Aiden watched as two huge guards brought in a hysterical man. They had their hands hooked under each of his arms, while his legs dragged limply behind him. He was crying frantically, blubbered words spilling from his lips, his face ashen white. The guards practically threw him at the King’s feet while a third guard walked up holding a bow and an empty quiver.
Jameson looked at the guard holding the weapon, his face a mask of anger. Aiden saw Turk walk up beside the King, his eyes trained on the heap of man before them.
“There were no arrows left when we found him but the quiver still holds the stench of poison,” the guard said to the King. “We think he was getting rid of the others when we found him. It didn’t take much to get him to confess,” he continued, his voice filled with disdain as he gave the man a disgusted look.
“Who are you?” the King asked, his question directed at the sobbing man.
“Horace, your majesty,” he replied.
“You tried to kill me this eve, Horace, and for that you will face certain death for this act of treason.” The King’s voice was colder than Aiden had ever heard him. A new round of crying began as the man, Horace, shrank under the King’s steely gaze. “As you can see, however, you failed,” Jameson continued, his voice lowering in an even more terrifying way. Aiden could see the man’s body shake harder. “You did succeed in killing the High Priest. I can only imagine what our God and Goddess have planned for you in the afterlife. They do not take kindly to those who murder their devoted clergymen.”
Horace began to mumble an apology over and over again, mixing in something about a ‘she’, but Aiden couldn’t understand a word of it. Turk’s lip curled in distaste when Aiden turned to look at him. Aiden was tired of hearing this man. He was tired period. The night had come and gone and he was exhausted. He wanted to put this mystery to rest right then. Stepping forward, he squatted down in front of the man. Watery eyes looked up at him, instantly filling with terror.
“Do you know who I am?” Aiden asked, his voice deceptively soft. The man began to cry harder. Aiden reached out and grabbed a fistful of his hair, eliciting a scream from him. He pulled so the man was looking right at him. “Stop this now,” he ordered firmly. He felt cold and detached as he looked at this man falling to pieces before them all. He didn’t even feel quite like himself anymore. This man was keeping him from Lily longer than necessary, and Aiden was pissed.
Anger filled him as he pulled the man’s head back further while he watched him panic. “You brought this on yourself,” Aiden sneered. “Deal with the consequences of your actions like a man!” His voice was rising, but no one was stopping him. He could see Horace struggle to get control over himself, but for some reason the man seemed utterly terrified of Aiden. “Now, tell us who hired you to kill the King. And I’m warning you now,” he said slowly, bringing his face closer to him, “don’t lie.”
Unbelievable, Aiden thought exasperated. The man began to cry again, if possible, even harder than he had been before.
“I can’t,” he cried, shaking his head as much as Aiden’s grip would allow. “I can’t do that to her. I won’t.”
A slow smile spread over Aiden’s face. He flinched at the coldness of it as he saw his reflection in the man’s dark eyes. “I suggest you rethink that answer, because either way we’re going to get it out of you. Telling me now will be fair less painful than the alternative.” He watched as his words sunk in.
Horace’s eyes glanced over his shoulder at the King nervously before meeting Aiden’s again. “She’s just upset. She would have never done anything like this otherwise. It’s not like her.”
Aiden tightened his grip. He was getting really sick of this guy. “Who?” he asked calmly, fighting back the urge to just punch the guy in the face. He was feeling abnormally angry. He needed Lily, and as far as he was concerned this pathetic excuse for a man was getting in his way. An electric feeling seemed to be building in his chest, running up his shoulder and down his arm to the hand holding the man’s hair. When it reached his fingers, he watched as the man’s body jerked under his hold, his eyes growing wider with pain and fear. Aiden didn’t even think twice about what he’d just done. Instead he smiled knowingly, with an unsaid promise to do it again if the man didn’t speak.
“It was Melaine,” Horace confessed, his voice shaking with panic. “Please don’t hurt me,” he begged. “It was Melaine. She told me to do it.” Aiden let go of his hair. The minute he did, Horace’s head fell forward, his face buried in his palms as his shoulders shook. “I just love her so much,” his muffled voice came out from behind his hands. He looked up at the King, pleading for understanding. “I’d do anything to make her happy. Anything.”
Aiden stood, turning to look at the King whose face looked like he had just swallowed something really bad. Turk’s expression almost mirrored the King’s exactly. This was all done by the King’s mistress? Aiden wanted to yell and curse, but instead he just stood still, focused on Jameson.
“Take him out of here,” the King finally said. The two guards grabbed Horace again, dragging him back the way they came. They could hear his screams for a long time before the throne room was blissfully quiet again. Turk dismissed everyone but Aiden. The three stood in silence for a moment before the Captain spoke.
“I can’t believe she’d do this,” he said. His voice was filled with such utter disbelief that Aiden didn’t doubt a word. They both obviously had never even imagined it would be Melaine. Aiden, quite frankly, didn’t know her at all, so he wasn’t nearly as shocked.
“What have I done?” the King breathed, running both hands through his hair. “This is my fault. She would have never done anything like this if I hadn’t tossed her out the way I did.”
“Are you sure about that?” Aiden piped in. The both looked to him. “I mean, someone doesn’t just up and decide to arrange something like this over heartbreak. Are you sure she wasn’t always capable of such a betrayal? Maybe you didn’t know her as well as you thought.” It was harsh, but it was the truth. The King had paled noticeably.
“She needs to be dealt with,” Turk said, sounding somewhat reluctant. “I know it will be hard, but Jameson, we can’t let this go unpunished.”
The King nodded slowly, looking down at the floor. “I know,” he said quietly. “Go and get her, and bring her to the dungeons. Have someone come and get me before anything happens. I need to speak with her first.”
The sun was low in the sky by the time Elisa got back to her room. It was already morning and she hadn’t slept a wink. Her feet dragged as she closed the door behind her, letting her back fall against it. Too much. There was too much going on inside her head. She wasn’t sure how to even begin to process it. Alistair’s death. The painting. What she found behind it. Gods, the truth. Tears welled up in her eyes. Was she the only one that knew now? With Alistair gone, his secrets with him, would she be the only one left that knew the horrible reality.
She pushed off the door, stumbling toward her bed, face planting into the softness of her pillow. If she could, she would stay like that for days, if not months. It was surely going to take her that long to come to terms with everything she had learned that night.
Aiden. His name sent a pang of panic throughout her entire body. How was she going to tell him? Would she even be able to? But how could she not? Would she be able to keep something like this from him? She let out a scream into the pillow, muffling it from the world. Why was life so hard? Just when she hoped things might get easier, especially with Wolf by her side, she’s suddenly thrown into a decade long secret that was sure to ruin lives.
Hands slowly trailed up her sides, causing her to jerk upright, leaving the safety of her pillow sanctuary. She let out a surprised scream, which was answered by a deep chuckle. She looked over her shoulder at Wolf’s grinning face.
“You scared me!” she said accusingly.
“What were you doing with your face buried in a pillow?” he asked, clearly amused. Her eyes welled wi
th tears against her will. His grin instantly vanished off his face, his eyes growing serious and worried. He sat down and pulled her into his lap, tucking her head under his chin. One of his hands stroked up and down her arm soothingly, while his other gripped her hip to keep her in place. “I’m sorry,” he said, dropping a quick kiss on the top of her head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I know how devastated you must be right now.”
He didn’t know the half of it, she thought. “It’s okay,” she assured him. “I’m better now.” And she was. Being held in Wolf’s arms was quite possibly the best thing possible. He pulled her even tighter as she let out a content sigh.
“We need to get some sleep,” he said quietly. Before she could agree, he stood up with her in his arms. He gently placed her on her feet for a second while he pulled down her covers, before picking her back up and laying her down in her bed. He straightened up and she panicked.
“Don’t leave!” she cried instantly. She inwardly cringed at the desperation in her voice. She hated to sound and feel weak, but the night had taken its toll on her, and all she wanted was Wolf by her side. He smiled, not his cocky, condescending smile, but a sweet smile that said he knew and understood exactly why she had reacted that way. Like he would never think of leaving her. It warmed her heart, and caused her stomach to flip at the clear emotion in his eyes.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he reassured her. He pulled off his shirt, revealing his sculpted chest and arms. Elisa’s mouth went dry just at the sight of him. He seemed completely unaware of his effect on her as he kicked off his boots.
How was it, after everything that happened, she still wanted him so badly it hurt? The way the evening had started began to come back to her, warming her further. The bath, where he had done things to her with his fingers she had never thought possible. She could feel her cheeks flush at the memory. He wanted to wait to make love to her until they were married. At the time she thought it was sweet and romantic, and she had been all for it. That was, until he began doing other things to her that he said they could do in the meantime. By then she’d been about ready to beg him to take her.
Then at the tavern they had danced together, and the feeling of his hands on her had made her head swim. His touch was like fire, setting her to flames. Sometimes a simple look from him had her blood pounding. She could remember feeling that way before, when she desperately tried to convince herself she did not want him. He would look at her and she would feel her body react, and that was when he wasn’t even trying to entice her. Now that they were together, everything little thing he did she could have sworn was meant to torture her. She hated and loved him for it all at the same time.
When he finally looked back up at her after relieving himself of all his weapons, a slow knowing smile lit up his face. This one was filled with insinuation, not at all sweet like the last one he had given her. This was the smile of his namesake, right before he devoured you. She could only imagine what her face looked like.
“What are you think about?” he asked playfully.
She cleared her throat, shrugging in what she hoped seemed a casual response, but felt stiff and fake. “Nothing,” she answered. Damn it. Her voice was breathy and rough with arousal. There was no hiding his effect on her. She wanted to pull the covers up over her head, but that would give him too much satisfaction.
He laughed. “Doesn’t look like nothing.”
“Shut up, Wolf,” she rolled her eyes. “Just get into bed.”
“Yes, dear,” he replied, crawling in beside her. She laughed at his response while she turned over so he could hold her from behind. Her back met up with his chest as he hooked his arm around her waist. She felt secure, safe, and most importantly, happy.
“Goodnight Wolf.”
“Goodnight Elisa,” he whispered. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” As soon as the words left her mouth, blackness overtook her and she fell into an exhausted slumber.
Awareness was slowly seeping in as she stirred. Warmth surrounded her causing sweat to bead at her temples. Brightness assaulted her closed eyelids. Elisa blinked against the afternoon sun as she slowly opened her eyes. The dream that had occupied her sleep still lingered in the back of her mind, filling her with despair. She took a moment to remind herself that it was just a dream, nothing more. At least she hoped. The vision of Aiden’s face tormented her, so she pushed it away. Just a dream, she reminded herself.
Her hand reached down to twine with Wolf’s. His arm still held her firmly against him, while one of his legs was shoved between the two of hers. They were tangled together in such a way that made her smile. It explained why she was so hot.
“Good morning,” he said, his voice rough with sleep. She sank back into him more as he buried his face in her hair.
“Good morning,” she replied.
“I like waking up with you in my arms.”
She laughed, squeezing the hand she held. “Well I like waking up in your arms, so I’m glad we can finally agree on something.”
He grunted in amusement. “I remember feeling this way when you slept in my bed on the boat ride home from Nysa,” he admitted. “Like I could live happily if only I could go to sleep and wake up with you there.” His arm tightened even further around her. She let him hold her, not feeling the need to respond. He knew she felt the same way; there was no point in saying it out loud. They lay together for a while. Eventually her eyes began to grow heavy again and she fell back asleep all tangled in Wolf.
When she woke up the second time, the light outside had dimmed a bit, and small, wet kisses were being trailed across her shoulder. She moaned, turning her face to bury it in the pillow. They had slept almost the entire day away, from what she could tell of the light outside, and yet she still felt exhausted. Maybe if they just stayed in bed for two straight days she would start to feel better. Her inner voice argued that she wasn’t tired, she was just avoiding what was outside that bedroom door, and she immediately told it to be quiet in reply.
“As much as I love spending my entire day in bed with you,” Wolf said between kisses, “and I really do love it, I have to admit that I’m starving.” His stomach growled right then, timed perfectly. They both laughed. “You see? He’s not happy with me right now.”
She snuggled into him, burrowing further into the mattress. She really didn’t want to get up even though she knew they had to eventually. Truthfully she was starving too, but sleep seemed more appealing than eating. No she was not avoiding anything. Ugh, she moaned inwardly, she was totally avoiding everything.
“Okay, we can get up,” she sighed, but made no move to do just that. Neither did Wolf.
“Elisa?” he said, as his hand spread out on her stomach, the heat of his palm sinking through the fabric.
“Yes?” she replied, sounding breathless.
“Any particular reason you were yelling out Aiden’s name in your sleep?” His voice was casual and light, but she could feel the tension in his body. As she stiffened, his grew even more tense. “Should I be worried?” he asked carefully.
She pushed up on her elbows so she could turn and look at him, forcing him to remove his arm from around her. “How can you even ask that? Of course you have nothing to worry about!” she answered, appalled that he’d even ask such a question. “How could you ask me that?”
He shrugged, but it didn’t look as nonchalant as usual. She placed a hand on each side of his face, looking him in the eyes so he heard her clearly. There would be no mistakes about whom her heart belonged to.
“I love you, Wolf,” she vowed, “no one else. Never doubt my feelings for you.” He smiled, somewhat sheepishly. It amazed her that even self-assured Wolf needed some reassurance once and a while. The look on his face was almost childlike and made her love him even more. She kissed him, meaning for it to be a gentle touch to show him how she felt. But Wolf had other plans, and soon the kiss was all consuming. His heat filled her as their tongues met, his demanding. He moved
so that she was under him, never once breaking the kiss. She opened her legs so he could settle between them, their bodies perfectly aligned as he claimed her, body, heart, and soul.
When they finally pulled apart, both were panting. “Sorry,” he breathed, smiling down at her. “I got carried away. You do that to me.”
She smiled coyly. “I’m not complaining.”
He moaned, his head dropping so his face was buried in her neck. She let her hands sift through the soft strands of his hair, basking in the feeling of his weight on her. “You’re going to make this so hard, aren’t you?”
She shifted her hips up a bit, biting back a laugh when she heard him hiss through his teeth against her skin. “Make what hard?” she asked with feigned innocence. His head popped back up, his eyes narrowed as he looked down at her.
“You’re terrible.”
“Me?”
“Absolutely. You’re worse than me, you wench.”
She laughed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you don’t. Come on,” he said, pushing himself up and off the bed. “I need food so I can get some energy before I pay you back for that.”
Her heart sped up. She could only imagine what his payback would be. Anticipation raced through her, and must have shown on her face, because as soon as he looked at her his head fell back and he groaned up at the ceiling.
“You’re killing me! You don’t need to look so excited about it.” He shook his head and looked back down at her. “Most people are terrified of my revenge.”
She smiled wide, sitting up in the bed. “Well I’m not most people.”
He chuckled, still shaking his head while he put his boots and shirt back on. “That you’re not. Come on, we should find Aiden, Logan and my brother. I want to find out what happened last night.”
The Eden Series: The Complete Collection Page 90
