We spend the next week trekking down the mountain with Gus beside us. Gus willingly hunts for us as we provide him what shelter we find and all the love we can give—which is quite a lot. I pray that Vain has given up his search for us and has gone back. I also pray that Alec's and Chance's families are okay. I wish I could see Riah again...
You will.
We've been following the broken up road that curves with the mountainside. Weeds poke up from the ground as if they're waving hello, and vines drift down from above and brush against our coats. The atmosphere is eerily quiet as we walk hand in hand, nearing the city. Every now and again, Alec will give me a sideways glance. I feel as if he is checking my expression to see if I'm about to break. But I refuse to. We've come so far in the midst of all this chaos. I'm beyond breaking point.
By nightfall, we reach the abandoned city. Doorways are empty, dirt pouring in and covering all the floors. The streets are nearly unrecognizable, for foliage and the jungle of the mountains has taken over. We watch morosely as Gus trots around the vicinity, sniffing for something edible, or maybe somewhere to mark his territory. I hold onto Alec's arm.
We spend a couple more hours—but what is a few more when we've been traveling days upon days—searching for a neighborhood to hide in. We discover a two-story house near the end of a quaint little street with a decently clean upper floor. The three of us pile into one of the bedrooms decorated with broken furniture and their dusty surfaces.
Alec shuts the door as much as he can, and we start to tidy up the room enough to live in for a night.
We lay out the blankets on the floor and sit closely to each other. Gus guards the door with his head resting on his front paws and his back legs out to the side.
Alec gazes at me. "Belle..."
"Hm?"
I watch the corner of his mouth curl up in a smile. "Let's get married."
I blink at him, surprised.
He shifts his weight and kneels in front of me. "Belle, we were going to get married in a few months... why not now? We can just have our own ceremony or something! I just want to be able to say that we are a family... and I want you to finally have one, too."
I take his hands and smile weakly. "It wouldn't be 'legal' if we just did it ourselves, though."
"Who cares? It's just you and me out here now. If we say we're married, then we'll be married!"
I grin. "You know I love you, right?"
He chuckles. "I figured something like that."
Forgetting how cold we are—how lost we are—I launch myself at him and hug him tightly. His arms lace around my waist as he holds me on his lap. I kiss him forcefully, stroking his cheeks with my thumbs as I cup his face. After all we've suffered, we deserve a little happiness—somewhere in this darkness.
Alec pulls back for a moment. He brushes a piece of my loose, stringy, dirty brown hair behind my ear. "So you'll marry me?"
I touch my forehead to his and smile. "Just say when, and I'll be ready."
***
The following morning, Alec is gone.
Gus sits attentively beside me, where Alec had been sleeping with me tucked into his arms. I sit up quickly, in a panic. "Where is he?" I yelp.
Gus tilts his head quizzically. Then he stands and starts to wag his tail with his tongue lolling out. A drip of drool hangs from the tip. Gus barks and then heads to the door, scratching at it with his long nails.
I struggle to my feet, feeling weaker than ever in my thighs. When I open the door, Gus charges out and down the hallway, down the stairs. I don't even bother to put my shoes on as I follow him as closely as possible.
We run out the front door of the house into the street covered with nature. He leads me down the road to the house at the end of the street. We skirt the side of the house and enter the woods behind the house. I try my best to push aside foliage and keep up with Gus at the same time, but he's too fast! I fall behind a lot. I just try to follow the sound of crackling leaves and breaking twigs.
I soon see morning light sparkling through the trees. When I break through the last of the vines, I find myself standing in a beautiful open field with grass as high as my knees.
And Alec stands before me with Gus at his side. "This dog is pretty awesome, isn't he?" Alec says.
I walk slowly to him. "What are you doing? You scared me half to death!"
Alec takes my hands in his. "Sorry, but I had an idea while we were falling asleep last night. Come with me."
I walk with him, my hand tightly grasping his.
"After studying the ancient ways for years—all the ways people would be united in marriage—I knew that the Claiming just wouldn't be good enough. Not when I'm marrying you."
My eyes round. "Alec, is this—"
"Just wait, Love."
We approach a cluster of four trees that shade a little area in the shape of a square. Alec takes me into the center of the four, and Gus sits under one of the trees watching us. Alec bends down into the tall grass and picks up a small wreath of flowers that he seems to have tied together. It's not perfect, actually, most of the flowers look dead.
But as he places the flowers on my head, I don't care. The fact that he did this for me...
He once again takes both of my hands in his and offers me a beautiful smile. "Isabella Reyes, I've wanted to marry you since I met you. Yeah, that's super cliché and really sounds dumb, but just hear me out."
"Are these your vows?"
He laughs. "Heck, yeah! Belle, I felt as if the minute you opened your mouth, God whispered to me, 'That's the One.'"
I blush.
"But I was an idiot then. I tried to hide it because I was shy, and frankly, I was a little scared of you! You were—and still are—very stubborn and headstrong. You're smart and clever. And my goodness you are beautiful! But the closer we became, the more I could be your friend. I told you when I thought you were wrong, and I told you when you had a bad idea. But that's what made you trust my opinion, and I love you for accepting me.
"So here's my promise to you, Isabella. I will never try to hurt you, and I will never leave you. I will love you when you're at your worst, and when you're at your best. I will love you when you hate me, and I will love you when you wish I were dead. Because you are more than just my best friend. You are everything to me."
He pauses, and I realize I haven't taken a breath in quite a while. My nose starts to tickle at the bridge, and I know I'm about to burst.
Hold it together.
He gently slides the wedding band off my finger and holds it up to me. "I hope I do this right." He then puts the ring back on my finger. "I take you, Isabella, to be my wife. Forever and always."
I use my other hand to wipe away an escaping tear. "Isn't it 'till death do you part'?"
"Not for us," he says gently.
I grin. "Then here's my vow. I believe I've always loved you. Even before we met, I loved you. I believe God intended for us to be together, so that love that I was saving for the one I was to be Claimed by was always meant for you. It was just stored somewhere in the back of my heart. So here it is.
"I promise you that I will never love anyone but you. I promise to stay by your side through every problem we face—because we've already faced a lot, and I don't think I could even stand to lose you. I loved you my whole life, and I will love you beyond the rest of it."
I then slide Alec's ring off his finger and put it back on. "I take you, Alec, to be my husband." I pause. "Forever and always."
He grins, and I notice a small tear in the corner of one of his eyes. "I believe this is the part when we kiss."
"Oh, gladly."
And so I stand on my toes and kiss him.
End of Book 1
Book 2, The Haven, is now available on Wattpad with updates occurring frequently! Enjoy!
Prequel, The Untold Story of the Lower District, is now available, updates frequently, as well! FOLLOW to get updates on all things The Claiming series and more! (trust me, I don't do spam updates). This is the story of a girl who attend the Claiming 16 years prior to Belle, however, this girl is left without a husband. Experience the dark truth behind being sent into the Lower District.
A/N: Currently, I am revising this story so that it will be fit for publication. I have found that I am changing the story line quite a bit which will impact The Haven as well. Neither will be changed on here until both are up to date, so you won't have to worry about that for a while! Until then, enjoy the story that's online now and just look out for updates about a plot change in the future! I'd recommend re-reading both stories (it could be fun--you could look out for all the minor changes I've made as well!) when the time comes! Thanks for reading! Leave comments below about what you think of the story and what you'd personally change about the story itself. I'd love the ideas!
A/N (Nov 2022): If you like fantasy/romance, feel free to check out my new story Winter & Wing, too!