Chapter 9

Emily's POV 

 "Damon, son of the pack, do you vow to stand beside her in the hunt and in the stillness, in the light of the moon and the darkness of the forest, in wolf, and in man form?" An older man asked Damon. 

 "I do." Damon replied. "With my heart, my strength and my loyalty, I am hers." 

Silence! 

 "Emily, daughter of the pack, do you vow to stand beside him through the turning seasons, to share in his triumphs and bear his burdens as though they were your own?" He asked me next, and like clock work, the crowd turned to face me. 

 "I do." I replied, like I had rehearsed. "With my soul, my spirit, and my devotion, I am his." 

 "Then let the bond be sealed." The elder said, and our hands linked together, like they were supposed to. 

I never knew the Damon Palace had such a large space for hosting that amount of crowd. More still, it had a detachable roof, and so since the wedding had to be done under the moonlight, we could still do it indoors. 

The joy on everyone's faces mirrored the one on Damon's face and I, but definitely not the one in our hearts. 

It'd been three weeks since his mother died, and for every day of those three weeks, I kept entertaining visitors in a room he cleared out for me. People I didn't know, and who wouldn't have given a hoot about me if not for Damon. 

I couldn't have imagined that under just three weeks, I could look like the beauty I was made to be. 

I had gained seven pounds, my face was as silky as possible, and I was almost in the best of health. 

 'It's a loveless marriage, but we can make it work.' I told myself. 

Since the night was just for our wolf rites, and the party was for the next day, everyone began to file out. 

Damon and I stood together all through the wedding, just flashing smiles, and bobbing heads to all the chants and praises that came our way. 

He didn't want to be with the crowd, and I was dying to get out of there, so it worked for us both. Soon, everyone who lived outside the palace left, and the huge iron gates, which I only saw for the first time when I went to pick out my dress yesterday, closed. 

 "Rest up!" Damon's voice boomed through the hall, "For we party tomorrow." 

The servants and palace staff jubilated, and kept sending praises Damon's way, until we successfully exited, flanked by two hefty men. 

Damon and I got back to the main palace building, and we could cut out the pretense. 

 "I didn't see Dathan." I said, clearing my throat before I did. 

 "You could go check on him." Damon said, indifferently. 

 "Isn't that scandalous?" I asked him. 

I had read so many books, and asked Nala so many questions about all the days that led up to our wedding, the days after, and how I'm to act. 

 "Not if no one sees you, no." Damon replied. 

 "Are you okay with it?" I asked him. 

 "You can do whatever you wish, Emily. You are my Luna, not my servant. I have three hundred of those." Damon said, and with that, his steps quickened, a pace I couldn't even dream of matching. 

He'd put me out of the mood to see anyone. But being alone would be more disastrous, because I could think myself out of going through with the wedding, so I decided to make a go for Dathan's room. 

Damon and Dathan had separated rooms, as expected. 

Damon, finally, took over the Alpha's corner of the palace, while Dathan remained in what used to be their room. 

And it's not just Damon who'd been keeping to himself, Dathan too. 

The last time he looked at me, was when he walked in after Damon and I agreed to go ahead with the marriage. He had more reactions that his face could show, and after then, no one really saw or heard of him, but he was right there in the palace. 

The only confirmation that Dathan was still in, we're the stream of ladies the palace accommodated every night. 

I don't think Damon noticed it yet, because his room is so far, and highly sound proofed, but I did. 

So summoning all the courage in me, I knocked on his door. 

 "Coming." Dathan's voice rang from inside. He sounded wasted, gone. 

As soon as he opened the door, his hand rested on my waist. 

I slapped it off immediately, and only then did he even bother looking at my face. I could not ignore the disappointment on his face. 

 "Why are you here?" He asked, slurring his words. 

Dathan had grown out all his facial hair, and looked so white, like he'd been living under a rock. 

 "We missed you at the marriage rites tonight." I managed to say, choking on the stench of fresh and stale alcohol. 

Part of Dathan's moustache was stained white, and a little grub hung from under his nose. 

 "Well, I can't help that anymore." He replied, and went back in. 

 "Do you have a guest?" I asked, because I couldn't see inside clearly and I didn't want to walk in on something private. 

 "What do you think?" He asked me back. 

 "I don't want to think, I want to know." I replied to him. 

 "No." He answered. 

The clothes I had on were made of animal skin, and it was a pretty long dress, therefore, heavier to hold up. 

I lifted my gown and stepped into a room of women who had way less clothes on than I'd ever seen. 

 "Can you excuse us?" I asked, shielding my eyes from all of them. 

There was a pause, silence, and laughter finally. 

 "I said," I started over, repeating myself, "Can you excuse us?" 

 "No." A lady with multiple nose piercings replied to me.