Decadence (Tree of Life Series Book 1)

by Nichole Austin

  She glares at me. “If you knew the reason why we did what we did, you would think twice about continuing on with your so-called relationship with her.”

  A gasp fills my head. I thought you said we were supposed to be together. Sorrow fills my heart as I feel my mate withdraw from me. Rosalyn, stop. I haven’t ended things because I didn’t know how to explain us, but you have no room to talk. You haven’t even accepted us.

  When I feel her anger fill me, I know I’m okay for now and continue my conversation with my sister. “You have no room to judge me or talk to me about my relationship. When you get into one of your own, then go ahead and give me relationship advice. Until then, keep your mouth shut.”

  Pushing her to the side, I stride down the stone corridor toward the stairs when her frustrated voice stops me short. “She said she would hand me over to Mara when she became queen.”

  I turn around and catch her light brown eyes. Forcefully, I whisper, “Jacque said what?”

  Brailyn’s freckled hand shakes as she brings it up to tuck some hair behind her ear. Alaric, calm down. It’s hard enough for her to tell you. Let her talk. Then we can go kill your soon-to-be ex. Rosalyn’s sweet voice calms me.

  Even though my heart rate doubles, I take a calming breath. “Come on, let’s go to the meeting room so we can talk.” As I guide her with my arm, Thomas and Steise walk toward us. This is perfect. Now I can grab the two of them for this talk because I’d like my best friend back. “Thomas, Steise, we’re all going to talk about what happened that day. Brailyn just revealed some details to me that make me want to know everything.” My eyes urge Thomas to say yes, and he nods.

  “Alaric!” Jacque yells as my foot hits the stairs leading to the meeting room.

  The muscles in my shoulders tense, and Thomas turns around. “Jacque, this is official business, and since you are not royalty or in the guard, you can’t come. You’ll have to wait until later to talk to him.” Just like that, he has my back again.

  “Alaric, please just talk to me.” The whining in her voice grates on my nerves, and I stop.

  Keep walking, I can feel you starting to lose control of your temper, Rosalyn tells me, her voice calm.

  Thomas claps his hand on my back and whispers, “Don’t stop. That’s exactly what she wants.”

  It’s hard for me to move my legs because I want answers from her right now. I’ll seek her out after this conversation. I can feel in my bones that it won’t be pretty.

  Once we reach the top of the landing, we head down the stone corridor adorned in forest green. At the end, we go into a room that smells of oak, the room is covered in it. At the far end of the room, behind the table, there’s a fireplace. To the right side of the fireplace is a secret chamber I’ve never been allowed in, and on the opposite side of the room is the weapons chamber. In the center is a long table with chairs around it, covered by maps of all the kingdoms.

  We take seats, me at the head of the table. Putting my elbows on the hard wood, I steeple my hands and look at Brailyn and then Steise. “Would one of you please tell me what happened with Jacque? I don’t care which one, but I want the truth. Both of you know that I’ll be able to tell if you’re lying.”

  Suddenly, Rosalyn pipes up again, What do you mean you’ll be able to tell if they’re lying?

  Of course, she wants to ask this now. Sweetheart, I’ll talk to you about this later. Right now, I need to focus.

  I divert my attention back as Steise starts talking. “Jacque kept going on and on about what she was going to do when she was queen. It was pathetic.” She looks over at Brailyn and they roll their eyes and laugh. Looking at Steise, I clear my throat. She jumps. “Oh, sorry, I told her it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that she would be queen because you hadn’t ever mentioned mating with her.”

  Taking an exasperated breath, I look over at Brailyn to finish the story. Steise was skipping over parts of it, and I wanted the full thing.

  You better tell me later how you can tell that, Alaric. Now I know how Rosalyn feels.

  Enough, Rosalyn. My eyes zero in on my sister’s and my words are short and clipped. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll tell me the full story without skipping over anything. I don’t care what happened or who was to blame.”

  “Dude, you didn’t let Steise finish. She would have told you,” Thomas says, annoyed.

  My head snaps to him, and I narrow my eyes. “I’ll tell you this right now. I could tell from her intent that she was skipping over some major things, so I’m deferring to my sister on this one.” Once again, I look over at Brailyn and urge her to start.

  “Steise and I were helping some of the mortals get settled in the village when Jacque approached us, asking if she could hang out with us.” She takes a quick breath to prepare herself. Her voice grows stronger as she continues. “I laughed at her and told her I knew she didn’t want to help. She always complains when she has to do anything that requires work.” Shaking her head, her face pinches in disgust. “Jacque said that she did want to help, so Steise and I had her clean the next house over while we settled the family. It didn’t take long before she returned and started whining that she didn’t want to clean the house and wanted to do what we were doing. She was making our kingdom look horrible with the way she was acting.”

  Brailyn’s eyes beg me to understand, and I nod because I know all too well what one of Jacque’s whining fits looks like. “What happened next?”

  She talks rapidly, “I told her to either go back to cleaning the other house or go back to the castle. She then started saying that when she was queen, she was going to be doing a whole bunch of things differently. The look of fright on the mortals’ faces made me want to get her out of there. Then she said it didn’t matter what our mother wanted, that you would marry her anyway.”

  “She said what?” I growl, outraged, and the veins pop out of the side of my neck. When I see fur sprout on my hands, I take a few calming breaths and look back at my sister. “Sorry, please continue.”

  Thomas gets up from his chair and puts his hands on my shoulders. My eyes quickly pass between the girls, wondering which one is going to tell me what happened next. It’s not the girls that tell me, though. From behind me, my best friend’s low voice chimes in. “The girls wanted to get her away from the mortal family, so they left the house and began walking back to the castle when Jacque tried to cut them off. They just wanted her to leave them alone, but she refused.”

  Brailyn’s voice is small when she interrupts him. “I told her what she said was treason, and I hoped she would be turned in because I’d never want her as a sister.”

  Thomas continues in his steady voice. “Steise then told her you would never go against your mother. She said Jacque should probably pack her bags and find someone else because there’s somebody better out there for you.” My heart warms when I think about Rosalyn’s curly ebony hair. “Jacque then spouted off that when she becomes queen, she’s shipping anyone close to you off to Mara for the blood races.”

  I try to shoot out of my chair, but Thomas holds me down. “Let me go, Thomas!” Knowing I’m losing control, I look at both the girls. “Both of you, out!” They scramble out of their chairs, their green dresses billowing behind them as they run from the room.

  My girl’s voice barely reaches my brain. I promised you we would go after her together. Don’t lose control, please. Breathe. She’s not worth it. She’s not worth this. By the end of her speech, I’m taking deeper breaths and can think more clearly.

  “I’m fine,” I say as I roughly shake Thomas’ hands off my shoulder and push back the chair when he steps away. Standing, I turn around and furrow my brow at him. “Why didn’t you tell me when you found out what happened?”

  He throws his hands in the air, and his chestnut hair with red highlights looks like a mane around his head. “Would you have listened?” He pauses briefly. “There was no way I was telling you a thing until you were ready to sit down and hear me out. No
w, I’m going to be there to make sure you don’t kill her,” he tells me, but also trying to joke with me.

  A throat clears from the doorway, and I turn to see my mother. “Thomas, would you leave me alone with my son so I can speak with him?”

  “Yes, your Majesty.” Thomas bows slightly before quickly making his way out of the room. The door clicks as he shuts it.

  My mother moves closer to me in her full emerald dress, her mahogany hair braided over one shoulder. She peers up at me. She puts her index finger to her lip, “I find it interesting that you aren’t a wolf right now, Alaric. The girls came running to tell me you were about to change because you were so upset, but you seem calm right now.”

  Busted. Rosalyn chuckles inside my head.

  I’m not the only one busted, sweetheart. When I pay attention to my mother again, she’s studying me.

  I don’t think I like the way she’s looking at you, Alaric. She’s staring at you like you’re a puzzle she needs to figure out, but it feels like she’s looking at me, too. The fact that she’s making my girl nervous makes me upset. My brows furrow.

  “The only person who can calm you down like that is your mate, and since you haven’t met your mate yet, that isn’t possible.” She puts her hand on her hip and raises her eyebrows at me.

  If she thinks that’s going to get me to talk, she’s lost her very reasonable mind. Annoyed, I run my hands through my hair. “I’m fine now.”

  She chuckles and gently shakes her head, “Nice try, son, but that’s not getting you out of talking. I knew your intent by what you just said. Just tell me what you’re trying to avoid. It’ll be easier than staying in a room with me all afternoon. I know you have a girlfriend, who I wouldn’t call an intended mate, to break up with.”

  I’ve been able to keep this secret for months and must now tell my mother, all because of Jacque. I want to strangle her even more.

  Don’t you dare tell her, Alaric. You don’t even know that we’re mates.

  A growl bursts out from me, and my mother visibly jumps. “I’m so sorry, Mother.”

  She puts her hand to her chest and takes a few calming breaths. “You were talking to Rosalyn, weren’t you?”

  My eyes widen with shock and even my mate isn’t saying anything. All I feel is panic on her end, which I quickly try to calm. Sweetheart, before you freak out, let her explain. There’s only so long before Rosalyn has a full panic attack, and the only way she is seeing everything is if she’s asleep. “You need to explain fast.”

  “Long ago, a prophecy was made, and it spoke of you being mated to a girl named Rosalyn. When you calmed down the way you did, I knew only your mate could do that. When you weren’t fully here with me for seconds at a time, I knew you were speaking to someone telepathically. The prophecy said the two of you would be able to do that. My question is how you two met.”

  She has a question, and I have a hundred. Thankfully, I can feel Rosalyn calming down, so I take a seat at the long table. “I have about a million questions for you, but Rosalyn and I have never met in person. We met once in a dream, that’s it. However, we’ve been communicating for months, since she had her first vision of me. Now, will you answer some of our questions?”

  Taking a seat at the table across from me, she regards me and sighs heavily. “If I could answer any of your questions, I would. Right now, all I can tell you is that there is a prophecy, and both Rosalyn and you are in it. When I’m allowed to tell you more, I will. I’m sorry,” she says, regret steady in her voice.

  Looking into her blue eyes, I plead, “Please just tell me if I need to worry about Rosalyn’s safety.”

  My mother gets up and walks around the table. When she gets to me, she motions for me to move back and puts her hand on my jaw. “My dear boy, you’ve always had a big heart. I promise you, if I think your mate is in danger, I will tell you immediately.” Leaning down, she kisses my hair. “I wish your father could have seen the man you grew up to be.”

  Emotion makes my voice thick. “Me, too, Mother. Me, too.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Rosalyn

  It’s been weeks and I still have no idea where Xavier is. Everyone in the palace is guarding that secret with their life, and none of my efforts to pry it loose have worked. On top of that, I have to deal with the fact that there was a prophecy about Alaric and me. Whoever thought that I would be someone important has another thing coming, because I don’t want anything to do with it.

  Skipping my way down to the training rooms, my footsteps echo on the stone floors. Heat spreads across my cheeks when I think about Lawrence’s hard body pressed against mine. Training today will hopefully be one-on-one so I can have some alone time with him.

  “Rosalyn.” I hear him right as I slam into his hard chest, and the sound ricochets off the stones around us.

  “Ow,” I say, grabbing for his arms to steady myself. I glance at him.

  He just shakes his head at me, cups my cheeks, and leans down to kiss my forehead. “For being such a strong Witch, you should really pay attention to your environment, amare. Someone could have really hurt you.”

  “With how strong I am, not much can hurt me, Lawrence,” I whisper as I pull away from him to walk toward the training room.

  Lawrence quickly catches up to me and grabs my hips. “If you’re distracted and don’t realize I’m there, it’ll take you a few seconds to use your powers,” he whispers urgently in my ear, making me shiver. “Believe me when I say there are many ways an enemy can distract you, Rosalyn.”

  I lean into him and look into his eyes. “In what ways would you distract me?” My lips pull up in a teasing smile, and I lean up to softly kiss him on the lips.

  “No, not right now,” he says quickly, pulling away from me. My cheeks flame, and my head lowers. His fingers raise my chin up. “What I mean is it isn’t appropriate to do this in the hallway, amare.” Gently, he kisses my forehead. He threads his fingers through mine to lead me to the training room.

  When we walk in, my jaw drops. Scarlett and my sister are in the room. There goes my idea of a training session alone with Lawrence. Alizon is on one end of the training room, her eyes narrowed at Scarlett. The poor girl is holding her stomach, her lips pulled in a thin line.

  “Alizon!” my voice raises as I let go of Lawrence’s hand and rush to Scarlett’s side. “Stop hurting Scarlett now. Release her,” I growl. My eyes shoot daggers at her. If you don’t let go of your control of her, I’ll use my powers on you, and that’s the last thing I want to do. Hurt shines in Alizon’s eyes after she hears what I say. Scarlett crumbles to the ground, and Lawrence catches her before she hits the hard stone. He and I look at each other. Lawrence’s veins are popping out of his neck, and I know I need to take care of Alizon before he does. I question whose bright idea it was to put these two in a room together. A lump forms in my throat because my old enemy has already suffered enough.

  I briskly make my way across the room. Regarding her with frustration, a frown mars my face. “Why?” I question as a sigh breaks through my lips. “She’s already been through enough. Why would you hurt her even more?”

  She throws her head up and laughs. “You think she’s been through enough? She tried to kill you! She deserves to die.” She bares her teeth in a growl in Scarlett’s direction. “I can’t believe Mother allowed her to live. She deserved death for her indiscretions,” she sneers.

  My head shakes in disappointment. The hatred I hear in my sister’s voice isn’t the Alizon I know. “You need to leave if you can’t be around her and forgive her.”

  Alizon flinches as she stutters, “You’re taking her side over mine?”

  “I’m keeping a citizen of our kingdom alive. Now go.” My arm swings toward the doorway as I order her out of the room. She may be older, but I’m the only one acting like a princess.

  Her fists ball up, and then she rushes towards the door, her skirt flowing behind her as she makes her way out. The noise of the door hitting the wal
l makes me jump, and I grab the center of my chest.

  Spinning around, I look over at Lawrence and Scarlett. He has her cradled on his lap. White-hot jealousy pumps through me when I see him whisper in her ear and she nods her head. Not wanting to see where this goes, I turn to make my way toward the door.

  “Amare, stop,” he shouts, confusion ringing through his voice.

  Turning slowly around, I pierce him with a glare. “I’m leaving. When you’re done with Scarlett, come find me because I’m not going to stick around to watch this.” Swiftly, I turn around and walk toward the door again.

  As I push it open, I feel a hand touch my shoulder and lips next to my ear. “You’re acting like a child. I’m taking care of her, but all you care about is yourself. How about you ask her how she is? You should know the only woman I want is you.” Soft lips kiss my neck, and I drop my chin to my chest.

  Even though I want Lawrence’s hands around me, I realize I haven’t heard Alaric’s voice all day. Alaric, are you there? There’s no answer, and my hands turn clammy. Alaric, please answer me. I need you. Still nothing, and I feel sick to my stomach as the blood drains from my face. If he isn’t there, what’s wrong with him? Why isn’t he answering me? When I curl my arms around my stomach trying to stop myself from being sick, Lawrence puts his arms around me.

  Lawrence pulls me back and turns me around. When he sees how white I am, he says with panic, “Rosalyn, what’s wrong?”

  His hands wipe the sweat off my face as I reach out to Alaric again. Why are you doing this? I feel empty without you. What did I do? Why are you ignoring me? A silent sob becomes trapped in my throat. It feels like there’s a huge, gaping hole inside me. Between Xavier being gone and Alaric not talking to me, something is missing.

  Feather-light light lips touch my forehead. “Tell me what’s wrong, please,” Lawrence implores.

  I glance at him. If I can at least find out what’s going on with one of them, it might help. “Please tell me where Xavier is.”