by G. Bailey
“There isn’t much else to tell. I am what you see,” I reply.
“I doubt that. We all have our secrets, and I’m sure you are not being honest about everything,” she replies, leaning back in her seat.
“I keep my secrets, yes, but only to protect those I love,” I tell her.
“Like my sons?” she asks, and I almost freeze as I answer her. I haven’t told them how I feel yet, and I’m not sure telling their mother first is the best idea. But I don’t want her to think I’m using her sons when I’m not. What we have is real.
“Yes,” I reply after a pause. Elodie stands up in one smooth movement and comes to stand next to me, looking down with a low growl escaping her throat that almost scares me.
“You don’t frighten easily, and that makes me think someone has done worse things to you than I can imagine. I see a victim and a fighter; I was one once. Now I have peace,” she says, straightening up and holding a hand out for me to take. As I slide my hand into hers and she helps me stand, she squeezes tight. “But make sure your past isn’t going to risk the lives of my sons, or I will hold you accountable.”
“I can’t promise that,” I whisper, feeling tears stinging the edges of my eyes.
“Then figure something else out,” she firmly tells me. “Now let’s go and find you a room. I’m sure Arabella will bring Snow to you later.” I have no doubt Elodie will kill me in the blink of an eye if my past hurts her sons. Maybe this was the reality I needed to realize how selfish I am being by being in their lives.
I will never be free.
Chapter 15
Tiryn
"I guess mother knows you love the vampire then?" I say to Jath as I pull on my shirt as we head down the corridor toward the throne room. The corridor has new tiles, the shiny blue stone that matches the color of the walls and the white flower designed to look like it is growing down the wall. The flowers remind me of the million scents of home in this place and how much I love it here. It was fun to run with my fathers and work off some of the energy my wolf has been building up. My wolf missed them as much as me. It was clear they missed me as well.
"I haven't even told Arilee that yet, so how could she know?" Jath asks, and I raise an eyebrow at him, trying not to laugh. As if it wasn't written all over his face every time he looks at Arilee, or you mention her.
"Because she isn't stupid," I reply, and he opens his mouth to say something when our grandmother comes around the corner, resting on her cane.
"Come and give your grandmother Mary a hug then. It's been far too long," she says, and I can't help but smile at her. I hug her before Jath does, and I smirk as she hits him on the arm with her cane.
"What was that for?" he asks, and I growl as she hits me on the arm too. "Have you gone crazy in your old age?"
"That is for not coming back sooner and for bringing a woman back without telling your family you had met one. Have you not heard of letters, boys? I did teach you to write so you should know how to write at least," she says, and I sigh.
"Mother is waiting for us, can we say sorry later?" I ask her.
"Go on," she says with a little smile on her lips. "I expect to see you later with some cake as an apology. You both know I can't walk down those stairs to the kitchens anymore to get my own."
"Weren't you banned because you kept scaring the cooks by telling them they were doing it wrong?" Jath asks while jumping out the way of her swinging cane. We laugh as we walk down the rest of the corridor and past the guards outside the throne room doors. I shut the doors behind us as Mother stands up off the throne and places her hands on her hips, doing that look which lets you know you're in trouble. The throne is made of silver, swirled around to look like wolf curled around a chair. The throne room itself has wolves painted across the ceilings, and the glass windows have been recently replaced with new stained glass, showing wolves running through a forest. I like the changes.
"Have you told that poor girl the truth?" Mother asks. "Or is it even worse than that. Are you changing your minds? When did you plan to tell me?"
"We haven't changed our minds," I say before Jath can put his foot in it. "We wouldn't do that to you. I know how important—"
"Stop with the bullshit. I am your mother; you do not fool me. You are both in love with that girl, and she is clueless that you are engaged to marry the Dark Paw heir in a few weeks," Mother says. Straight to the point, like she always is. I wouldn’t expect anything less from our mother. I told Jath more than once to tell Arilee the truth before it blew up in his face.
"I am going to tell her; I just haven't found the right moment to yet," Jath explains. “I know it will hurt her, and I don’t want to hurt her. I never expected to meet someone like Arilee and fall for her like I did.”
"That's a lie. He has no intention of telling the woman he is in love with that he is engaged to someone else. Can't I just marry this heir and Jath can be with Arilee then?" I ask, crossing my arms. I could move away, never having to see Arilee, and then I wouldn’t have to deal with my desire for her. I could do it. For my family, for my brother.
"No, she wants both the male heirs to my throne so that any child born will be the true alpha one day. If you mate with Arilee, your child would be a contender to be alpha," Mother explains to us. It’s what Jath thought she would say as well.
"Then what do we do?" I ask.
"Is she worth it? Worth starting a war that will see hundreds die. Is this more than a crush and lust?" Mother asks Jath, but her eyes stay on me as she comes to stand in front of us. "If you love her, then we will figure out another way to make peace."
"There isn't another way, that is why we are engaged to the heir in the first place," I point out. When the war first started, they had a meeting with the alphas of the Dark Paw pack, and it was the only thing they would accept to stop the fight. At the time, we didn’t mind it. The Dark Paw’s heir is beautiful, but we have only seen her from a distance. I’m sure she is just as fucked-up as her parents, and my wolf wanted nothing to do with her.
Not like Arilee. My wolf always wants to be close to her.
"The heir is here, and there is a meal tonight. We can ask her, but you have to let me know by tonight what you choose. There will be no going back if you choose Arilee, but I will side with you both," Mother says, looking like she knows everything as usual.
"Both? Arilee—"
"Don't lie to your mother, Tiryn. I can always tell when you try," Mother says, before smiling at me for a second and then looking back at Jath. She picks up his hand and holds it tightly in hers. "Either way, you should tell her the truth before she finds out by accident."
"The truth is going to destroy her," Jath quietly replies.
"If she loves you, then she will move on from it," Mother says and sighs. "Are you sure she doesn't have her own secrets?"
"We have no clue why she ran away from her land, and I suspect there is more she isn't telling us," Jath admits. I hate that we don’t know everything like we should do by this point. Arilee keeps quiet about her home at a time when we really need to know more.
"Secrets destroy relationships," Mother warns us before sighing. "I'm going to find the dressmaker and send her to Arilee. She will need a perfect dress for tonight."
"Thank you," Jath says, and she leans up, kissing his cheek. She does the same to me, whispering low.
"Tell the poor girl how you feel before it's too late, and she thinks you are nothing more than her friend." Mother pulls back, and I nod, my eyes drifting up to Jath who clearly heard our mother’s words. Letric walks to the entrance of the throne room, shortly followed by Alaric and River. They stop Mother to speak to her about something quietly, and her laugh fills the throne room.
“We tell Arilee tonight. No more secrets between us all,” Jath says, patting my shoulder before stepping away and walking to some of our family. Mother is right; secrets do destroy relationships. We just have to hope Arilee can forgive us for not telling her the truth.
Chapter 16
I turn around on the stand, looking down at the dress and the way the silky green dress fits all my curves perfectly. The back of my dress is open with gold waves of string falling down it. The bottom of the dress brushes against the ground and around the flat, black shoes I've been given. The dressmaker claps and smiles at me as I step down, feeling more than nervous as Elodie walks into the room.
"Wow, that looks perfect on you," she says, and I can't help but admire the fitted, silk, dark-blue dress she has on, and the way her brown hair is tightly wrapped into a bun with braids curled around it. My hair is done very similar with a few strands of my hair falling in curls around my face.
"Thank you very much," I say, and she smiles at me, clearly thinking of something. The moment she goes to talk, someone knocks on the door.
"Come in," Elodie calls, and the door opens with Alaric walking in. He doesn't see anyone but her as he walks up to Elodie and kisses her like they are alone. I pull my eyes away, feeling my cheeks burn red until they stop kissing and Elodie chuckles.
"Alaric, have you met Arilee?" Elodie asks, and I walk over, bowing before holding my hand out. He shakes my hand before smiling kindly.
"I've heard enough about you from our sons to feel like we have met already," Alaric says with a smile. "As much as I’d love to get to know you more, we are late for the meal."
"Who is going to be at the meal?" I ask as we walk to the door. "Jath and Tiryn were very good at avoiding the question today."
"There is another pack living on an island just outside of our lands. Their alpha was a contender to my claim as alpha, so we fought, and I killed her to win. She did kill my mother first and would have no doubt killed many more if I hadn’t stopped her,” Elodie explains.
“You do not need to justify yourself about killing that wolf,” Alaric gently tells Elodie, who smiles up at him.
“I know,” she softly replies and then looks to me. “I didn’t know she had two children—twins—before her death. The twins were bought up by their three fathers as they gathered a large pack. They soon suggested war to make their children alpha, but we have made a deal with them. Tonight, the twins will be at the meal, and they are guests for the next few days.”
“What was the deal?” I ask.
“Ah, can you smell that?” Alaric says as we go around another corner. I don’t miss the sharp change of the subject, but I get distracted myself when I see Jath and Tiryn waiting outside a pair of double doors. They both have perfect black clothes, tightly fitted to show off their builds, and they have long cloaks attached to their shoulders. They look like princes in this moment. Wolf princes. When I get closer, Tiryn takes my hand as Jath just stares, looking in shock. Tiryn presses the back of my hand to his lips, almost briefly, before lowering my hand.
“Arilee, Mother. You both look beautiful,” Tiryn says and winks at me, making me grin.
“My son, always the charming one with the right words,” Elodie tells me with a smile. I look back for a second to see Alpha, Letric, and River walking toward us down the corridor, and Elodie turns to them.
“You really do look beautiful,” Jath says as the double doors open, and we both look toward the dining room on the other side, where two people are already sitting down. They are clearly twins; both have curly black hair that is as dark as the night sky and bright green eyes. They are about my age, wearing matching green clothes. The man has a green cloak, much like the same clothes Jath and Tiryn are wearing, whereas the woman has a silky, green dress that is like mine, but hers leaves nothing to the imagination as it is cut in many places. The woman stands up, placing her hand on her brother’s shoulder as she smiles at us through her painted red lips.
“I’ve been looking forward to meeting my fiancés for a long time,” she says with a foreign accent I don’t recognize, but it is lovely to my ears. Her eyes fixed on Jath and Tiryn as my heart starts beating loud in my ear.
“Please tell me you have told her today,” I hear Elodie harshly whisper.
“You are both engaged?” I ask, spinning around and facing them. “To her?” I ask, pointing back at the woman.
“Yes, but—" I only need to hear the one word before I push past them both, and Jath grabs my arm. I slam my hand into his chest, and he flies backward into the room, crashing into the table.
“You forget I am not a wolf,” I say as his parents growl at me, and Tiryn steps in front of them. “I will not be held down ever again. You lied to me; you used me. Was any of it real, or was I just a toy for you to use until your marriage? Would I have been the other woman then?”
“No, it wasn’t like that!” Jath says, climbing up off the table.
“Stay away from me,” I tell him, trying to hold my tears in as I turn around and run down the corridor, kicking my shoes off as I go so I run faster. I don’t look where I’m going as I keep running and running until I find my room and pull the door open. I slam it shut and scream. I just scream as I collapse onto the floor, pain smashing into my heart and feeling like I am being cut open. Why didn’t they just tell me? Did they want to hurt me? These questions run around and around in my head a million times, but I never once get the answer. The door swings open behind me, and I look back to see Tiryn shutting the door.
“Get out,” I tell him, and he shakes his head as he walks to me. “I said get out,” I say more firmly this time, wanting him to get the message as I stand up. I do not want him here anymore. They lied. He walks right up to me, and before I can say a word, he kisses me. The kiss tastes salty from all my tears, but neither of us notice anything but each other as he devours my lips and holds me close.
“Did that feel fake?” he asks, staring into my eyes.
“I—” He swallows my words, making me forget to ask anything else as he kisses me. Tiryn picks me up and carries me to the bed, never pausing as he kisses me. For the love of vampires, Tiryn can kiss. He drops me on the bed and stands over me, unclipping his cloak. The cloak falls to the ground, followed by his shirt and trousers until Tiryn is standing in front of me with no clothes on at all. I sit up, and slowly push my dress up my thighs, revealing my lack of underwear.
“Nothing about us is fake. We didn’t tell you the truth, and that was wrong. I should have told you. Jath should have, but it is what it is. The truth is, I’m falling hard for you Arilee, and I need to know if you’re going to run from us?” he asks me, and he is more vulnerable in this moment than I’ve ever known him. I can see how nervous he is, how much he doesn’t want to talk about real things like feelings with me.
“Kiss me,” I command.
“No. Tell me,” he demands, gently grabbing my neck and pushing me down onto the bed, covering my body with his. “Tell me if you are going to run.”
“No. I’m in love with you so, how could I?” I admit, and he smiles, a big smile like I just said what he always wanted to hear. He kisses me, sliding his hand down my body and pulling my dress out of the way. He kisses down my chest, ripping the dress down and taking his time to kiss and lick my nipples. I moan, wriggling against him, and he goes onto his knees before grabbing my legs and flipping me over onto my knees. Tiryn kneels behind me and parts my thighs before lining himself up. He reaches a hand around my hip, his thumb going to my clit, and he rubs it perfectly as he slowly slides his hard cock deep inside me. I cry out as an orgasm shakes through my body, and Tiryn grabs my hips, slamming into me again and again.
“Tiryn, oh, god. Please don’t stop,” I say, digging my hands into the bedsheets as he thrusts harder and harder, chasing his orgasm.
“Fuck, Arilee,” he groans as he comes inside me, holding me tightly to him before pulling out. He wraps his arms around me as we lie down, and I rest my head on his chest, hearing his fast beating heartbeat as I control my breathing. “Please don’t run. We fucked up, but we love you.”
“You love me?” I ask him, and he looks down at me before pressing a kiss to my forehead.
“Yes,” he tells me and rolls on
to his side. “I wouldn’t risk my family going to war for no one.”
“War?” I whisper.
“Jath is trying to make a different deal with the Dark Paw twins, but we made it clear marriage is no longer an option,” he tells me and kisses me once more. “It’s been a long day; we should sleep, and we can talk more in the morning. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.” I cuddle up to Tiryn, wishing he was right.
But the truth is, I can’t let them go to war for me.
Chapter 17
I stare at the white-painted ceiling and the tiny lump of paint which isn’t smooth like the rest of the ceiling, and the more I stare, the more I start to wonder if I am like that lump in this place. Different. Unwanted by many and really shouldn’t be here. I roll over onto my side and stare at Tiryn as he sleeps, completely at ease with the world. He almost looks happy in his sleep, but there is always that touch of darkness about Tiryn. I feel he was born with it, and yet I really like that side of him
I love him.
I love Jath... and if I stay here, I'm going to destroy their world. My mother always said if you love something, you have to let it go. I never understood why you would let something you love to go, but I finally do now. It's selfish to stay here and keep them both, love them both. The Dark Paw twins will go home and tell their family to start a war, and hundreds will die to save our love. I also know my king's sons will come looking for me one day, and if the brothers protect me, which I know they would, it would mean another war.
Our love brings nothing but pain and destruction. I know a way to stop it, but it would hurt us all so very much.
I lift my head, feeling hot tears falling down my cheeks as I slide out of the bed and pull my dress on, and slide my feet into my shoes. I glance over at Snow, sleeping happily on the little bed in the corner of the room. She will be better without me too.
