Archer left at the table with his maps. I glanced at the map and all the lines Archer had drawn on it. They were carefully labeled. He wasn’t just tracking Aries; he was tracking every known associate of Aries, too.
Smiling, I traced one of the lines with my fingers. There was a reason I valued Archer’s work, and it was because he was so thorough and dedicated.
My wolf bristled, agitation taking over. In my head, he whined and shifted around restlessly. When we didn’t have anything else to focus on, that’s how he was, all the ti.
I gripped the edge of the table and closed my eyes, taking deep, calming breaths.
It wasn’t enough.
My wolf’s anxiety trembled through , my fingers shaking and my hands tightening around the table edge until my knuckles turned white.
I needed sothing else to think about.
Sifting through the pages on the desk, I found so descriptive notes on Aries and the things he’d done, including crashing my wedding, forcing to join him, and getting arrested, along with an entire list of things he’d done before that.
I shook my head and crumpled the page in my hand.
Aries–he was nothing but a villain. I was going to destroy him.
“Aries, I’m coming for you. I promise, before the Moon Goddess, that I will kill you. You’ll never make it to the capital. You’ll never enact your plan.”
“Uhh... Jared, who are you talking to?” Archer reappeared behind .
Smirking, I shook my head. “I was just promising myself, and the Moon Goddess, that I wouldn’t let Aries succeed.”
“That is a good promise to make. We’re going to pack up camp and head to our next rendezvous point. Are you coming along? We should catch up with Aries soon.”
“Yes, I’ll co along.”
Tracking down Aries was the perfect distraction my wolf and I needed to keep our minds off Eliza and everything she was going through... everything I’d put her through.
I helped Archer and his n pack up the camp. They were traveling at night when they could move around undetected and hidden by shadows.
Just as the sun set, they were ready to get moving. I planned to go with them but....
“Argh!”
I doubled over as my wolf fought for control. He was too agitated for to soothe, his mind in total chaos.
“Jared?” Archer ran to .
“Go... just go. I’ll catch up.”
Archer nodded and he gathered his n and they left there.
I gritted my teeth and tried to hold on.
“Stop it!” I demanded.
My wolf was beyond reason. My entire body trembled and I fell forward, shifting in an instant. Before I could protest, my wolf raced back toward the village.
The only thought on his mind was Eliza.
The next morning, I sat straight up, hopped off Eliza’s bed, and gathered my things quickly. It was much later than I anticipated. My wolf hadn’t let shift back as soon as he usually did and I slept in.
I made sure to be quiet as I collected everything. If Eliza woke up and saw , I knew she’d be upset. I couldn’t face her yet.
She still had too much power over and whatever she felt, whatever she wanted to say, it would devastate .
Not to ntion, I knew that this was my fault. If she would never forgive , I couldn’t bear it. Seeing would only agitate her more, and I didn’t want to hurt her. I’d done that enough...
Slowly, I backed out of Eliza’s room and closed the door again, careful not to make a sound.
Sighing heavily, I turned down the hall.
“Watch out!”
“Oh no!” I grabbed the woman I nearly collided with, saving her and the tray of food she was carrying.
It was Eliza’s mother. She glared sharply at and grabbed the breakfast tray, righting herself.
“I’m terribly sorry, Gemma. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“Obviously. What are you doing, sneaking out of my daughter’s room so early?”
I glanced at the closed door and chewed the inside of my cheek. “Well, my wolf is feeling very protective of her with what she is going through.”
Gemma poked in the chest. “You an what you’re putting her through!?”
I bowed my head. “Yes....”
“Why are you torturing her? After rejecting her like that, you should just leave her be. Let her co ho with where she belongs.”
Gemma tried to brush by , but I stood in her way.
“I’m not keeping her here. She is free to return ho with you and your husband if she wishes. I’m guessing she has turned down your offer, since she is still here.”
Gemma narrowed her eyes. “How dare you!? You’ve broken my daughter’s heart! I warned her from the start....” She clamped her mouth shut suddenly.
“Warned her? Warned her of what?”
Gemma shook her head.
“Warned her of what!?”
She fixed with a hard look. “I warned her that you were no good for her, that she was rushing into things with you and that she would get hurt... rather, that you would hurt her.”
“You told her that?” I stepped back.
I knew that Eliza’s parents didn’t approve of , but I hadn’t known how much. She had been very upset after talking to them but she hadn’t given the details.
She was probably trying to spare my feelings or give the chance to prove myself to them without upsetting .
Eliza really was an amazing woman. I knew I’d be lucky if she ever spoke to again.
“Of course, I told her that! And you proved right.”
“You don’t understand....”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses. There is no justification for what you did.”
“No, there isn’t. But I still care about Eliza, and I’m not going to stop fighting for her. The curse is broken and she’s alive. Isn’t that what you should be focusing on?” I arched an eyebrow at her.
She sniffed and turned her chin up. “I’m a mother. I’d be a bad one if I wasn’t looking out for her heart as much as her physical health.”
“So, I suppose all the progress we made with each other was for nothing, now.”
Gemma shrugged. “What progress?”
My jaw dropped. “You’re telling that you lied to Eliza when you finally gave us your blessing? How does that translate into you looking out for her?”
“I knew from the mont I saw you that you weren’t good enough for her. And just look how far you’ve dragged her down. If she’d listened to , she wouldn’t be hurting so badly now. She’d be safe at ho with her family, people who love her and treat her right.”
Gemma brushed by and reached for Eliza’s door.
“She’s not a prisoner, Gemma. She stays because she has hope and because this is the life she wants.”
Gemma glanced over her shoulder at .
“Don’t presu you know anything about my daughter!”
“I understand your feelings toward . Just know that I am doing everything I can to fix this.”
“Right....”
She disappeared into Eliza’s room, muttering under her breath. I caught a few curses and insults directed at .
Sighing, I rubbed the back of my neck. I couldn’t bla Gemma for her desire to protect her daughter. She had every right to hate for causing Eliza so much pain.
But I didn’t expect her to understand the lengths I’d had to go to.
The only thing I could do know was find a way to reverse the rejection. Then, Eliza wouldn’t be in pain. It might be enough to get her to forgive , or to start to forgive .
I headed to my study and started going over new books I’d had shipped in that specialized in the mate bond. I’d sent ssages to several major libraries and archives to have them send whatever materials they had on the subject.
It was a lot to go through, but I wasn’t going to give up.
I sat down and grabbed the first book in the pile.
Repairing the mate bond wasn’t just to get Eliza to forgive . I doubted she ever would, even if I could make this right. It wouldn’t change the fact that I’d rejected her in the first place.
I wanted her not to be in pain anymore. When I was cursed, she had stopped at nothing to help resolve it. She’d believed in a way to fix it even when I didn’t. I’d given up and she kept pushing , unwilling to give up.
Now, it was my turn to return the favor.
I studied the new books for several hours until my eyes stung with dryness and I thought I would pass out.
I rubbed my eyes and stood up, stretching.
All that reading and I still hadn’t found anything. Well, I hadn’t found anything useful or helpful. All these books were starting to sound the sa.
I couldn’t help but feel like I was missing sothing obvious. There had to be more knowledge and lore about the mate bond, not just the basic educational stuff.
Groaning, I ran my hands through my hair and bowed my head.
That was a problem for another day. It would take a lot more than reaching out to archives and libraries to dig deeper into the mythology.
My body, mind, and wolf were too restless to focus on that. As important as it was, the fate of our mate bond was completely out of control.
My wolf was too agitated. I needed to focus on sothing that was in my control right now. It would be the only way to keep my mind off Eliza and the heartbreaking pain she was in.
There was only one thing that I could really focus on and control right now... killing Aries.
Archer had given the coordinates for his rendezvous before my wolf took off the night before. I left imdiately to catch Archer before they moved again.
When I arrived at Archer’s camp, Brandt had also joined them.
“Where were you?”
Brandt grinned. “I was infiltrating a small operation connected to Aries. They are preparing for their final march to the capital.”
“Then we need to act fast. We need to co up with a plan.”
“I hate to say it, but we don’t have the manpower to intercept his force and fight them off. Starting a battle like that close to the capital would draw too much attention and with your current status...” Archer grimaced and held a hand out to .
“What status?” Brandt asked, looking between us.
“Jared was arrested by the Royal Guard. He got away but....”
“I’m still a wanted man at the mont. If we engaged in open battle with Aries just outside the capital, they may think that I’m the usurper and Aries is the good Samaritan trying to save the Crown.”
“I see the problem.” Brandt nodded.
“I think it would be better to stop Aries before he gets close to the capital.”
“Agreed.” Archer nodded.
“But that still leaves us with the problem of stopping him. We all know that we don’t have the strength to defeat his force. That’s why we’ve been infiltrating,” Brandt pointed out.
I nodded and stroked my chin. I walked around Archer and looked at his maps. He had updated the locations of where Aries and his n were. The different groups were moving closer together.
Once they all converged, Aries would be ready to make his attack.
Aries was only as strong as his n. They were a formidable force, but without an army, I knew Aries wouldn’t be able to launch his attack.
He wouldn’t be able to challenge the Alpha King.
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