*Ciana*
The ride back to the castle was quiet and long. For hours and hours, I sat in a seat across from Theo, but like on the way here, we didn’t speak much—except this ti, I wasn’t upset with him. I was upset with myself.
I’d gone to a whole lot of trouble for absolutely no reason. While I had figured out that there were multiple problems brewing in my pack, I had solved exactly none of them. And even worse, my good friend and ntor had been killed in order to fra for her murder.
Every ti I thought about her, I felt overwheld by suffocating sadness and white-hot anger. The pain growing within my chest was too raw and too fresh for to even accept that it was real, and I longed to be out of the range of the prince’s watchful eye so I could let my emotions out.
Theo had only briefly ntioned that we needed to be back to the palace by Full Moon, which was only a couple of days away from now, but he didn’t tell anything else—even if he had, I probably wouldn’t pay much attention.
As the car approached the palace, I could feel the dread that washed over . Looking at Theo’s face, I saw a similar expression there and thought perhaps I didn’t know him that well after all.
The door was opened for , and I got out. We had arrived late in the evening, and I was exhausted.
As we walked up the steps to the palace, I suddenly rembered that I was supposed to be his prisoner before I’d left the palace. What would he do to then? Would I be returning to my generous accommodations in the dungeon?
But when Jake asked where he should place , Theo replied, “The room next to mine will do. Also, get Dottie.”
My eyebrows raised, and for a mont, I thought he was being a civilized human being for once. But then I rembered why we were here—the dreamberry, and the fact that I was the source of the blood he needed.
‘That’s right. Theo doesn’t want for . He just wants my blood,’ I reminded myself.
Luckily, I was able to recover quite fast.
“No major concerns regarding Miss Black,” Dottie assured Theo, and then she turned to and said, “Dear, make sure you get lots of rest and you’ll be fine!”
After everyone had left my room, I went in and took a hot shower, hoping to wash all traces of Hawke and his horrible friends off of . I’d been through a lot in a short amount of ti, and I knew I was struggling to process all of it. I would have to spend so ti assuring myself that everything was going to be all right.
But then... it hadn’t been all right for Susan.
After my shower, I put on a clean nightgown that was still in the drawer from when the room had temporarily been mine before, then I climbed between the sheets.
For hours, I lay there, staring at the ceiling or tossing and turning, trying to sleep.
But every ti I shut my eyes for even a second, I saw Susan’s face–not the cheerful smiling face I rembered from when she was alive, but the dead-eyed stare of her lifeless body when her head was pulled up for to see her identity.
I wanted to cry, but I was too tired for even that. Punching my pillow, I turned over again, wondering if I would ever sleep again.
I could see the light was still on in Theo’s room from the seam under our shared door. Was he still working?
I sat up, thinking maybe so reading before bed would help fall asleep easier when the door between my room and Theo’s opened.
“You should be asleep by now,” Theo said.
I had forgotten that he had extraordinarily sharp hearing. “Did I bother you? Sorry, I couldn’t sleep,” I said.
He ca over to the foot of the bed, and in the light of the almost-full moon, I could see that he was concerned.
It was shocking to see such an expression on his handso face.
“Perhaps a visitor will do you so good,” he suggested.
My forehead crinkled as I tried to decipher what he was talking about, but a mont later, there was a light rapping on the door, and I had to wonder if he had summoned soone with the mind-link.
He went and pulled the door open, and standing there in her robe was my beautiful redheaded friend, Brook.
A smile imdiately ca to my face as she bowed to the prince and then bounded across the room, throwing her arms around . I looked over her shoulder to see Theo standing there with what could only be described as a faint smile on his face.
“Thank you,” I mouthed to him.
He only shrugged and then went back to his room.
“Oh, Ciana! I missed you so much!” Brook said. “You’ve missed out on quite a bit while you were gone. How are you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I assured her, though it wasn’t exactly true. “How are you?”
“Good, but I feel so terrible, Ciana! If I had never allowed myself to be kidnapped by that horrible man in the first place, you would never have gotten yourself into this awful situation!”
“No! No! You mustn’t bla yourself,” I told her. “Believe , Brook, I’ve managed to get myself into plenty of trouble on my own, thank you very much.”
That made her giggle. “How are things in your pack?”
“Not good,” I admitted.
Knowing Brook, she would internalize everything I told her and beco even more upset about the situation than I was if I allowed her to know exactly what had gone on.
So I didn’t.
“I had so trouble with a man who wants to be Alpha,” I said with a simple shrug of my shoulders. “But Prince Theo set him straight.”
“And he brought you back here!” she added, a glint of mischief in her eyes. I knew she was implying sothing.
“Yes, well, I believe the prince had his own reasoning for that,” I said, implying that it wasn’t at all what she thought it was. Again, the details were not important.
“Well, the other girls are saying he took you with him even during his work because he loves you.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. So that was the rumor? It seed that no one other than Brook knew I had been thrown in the dungeon, and when they didn’t see either Theo or for a few days, they just assud that Theo had brought along with him wherever he went.
“Believe , that is not the case at all. Prince Theo doesn’t love anyone as far as I can tell.” I ant the statent as a blow to His Royal Pain in the Butt, but when I said it, the words only made sad.
We talked for about an hour about the things that had gone on in the castle, but I could tell Brook was extrely tired, and I decided I should let her go. “You should go get so rest,” I told her. “We can talk more tomorrow.”
Brook yawned and said, “You’re right.” She smiled at , but it seed forced, and I began to wonder if sothing else was bothering her.
But by then, she was already moving off of the bed. She kissed my cheek, and I gave her a hug as we both wished each other goodnight.
Falling back onto my pillows, I was greeted with the sa view that had not allowed to sleep before. Susan’s face filled my mind, followed by Raymond’s and Hawke’s.
I didn’t want to be alone.
It had only been a few minutes since Brook had left, so I thought I might go after her and see if maybe she might want to sleep in my room with . Throwing back the covers, I put on my robe and flew to the door, throwing it open.
Peeking my head out, I looked down the hallway. To my surprise, Brook was still nearby.
But she was busy.
I stepped back inside of my room to observe what was going on without being seen.
Brook was speaking to Jake at the end of the hall, and it appeared that she was softly crying. He pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her, and she dabbed at her eyes.
I had noticed that she’d looked upset when she left, but I didn’t know what was wrong. And why was she with the Beta? Had the two of them established so sort of a... relationship?
At the mont, it wasn’t my business. I decided to let it be and went back inside, closing the door quietly behind .
Taking off my robe, once again I lay down and stared at the ceiling. I couldn’t start tossing and turning again or I’d disturb the prince next door, and the next ti, he might not be so nice as to summon my best friend.
I lay there for another hour, watching the shadows cast by the moon track across the white expanse above .
Nothing worked to make forget the horrors I’d encountered on my journey. From Susan’s face to the pile of mangled wolves that Prince Theo had dropped in front of , it was all a nightmare.
Looking at the seam of our shared door, I saw that Theo’s light was still on. Did he not need rest?
Finally, out of desperation, I got up one more ti and shoved my arms into my robe. This ti, I went to the other door and knocked gently, fear pulsing through as I imagined he might shout at for waking him again.
Theo opened the door fairly quickly.
“I’m so sorry, Your Highness,” I whispered. “I can’t sleep, and I don’t want to be alone. Would it be possible for to use your couch?”
He didn’t say anything and only stared at for a mont.
I had started to second guess what I’d asked when he stepped aside and hooked his head in the direction of the sofa, which I took to an yes.
“Thank you,” I whispered as he pulled the door closed behind . He looked a bit sympathetic as I padded across the carpet and lay down on the couch.
He dimd the light in the room and left a reading lamp for himself while he continued working on sothing.
Through my half-opened eyes, I saw that he was as handso as a god, but his usual, cold deanor seed to not only keep people away, but also the evil ghosts, restless spirits and even nightmares. It was strange. The more I spent ti with him, the less I seed to know him.
Slowly, my eyelids grew heavy, and a wave of sleep crested over , dragging down into the abyss. I closed my eyes.
What was it about being there, in Prince Theo’s room, that had suddenly made feel so content?
I had no idea, but I was glad to realize I was finally dozing off.
The last thing I noticed before sleep claid was the feel of a warm, soft cover being tossed over .
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