Smoke and Mirrors

Damien Black

I could not hide the grin on my face as I strode back to my quarters after talking to my caged songbird. She actually believed me, actually truly believed me. I saw the hope that shone in her eyes, she actually believed that she could still save some of her pack, such nobility, she was willing to give herself to me, something that she adamantly refused for the past few weeks and just one minute with me, she sold herself. I knew that there would be a high chance she would snap up the bait as the guilt she felt would convince her that she would need to do whatever it took to right the wrong, as she felt as though she had failed them before, but I had always assumed that it would take days or weeks for her to finally agree to my terms.

Pack members avoided my gaze and moved out of the way as they saw the grin on my face, but I couldn't care less, finally, I would have her, something that was my right since I was born, she was going to be mine and no others. Sure, she would probably hate me when she found out the truth, but I am sure that after a few weeks of me breaking her in after the ceremony, she would just learn to live with the fact that Blackwater Pack was no more.

Yes, it was true that my scouts did find some of her pack camping a few miles away from the Blackwater Pack’s Northern Border, but I never said they left them alive, they were loose ends that needed to be tied up anyway. It was easy to kill them as they were mostly the weak, injured and old that did not participate on the battlefield, so they were not much of a problem to my scouts, so if it was any consolation to her they died a quick and mostly painless death. So technically I did not lie to Sapphire, I just did not tell her the whole truth.

I had to end this. That woman invaded my thoughts constantly, even to the point that I could not be with another woman without seeing her underneath me instead, this whole binding ceremony would finally put a stop to that, it would allow me to have her as my own which would ensure that my heir would be strong and fit to carry on after me. ***************************************************************************

The whole pack stood before me as we waited for Sapphire to arrive at the main hall where we were all gathered. The soft light from the full moon shone in through the skylight, bathing the altar where I stood in its silvery glow. A small sound coming from the rows of seats distracted me, I cringed as I looked at Karmen’s face.

It had been weeks since the fight but she still was unable to heal properly, her wounds were still open, barely healing, and her once beautiful features were now marred with five red lines across her face, she also had been unable to shift as Sapphire had grievously injured her wolf to the point where even it, was not able to heal from its wounds. Her wounds and disability still did not stop her from trying to share my bed but her efforts were futile as I could not bear to let someone like that share my bed.

A hush fell over my pack as the guards in front of the large oaken doors slammed their ceremonial spears against the ground to signal that Sapphire had arrived. A groan could be heard as the large doors were pushed opened to reveal her, Sapphire Nightshade, a true vision in gold. Her copper skin bath in the gold that her body was wrapped in, her hair shimmered like silk as they cascaded down her shoulders, all in all, she truly looked like an angel that had descended from the heavens except for one thing that ruined the whole mirage.

Her eyes. They looked as they did when she entered the arena, full of fire and ready to engage in battle, that was what this is to her, a battle that she had to go through to save lives just as she did before. They looked at me, not with the passion one would expect from a mate, but rather with hatred, pure cold hatred. It did not matter much to me at the moment, she would just have to learn to love me if she wanted her pack to ‘live’. I closed my eyes as she walked closer to me and when I opened them I saw her.

‘Her lovely fair hair was put up with soft curls framing her face, the gold silk she was draped in, her eyes completed the look. They shone with so much love, not towards them many men gazing at her, but to me. She looked down as she neared me, a shy smile graced her features as she walked up the steps to stand in front of the altar. I did not deserve her, I did not something so pure and loving. A blush stained her cheeks as took her hands as the priest started to read but I paid no attention, my attention was focused on something else, something that was much more important.’

“Damien?”

I looked down to see Sapphire staring at me, there was no shy smile on her features, she did not cast her gaze to the floor, instead, her lips were flattened in one straight line and she looked straight into my eyes without a hint of embarrassment or shyness. I gave a small shake of my head as I extended a hand towards her to help her onto the platform where the altar stood, she scoffed before knocking my hand away, lifting her skirts and proceeded to walk up the steps by herself.

The elder who stood behind the altar cleared his throat before proceeding with the readings that had been said for hundreds of years.

“Everyone today we are gathered today to witness the binding of our Great Alpha, Damien Black, and his mate, Sapphire Nightshade.”

A scoff left her lips but the elder chose to ignore it and carried on.

“Today under the light of the full moon and the eyes of the Moon Goddess.”

Another scoff left Sapphire’s lips, her expression clearly displayed her annoyance as she scowled at the ceiling.

“You will pledge your promises to each other as mates, making the vow to cherish, love and to be faithful to each other till death do you part.”

“Undying love, my ass.”

The elder grit his teeth before he gestured for me to start first.

“Sapphire, I promise to love and cherish you till death do you part, I promise to never let you go and to never leave you alone.”

“I wonder why you won’t let me go…oh right… I am your prisoner.”

I chose to ignore her snarky remark before carrying on. Some pack members sniffled, some smiled, Sapphire yawned. The elder scowled before gesturing at her to continue.

“I am not going to.”

Gasps were heard. What did she just say? She rolled her eyes before turning to my pack.

“Don’t act so surprised. You all know that I hate everything about your Alpha and would never go through with this unless there was a knife being hung above my head but unlike him, I am not going to make vows that I know I am not going to keep. We all know he doesn’t love me, he lusts for me. All of you on the other hand, want me as a trophy to benefit yourselves and I know as sure as hell that your Alpha is not going to faithful so why bother with all the theatrics, let’s get this over with and be done with it.”

Stunned looks found their way to my members’ faces as they watched her brazen actions, without batting an eyelash, Sapphire gestured to the elder to quicken the pace of things and get to the important part. The elder met my eyes and I nodded for him to proceed. Sapphire would pay dearly for this humiliation, I grabbed her arm and whispered into her ear.

“What do you think you are doing?”

She smiled before caressing my cheek and tiptoeing to whisper in my ear.

“You just told me I had to go through this accursed ceremony, you said nothing about enjoying it besides, what type of Alpha Female would I be to these people if I start lying to them right off the bat.”

She smiled at me before turning to the elder.

He took out a blade that had been used for ceremonies such as this one by my pack since its beginning, it had been made from black stone and mpingo. He passed it to Sapphire who slit her palm without even blinking before handing it to me, I took it from her quickly as she looked as though she wanted to use it as a weapon to stab me.

I slit my own palm before holding it up in front of her, she did the same, both our blood stained the white silk below us as we clasped our hands together. Her eyes flashed gold before slowly turning back to their dark brown, I felt stronger and more powerful than ever, it was as if someone had given me a shot of adrenaline.

My pack roared and howled for their Alpha and new Alpha Female, everyone seemed to be in a celebratory mood accept Sapphire who had tears streaming down her face, the clear streams turned black as they fell from her eyes. It seemed as though I was in a trance as I reached my bloody hand to wipe her tears before reaching to the back of her neck and pushing her lips onto mine, her lips were hard and unmoving as she pressed them together but it did not matter to me.

She was mine now.