Blood Bride: The Lament of the Werewolf.

Chapter 1The king told me to pick a mate from either the vampires or the werewolves.I was instantly drawn to Darian, the werewolf. No hesitation, I chose him.On our wedding day, Darian marked me in front of his entire pack, binding us as partners.His childhood sweetheart, Finny, freaked out and ran off. Stupid bitch wandered right into the path of hunters who tore her to shreds.Afterward, Darian showed up at the scene, stared at Finny’s mangled body, and said nothing.Just scooped her up and buried her with his own two hands.Then he acted like nothing happened, playing the loving husband with me.Until the moment he united the packs. That’s when he jammed a knife through my throat, his eyes burning with hatred.“If your goddamn singing wasn't the only thing that calmed my people on a full moon, I wouldn’t have been forced to marry you!”“Finny wouldn’t have been so heartbroken that she ran off and got herself killed by those hunters. Now, I'm sending you down to hell to apologize to Finny!”Agony. Then, I blinked, and I was back – back to the day the king told me to choose.1.Two portraits were in front of me. On the left, Darian was grinning like a goddamn maniac.But all I felt was a bone-deep chill. The pain of his knife ripping through my throat slammed back into me.Pale as a ghost, I practically leaped past his picture and pointed at the vampire.“Your Majesty, I choose Sylar.”The king hesitated. “Bella, you’re not choosing Darian?”“This alliance isn’t some game, Bella. Once you choose, there’s no going back.”The king knew how I felt about Darian. My choice had to be a shock to him.But this whole rebirth thing was way too crazy to explain. I just nodded, firm.“I won’t regret it.”The king didn’t push. He carefully took Sylar’s portrait.“I’ll send for the shaman at once. Tomorrow, we’ll have the ceremony, announce your alliance with the vampires.”Shamans could talk to the gods. Every inter-species marriage needed their blessing and a written contract.I nodded, bowed to the king, and walked the hell out of there.My handmaiden, Ava, practically pounced on me as soon as I left the palace. She wiggled her eyebrows.“Did you finally get your wish, your grace?”I barely had time to shake my head when Darian came storming up to me.He stopped right in front of me, disgust clear in his eyes.“Bella, I already have someone I care about. I can’t marry you.”I stared at him. Last time, when the shaman announced our engagement, he looked pissed but didn’t say a word.Now, he couldn’t even wait for the shaman to show up before trying to dump me.Looks like Darian remembered everything too.He got impatient when I didn’t say anything.“Bella, do you have any self-respect? I’m telling you straight up, I don’t want you. You’re not going to try and force me into this, are you?”I just glared at him. “Who the hell told you I was going to pick you?“Relax, I didn’t choose you. Who you want to bang is none of my business.”Darian’s face tightened. He frowned.“How could you not choos...