
At that moment, Rafael shot a glance in my direction. I knew I didn’t know him well, but the worried look in his golden brown eyes was undeniable.
I shot a nervous look in his direction before focusing my attention on Sal as he began to recite his vows into a microphone.
“From this day forward, I will spend the rest of my life with you. It is your hand I want to hold and your heart I want to move. It is your soul I want to be bound to. I will walk alongside you through all of life’s challenges and protect you from all evils. I feel honored to call you my wolf.”
Goosebumps rose on the backs of my arms. I felt weirded out by how possessive he sounded.
“Zoe, will you recite the vows that you’ve written for Salvatore?”
“I’m choosing today to join forces with you for the rest of my life,” my sister spoke into the speaker.
I cringed.
Zoe was the president of her high school class, and she was involved in a lot of other extracurricular activities, too. She was no stranger to public speaking. Normally, when she spoke in front of a crowd, she sounded confident – happy even. This was not one of those times. Her voice was shaky, laced with her nerves.
She was afraid. My normally brave sister was afraid.
“I will stand by your side, through good and bad,” my sister continued. Her voice was even again; she was getting a handle on her nerves. “I feel so blessed to call you mine.”
Liar! I fought the urge to scream it at the top of my lungs, the way I wanted to.
“I need you both to repeat after me,” the officiant said. “In the name of all werewolves before me...”
“In the name of all werewolves before me...,” Zoe and Sal said in unison.
I couldn’t let this happen. I had to at least try to stop it, before it was too late.
Without even giving it a further thought, I bolted to my feet. “Wait!”