That makes her smile again, brilliantly. Her pointy teeth on the edges are just sharp enough to remind me that I marry no normal girl, no Spring prey, but a lion.
Liana must see what I do, for I know how my own teeth are getting longer nearing to the full moon. And I shall have a bride to see me off for that special night as well. A woman to send me into the pack as is tradition.
“Noble, I have to ask you. Are your people… are they okay with this?” She knows that they are not. She’s seen the side glances and she’s braved the sneers.
“They will be,” I say.
“Are you certain?”
Doubt fills her golden eyes and I feel guilty for something I have no control over. For a future that is not at all what Liana must have hoped for. For a moment, I almost change my mind. What if the pack never surrenders to this idea? And Liana will be what? An outcast.
I try to let go of her hands and do the right thing. I will myself to send her home. I do. But the rogue in me is a lonely selfish beast who wants a mate. Even if that means she joins him in exile.
“I won’t lie to you, Liana. The wolves are a pack. They see you as a threat. Lions and the wolves have not always gotten along. We’ve shed blood and so have your kind, but we will show them what unity can look like, alright? We must teach them.”
“I wish I had your positivity. I keep thinking one minute that this is where I belong. But since arriving…I’ve noticed things are so different than my home. I wish I could see it how you do, Noble.”
“I’m not the one facing a whole realm of doubters. That you have not run out of here and away from us already is a miracle. If someone has slighted you. Just give me their name.” Her eyes widen, and I know I must look ready to change. The wolf is angered at the very thought.
“The women came to get me,” she says. “They weren’t rude, but they were…”
“Trying to force you outside?”
“Yes. Why?”
I laugh and wipe my face. “Tradition, my lady. Tradition.”
She crosses her arms and raises a brow. “Do go on.”
I sigh. “There are a few of them for joining two people together in wedded bliss. For one, we hide the ring. My scent is on it. Don’t ask. And if you find it, Liana, you get to keep the prize.”
“And what prize might that be, my lord?”
I laugh at her curious cat nature. “Me.”
“Well then, I best be on my way.”
I grow serious. “You’d do it? You’ll do the traditions? All of them?”
Liana frowns. “All?”
“There are more than one, a few… But I’ve told them the dead fish in our bed is not going to happen.”
“I don’t think I want to know.”
I laugh. My heart lighter than it’s been well, ever. “You don’t. But the ceremony itself is normal. It’s the before and after that’s a tad…strange. The ring finding. Then um…they shoot you with arrows.” I look away, worrying my cravat. “They aren’t sharp. And then I come and break them all. To prove how manly I am.” I hide my smile. “Want me to tell them no?”
“They shoot the bride?” She looks horrified and intrigued which makes me love her all the more. “That’s terrible!”
“I know. It is quite old. It doesn’t hurt.”
Liana sighs. “No fish, Noble. The arrows are enough.”
“They barely shoot them…”
She shakes her head before a servant peeks inside the room. “You ready, milady?”
“I don’t know.” Liana gives me a mock glare. “Am I? Will they truss me up like a chicken after?”
Chapter 19
Noble
“Did you find the ring?” I whisper, and she giggles and nods beneath her veil.
The priest gives me his most chastising glare, and then continues in the ancient language of the realms. I roll my eyes at him when he’s not looking and feel Liana’s body shake next to mine with mirth.
The priest motions for another to come forward, pausing in his droning. “Sire, before you lift the veil, the arrows.”
They bring them to me, they’ve already shot them gently at Liana. She’d accepted the custom regally. And her lips had quivered with mirth. And now I am supposed to say, “I promise to protect you.” and break them. Instead, I take them and lift her veil before my time. Handing Liana some of the arrows, I say, “We shall protect each other.”
The crowd is silent, no doubt some are giving my backside glares over lack of decorum.
I break the arrows in half. Liana watches me with shining eyes, then breaks hers and says with a gentle nobility that rings fair and true, “We shall protect each other.”
To see how thankful she is for the offering, it makes it worth the judgment of the people in attendance.
We turn during the final portion after admitting death do us part, to face the crowd of gathered people from both of our realms. The lions have shown in full regalia. One side of the gathering is darker heads of wolves, and the other, the golden fairer lions.
Tensions are high, but I’d made sure the kitchen had the best drink flowing before the ceremony even began. Cook had guffawed at my offer, saying it wasn’t even noon, but I’d told him pour it all down their gullets and keep it coming.
The only chink in the perfect day has been the absence of my father. With more trouble in the village, he’d ridden out early in the morning to aid them in their plight, but not before stopping to see me on my wedding day. The big black wolf had told me that on his own nuptials, he’d been shaking so hard he’d dropped the arrows…twice. My father had then hugged me in a rare show of affection, called me son, and said, “With any luck I’ll be back before the party is over.”
He’d beamed with pride. Told me to look over the Kingdom while he was gone.
My father. The black wolf. Proud of his son for the first in a long, long time.
“You may now kiss your bride,” the priest says.
And with a flare, I do. As hard as I dare. And the best part is, she kisses me back.
The crowd cheers. Some are overly excited for such an occasion as this one. And I wink at the cook who lifts a decanter full of more drink before filling the glasses of our council members. Spirits are pouring, spirits are high. “My lord,” he says, bowing as I pass his place.
“That dagger,” I whisper. “The one in the great hall that you’ve been eyeing since we were pups?”
“Aye, my lord?”
“It’s yours.”
He practically leaps into the air. He can retire on the handle alone, but I know Cook will probably sleep with it under his pillow. He greatly values our history. Cook bellows, “My fellow lion lords, ladies, and wolves, please follow me into the banquet hall for food and more drink!”
They cheer again, and everyone staggers after me and my bride, who is chuckling beneath her breath. “Getting my parents drunk are you, Noble?”
I steal a cup on the way and pass it to Liana. “And my wife.”
We both lock eyes over the first utterance of our union proclaimed. I feel her arm tighten its grip. Liana takes a good long drink and my eyes widen.
She laughs after finishing the cup. “If you can keep up I’ll be surprised…husband. My family will drink you poor, my lord.”