Page 19
He looks wrong.
There’s nothing left of the male who promised to bring me blankets and pillows. Nothing left of the male who spent the last week sneaking me food behind his Packmate’s back.
Gavran finally speaks up. I don’t know why he’s even here. Just to watch the drama unfold? Because he doesn’t seem to be doing much to keep tensions at bay.
“Everyone take a seat,” he orders with a sigh. “We have things to discuss, and I’m not going to have a Species standoff in my study.”
No one complains; each Alpha takes their seat with varying levels of irritation. Soren lingers, hovering nearby as I stay where I am. No seats are left, which leaves me with one option—the floor. And I refuse to sit back down after struggling so hard to stand up.
Vae notices that Soren’s still standing and frowns, but quickly puts the pieces together once he sees me doing the same. He rolls his eyes before pushing to his feet and striding across the room. There, he grabs a leather chair next to the fireplace and stalks back to me, dropping it at my feet with a barked Command.
“Sit.”
Soren’s eyes narrow on Vae, who walks back to the couch and throws himself into the seat next to Daxen. My cheeks heat with shame as I follow Vae’s order and take my own seat in the large, wing-backed leather chair, which he angled to face everyone.
Wonderful.
“We have things to discuss,” Gavran announces, but before he can continue, Soren’s already speaking.
“Get on with it, then. I don’t know what the hell’s going on here, but I’ve seen enough. I want to take my Mate and leave.”
He glares at Gavran with borderline terrifying intensity. His hands curl into fists on top of thighs the size of tree trunks, and his green eyes gleam in the light. For a second, I’d swear they change color, flashing a bright, piercing green like new spring leaves.
His long, thick hair is blond—more golden and darker than mine. He has the top half pulled back from his face, secured with a leather tie. I almost smile when I notice dozens of tiny braids intricately woven throughout the soft strands.
I wonder if his mother taught him to braid the way mine did. I used to spend hours weaving my long white hair into complex styles, armed with nothing but tiny hair ties and silver hairpins of my mother’s
There’s no denying how beautiful he is—like a Viking warrior from a story. He’s certainly large enough to be one, with broad shoulders and a barrel chest, easily as tall as Gavran and packed with muscle.
His massive arms are lined with a dusting of blond hair, and the muscles in his forearms flex as his fists clench and unclench. His skin isn’t pale like mine, but the golden tan of someone who spends a lot of their time outdoors.
“Alright, let's get one fact out of the way,” Daxen says, pulling my attention away from the Alpha. “Idril won’t be going anywhere with you. She is a prisoner here. Not a guest. Until my Packmate is well enough to explain her actions, she is officially under Bloodbound protection.”
“Protection,” Soren spits in disgust. “She looks like she hasn't been fed in weeks. She’s either your prisoner, or under your protection. So which is it?”
It takes me a disturbingly long time to realize what’s happening.
Soren is… angry.
Fury pulses off of him in waves, filling the room with even more tension.
“Watch it,” Vae snaps. “After what she’s done, your Mate Bond doesn’t mean shit. Not in a situation like this.”
“Exactly what did the lass do?” Soren’s friend leans forward, frowning in confusion. As if he’s just been waiting for the chance to expose my supposed sins, Daxen jumps to answer.
“She betrayed our Packmate. Our brother. Lured him in with games and manipulations, then nearly succeeded in getting him killed.”
Each accusation lands like a punch to the gut. None of what he’s saying is new, but the shame of being accused of something so heinous in front of strangers is, and his allegations hit a thousand times harder because of it.
Soren scoffs. “What the hell are you talking about?”
That familiar sense of floating away from my body starts creeping in, and this time, I don’t fight it. I let it pull me under, smothering me in darkness until I’m drowning in it. Wrapped tightly in the silent nothingness of an empty Void, where no one can hurt me.
Here in the Void, I am no one. Nameless. Faceless. Voiceless.
Nothing.
Stop.
