Not Quite Right

[Rosalynd]

The creature wearing the face of my mate walks towards me.

He is dressed for a wedding. Top hat, tailcoat, white gloves, and a silk cravat and dress shirt all in varying shades of black and gray, like fog at midnight. His chestnut-colored hair has been slicked back and put into a ponytail, a ribbon of black silk tying it back.

None of this feels right. It isn’t Axel’s style. Even at our true wedding, I would more likely expect him to wear designer cowboy boots and a pair of dark denim.

But that isn’t the part of him that bothers me the most.

It was his eyes. Black as slate, cold and dark, they are the opposite of those warm, honey-brown orbs that stole my heart all those months ago.

“What are you?” I hiss, struggling against my bonds. "And where is Axel? Where is my mate?"

He places a gentle hand on my cheek, making a shushing sound as he tries to soothe me. “He's still here, watching you, protecting you. Even now, he fights to be by your side," his fingers re