On My Drowing Day, He Announced His Bonding to Her Chapter 03
I froze.
I had no idea how long that bell had been sitting in my
pocket, or how it got there in the first place.
The murmuring around us picked up.
John’s face went dark.
“Violet, I can deal with the Groom’s Mark for you. I can even talk the Alpha down.”
“But right now, you need to apologize to Scarlett.”
I looked at the bell on the ground, then back up at him.
“And if I don’t?”
“Why do you have to be this stubborn about everything?”
“You think it’s funny, bringing up the River Groom
every time it’s convenient? You think anyone in this Pack actually buys it?”
He had the nerve to keep pushing.
“Then answer me this. What happens if I actually drown in three days?”
His voice went cold.
“I’m not letting some old superstition hurt you. And
don’t use it to force my hand either.”
“You’re really disappointing me right now, Violet.”
Scarlett burrowed into his chest and tugged his sleeve.
“John, I don’t even want to make a thing of this.”
“She just has to kneel at Lily’s grave and say sorry. That’s it.”
Lily’s little grave sat right along Black Hollow River.
By sunrise, Scarlett had already surrounded it with
Lily’s old bowl, her blanket, her toys, and a ring of white candles.
Half the Pack had shown up just to watch.
John hauled me over to the grave whether I wanted to go or not.
Scarlett picked up a worn–out red ball and wiped the
dirt off it with her sleeve.
“This was the first gift John ever got us. She loved this thing.”
Fat tears rolled down her cheeks.
I stared at that ball.
I’d bought it seven years ago with money saved off my guard–selection stipend, back when I was skipping
meat just to afford it.
How exactly did it turn into something John gave her?
He pulled me aside.
“Violet, nobody’s holding the rest of it against you. Just bow your head.”
“Scarlett’s got a soft heart. Apologize and she’ll let it go.”
I yanked my arm free. This whole thing was insane.
“I didn’t do anything. Why should I be the one apologizing?”
He sighed.
“Once this blows over, I’ll take you out to the town past the territory line for a few days. Let things cool down.”
“I’ll take care of the Groom’s Mark.”
“How? By bonding with me?”
I stared him straight down.
He looked away, irritated.
“I’ll write it up. Bring it to the Elder council, loop in Pack Enforcement.”
“There’s more than one way to solve this, Violet. You
don’t have to force my hand into marking you.”
Always the same with him. Every angle covered, every process accounted for.
Except the one thing he’d never actually do.
Back when we first fell for each other, a pack of Rogues
had cornered me on this same riverbank.
John tore through all of them just to get to me, then held onto my hand like he’d never let go.
“Violet. Whoever comes after you, I’m standing right there with you. Always.”
The moonlight had been beautiful that night. He’d run
his fingers through my hair and made me a promise.
“The second I make legal counsel, I’m going straight
to the Alpha. We’re bonding out in the open, no hiding
it. I swear on the Moon Goddess, I don’t break my word.”
Now he was the most respected legal counsel this Pack had ever had.
And the girl who used to torment me was tucked
against his chest while he told me to drop it.
Scarlett saw I wasn’t moving and pulled out her phone, hitting play on a recording.
My own voice came through, murmuring.
“Lily. I’m so sorry.”
That had been me the night before, half–conscious,
dragged under by whatever the Groom’s Mark does to a person.
Scarlett turned to the crowd, crying.
“Did everyone hear that? She admitted it herself.”
John’s face turned ugly.
He pressed a hand against the back of my neck and forced my head down.
I fought it as hard as I could. It didn’t matter. He had a male wolf’s strength and I never stood a chance.
“Don’t let this get any worse than it has to, Violet. Nobody wins here.”
“You’ve always been the reasonable one. Just
apologize.”
Reasonable. That word again.
Seven years of that word sitting on my chest.
I stopped fighting and let my body fold forward.
I stared at that tiny grave, tears hitting the dirt below me.
I wasn’t apologizing to Scarlett
I was apologizing to Lily.
I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you back then.
That night, Elder Moonsong showed up at my door
with the moon guard trailing behind her.