A/N

Still here? The most awaited chapter is here!
Enjoy lovelies! 😊

A CROOKED FATE YIELDS A STRONGER SOUL. I have been told many times in my life that the purpose of living will always be unkown, and yet we have to endure whatever our destiny holds. It is in our struggles that we are forged in gold. It is in uncertainty that we solve who we are and what we are meant to do and be. And it is in fear that we weild courage from within to win our own battles.

My world began to change fully one winter morning when my fate was sealed in the hands of the Duke of Therion. The Ton was easily convinced our union would secure the royal bloodline of the House of Godfrey. They did not question us and that seemed hideous to me. But it made it all the more simpler to decide my fate.

The morning sun shone even in the midst of the chilly weather. The sun rays beamed against the lancet windows of my chamber, waking the little boy beside me as I shifted into my day dress before the servants started bombarding me with all the formalities and preparations for the event that I knew would change my life forever.

Catherine was first of the many who knocked and barged inside my room. She was bringing a chest of jewels we had prepared a week ago from which I would choose what to wear to pair the crown the Queen had chosen for me the day I went back from our training in Auriga.

I stared at the magnificent crown adorned with lustrous sapphire stones. The beat of my heart drummed, reaching my ear. I could feel the weather turning my skin pale, but my insides burned as I absorbed the idea of me being the Duke of Therion's spouse in the coming hours.

I had been preparing myself for this day, but I learned in the morning I could never be ready for such an occurence.

I sat on the velvet cushioned seat in front of the vanity table. I sighed silently while I was thinking too deeply about my future with the Duke.

However, I missed the spot where my Lykos should be. My dreams of him about the love we shared since time immemorial had stopped after I'd heard about Amaree's role in the Kingdom's history according to the Duke.

I couldn't fathom how and why I had her memories and why Lykos told me the night in the cabin that I was her, and she was me. They lived in a different century, and I thought I'd lost my mind already but I had suspicions by then that I could be her reincarnation... Something I only knew to be true in the language of legends and folklores.

I could not confirm this thought yet. Not here. Not now. Not today. There was this event almost right in front of me that would reroute the course of my life, and I knew in my heart that I was scared of what we were about to do.

"Milady, the Duke of Therion handed me this box in the morn. He wants you to take a look at it and decide if you would wear it during the ceremony."

Catherine gently placed the small wooden chest on top of the vanity. It could be any kind of jewelry he must have opted to offer as a gift following marriage traditions.

I did not touch it for a while, keeping my eyes on my own reflection in the mirror. I could no longer recognize myself fully. Freya was gone and replaced by a maiden of royal bloodline. This world changed Freya... and she was slowly being fashioned into a queen.

'You are an alpha.' My father's voice lingered in my mind. He used to say I should be accustomed with the title. But Queen?

I shut my eyes and erased the bubbling questions. Enough. That was enough. The battle inside my head was nothing compared to what I would be facing in the future.

I am an alpha. And I will be the Queen.

The servants continued to brush my hair and because it was short, they finished early and helped me out of my nightgown. They had prepared a rose-scented bath for me and I didn't hesitate to relax my body on the steamy pool of water and I allowed it to sink my heavy thoughts with it.
 
  
  
  

I bowed to the Queen as she entered the Throne Room with her sentinels.
"What a beautiful bride you are, my dear. Your dress has made you even more enchanting. I could tell my son would be enamored once more." She said as soon as she reached me.

The Queen had gone breaking the rule of not visiting the bride before the ceremony. She was supposed to be first to arrive at the Sanctuary among the Royals, but she chose to walk me down the aisle instead.

"Thank you, Your Majesty... Though I am a little uncomfortable with this dress, I am grateful for all your help. It feels like I have a parent in you."

It was true and heartfelt. She had been nothing but good to me in so many ways. I could tell you the Queen had split personalities. One was the firm and stoic queen, and the other... was a simple mother to her son and a dear friend to me.

She smiled and carressed my cheek. Her gloved hand still felt cold because of the weather, but it added a little comfort to my jittery chest.

"You are welcome. You will be my daughter in a few moments. You might as well practice calling me Mother when we're alone. That would be pleasant." She was as enthusiastic as ever, sharing her idea softspokenly so I could be the only one to hear.
I simply nodded and took a deep breathe.

"I am ready, Queen Robin."

Turning her heels, she morphed back to her queenly aura. I set aside my heavy feelings and eased my mind, accepting the fact that it was going to be a long, fateful day.

Her Majesty's royal carriage arrived smoothly, and out came the Queen in her ceremonial garments while holding firmly the Crown of Fenrir. I watched her grand entrance quietly inside my own carriage as light snow pelted from the gloomy skies of Therion.

My eyes felt warm though. I knew my face was then blotched red on the cheeks and my nose awkwardly cherry tipped because of common cold. Surprisingly, I felt less nervous than I did back in the Castle. Being with the Queen must have boosted my spirit. I knew I couldn't look downtrodden in front of Therion's people.

The appearance of the Queen signaled the commencement of the marriage rites. People from all over the Kingdom have encircled the Grand Hall bringing all sorts of flowers that I truly appreciated at this time of the year when nothing even on the richest soil grows.

Crowds cheered louder when my fully adorned royal carriage stopped in front of the the large double doors of the majestic venue. I swallowed hard at the thought of walking down the long aisle ahead.

At the first sight of my heeled shoe out of the carriage, everything around me felt too festive and I couldn't stare at the people around me anymore. I was in my own bubble, chest as heavy as an iron mail.

Through my veil, I carefully watched my own steps towards the entrance. I stood beside the Queen as the roaring crowd were contained by the palace guards. Her Majesty's hand squeezed mine but it was only for a bare second til the warmth quickly left.

The sound of the drum started with a single beat and the monstrous door swung wide open at the same time, revealing the lavishly decorated interior of the Grand Hall and the eyes of the nobility staring straight at me.

Anxiety quickly flooded my veins as the cheering voices died down. The Queen was attentive of my current disposition and she took my hand once more, now holding it tightly as if spurring me to take the first step down the nave. With shaky hands I felt their eyes focused on me. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, and at the sound of the sonata echoing from the chancel, I moved my feet forward and decided to free myself from distress.

Somehow, that promise turned to reality as my body no longer felt dense and the long walk was suddenly about to end... but my eyes could not help but look to the elysian presence of a man clad in black and gold, standing at the side of the altar.

And damn him for canceling the spell I cast on myself. The bond put my heart in frenzy as the wolf destined to be my destruction had me captive in his indescribable gaze.

The piano's calming music stopped playing, bringing forth nothing but silence all over the place. I sucked in another deep breath as the Queen ended her role perfectly. She took my hand and lightly placed it on Apollo's lifted hand.

"Bless you both, my children." She smiled, turning her head to kiss my cheeks first before doing the same to her beloved son.

As soon as she left us in the middle of everyone's attention, I looked up at Apollo for assurance. I didn't know why I felt the urge to find courage in him but all I knew then was as I looked into his eyes, he had every ounce of confidence that I needed. It was emanating in him, oozing endlessly and never leaving his presence.

"Sentire mihi?" (Do you feel me?), he asked.

His blue gray eyes pierced through mine.

"I cannot see you fully with that veil on you but I want you to trust me, My Duchess."

Tears began to form in my eyes but I stopped them from falling. How could he be kind and complacent to me? He muddled my mind to no end from the very first time we met. This was a life-changing moment... I could run away and go astray. I had doubts no matter how I tried to fight them off. But there he was, telling me to trust him like this was a done deal he had accepted from the very beginning.

"You are going to regret this." I whispered halfheartedly to which he briefly chuckled.

"Am I really going to?" His deep voice delivered the question well. "Or are you?" He cleverly retorted.

I couldn't understand him to be honest. The way he smoothly talked was at least somehow, in some way, easing my woes. He escorted me up toward the altar where we both knelt.

The officiant immediately began the traditional marriage rite of the Kingdom, each move seemed accurately accomplished by the members of the royal palace as rehearsed in the last few weeks leading to this day.

There was a burning feeling in my chest down to my stomach that I couldn't quite describe. The jeweled crown atop my head suddenly felt heavier as moment after moment the rites were being fulfilled. The Queen of Sidus went up the altar and brought the sacred blade.

"Swear you now, on this sacred blade, that there is no reason known to you that this union should not proceed."

The officiant took his gloves on and carefully opened a thick, worn-out book. The Queen had told me earlier this was one of the oldest surviving books in the history of Sidus. It contained records and scriptures believed to be dating back from Fenrir's second decade of mortality.

"There is no one else who can create this union but the bride and groom. It is by thou words, thou vision, thou promises that must define the future of thy marriage." The elder wolf called upon us, making a lifting gesture with his hands in the air as we rose from our kneeling position in accordance with the scripture.

"Hear ye, Kingdom of Sidus, thy exchange of rings and vows of these fated wolves before you."

We stood there face to face, holding each other's breath like it would be our last. I'd like to believe the Duke's confidence lightly dwindled at the officiant's words. Why wouldn't he? His freedom was about to be taken from him.

But the thought of losing my own freedom crossed my mind too. He was going to be mine and I was going to be his. I touched the sapphire resting on my chest, gladly hidden by the veil. What am I doing, Lykos? Am I betraying you?

A small hand tugged the Duke's velvet coat, and his gray eyes met the little boy's blue eyes. Galax who reminded me of Lykos came just right at the moment I was thinking of him. He was bringing two golden rings on a bed of white feathers.

He beamed an innocent smile at Apollo, and it almost brought tears to my eyes. Was it Lykos' answer to my question, or was I being delusional?

The Duke melted my senses as he held one of the rings, showing me the same face he gave me the first time he returned to the Castle of Therion from a long journey to the Northern Walls. He was daunting and affectionate at the same time back then, but today, he was more of the latter. My heart fell into pieces because of it. I shouldn't be feeling this way.

Don't do this to me.

"You are blood of my blood, bone of my bone."

Stop. In my head, I wanted him to stop saying his vows if he didn't mean it but he carried on no matter how hard I tried to sway the bond forming between us.

"I give you my body that we two might be one. I give you my spirit, 'til our life shall be done."

Please stop...

"You cannot possess me for I belong to myself."

I could no longer stop my tears from falling.

"But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give." He continued, taking my cold hand, eventually taking off the silk glove.

" You cannot command me for I am a free entity, but I shall serve you for the rest of my life, and I vow that the honeycomb and ale will taste sweeter coming from my hand."

He had memorized his lines too perfectly, but never had I imagined I would be listening to it with much thought and consideration. The words came out one by one with emotions that it surprised me to the point that I'd remembered Lykos' final vows in a sudden rush of memories.

"I vow you the first cut of meat, the first sip of my wine."

He had said the same words to me.

Why did it have to be someone else saying it to me this time? If only it were him in front of me...

"From this day, it shall only be your name I cry out in the deepest night."

"And into your eyes, I shall smile each morning for you are my glee. I shall be a shield for your back as you are for mine."

"I vow to be loyal to you without any grievances... for our marriage is sacred between us and no stranger shall hear my grievance."

He was finally giving up his freedom to love another...

"Above and beyond this, I will cherish and honor you through this life and into the next."

His final words sent chills down to my spine. Above and beyond this, I will cherish and honor you through this life and into the next...

Those were the last words I'd ever heard from Lykos as his spirit left his mortal body. His dying image in my head appeared as Apollo's glorious stare captured me.

Lykos died saying his vows to me?

"Words are merely words and shall be bound by a symbol of infinite devotion and promise. The groom shall now bind himself to his bride with the wedding ring." The officiant went on, urging the Duke to follow him.

Lifting my hand, Apollo slowly slid the golden ring through my finger. All I could do was to bite my lip and halt another tear threatening to shed. I couldn't lose my composure any further.

"Freya, I give you this ring, as a sign of my devotion to you from this day forward. I take thee, swearing by peace and love to stand, blood of my blood, bone of my bone. Mark, O spirit of the heavens, and hear me say, confirming this my sacred vow."

Air seemed to have left my lungs for a long moment. On my finger was the ring of his eternal promise. I couldn't even look at him anymore or I wouldn't be able to say my vows properly.

"The bride shall now state her vows."

Galax moved to my side and brought me the ring I was to give to the Duke. I wanted to hug him first but he ran back to the Queen like any obedient child would.

With a slightly jittery voice, I swallowed my emotions and said my own vows continuously, swearing to myself that I was only doing it for the sake of myself. Not for anyone else.

"You are blood of my blood. Bone of my bone. I give you my body that we two might be one. I give you my spirit, til our life shall be done."

"In the name of the heavens, by the life that courses within my blood, I pledge my devotion to you, and everything that I possess. I promise you the first bite of meat and the first sip of my cup."

"I pledge..."

"I pledge—"

His large hand covered mine in a sudden movement. I couldn't see through the tears as I lifted my head to find him glancing at me willingly as if he wanted me to vow the same words he had said to me properly and with grace.

Apollo was causing havoc in my brain and in my heart. He was squeezing out all the courage I had left to carry on.

"I pledge that your name shall be the only name I cry aloud... in the dead of the night."

I'm sorry... Lykos.

"I promise to honor you above all others. I shall be a shield for your back as you are for mine. I swear... I swear to you my living and my dying, each equally in your care."

"I shall not slander you, nor you me."
He squeezed my hand lightly.

"I shall honor you above all others, and no stranger shall know none of our grievances. And above and beyond all this..."

"And above and beyond all this..."

"I-I... I will cherish and honor you..."

The sapphire was starting to burn my chest but Apollo's hand on mine seemed to be containing the moving energy coming out from it.

"...Through this life and into the next."

Through this life and into the next...

"Apollo, I give you this ring, as a sign of my devotion to you from this day forward. I take thee, swearing by peace and love to stand, blood of my blood, bone of my bone. Mark, O spirit of the heavens, and hear me say, confirming this my sacred vow."

Losing my spirit with the vows I had just uttered, the wedding rites resumed with the wedding blessing from the officiant.

Three knots were tied around us signifying romance, devotion, and longevity.

"As the knots are tied, so are you lives now bound and woven into this cord."
The crowd's clapping thundered in the Grand Hall as the dreading handfasting ceremony ended.

All of the alphas of the Kingdom went up the altar to offer their gifts before the last leg of the marriage rites. It was a tradition for royal weddings to be given blessing from all the leaders of Sidus, and this to me, was more nerve-wracking than the exchange of rings and vows. For all I knew, the Alpha of Crux, shall give us her blessing too.

This was her final chance. What would she do?

"Blessed be this union with the gifts of the East." All the alphas of the eastern regions had come to offer us chests of valuable gems, wine, Edelweiss, and ale.

"The east offers communication of the heart, mind, and body."

Dilly was one of the eastern leaders and he had brought us the same bright smile from the rising sun.

"Blessed be the union with the gifts of the West." Lord Gregory led the Alphas of the west with which they promised to bless us with "The deep commitments of the lake, the sweet excitement and passion of the river."

"Blessed be this union with the gifts of the North. Warmth of hearth and home. May the light be always stronger than the dark."

Everything was good until she appeared, clad in an ivory dress-- a despicable act of breaking the tradition that only the bride shall be in white during the ceremonial wedding rites.

Everyone seemed to be as astounded as I. I knew she wouldn't let this pass. She was about to make a scene out of this crucial event.

"Blessed be the union with the gifts of the South." She knelt infront of us, offering her gifts locked in a chest, and a white elegant fur carpet.

She lifted her head and locked her eyes on him, causing a pang of jealousy as she held onto him for the last time as if convincing him to run away.

"I offer you fertility and firm foundation on which to build a family and a stable home."

The audacity she had to offer her own at that moment would be the ruin of her life. And deep, deep down inside of her proud facade, she knew it was the only thing she could do to make herself feel better.

And I gave it to her because in the end, she did not accept her loss so easily. She would keep going. I knew she would carry on even after every vow that had been said and done.

She pulled herself up gracefully, turned her heel and lifted her head as she went back to the pew where she almost invisibly sat a while ago.

Even when everyone was stabbing her with glares and shooting her with insulting words behind her back for what she had worn and selfishly said, she did not show any of her weakness and proved she was an alpha with a strong mind.

"Blessed be the bond fulfilled by the heavens and bound by the sacred scriptures and vows shared today..." The officiant had everyone up on their feet to conclude the marriage rites.

But something in me was fazed by Illaria that everyone's voices disappeared in my ears. She looked at us with jealousy and her eyes told me she was yearning for my bethroted even when it all seemed wrong in every way... Especially now.

She reminded me of someone tough like her and it troubled me. Someone who did not simply accept what the heavens had written for her...

"Thou has pledged of thy own free will and sworn upon the sword. Thou has exchanged rings and been bound together by ritual cords."

Illaria's aura grew larger as the pronouncement was being uttered.

The one who gravitated with another's fated even when it was considered a grave sin punishable by death... Illaria reminded me of her...

"May it be granted that what is done before the heavens be not undone by mortals."

Cannot be undone by mortals?

The sapphire started burning stronger and flashes of Amaree's memories flooded me at the wrong time...

Illaria resembled... Amaree?
 

No. It cannot be.

"By the power vested in me by the realm, I now pronounce you..."

"Freya!"

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A/N

So let's end it here for now. 😆 too bad it's another cliffhanger update after how many years? I'm so sorry I had to. 😆 I will update again this weekend. I hope you'll all tune in coz I am officially back.

How are you all doing? Kindly let me feel your presence by clicking the vote star om your screen. I hope you guys could comment too so I'd be motivated to write again. Hope you liked it!

- Lady Therese