Page 13 of Luna's Forgotten Vow

"Until you regain your memories and are no longer in danger. Until you want it to end," he states.

I bite the inside of my cheek and let out a long, dizzying breath. "I'm going to need all that in writing."

"Consider it done. Anything else?"

I nod. "A shower."

An hour later, I'm clean, well fed and clothed in a short white dress and heels that cost more than anything I've ever held in my life, walking side by side with Eric into the balcony of a lavish hotel suite.

Soren is waiting inside with a short man in magnanimous robes of black and red that trail across the floors whenever he moves. Eric smiles at me reassuringly as he hands me over to his brotherand I wonder why he is being so nice to me and lowers his head in deference when I speak to him.

The former watches me, noting my short hair, bare face, the pretty dress he'd somehow already gotten before picking me up—I'm unsure how to feel about it being my perfect size, down to the breast cups—and my legs. His stare isn't uncomfortable or inappropriate. It's that clinical look that tells me he's scanning me for injuries or checking if I'm alright.

I should be thankful that he's doing that, but I still don't trust him.

"It's nothing complicated," he says when I glance at the priest nervously. It all still feels strange and wild to me, but the thought of returning to the bar and asking for my pay after the manager groped my ass doesn't sit right with me and I force myself to breathe.

Soren's fingers tighten around mine. "Just repeat the things I say. Verbatim."

The vows are short and straightforward, and in a matter of minutes, I am no longer Seraphina Everly, but Seraphina Winter, bound to Alpha Soren for however long it takes to regain my memories and find who the real father of my child is. For however long I want this marriage to go on for.

CHAPTER 5

SERAPHINA

"You are nervous."

How could I not be? I swear I've stepped into a fairytale—the kind where the pauper marries a wealthy man and has no idea he is, in fact, a prince, until he brings her home and she discovers,Oh shit, he lives in a castle.

No. Heownsthe castle.

Towering spires, sweeping balconies, too many windows to count. A grand entrance flanked by statues, polished stone, and wrought-iron gates. The long, winding driveway gleamed with sleek cars. And, of course, there were fountains—it is ridiculously beautiful.

Inside steals my air, renders me temporarily befuddled. Painted ceilings, chandeliers glowing like captured sunlight, grand staircases sweeping left and right. Wolf pelts hung beside enormous rifles and axes, the decor a strange blend of medieval grandeur and modern excess. Bronze and gold touched everything, as if it were ordinary.

Of course, I'm nervous. How does one even fit into a place like this?

"It's a formality," he says, assuming my anxiety to be because of the gathering—the one where he announces me as his Luna and chosen mate. I don't correct him as he drapes his fur-lined coat over my shoulder, ignoring my protests as he pulls the flaps closed with a gentility that doesn't quite suit a hulking giant like him.

"They want to hear you speak, pick apart your weaknesses, use them to tear you down or flay you alive. It is the way of the North. High Lunas rule alongside Head Alphas and are expected to be just as strong, cruel and cunning. They believe that anything less will lead us to ruin."

"Right. No pressure," I murmur casually under my breath. His thumb accidentally brushes over my pulse point briefly, causing the fine hair on my skin to rise. He snatches his hand back like it burns, green eyes darting away sharply.

The silence that ensues as we continue down a set of hallways too confusing to memorize, no matter how hard I try, is so thick that I ask just to break the awful silence, "And you? What do you think?"

He is a solid wall of heat beside me, his sleeves brushing against mine in a way that makes me shiver. "I believe strength comes in different forms, and you, Seraphina, are far from weak."

Surprise forces me to look at Soren and a flush spreads across my skin when I find him already watching me. He stiffens, his eyes widening slightly as he watches the stupid blush spread across my cheeks. His breathing shallows and I think he mighthave murmured 'stunning' under his breath, but I must have imagined it. I had to have.

"So," I clear my throat as we round the corner. "It is not at all in my job description as your Luna to sit pretty?"

Soren's eyes crinkle slightly in the beginnings of a smile and his lips twitch. "Not quite." He gives me a short conspiratorial look. "You'll be given a tour of the grounds later, when you are less likely to freeze to death and have settled in adequately."

He points at a set of spiraling staircases across the busy hall packed with maids and staff. "That one leads to my—our bedroom, in case?—"

"Ourbedroom?" I echo.

He peers down at me intensely. "You seem repulsed by the idea. If this is about sharing a room, you have nothing to worry about. Mine is built as an adjoining chamber. It is usually Tova's more when she was little, but it's being prepared for you."

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