The Lycan Who Found Me

Episode 1 – The Wedding That Ended Me

(Elena's POV)

Flower and rain smells were in the air.

I held the bouquet in my hands at the altar, and my heart was beating so fast that I was sure everyone could hear it. The white roses I had in my hand moved with me. It was just jitters, I told myself. Every bride feels this way before she says "I do."

The piano stopped playing. People in the hall got up and looked at me. As I had done every day in front of the mirror for weeks, I smiled, small and shy. Damian was in a black suit and stood at the other end of the hallway. He was tall and good-looking. His eyes were always hard to read.

I stepped outside after taking a big breath.

Every step made the hall ring with sound. Like the life I thought I would have, the floor was smooth and soft under my dress. The light from the lighting above made the diamonds on my veil look like little moons. It was almost too good to be true.

When I got to him, he didn't move. Not even a blink or a smile. He looked at me blankly.

His best man coughed in a strange way. The priest began to talk in a holy, calm, and well-trained voice. My mind got cloudy as I read, and I only got bits and pieces of what he said: love, honor, forever.

After that it was my turn.

"I, Elena Rivers, take you, Damian Hale, to be-"

My voice stopped. He didn't change the look in his eyes when I tried to hide my laugh. They stayed away and cold. I took a deep breath and kept going. "-to be my husband."

The priest then looked at him.

He didn't say anything.

For a second, I believed he had not heard. I looked him in the eye and smiled. The guests began to whisper softly, making a sound like dry leaves being blown by the wind. My dad moved around in the front row with his jaw tight.

The priest let out a cough. "Mr. Hale?"

When Damian finally spoke, it broke the quiet with his sharp voice.

"I can't."

It made me feel really sick. "What?"

It looked like he turned his head a little, but not at me or anyone else. "This marriage isn't real." Elena, we made a deal. Okay. You knew that already.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't. There were more whispers. Someone took a deep breath. It felt like the ground was tilting under me.

He kept talking, and his voice was steady and almost like he had practiced it. "You were never meant to think it meant anything else."

There were tears in my eyes. I tried to smile and laugh it off. "Stop, Damian." It's not a joke.

He didn't stop, though. He took small steps away from me, as if I were