I’d been so caught up in my relief that Jared was still alive that I’d completely forgotten the pale yellow wolf beside him was not Archer.
I felt a jolt of shock as Carn shifted into her usual form, her long blonde hair nearly touching her waist as she stood naked, hesitating before accepting a robe from one of Jared’s n. She... smirked, from what I could tell, and very slowly pulled her arms through the robe while looking over at Jared.
Jared was dressing quickly, however, and didn’t wait for Carn to get her bearings before he was charging toward the house, wearing only a pair of pants and a shirt crunched in his fist. He pointed at .
Miriam squeaked in surprise as Jared shouted my na, and not kindly. I squared my shoulders and backed into the house. What the hell was his problem? I was the one who should be upset.
“Upstairs, now,” he said with cold firmness as he climbed the front steps, not even stopping to say hello to Miriam.
The broad muscles of his chest and shoulders were flexed and rigid with tension as he motioned for to walk ahead of him. He didn’t look over his shoulder at Carn, who was walking briskly toward the house, her sheet of blonde hair billowing out behind her.
I caught her eye before I turned to walk up the stairs. Her eyes narrowed, her mouth tilted upwards on one side.
It was a knowing look edged with silent challenge.
I didn’t like the jealousy roiling in my gut. I especially didn’t like the smug grin on this stranger’s face as her eyes left mine and settled on Jared’s back.
Jared wasn’t really mine. We’d never talked about what we actually were to each other.
But I sure as hell wasn’t okay with this woman trying to assert her dominance over .
“Have Eliza’s things brought to my room,” Jared said to Miriam as I began to climb the stairs. Miriam, who was currently watching Carn close in on the house, looked up at Jared with a look that conveyed exactly what she was feeling–utter shock, disbelief... maybe even a hint of annoyance.
I didn’t question him, not yet, not in the company of others. I half expected Carn to follow us, but when we reached the third story and his wing of the house, we were alone.
He stepped in front of and walked to his bedroom door, opening it wide. I followed him inside, my body tightening as he closed the door behind .
It wasn’t a large room by any ans, but it housed a four-poster bed and several other pieces of what looked to be antique furniture. A red quilt covered the bed, the edges slightly frayed. I found myself staring at it for whatever reason as his footsteps sounded behind .
“Are you hurt?” he demanded. I closed my eyes for a mont, trying to compose the conflicted feelings rushing through my mind.
“No. I’m not,” I said, slowly turning to face him.
He was buttoning his shirt, his fingers working deftly at the buttons as he kept his eyes locked on mine. He looked like hell. He looked tired, and stressed. He looked over, going as far as to reach out to turn from side to side during his inspection, as if he didn’t believe .
“I said I’m fine!”
“What route did you take?”
“We went through the Dark Forest.”
Jared clenched his jaw, shaking his head as he adjusted the fit of his shirt. It was odd seeing him back in his usual sparring garb compared to the tailored pants and jackets he’d worn at Aeris’s court. He looked... like himself again, and with the sa fire burning behind his eyes. He was furious about sothing.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that a second ti–”
“Brandt didn’t stop running until we reached the village. The journey took a little over a day,” I said, knitting my fingers together behind my back. I was still in the loose-fitting cotton pajamas I’d changed into after my bath last night. I scrunched the fabric between my fingers as I waited for whatever he was going to say next. He was silent, however, just staring at . “Why did you tell Miriam to bring my things here?”
“Because you’ll be sleeping in here with from now on.”
“Why?”
“Why wouldn’t you?” he said, crossing the room to throw open the curtains.
“Because we’re not–”
“We’re married according to Aeris. I don’t care that we didn’t sign the contract. He thinks we did–”
“What about Carn?” I asked without aning to. I bit down on my lip as he turned around to face , leaning against the windowsill.
“What about her?”
“Brandt said they two of you were a thing once. What happened and why is she here?” I didn’t an for the words to co out so harsh, but they did.
“I’ve done a lot of fucked up things,” he breathed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I didn’t want to add letting an innocent woman die to the list.”
“Why was she there in the first place?”
“She’s a thief. She used to be a good one, but it would seem her luck ran out.” He looked as if he was about to smile, which infuriated . He noticed the color heating my cheeks and had the audacity to ask, “What? Are you jealous?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I snapped, my hands fixed firmly on my hips. “I have no right to be upset that we finally got out of Aeris’s clutches only for you to run back into his trap to save your ex-girlfriend!”
One corner of his mouth twitched into a smile, his night-dark eyes softening on . “You are jealous,” he murmured to himself, looking exceedingly pleased.
I saw red.
“There is sothing seriously wrong with you!” I practically scread, throwing my hands in the air.
“Yeah, I know. I’m cursed.”
“Jared, are you kidding –”
“What do you want to say, Eliza? I’m sorry, alright. I’m sorry you and Brandt had to take off like that. I’m sorry you are caught in my ss. I’m sorry you refuse to let take you ho–”
“Hey!”
“I’m sorry,” he continued, kicking off the wall and striding toward , “that as long as you stay, we have to play house, especially now that Aeris believes that we’re married.”
“Why would that matter here?”
Jared’s expression darkened, his shoulders loosening as he glanced down at his feet.
“I gave him what he really wanted,” he said, taking another step toward . “We’re playing the long ga now.”
“What are you talking about?” A rush of dread prickled over my skin as I t his eyes, the crimson and amber flakes shining against his black irises like burning embers.
“Eliza–”
There was only one other thing Aeris had wanted, sothing Jared had sworn he’d never do.
“Don’t tell you offered to–to help him overthrow Xander and Lena–”
The world ceased to spin as my words shattered on the floor between. Jared furrowed his brow as he slowly straightened to his full height.
I hadn’t ant to say their nas... not like this, not now.
“Xander and Lena? Why–”
“I can explain,” I said quickly, swallowing back the sudden despair tying my throat in a knot. I wrung my hands, fidgeting so badly I had to clasp them behind my back and squeeze them together to stop myself from trembling. “Don’t hurt them–”
“You’re on a fucking first na basis with the Alpha King–”
“Lena is my cousin!” I cried, hot, furious tears welling in the corners of my eyes. “She’s only two years older than . Please, Jared–”
His jaw dropped, then closed tightly, his teeth bared at as fire flad behind his eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell this when I first found you?”
“Are you serious? You think I would have told you about being so intimately connected to the royal family in the Realm of Light after what I went through?” My initial panic turned to absolute desperation as I took a step away from him. “The first thing those monsters who boarded the boat wanted to know is if they could ransom . They beat senseless when I didn’t give them any answers. I woke up at the breeder auction. I didn’t trust you, Jared. I still don’t know if I can, especially now–”
“You don’t trust ? What have I done–”
“They have two daughters and are expecting a third,” I cried, holding my hands out in surrender. “Please, please don’t agree to this. They are good people. Lena is my friend–” I choked on the words, every feeling of fear and heartbreak and uncertainty spilling over and rolling down my cheeks as tears. “I will go back to Suncrest and be his breeder. Please, Jared–”
“Eliza,” he breathed, looking shocked and deeply concerned more than anything. “Who the fuck do you think I am?”
“I thought I knew–”
“Do you think I’d ever bend to Aeris’s will? I didn’t let him have you, did I? I just said we’re playing the long ga now, buying ti while we figure out how to break this curse. That–” he paused, taking another cautious step toward , “ans we pretend to be man and wife... live like it, make people in this village believe it. Aeris will co here, likely soon, because to spare Carn’s life I had to agree to help him overthrow the Alpha King.”
“How could you do it?” I said, my voice breaking around the words.
“Because I’ll be dead by the ti he has an actual army thrown together.” His tone sliced through , butchering my heart into pieces. He took another step toward , slow and easy, like he was trying to stop from bolting through the door at my back. “That gives us ti, okay? We have a few months to find a way to get you ho. I can have one of my n take you to the Capital, to your cousin–”
“No, I won’t let you go near them!”
“Eliza,” he said firmly, his tone taking on that of the Alpha he refused to acknowledge that he was. “I have no reason to hurt anyone in your family–”
“Yet you agreed to help a mad man overthrow them!”
“Aeris barely has the support of his own pack, let alone the support of other Alphas,” Jared hissed. “I had to say I was going to do this, I never ant to actually–”
“You agreed to help kill people that I love to save Carn,” I whispered, and hated myself for it. It was an incredibly selfish thing to say. Did that woman deserve to die because her very existence made uncomfortable? Goddess, what was wrong with ?
“I lied to him,” he bit out. “I already told you I have no interest in being the Alpha King. This was the only trick I had left to get all of us out from under Aeris’s thumb–”
“You have to warn them!”
“I can’t–”
“Why the hell not?” I grabbed his arms, shaking him. “Jared!”
He pushed away, taking several steps across the room and pouring himself a drink from a bottle of dark liquor sitting atop his dresser. An ornate mirror hung above the dresser, and he t my eyes through his reflection.
“Because I’m the Alpha King’s brother, Eliza. He doesn’t know I exist, and I have no desire to make that connection known.”
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