THE VAMPIRE'S MATE

CHAPTER TWO.

Mother Kim delicately wiped Jennie's tears away, the soft touch of the cloth a stark contrast to the heavy emotions weighing on both their hearts. She dusted Jennie's cheeks with white powder, the gentle strokes a ritual of comfort. Next, she applied a red tint to her daughter's lips. "Don't cry, dear. Hold it for me," she whispered, her voice soothing yet firm.

Jennie complied, biting back the sobs that threatened to spill, holding her tears in check until they gathered and blurred her vision. She blinked them away, dabbing at her eyes with a piece of cloth to avoid ruining her carefully applied makeup. The wedding ceremony was to be an intimate affair, a union witnessed by her band of gypsies and the inner circle of the Manoban coven, along with their servants. It was happening just two days after the proposal; before Jennie could even fully grasp the reality of her first marriage proposal, she was already standing on the brink of matrimony.

"B-But, mom, I haven't even seen her," Jennie's voice trembled, her fear evident.

Mother Kim nodded, continuing to brush Jennie's hair with tender, practiced movements. Jennie was her only daughter, and though she tried not to show favoritism, she believed Jennie to be the most beautiful omega she had ever seen, even more beautiful than herself in her youth. Jennie was their Goddess's blessing, a precious gift, and the thought of giving her away tonight was almost too much to bear. "She is a perfect mate for you, Jennie."

"W-What if s-she kills me, mom? She is a vampire for heaven's sake," Jennie speaks her fears for the umpteenth time. Her mother shushes her and holds her closer to her chest, "I believe she won't, dear. They asked for you hand in marriage not as a servant. You will belong to her, she won't just treat her possessions badly." Mother Kim says, reassuring her.

Jennie sniffs and wills her tears back again.

"Now for your wedding dress," they both turned to look at the wedding dress that was going to take their cherished daughter to her doom. The black wedding dress.

Hell.

Jennie wasn't engaged, the gypsies don't believe in engagements.

But her wedding was here now.

The black dress whirls around her till it wraps around her like a vice and falls around her in a sleek heap of black georgette and dark stones. The dress isn't big but its very different from the ones she is used to wearing, and she can't help herself but feel uncomfortable.

Her hands are also covered completely with the material. The strands of her hair seemed to twinkle against the light from the lanterns. The gold jewelry she was oh-so used to wearing was now replaced by white stone ones that ㅡ instead of being the large hoops ㅡ were long and dangled from her ears.

She didn't tell her mother this, but this feels way lighter than the earrings she is used to feeling and it scares her because she doesn't feel grounded anymore. The golden bangles in her hands are replaced by a simple single ring that shines as bright as her hair with the amount of diamonds in it. It was heavy, it weighed a ton and it scared her again.

Oh, everything about this marriage scared her.

She is allowed to keep her thick anklets though, even though the little bells in them twinkle everytime she walks. Everyone of the omegas she is used to seeing every single hour of her day come into the caravan to hug her and tell her their blessings. She listens to them and tries very hard not to cry.

It doesn't work.

It's all too soon that the hymns of the same music she grew up hearing starts playing as the betas in their pack string their instruments and play. It was similar to the one she danced to on the first night they were here, but it was more softer; a wedding music, but haunting in their tone and depth. Her mother puts the sheer black veil over her head and takes a hold of her hand for her to get down the makeshift stairs from the caravan. She is taken away from the band of caravans and they all walked together farther and in the outskirts where the vampires were standing in all black suits.