Baby after One Night with the Prince

Tanya's POV.

I can tell Marco's incredibly confused, and I don't blame him for being so. From his point of view, we are just good friends, it is highly strange that I'd suddenly be asking him to marry me, for just a day in fact.

"Mr. Barlow's dying wish is for me to get married," I say solemnly, watching the gears in Marco's head turn in slow understanding. "So even if it's fake, at least I can fulfill his wish, you know."

"Oh," says Marco quietly. "I understand now. You want me to pretend to be the groom?"

Pretend sounds so wrong in my mind, but of course I can't say otherwise. It is the reality after all.

"Yes, just for the day. We complete the ceremony so Mr. Barlow can die in peace. Would you be okay with that? I understand if it would make you feel uncomfortable."

Marco nods his head slowly. "No, of course I'd be okay with that. Mr. Barlow deserves to have his final wish fulfilled. Let's do it," he smiles, unknowing of the true irony of the situation. Funnily enough, Marco and I never did have a wedding ceremony, it was only ever a legal contract written on paper. I wonder if the universe is trying to fix that small hiccup in the strangest of ways.

***

Marco's POV.

On the night before our fake wedding ceremony, my dreams are relentless. I'm left subconsciously tossing and turning as images flash through my mind in a haze. But the dreams don't feel like dreams. They are so vivid and so clear they feel like memories that have been left tucked away.

I think I smell the fragrant scent of grilled cheese and tomato soup, as I find myself stirring the pot of soup for my wife. My dreams then cut to another scene as we celebrate my birthday, I slide my finger through the cream of the cake before dabbing it on her nose.

I even see us dancing at the royal banquet, holding her graciously as we sway and glide across the ballroom floor. Again, the scene changes, and we are standing together underneath the Blue Moon Tree, saying a prayer for our child that my wife is pregnant with. And finally, I'm making love to my wife, and I draw blood from her as I mark her as mine.

But the trouble is, despite perceiving them as some form of distant memories, I can never see my wife's face. She's turned away from me, so I don't get a clear view. Or if I do, her face is blurred out.

Without warning, I snap out of my dream, and jolt upright in a sweat. It's not that the dreams are bad, it's the familiar feeling concerning them that have me so unnerved. Dreams aren't this vivid. And it feels like I know this woman, that she is truly my wife. Yet why don't I know her name, or her face? Why aren't those images in my memory, when I feel like I've experienced these moments before?

I feel Manuel stir within me, and he too agrees that something just feels so familiar. And neither of us can pinpoint what it is. And before we can come to a conclusion, I see the rays of light begin to filter in underneath my curtains and I realize it's now the day of the wedding. Unable to rest my eyes any longer I decide to get up and get ready.

I'm silent in the shower, and silent as I get dressed. This isn't an actual 'wedding', so I don't understand why I'm feeling so nervous. But something within me is immensely restless, and I feel at a complete loss. I grab my phone and call someone I'd never expect to call.

"Hello?"

"Yeah Caspian, it's me Marco. Mind meeting me for a chat?"

I can sense he's slightly surprised I call him, as I hear him pause over the phone. But eventually he responds. "Yeah, sure man, I've got a meeting that finishes in two hours, if you meet me at the pack headquarters after then, we can chat."

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"Perfect," is all I say before ending the call. I finish with getting ready and try to pass the time in the best way I can despite how on edge I feel.

But eventually, the time comes, and I leave the house, and now I stand out in front of the main offices of the Blue Moon Pack. Caspian finally joins me, walking down the steps to greet me before we walk along the garden that surrounds the building.

The time by myself gave me the time to think about what I was going to say and going to do. There is a reason why I want to talk to Caspian, I need to confirm a suspicion. But I must do so tactfully, and so I choose my words carefully. "I wanted to meet because I need to ask you a couple of questions."

Caspian nods in understanding. "Sure, go ahead."

"I just want to get a better understanding of Tanya's background. Like, has Tanya grown up in the Blue Moon pack all her life? And who was her husband?"

I can tell that Caspian is slightly throne off guard by my questions, and it takes him some time to come up with a response. It makes me wonder what he's thinking and makes me all the more suspicious of who Tanya really was to me. I also acknowledge the fact that Caspian and I had a pretty rough relationship throughout my time here in the Blue Moon Pack. I knew he had a considerable liking towards Tanya, and something told me I threatened the balance of his relationship with her. But I didn't know why. And I now more than ever I needed to figure out what continuously drew me to her.

Also, since working alongside Caspian during the poisoning incident, we seemed to have grown a sense of respect between one another. I just hope he could do me some decency and reply to me truthfully.

"In all honesty Marco, I don't think it's right for me to disclose Tanya's past, or her personal life. I know you deserve to know the truth, but I think Tanya needs to tell you that herself when she's ready."

My shoulders sag upon hearing the news, and although I understand his reasoning, it only intensifies my curiosity. I watch as Caspian kicks a pebble on the ground with his foot, hands in his pockets while clearly debating something in his head. I remain quiet, hoping he'd at least give me some clue.

He eventually sighs. "But I can point you in the right direction. I would take a look at the mark on Tanya's neck if I were you. You'll get all the answers you need from that."

***

All day I'm entirely dumbfounded by Caspian's hint. If you could even call it that. But I appreciate his help and thank him for speaking with me. Now hours later, I'm standing outside the changing room waiting for Tanya to be ready for our fake wedding ceremony.

I start to think she's ready now when I see the door crack open, but it only opens just enough for her to poke her head through, looking mildly embarrassed as she explains. "I'm sorry, I can't reach the back, and Lisa's busy helping set up the ceremony. Would you mind just zipping up the back of the dress for me?"

She gives me an apologetic smile, but I nod. "Yeah, no problem." She backs away from the door and I step through into the small little changing room. A mounted mirror stands at the end which she faces, and it reflects her image back to me. I won't deny how stunning Tanya looks. It's a mermaid style wedding dress that hugs her body in all the right ways. Silver glitter shines against the white gown and decorates the heart shaped front and the off the sleeves shoulders, and flows down and out in a sleek fashion. It's elegant and pure and compliments the lushes long black locks of her hair and makes the emerald hue of her eyes stand out brilliantly. "Marco?"

I must snap myself out of the allure, shooting my gaze back up to the undone zipper that leaves a plunging v shape that cascades down to the middle of her back. I step closer and hold the zipper, and a strange silence settles into the atmosphere around us as I draw the zipper upwards and close the exposed gap of her dress.

At that moment, I recall Caspian's words. Trying to maintain a casual air, as I reach the top of the dress with the zipper, I then swoop my hand up her neck, gently brushing away the strands of her hair. Not expecting to see it, my eyes grow wide as I see a clear mark of a wolf bite etched into Tanya's skin. A mark that is immensely familiar to me.