[SICARIO]
"Good evening. My bride and I would like to take this chance to thank you once again for coming to celebrate our union with us. We appreciate that you took the time to witness our union and wish us the best.
"However, we will be leaving first, because we are spent, but you guys can keep on celebrating. Elodie and Dom will be in charge and will help you with whatever it is that you need. Once again, thank you," Jer said to the guests who had come to the wedding.
There were a lot of guests, more than Jer had imagined would show up, but then that only made him feel like replacing Awuor was the best thing that he could have done in his life. But was it ever better, when he had married Hawi's best of the best weapons?
Was it really going to be all coy and mushy when he had taken the first step into hell and that too, on his own? Well, maybe the universe would be kind to him, because one thing that Malika was never going to be was, to be kind to the man that threatened her assigned wolf.
"Take care of her!" the guests shouted and Malika couldn't help but make a constipated face. She knew what they meant and honestly, she wasn't sure she would be able to go through with it, but then that was for her and Jer to decide right?
As the cheers and wishes kept on coming, Malika focused on the woman of the day, the woman she would lay her life for, Awuor Hawi. She knew that this was by far the worst thing that could ever happen to Hawi, but then Hawi had wanted it.
Even then, it didn't make it any easier, because the fact was still staring at the both of them. The simple reality in which Alpha Jer would have eventually gotten to move on with another woman while Hawi was left out in the rain.
It was like Jer was determined to erase the part of his life that was Hawi, and the thought itself was breaking Malika's heart, more than it had broken Hawi's heart on the first day of the damn engagement.
Granted, Hawi had been brave then, but it never changed the fact that her mate had betrayed her a little too easily. Jer had shown her that she was just a flip of the many switches that he had access to, and for that, Hawi promised destruction.
Malika was born a protector, which meant that she was never bound by any rules, no matter what pack she found herself in. She, just like the white wolf, was never limited to boundaries, and right now she was willing to prove it to Hawi.
"Go, Malika. Go with him," Hawi insisted but Malika stood there, ignoring the fact that most of the people were starting to catch on to the fact that she didn't want to leave with Jer. She wasn't going to move unless she heard from Hawi.
"No, Mistress. Not until you promise me you will check in every two weeks. Not until you promise to seek me in case of anything. Not until you promise to let yourself live. This marriage is not a prison for me, Mistress," Malika insisted and Hawi knew she was right.
Malika had sworn to keep Hawi safe, and if that wasn't going to happen when she was gone, then there was no point in her leaving in the first place. She could as well count herself as just another attendee of a failed wedding.
Rukiya, who had been watching Malika and Jer, had also noticed the hesitation with Malika, but unlike everyone here, who had assumed she was scared, Rukiya had followed Malika's line of sight, and she had understood that it was because of Hawi.
As much as she wanted to go and tell Hawi that things would be alright, Rukiya couldn't. It would raise so many questions and given Hawi was constantly rejecting her advances, she would just end up embarrassed again.
"Fine, Malika. I promise to check-in. Now go," Hawi said, and Malika just sighed defeatedly as she turned to look at the man she had gotten married to, a man who suddenly had a punchable face. She hadn't even realized it when her fists curled up.
Malika was ready to punch Jer's face, and Hawi had seen that, but then that wasn't something they would let happen. It wasn't part of the plan, and only Hawi could stop her this time.
"Malika, no!" Hawi warned, just in time as Malika's fisted hand reached a little too close to Jer's throat, and instead of punching the bastard, she hugged him, hiding her face in his shoulder like she was some dumb girl.
"I won't forgive him, Mistress."
"I know. Goodbye, for now, Malika."