FOUR YEARS LATER

When I was younger, I was told that anything can happen in a moment of pause. That nanosecond can be what defines you for the rest of your lifespan. On my birthday, my brother started dating a beautiful young woman, and they fell madly in love. That pause in between lead Kyran to propose, and now I have to deal with their wedding. 

I walk outside of the local church to the courtyard. For a wedding in midway through December at noon, it's not that horrible as I expect it to be. At the end of each seated aisle, the bare branches of old oak trees decorated with streamers of blinking lights and top off with a thin coat of white snow. Inside, the rest of the pack prepares, dressing in silks and furs. On either end of the aisle, some metal chairs are set up in the grass for the guests to sit in; others are placed high on three levels of balconies. 

From the looks of it, most of Howl Falls residence are going to be in attendance. Just great. That means Sabia is expecting me to be the epitome of blithe, something that has never been exactly in my persona. She got me in flats and a floral-print dress that cuts off in waves at my kneecap. She should feel lucky she even got me out of the door this morning for rehearsal.

I walk around to count all of the chairs. One thousand on the surface, the other two thousand in the balconies. Weddings are like church on Sundays; most people are in attendance. That's why I go to at least ten weddings each year. I know the routine: Llwyd tells the guests to sit down; he reads from the Bible; he has the bride and groom exchange vows; he asks if there are any objections to the marriage; he pronounces the bride and groom man and wife. After witnessing the procedure thousands of times, I know my role.

A good wedding guest is quiet and sits still, I remember Sabia's words from my first wedding. Sure, I was five, and she said that because I was finicky, but it has stuck with me ever since. I can evoke the memory quite clearly.

I recall protesting, What if I don't want to be a good wedding guest?

Nonsense. Sabia cut me off curtly. All of us should try to be on our best behavior. 

"Betrys!"

I whirl around instantly to face the church doors and a rushing figure. Llwyd, our alpha, comes rushing towards me. He appears younger than he actually is. Under tufts of dark blonde curls and a thin layer of sun-kissed skin, he can pass for twenty-one. With two sets of furs slung over his shoulder, it is no doubt that he has not come to a decision on what to wear. 

"Betrys," he says breathlessly as he finally approaches me. He puts both hands on my shoulders for support. I grunt impatiently, my way of telling him to get the point or don't waste my time. He gasps for air and then finally goes on. "The bride has requested to see you." 

I follow him up the aisle to the large doors that open into the church. I see stain glass windows. The far end of the aisle to my left traces to the white campanile. The Victorian architecture is breathtaking. 

Llwyd ushers me inside. We move across the encaustic tiles; down the nave glittering under crystal-ridden ceiling panels of Gospel depictions, my favorite of which display Matthew 4:19 in bright earthly colors. The roof is surrounded by three layers of thin outlines. The altar is prepared for the Sunday congregation, the organ all intact; instruments leaned up against the walls. I look to my right to see the pews encased in a reflection of darkness. 

Gavenia, Eileene's mother, guards the double doors with her life. She glares at Llwyd as he approaches. His hands then throw up in defeat. "I'm just delivering Betrys to Eileene as requested, nothing more." 

In a language I don't recognize, Gavenia ushers me inside and slams the door shut without a second thought. The room appears to be in complete disarray. The standing mirror is shattered across the floor. Chairs are pushed around the chamber in uneven intervals. The mirrors that Eileene's bridesmaids are using are smothered with lipstick and blush. Drysi Elderton, Rhedyn Chames, Cullodina Palomer, and Minna Palomer are dressed in similar floral articles to mine. 

"What did I miss," I ask Drysi, Llwyd's daughter. She doesn't answer as she's too busy using a curling iron on her hair. Instead, she responds with a shrug. As maid of honor, it's my job to make sure the bride doesn't lose her sanity an hour before the wedding as well as myself. 

"The DJ quit, and the wedding planner somehow forgot to grab the flowers for the flower girl," I hear Rhedyn, our clan's beta, explain. I then realize that she's behind me. Fairytales say weddings are the most romantic moments of a person's life; in reality, it's a fiasco of apprehension and panic. 

I see Drysi unplug her curling iron and wrap the cord around the metallic device before stashing it away in her bag. She then turns around to face me. I glance down at my chest when our eyes meet. It's no doubt that she's an image of her mother with the heart of her father. She surely did inherit her father's sharp tone. 

"Llwyd's sister will replace the DJ," Drysi takes over for Rhedyn who sashays over to an open mirror and removes the curlers from her hair, layers of a quintillion tiny strands of golden tresses. "We'll be able to manage with the leftover flowers from the last wedding though they're orchids and bellflowers instead of roses like the bride planned. So, let's just say Eileene's having a meltdown at this moment."

"Oh," I say, restraining from emitting a gasp from the back of my throat. 

"Yeah," Drysi mutters and goes back to fixing her hair. 

"Eileene." I get down on my knees and scooch over to face Eileene still sulking. Her dull red hair is a big mess of curls. Her eyes are stained red when she looks up at me. Her breaths are shaky, and her body is trembling even in such a big dress. My mother's wedding gown, I should append. Her breaths shake as tears roll down her cheek. "Eileen ... Look at me." 

"Why?"  She throws her arms out wide, hitting a nightstand and sending a priceless, antique vase shattering to the floor. Just another mess that will add up to the bill given to make this wedding possible.  "If things are going wrong, doesn't that mean that the conjugality between Kyran and I is gonna end in failure?" 

"Eileene, don't worry about that. What you and Kyran have, it's kismet. You have nothing to worry about." 

I don't believe the words that left my mouth to be true. But it makes Eileene happy to hear that, so that's the least I can do to prevent a runaway bride, although, on the contrary, that wouldn't be such a bad idea. I help Eileene up onto her feet, patting her on the shoulder. It gives me a good feeling knowing I've calmed down the bride. Then everything falls apart again when she feels her finger and her smile dissipates. 

"Oh no," she mutters to herself, and she casts several worried glances around the room. Now, what's wrong. I groan under my breath. For all I know, it's going to be a huge problem to get her down the aisle without her having another panic attack. 

"What is it," I ask, hiding my annoyance even though I should be excited for an event so lavish as this. This wedding is my brother's for crying out loud, but lord, I didn't realize I should be expecting constant panicking. But this isn't my day. I remind myself once again. It's Kyran's. 

"My engagement ring," she says frantically. She begins searching all over the room. She goes through the desk drawers and under the couches and chairs. "It's not on my finger." 

"Because you put it in your purse," I remind her. Eileene rushes over to the desk, searching through her purse until she pulls out the diamond ring Kyran used when he proposed to Eileene. 

"Classic Leene," Minna scoffs with a small chortle. She then turns her identical twin sister. "Dina, mind helping me with my makeup?" 

"Why yes, dear sister," Cullodina replies. The girls apply makeup on one another. Sometimes, watching those two is like a horror movie. The only thing missing is the part where they talk in unison.

For the next fifty-five minutes, I watch Eileene make last minute changes to her appearance, reapplying her makeup, and then finally Eileene's dad, Dai knocks on the door. She latches onto the crook of his arm. I close my eyes and focus on my breath control. While the other girls laugh, I ponder over what Sabia would tell me. 

A good maid of honor is quiet, I hear Sabia's voice in the back of my mind. She stands still and draws no attention to herself. 

The room falls silent when I open my eyes. I cast a gaze over my shoulder to see the other bridesmaids behind me,  a bouquet of orchids and bellflowers in their hands. I pry my stare away from the bridesmaids and to the bride instead.

Dai leads the way out of the room and across the tiles near the long candles hidden under thin covers atop of wirelike stands. In the round strips of metal above us, a stampede of feet shuffling is heard as guests make their way to the balconies. The ringbearer and flower girl sit next to each other on the steps of the altar. The girls behind me, hand the bouquets over to the flower girl. An usher guards the door. 

I can hear the guests happily chatting with each other outside in the courtyard. The usher opens the door, and everyone stands, but sit down when they realize it's just the other bridesmaids and me. I make my way down the aisle with smooth glides. With a glance to each side of the aisle, I take in each guest. The back row is reserved for the largest extended family in Howl Falls: the Mendoza family along with the Embers, Ortegas, and Lobos, all of whom carry the same distant gaze painted with solemn. 

With a steady inhale, I bring myself back to reality and propel forward till my feet touch the platform near the altar. Then a lineup begins; the other bridesmaids and groomsmen file in after me. Meanwhile, Malvin, Kyran's best man, makes a corny werewolf joke to keep my brother calm as he waits for his bride-to-be to appear at the altar. 

The priest, Llwyd comes out in new attire - proper vestments for his role in this ceremony. The thought just cracks me up. Hiding my laugh in my wrist, I look away just in time to catch Sabia in the front row, all poised and proper like it's a Sunday, which it is not. Her stern eyes tell me to behave unlike any other day of my life since Eileene walked in. I then take half a minute to compose myself to Sabia's liking. 

"Please stand," Llwyd says professionally. Everyone stands, happy smiles on their faces as they glue their eyes anxiously at the door. I sigh. The moment when my brother takes one of the last few steps in growing up is almost here. Sabia whispers something to Kellyn, Eileene's aunt. 

The doors open and Eileene's cousin, Mabli, skips down the aisle throwing the petals from the bouquets of orchids and bellflowers at everyone while the music begins playing. I hear scattered laughs among the crowd of guests. I decide not to watch the first agonizing part of these ceremonies: the eternal catwalk just to get to the altar. 

When my brother glances at me, I give him a slanted look as if to say, It's not too late to back out.

Eileene and her father share an embrace as he whispers something into her ears. I twitch here and there, impatient about this ceremony. I don't understand. Why do they have to be so long? But then again, my idea of an ideal wedding is a private ceremony in the kitchen where we say our vows and kiss. 

I look over my shoulder and continue watching, like most of the other bridesmaid and groomsmen are doing. Eileene's father presents her to Kyran's who's sweating more than he ever does after hunting. I see him place a hand on my brother's shoulder and nod. He then takes his seat next to Sabia in the front row. 

As a soon-to-be-married couple, they face Llwyd. I take a deep breath.

"Please be seated," I hear Llwyd say. I look over my shoulder to see everyone sitting. The ringbearer, Eileene's other cousin Tearlach, slowly comes forward even though he shouldn't be. 

 "Dearly beloved," he begins, "we are gathered here this evening to witness Kyran Richard Wilson and Eileene Grace Greene join in holy matrimony."  

I bite down on my lip. If I want to live up to Sabia's expectations regarding wedding etiquette, my thoughts must be restrained. Lip-biting helps. 

"Before I start, may I start with a reading from the First Epistle to the Corinthians from Paul." With that, Llwyd goes on to recite the passage from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. 

As Eileene and Kyran begin to exchange their vows, I zone out. I've already heard them talk about how their Matching Day was the best day of their lives. It makes me gag inside. My insides are gagging along with my brain. Tearlach approaches the bride and groom, and they exchange rings. 

I turn around to face the crowd. In the back row, I spot Rylan, Llwyd's son, slipping into an open seat next to one of the Ortegas. His lips curl at the side of his mouth and his eyes big as he relaxes in the back of his seat. 

So cheesy right, he mouths.

 I nod in response, a big smile replacing my usual frown for occasions involving Eileene and Kyran as a couple. I mouth back to him, So cheesy. 

All that talk now makes me want some cheese, Rylan mouths. He looks to both sides and then back at me so he can roll his eyes. I try to chuckle with the flow of my breath. Soon enough, Sabia's disparaging glare interrupts me. 

"Betrys," She hisses quietly from her seat. I meet her gaze with a disparaging glare. She narrows her eyes as if to warn me not to challenge her authority. "I've put up with this for four years. This ends now. Cut it out." 

Sputtering out of my lips, I turn around to hear the end of the vows. Not that I care. I never did. 

"If anyone has an objection to this marriage," Llwyd says, looking distantly into the crowd for someone raising their hand, "speak now or forever hold your peace."

In school, I tried to keep my hand on my desk as much as possible and all of my thoughts on tests, but this time is one of the few exceptions that my hand goes shooting in the air without even a second of contemplation. This is my chance. No more Eileene. That's all I ever wanted. 

"Betrys Mae Genevieve Margot Wilson!" Sabia is so loud, every is able to hear me. As I whirl around to face her, my hand still in the air, I notice that everyone's jaw has dropped to the ground. A smile crosses my face. Rylan looks absolutely hysterical. "That is the last straw! Drop that hand to your damn side, or you're grounded!" 

I glance around for a moment. While Rylan seems to be the light of enjoyment, others appear to be the daggers to my heart. Three thousand pairs of eyes in the audience are on me, not my brother and Eileene. Six thousand eyes that can determine my fate right here, right now scowl at me without a sound. And destiny is alway permanent. 

My hand falls to my side, a breath of disappointment escaping me. Maybe another day. Maybe another time. No one such as utters a word. A small sigh pushes its way out of my chest, and I turn back to where the textbook lovers share an unbroken gaze. Their fingers are intertwined with one another. 

"Okay ... " Llwyd's voice trails off distantly. As he pauses for a prolonging frozen moment, I take a moment to peer down at my flats. 

I keep reminding myself of how I'm supposed to act in weddings: stand still, blend in with those floral mannequins and be quiet.  Be the product of what society expects and then, fortune might just be in my favor someday. By now, everyone should know luck won't ever be in my favor - everyone, including myself. 

"By the power vested in me in the vast state of Florida, I now pronounce you husband and wife." Kyran and Eileene begin kissing passionately. She's pressed up against my brother's chest, caressing his face as they kiss. "You may do what you're doing."  

I sigh and turn away. I can't wait until the night is over. 

~

I loved writing this scene. I know it leaves things out between the prologue, but I thought this was a good way to start the book. 

Do you sort of sense a little tension between Eileene and Betrys? 

What did you think of the wedding? 

If you liked this chapter, don't forget to vote and comment. I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

Also, thank you westfall- for the amazing book mockup.

Thank you @Dredge116 for the amazing trailer.

Here's a gif: 

X Shay X