Bride by Initiation: Secret Society Mafia Marriage Pact (The Underworld Book 1)
Bride by Initiation: Chapter 14

It takes everything I have to stay on my feet. My insides tremble as Valentina sears her fiery gaze into Sean.

He grabs my hand, lifts his chin, and confidently announces, ‘I choose Zara.’

Relief and fear hit me at once. I don’t want to marry the stranger next to me, even if he did remind me of Sean in the photos.

He isn’t anything like Sean.

I clutch Sean’s hand as anger floods Valentina’s expression.

Tension grows, and the entire arena sits on pins and needles, waiting for her reaction.

She steps closer and murmurs in his ear, ‘I’ll deal with you later.’ She spins and saunters over to the bald man.

I glance at Sean, and he tugs me closer to him.

Valentina steps beside the redhead. She asks the bald man, ‘Why did you choose her? Were you not directed to choose Zara?‘

He looks nervous. My guess is he’s normally a man who’d step into a dark alley with no qualms and come out alive. Right now, he looks scared to death.

He replies, ‘There were already two men going after her.’

Valentina arches her eyebrows. ‘So? Are you a coward?’

He swallows hard and doesn’t speak. She steps forward, takes her ring finger, and lifts his chin higher so he’s looking at the sky. She coos, ‘Do you see the moon?’

‘Yes,’ he replies.

‘Good.’ She releases him, and he looks at her. She states, ‘It’s the last time you’ll see it.’

Confusion fills his expression. He blurts out, ‘Why would you say that?’

She points to a man on the side of the stage. Like all the men in the crowd, he’s in a tuxedo and wearing the same skull mask. He comes on the stage, steps next to Valentina, and pulls a gun out of his pocket.

The crowd begins to stomp their feet again, chanting, ‘Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!’

The bald man shakes his head. He holds his hands out in front of him, begging, ‘Valentina, please.’

‘You were given a direct order. You were supposed to pick Zara, not a woman who was promised to another man. Instead, you defy your orders and attempt to break the promises our families made. Now look at the mess you created for them,’ she spouts, and points at the redhead and then me.

My insides shake harder.

Sean releases my hand and secures his arm around me. He murmurs, ‘Everything is going to be okay.‘

I lock eyes with him.

He squeezes me tighter and refocuses on Valentina.

The bald man declares, ‘There were two men going after her.’

Valentina argues, ‘Like I said, that makes you a coward.’ She holds her hand out, and the man in the tuxedo gives her the gun.

‘Please, Valentina. No,’ the bald man pleads.

Her lips twist. She studies him for a moment, then announces, ‘Don’t worry, I’m not killing you.’

He sags in relief. ‘Thank you.’

She holds the gun out in front of the redhead, asserting, ‘You derailed her promised future. So she’s going to be the one to kill you.’

My stomach flips.

The bald man implores, ‘No, please.’

The redhead’s eyes widen. She shakes her head. ‘No. I—I can’t.’

Sean tightens his grip on my waist, and the other man who wanted me to choose him takes a few steps away from us.

Valentina continues to hold the weapon, asking the redhead, ‘Are you not able to follow orders either?’

She glances between the gun and the bald man, stuttering as her face pales, ‘I-I-I⁠—’

‘Kill him! Kill him!’ the crowd chants louder and louder, stomping their feet.

‘Go on,’ Valentina urges.

The redhead slowly takes the Glock. Her hand shakes so hard, the barrel’s moving all over the place. She holds it out in front of her, but then shuts her eyes and puts her arm down. ‘I can’t. I’m sorry. I just can’t.‘

Valentina nods to the man next to her.

He grabs the gun, shoots the redhead in the chest, then turns and fires another shot at the bald man. There are two loud thumps as their bodies fall to the ground.

The women on the stage scream, and a few of the men as well. The crowd goes wild as blood pools between the two corpses until it circles Valentina. Only a tiny area around her shoes isn’t coated by blood.

Two men come and hold their hands out to her. She takes them, and they put their other hands under her armpits and lift her over the blood.

As soon as she’s in a clean area, the men disappear off the stage, as does the one with the gun.

She holds her hand in the air to quiet the crowd, then pins her gaze on me.

A whimper flies out of me. My knees buckle, but Sean holds me against him as close as possible.

The stranger who wanted me to choose him takes another step away from us.

Valentina struts across the stage, stands in front of us, and focuses on Sean. ‘You were told to choose the redhead.’

He stands taller and scowls at her, stating, ‘If you’re told to do something and you do it, it’s not really a choice, is it?’

The crowd gasps.

Valentina doesn’t flinch, drilling a glare at Sean until a smirk forms on her lips. She says, ‘Always the wise guy, I see.’

He retorts, ‘I only speak the truth.‘

She glances at the other man, declaring, ‘It appears she has not chosen you.’

‘She hasn’t chosen anyone yet,’ he quickly informs her.

She arches her eyebrows and curls her finger, ordering, ‘Zara, step away from him.’

I don’t move.

Sean pats my ass, encouraging me, ‘Go on. I’m right here.’

I glance at him.

He nods.

I step toward her.

Valentina asks, ‘Have you decided to obey this man, or have you chosen him?’ She points to the stranger who’s moved another three feet away.

My heart races so fast that I fear I might faint. I pin my eyebrows together and open my mouth, but nothing comes out.

Valentina steps closer.

My tremors intensify.

Sean reaches for me and tugs me back into him, claiming, ‘She chose me.’

Valentina doesn’t look at him. She keeps her focus on me, asking, ‘Do you choose Sean or Antonio?’

I bite my tongue, afraid I’m going to get Antonio, Sean, or all of us killed.

Sean squeezes my waist.

‘Speak. I know you’re not mute,’ Valentina snaps.

‘I… I…’ I glance between the two men, then meet Valentina’s gaze, admitting, ‘I don’t want anyone dead because of me.’

Valentina purses her lips and then looks at the crowd.

‘Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!’ they start chanting again.

Sean steps in front of me and snarls, ‘Don’t touch her.’

Valentina puts her hand in the air, and the crowd goes quiet. She seethes, warning, ‘Step away from her and do not try to shield her again.’

Sean doesn’t move.

‘Do you dare disobey me right now?’ Valentina barks.

He clenches his fist at his side, then slowly steps to my left but tugs me into him.

She questions, ‘Were you not told to choose the redhead? Or do I need to go replace Byrne and make him pay for not giving you the message?’

‘No, he told me,’ Sean affirms.

She tilts her head, studies him, then continues, ‘So you know your father made a pact, and you were to choose the redhead? Yet you didn’t?’

He tightens his grip around my waist, claiming, ‘My father’s pact was not from blood.’

She arches her eyebrows. ‘How do you know it wasn’t?’

Sean strokes his thumb over my waist and states, ‘It wasn’t. I know it wasn’t.’

Valentina is eerily calm, asking, ‘So you believe that gave you the right to not choose the redhead?‘

Sean answers, ‘I was told vows were a blood oath. Are they not?’

‘Yes. Of course they are,’ she replies.

‘So blood is more powerful than words?’ Sean challenges.

She glances between us. ‘Of course it is, but why are you asking such a thing?’

Arrogance fills Sean’s expression. He leans down, tilts my chin, and gives me a chaste kiss on the lips.

I inhale sharply.

He tears his gaze from me, squares his shoulders, and leers at Valentina. He announces, ‘Zara and I already have a blood oath.’

The crowd gasps.

Valentina’s head jerks back just a tad. She recovers and hurls, ‘You dare stand on the stage and lie!’

‘It’s not a lie,’ he states.

‘Of course it’s a lie!’

‘It’s not,’ I blurt out.

Her head snaps toward me. ‘You speak lies too? And to my face?’

Sean interjects, ‘We have a contract. We signed it in blood.’

She scoffs and then points her fingers between us. ‘You two… You try to cover each other’s tracks. Maybe you should be married.’

‘We’re not lying,’ I say, replaceing my courage.

‘I should kill you now,’ she snarls.

Sean steps in front of me again and warns, ‘You won’t threaten Zara ever again. She will be my wife, and you will respect her at all times.’ He looks past Valentina and shouts, ‘In the name of my father, Sean O’Malley, you all will adhere to my rules regarding my bride—my wife! Is it understood?’

Silent tension fills the arena.

Valentina steps so close, her scent flares in my nostrils. She seethes, ‘If you’re lying to me, the penalty is death. It’s always death if you lie to me. Not just tonight. And it doesn’t matter who your father or wife is.’

I blurt out, ‘We’re not lying! You want me to choose someone, well I’ve already chosen him! And he’s already chosen me. We did it on my twenty-first birthday!’

‘I would’ve known about this,’ she claims.

‘Apparently, you don’t have as good of spies as you think you do. You might want to look into that,’ Sean taunts.

Anger floods her expression. ‘You’re lying. Both of you.’

‘We’re not. I can prove it,’ I insist.

She points to the sky, ordering, ‘Look up.’

I obey.

She threatens, ‘Maybe this should be your last full moon.’

‘I won’t warn you again about threatening Zara,’ Sean snarls.

Two men race across the stage and step next to Valentina. One barks, ‘Do you dare make a threat against our high empress?’

I repeat, ‘I have proof we’re not lying!’

Valentina licks her lips and asks, ‘What proof is this you have?’

‘A contract. We signed a contract.’

She laughs. ‘A contract? I would’ve known about a contract.’

‘I have it. It’s in my jewelry box. Under the lid, there’s a removable compartment. It’s in there. I can get it and show you.‘

A new wave of gasps rolls through the crowd.

Valentina questions, ‘How would I not know about this?’

I continue, ‘I don’t know. But I was twenty-one. We were coming back from the club. Fiona passed out in the car, and Sean helped me upstairs. I got sick. I had just broken up with my boyfriend and drank too much. I cried to Sean and told him I didn’t think I would ever get married. He said he wasn’t going to either. Then we made a pact that when we were older, we would marry each other.’

Valentina’s face goes pale. She’s as silent as the crowd.

Sean interjects, ‘I wrote the contract. Zara said we needed to sign it in blood for it to be real. So I pricked her finger with my pocket knife and then my own.’

Valentina hisses, ‘Stop lying! I would know about this!’

My chest tightens. I cry out, ‘It’s in my apartment. In the jewelry box. His signature is in blood on top of mine! I swear to you.’

The silence is deafening. The moon seems to shine brighter, and my heart beats faster. I reach for Sean’s hand and grasp it as tightly as possible. He puts his other arm around me, and I put my hand on the front of his thigh to steady myself.

Valentina turns and snaps her fingers in the air.

Another man comes on stage. He hands her a phone.

She hits a few buttons and holds the cell to her ear. After a few seconds, she orders, ‘Go into Zara’s apartment. There’s a jewelry box. I’m told there’s a contract there. Call me back.’ She hits a button and turns back to us. ‘If this contract is real, we should have known about it.’

Sean scoffs. ‘Your problems aren’t our fault, are they?’

Her eyes turn to slits. ‘This is not the time for you to get smart, Mr. O’Malley.‘

He stands taller. ‘Well, it seems to me like you have some issues with your surveillance, doesn’t it?’

She opens her mouth, but the phone rings in her hand. She puts the cell to her ear, staring at Sean as if she wants to kill him, and fear runs through me.

She demands, ‘Did you replace it? Is it true?’

Time seems to stand still as the blood drains from her face. ‘Send me a photo.’

She holds the phone away from her and stares at the screen. Several minutes pass as the last of the color drains from her cheeks.

She snaps back into the phone, ‘I’ll deal with you later.’ She hands the phone back to the man who gave it to her.

He scurries off the stage.

She faces the crowd. ‘It seems we have a contract we didn’t know about.’

More gasps fill the arena.

She nods over to the side of the stage, and another man walks over.

He hands her a knife.

She steps up to me and holds it out. ‘Take it.’

My hand shakes, but I obey.

She points to the other man, who looks like Sean, the one I studied for too many hours. She orders, ‘Slit his throat.’

My knees almost buckle, but Sean holds me tight to him.

He says, ‘Give me the knife, and I’ll do it.’

Valentina spouts, ‘No, you will not pay for her sins. You will not pay for the debt that she owes us.‘

‘Her debt? She doesn’t owe you anything,’ Sean claims.

My hand continues to shake.

She declares, ‘It’s a debt. You both made a contract you had no business making.’

Sean scoffs. ‘How were we supposed to know about this?’

‘You were supposed to marry the redhead,’ she seethes.

He tugs me closer to him. ‘No, I’m supposed to marry Zara,’ he tells her, then turns to me. ‘Give me the knife.’

‘If you kill that man, Sean, Zara’s next,’ Valentina warns. She slowly meets my eye. ‘Decide. Choose your man. If you want the blood contract to be over, then slit Sean’s throat. It’s your choice at this point.’

My insides quiver harder. A chill runs through my blood. I can’t seem to make my feet move.

‘Let me do it,’ Sean pleads with her in a confident voice.

Valentina won’t have it. She doesn’t tear her gaze off mine. ‘I won’t tell you again. You have a choice to make. Who’s it going to be?’

I slowly push away from Sean.

‘Zara,’ he says under his breath.

I don’t look at him. I go right up to the man whose picture I studied and felt so many things for because he reminded me of Sean. A tear falls down my cheek. I mutter, ‘I’m sorry.’

He looks at me in horror, then begs, ‘Choose me instead. I’ll give you a better life.’

I can’t. I don’t know where it comes from, but in a quick move, I take my hand with the knife and slash it against his throat.

A look of surprise fills his eyes. He places his hand over his throat, and blood seeps all over it.

Valentina orders, ‘Now, stab him in the heart.’

I don’t think about it. I jam the blade into his chest and then let go, not having any more strength to pull it out. I step back with tears streaming down my cheeks, staring as he falls to his knees.

Sean steps behind me, wraps his arm around my waist, and tugs me into him. He spins so we’re facing Valentina. ‘You got what you wanted. The debt is paid.’

She arches her eyebrows. ‘You think the problem you created by breaking your father’s promise frees you?’

The air turns stale.

She points at Sean. ‘You don’t know what you’ve done.’

He clenches his jaw.

She glares at me, cursing, ‘The mistake of your blood oath will loom over you and your children.’

I shudder, not knowing what she means, and look over at the pool of blood filling the stage from my actions. More tears fall down my cheeks.

Sean holds me tighter, pulling my head to his chest.

I weep, not understanding how I could kill a man, the realization of what I’ve done sinking in.

Valentina shouts, ‘The other ceremonies are off! We will only have one set of vows tonight. And it will be with full exposure!’

The crowd cheers so loud it vibrates through my body, filling me with more fear.

Valentina silences the crowd. She roars, ‘Brides don’t cry! Those who do choose to die!‘

A loud, chaotic din rumbles through the arena.

Sean leans into my ear and yells so I can hear over the crowd, ‘You have to stop crying. We’ll talk about it later.’

I glance up at him.

He swipes my tears and kisses me on the lips. He holds my cheeks in his palms, instructing, ‘No more tears, Zara. Right now, you have to become my bride.’