**Talon’s POV
After I put away the last pile of files I needed to handle today, I sat down by my desk, watching the pouring rain outside. My thoughts drifted.
The conversation with Ethan hadn’t gone as I had expected the other night.
I tried several tis to make him reconsider, but he was now more adamant than ever that we were going to go through with the plan.
No matter how much he tried to deny that he cared for Rosalie, I knew he did. And I just needed a way to make him realize that.
I had to do sothing.
“Talon!” My sister’s voice echoed from the other side of my door along with a knock, pulling from my thoughts. Quickly, I opened the door.
Clearly she was upset. Before I could ask what the matter was, she pushed her way into my room.
“What’s wrong?” I was imdiately on high alert. “Did sothing happen?”
Her expression was sad and angry. I knew she had gone to check on Rosalie...I had a bad feeling about it.
“Is Rosalie okay?!” I urged.
“Like you care,” she replied coldly, looking at with a deadly stare.
“Excuse ?” I was caught off guard.
Vicky stood before . It was obvious she’d been crying.
My sister was strong, and never let anyone see her in a disheveled state. Sothing terrible must have happened.
“Is it true that the plan for Rosalie all along has been to kill her after she has the baby?”
Those words were the last thing I’d expected to co out of her mouth. The only people who knew were Ethan and .
I quickly moved toward the door and closed it before anyone else could hear the conversation.
“Who told you that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.
“So it’s true, then!” she gasped, covering her mouth. “How could you? She trusted you!”
“The situation is more complicated than that.”
“More complicated, Talon?! Rosalie is like family to us, and has beco one of my best friends. You tasked with taking care of her knowing what you’d be doing. How could you?”
Vicky sobbed in front of , and it broke my heart. I stepped forward, wanting to comfort her, but she ripped her body from my grasp.
“Vicky, you have to calm down, now!”
“Then explain! Because, right now, I can barely stand to be around you.”
I sighed, trying to find a way to explain the situation to her.
“Ethan never wanted a mate. He never thought he would get close to soone. He had hoped whoever he picked would quickly get pregnant, have a baby, and be out of his hair. He didn’t expect Rosalie to co into his life.”
“That doesn’t make it okay to kill her, though,” Vicky hissed. “How do you think Georgia would feel about this?”
“Keep Georgia out of this if you want any chance of changing his mind,” I warned her.
“No, Talon,” Vicky snapped back. “Rosalie is a kind and loving person, and would make the best of Lunas. The Alpha is letting a king without a child dictate his future. He’s letting that man force him to marry a horrible woman without any of the traits of a good Luna. She will destroy us all.”
“Shut your mouth before soone hears you,” I growled at her.
However, I knew what she said was true.
“You need to rember your place, Vicky,” I added.
“Or what, Talon? Are you going to kill , too?!”
I was speechless. She glared challengingly at .
Finally, she looked away and said, “Do a favor and forget we had this conversation.”
Sothing was nagging at . I had asked her a question earlier that she didn’t answer...
“How did you know?” I asked again, slowly.
“It doesn’t matter how I found out,” Vicky replied, acting hesitant.
She quickly went to leave, and I grabbed her arm, roughly pulling her back.
“I won’t ask you again! Tell !”
Vicky began to cry, and my grip softened a little. “Let go, Talon!”
Then I realized, and my heart sank.
“Rosalie...”
The word ca out in a whisper as I let Vicky go.
“If you tell Ethan that she knows... he will make her life worse. If he’s going to kill her, fine— but let her live her life as she chooses until then. She doesn’t want Ethan to know that she knows the truth.”
“Vicky–” I sighed, feeling defeated. “I have to tell him.”
“Please, Talon... For once, think about her. You both have already caused her so much pain. Just let her have this... Please don’t tell him she knows.”
Taking a deep breath, I nodded my head, not saying another word.
Vicky hesitated for a mont before quickly turning and walking out of my bedroom.
This was the worst situation I could have imagined. In anger, I picked up the lamp from a nearby table, barely restraining myself from throwing it against the wall.
This was the capitol. There were so many eyes watching us. I needed to stay calm.
All I could do was stand there and try to empty my brain for a little while, until I heard a knock on the door again.
“What else?” I opened the door, expecting it to be Vicky returning to say more.
But I was t with Georgia’s puzzled face.
“What’s wrong with Vicky? I just saw her in a hurry while I was walking up here, and she didn’t even notice saying hi...”
I sighed at her words, because there wasn’t much I could tell her. The last thing I needed was my passionate mate to be upset at – even if she didn’t know she was my mate.
“She was mad because she wanted to take care of so things, and I wouldn’t let her. Hopefully, soon we should be able to leave here and head back to the pack. I’m sure she’ll be fine then.”
The lies flowed from my lips, and I prayed that Georgia believed .
Her expression told she was skeptical of my answer, but she didn’t pursue it further.
“Oh–” She said, biting her lip. “Okay... Well, I will get her to do sothing fun with tomorrow to cheer her up. Leave it to . I know you’re busy.”
“Thanks,” I said, relief warming my voice.
Besides, regardless of how bad the situation was, Georgia’s visit was a pleasant distraction for .
“What did you co here for?” I asked. “I was actually heading out to et Ethan.”
I noticed how Georgia had a large, old, brown leather book tucked under her arm. She seed uncertain as to whether she wanted to go through with whatever she had co to tell .
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just sothing silly I found.”
“Mind showing ?” I stepped closer to her.
The scent of fresh grass after rain filled my nose, and I wanted more than anything to hold her close to . Her breath hitched a little at my close proximity, and slowly her eyes looked up into mine.
“I was–” she stuttered, staring at . “Just, um... In the library, I found sothing that I thought was pretty interesting.”
She piqued my curiosity, and I gestured for her to show . “What is it?”
She pulled the book from underneath her arm and scanned through the pages until she found the one she was looking for.
Turning the book towards , she showed a photo of a soft, elegant woman with regal attributes. Her long white hair flowed down over her shoulders, and a tall red and gold crown sat upon her head.
She looked powerful, but yet sothing in her eyes seed so kind.
“I don’t understand. What is this?” The question ca out a little harsher than I had ant.
“I thought that Rosalie resembled her. If Rosalie were to be her heir... maybe you can persuade Ethan to forget about the marriage with Madalynn.”
The ntion of Rosalie could not co at a worse ti.
“What do you think?” Georgia pressed.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to keep my voice level. “Georgia, marrying Madalynn was the King’s order. Roro ca to seek an alliance and power, and he can only get it through his daughter’s marriage. The problem is, we can’t turn down the support he’s offering.”
I lifted my eyes to look at her. “Also, lots of people look like people from history. It doesn’t an they are related.”
Georgia’s eyes narrowed at , and she quickly slamd the book shut.
“Forget it,” she snapped. “Obviously, I was wrong to co to you about this.”
She didn’t give a chance to say anything else before quickly turning on her heels and marching out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
I was at a loss for what happened, and my wolf was angry at for upsetting my mate.
“Shit,” I mumbled, rubbing my temples. “Now I have to fix that, too.”
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