Chapter 6

• Tessa’s POV:
• Yeah! Everybody in here must be crazy. I thought it was just Lucian who had a few screws loose, seeing how insistent he was on my marrying him and the whole mate stuff, but hearing Olivia say it too and how complacent she was with it, I was sure everyone here had a few screws loose.
• “Today is the introduction to get you introduced as his bride-to-be to the household and the entire pack,” Olivia carried on, not minding the baffled look I was giving her. “Then later at a fixed date would be the actual mating ceremony or marriage as you know it, where you both would be officially married and known to the surrounding packs around the world as one unit.”
• She was saying all these things like it was a grand fairytale; there was a smile on her face and a look of elation plastered on her face.
• How was she so okay with this?
• “So you’re okay with a complete stranger marrying your brother?” I shot, my head moving with slight discomfort.
• “Oh, darling,” she shook her head, smiling widely. “You’re no stranger. You are Lucian’s fated mate chosen by the moon goddess herself.”
• “But you—” I was cut short by the knocking on the door.
• “Excuse us, we’re the maids who have been sent to help you get ready for the ceremony.” A voice called out from the other end of the door.
• “I’ll answer any questions you have later. For now, you must get ready for the ceremony.” She stood up giddily and opened the door.
• There were four maids at the other end of the door, each carrying an item in their hand. One held a beautiful silk floral dress with a corset, another held a jewelry box in her hand, the third held a flower crown with intricate woody designs, and then in the hands of the last one was a red heel.
• “I’ll leave you to get ready then.” Olivia gave me one last smile before disappearing through the corridor.
• The girls scurried into the room and surrounded me. They dropped their items, and the first one approached me. “Ma, let us help you take off your clothes.”
• Immediately her hands touched the fabric of my dress, I yanked it off. Hurriedly, I moved a few feet back. “You don’t need to do that.” I wrapped my arm around myself.
• “Ma, please let us; it’s our duty.” They all chorused, drawing nearer to me. I shot my hand forward, commanding them to a halt. “Umm… I still have to take a shower.”
• Instantly, I bolted into the bathroom and locked the door. I let out a long exhale at my temporary escape, allowing myself to settle into the silence of the bathroom.
• “You can’t hide in here forever, you know,” a voice echoed in the space.
• I flinched in shock and looked around me. “Who’s that?” I picked up a shampoo bottle and was ready to do my best with it. “I asked, who are you?”
• “It’s me, Tyla, your wolf,” the voice replied. “Come over to the mirror.”
• Cautiously, I came to the wide mirror above the sink, and my eyes blinked astoundingly at the image I saw in the mirror. “It’s you,” I pointed at the wolf incredibly. “You weren’t just a figment of my imagination?”
• The pretty wolf smiled, her full canine on display. “Of course not, I’m real.”
• “Okay, I think it’s safe to say that I’m losing my mind already.” I ran my hand through my hair, and a manic laugh left my mouth. “And it’s all thanks to this house. Since I came here, I’ve miraculously received my sight. I suddenly start seeing a wolf in a mirror, and oh yeah! I AM GETTING MARRIED.”
• I dropped to the floor, and the shampoo bottle rolled out of my hand as I crossed them over my head. Somehow saying all of these out loud got me feeling even more panicked. I mean, who wouldn’t get scared and run away if they experienced all these?
• Wait…runaway.
• Maybe I’ve been doing it all wrong since. Yes. If I actually want to escape this place, I have to be smarter. More strategic.
• “You can’t escape fate, Tessa,” Tyla called out through the mirror. “Running away is futile.”
• My eyebrow raised with alarm. “You can hear my thoughts?”
• She laughed. “Silly. You and I are one. I hear and feel everything you do.” Her eyes swirled with understanding. “I always have. Tessa, you don’t have to run away from life anymore. This place and these people aren’t like back home. They are good people who would treat you right. This is your place.”
• Tyla’s words cut through my defense and hit me deep. I felt like she truly was connected to me and could understand how I felt. Tyla was right that because surviving was all I’ve ever been doing, it was instinctive for me to try and escape this place, but was that really the only reason?
• “You might feel the same things I do, but you definitely didn’t experience it the same way I did.” I stood up from the floor with fierce blazing coursing through my veins. “You weren’t the one who was maltreated for years. You weren’t the one whose father thought of as non-existent. You weren’t the one trapped in a bleak life of suffering with no means of breaking out.”
• My fist curled by my side, and my teeth gritted against each other. “I’m not going to let myself be trapped again. Not by some fate from a moon goddess or by a marriage to the most egotistical man I’ve ever met.” My determination to escape this place was taking a forefront.
• “I’m escaping this place, Tyla.” I swore, my stance unflinching. “So, leave if you’re not going to help.”
• “Tessa, just listen—”
• “I SAID LEAVE!!” I roared back, and instantly her image in the mirror vanished, and my reflection took its place. Eyes blazing with resolve and fists balled with determination.
• I got into the shower and took a bath. I cleaned myself up and stepped outside. The four maids were still there. “Let’s begin.” I gave the green light.
• I have decided to take on a more strategic route in my means for escape. Information was the first thing I needed to gather in order to bag success.
• “Is it too tight?” The voice of the maid tightening my corset brought me out of my thoughts.
• “Oh no, it’s perfect.” I forced a smile. I needed to make them think I was comfortable with this whole charade. If I looked comfortable, they would feel comfortable, and if they felt comfortable, they would be willing to give information.
• “So what does this introductory ceremony entail? Is there anything specific I have to know?” I threw the question out as one maid combed my hair and another fitted my jewelry.
• “Oh, nothing much really,” the one combing my hair answered. “You just basically have to sit the whole time while the ceremony goes on.”
• “Yes, in fact the only time you’d have to walk is when everyone waits for you at the garden, and you walk from your room over to the garden.” The maid buckling my heels at my feet added.
• I get to walk to the garden…alone?
• “Wait, you mean after you guys dress me, you all leave and wait for me in the garden?” I faced the one at my feet.
• She nodded in affirmation. “Yes, the whole household waits for you in the garden.”
• The whole household! OMG!! This is my chance to escape.
• If the whole house waits at the garden, those men at the door won’t be at their post then. I’d be able to run without anyone stopping me.
• “We’re done.” The four of them chorused as they stepped back. “You look very beautiful,” one of them added.
• “You look like a princess,” I heard the other say as they smiled with genuine happiness.
• They walked to the door and said, “We’ll all be waiting for you at the garden,” then they closed the door behind them.
• I stood up to look at myself in the mirror. My hair was curled up and fitted into the flower crown. The white floral dress hugged my curves perfectly and then cascaded down like flowing waters. The diamonds I was wearing sparkled like stars, and the heels blended perfectly with the dress.
• ‘You look like a princess,’ the maid's voice echoed in my head, and I felt a tear roll down my cheeks. I’ve never in my life been treated like this before.
• I quickly regained my composure and wiped the tear away. “You can’t get sidetracked, Tessa; you still have to escape this place.”
• I turned to the door. This was my chance at freedom, and I wasn’t going to risk it. It was now or never.