8. Henri

We danced and danced, and people watched, and they watched. At first I was really cognizant of the attention we were receiving, but eventually it just faded away, leaving only Cole and me for a song here and another there.

It was amazing—being in his arms and enveloped in his scent felt so right, so perfect. But also…it was frustrating as fuck. I was so incredibly close and yet so far away. I wasn't sure if it was him or me or both of us that were the problem, but we were making a huge-ass mess of this entire situation, that was for sure.

Our conversation was pretty non-existent. He kept asking me if I was okay, and I kept on lying by saying that I was. And it wasn't that I wanted to be dishonest with Cole. I didn't. But we were surrounded by other people and his whispering in my ear reminded me of that.

I was grateful that people didn't try to tap into our dance. I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle being passed around the dance floor. As it was, keeping my beast at bay with Cole so very close to us, was challenging. If we were across the dance floor from him? Yeah, that would've been impossible. Sure, Cole and I were both shifters, but not everyone here was. Had I danced away from him and my beast decided to take over, it would quickly have turned into a disaster.

When the last song was played and it was time for us to go, he said, "Let me take you to your room."

"Okay," I replied, because really, what else was there to say? It wasn't like I could just change his mind. I wasn't even sure what his mind was. I'd wished he said "our," but it was me who said "my" first Ugh.

When I first learned about the wedding, I figured it would be awful. I was marrying a stranger, after all. But then I scented him and it sparked a hope that we would end up with the fairy tale wedding I'd once dreamed of. And now? Now I just wanted the night to be over because it was going from bad to worse.

Cole led me through the palace. I wasn't sure I'd be able to find my way back to the dance floor, if I had to. It was more a maze than a palace. Or maybe palaces were set up to confuse. I didn't even know. But in any case, it felt like we were a mile away and not simply in another part of the same building when we stopped in front of a door.

He unlocked it and turned the knob. When he opened it, I couldn't believe the size of the room. I came from wealth, and this shouted extravagance. We stepped inside, his scent strong in this space. It was very different from any room back where I lived. It felt... I don't know… off. Maybe that was just the vibes I was getting from my mate. Maybe I was just reading things that weren't there. Or maybe it was going to turn into a portal that led to another planet. At this point in the day, I'd believe just about anything.

"There's an ensuite over here," he said.

I looked around to see if my bags were there. They weren't. At least not in plain sight.

"Bags?"

"I'll deal with that in the morning." He shoved his hands in his front pocket. Was he nervous? And if those were nerves, was it a good sign?

"Thanks. I should probably get ready." My father's words echoed in my mind, the ones that said we needed to consummate.

What was the world's fascination with what other people did or didn't do in the bedroom? And the weirdest part of all of that was my body was 1000% in agreement with my father. My brain, however, kept telling me something was wrong and we needed to wait.

"I'll only be a minute," I said, reaching for the bathroom door.

"Take as long as you need. I'll see you later," he replied, walking out and shutting the door behind him.

At least I didn't need to be apprehensive about that part of our marriage. At least not for the moment.

I went into the bathroom, brushed my teeth, stripped down to my boxer briefs, and came back in and climbed into the bed… alone. Everything in here smelled like him. I wanted to snuggle into bed… so I did.

I'd never felt so relaxed, so safe. I waited and waited for him to come back, forcing myself to stay awake as long as I could. There were so many things we needed to talk about, starting with the fact that we were mates. But eventually, my eyes gave way, and I couldn't wait any longer. I fell into a shockingly deep sleep.

I woke with a start, for a moment forgetting where I was. When I remembered, I felt around, but he wasn't there. I inhaled deeply, tasting the air, hoping for a sign that he'd been back. There was none, the newest scent too faded away. He wasn't here and hadn't been while I was sleeping.

Wow, this marriage thing was a hot mess.

I thought about putting my clothes back on from the day before. But who wanted to wear dirty wedding clothes? And really, the security had been weird the night before. Heading out there like I was on the walk of shame wasn't going to do anyone any good.

Maybe life here wasn't going to be much different than my life before this. Maybe I was going to be a prisoner here too. Not wanting to risk dealing with security, I went and took a shower, washing the sleep from me and giving me something to pass the time.

My stomach growled. It was ready to eat, and I was ready to see my mate. Too bad neither of those things were an option. Happy first day of marriage to me.