Chapter 36
His intense gaze upon me makes my heart beat rapidly, he’s searching for something that hides behind my eyes. I’m not sure that he will ever find what he is looking for in me. And he definitely isn’t going to get the answer that he wants in the next few minutes
“I need my wolf back. It’s not something I can take a chance with, I need your help to make it happen,” I say, my voice firm and honest
Exban’s nostrils flare for a brief moment before he answers. He isn’t going to be happy, and I brace myself for what may
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“You belong to me, I thought you already knew that,” Ethan says, his voice controlled, “I won’t force you, but I want something and so do you, so what’s the problem?”
“I want more than just to be yours, Ethan. I say firmly, “I want to be more than just your property.”
You won’t be-”
“I know in your mind that is not how it seems but that is how it seems to me.
Ethan’s jaw clenches. Before turning his back on me and walking away, he says, “I don’t want to waste my time on this. It’s getting late and we need to leave early tomorrow. You should go back to sleep.”
I watch him disappear in the night and sigh. This is far from over though.
1 return to my bed and manage to fall asleep, only to be roused by the footsteps in my bedroom and the bright sunlight hattering my eyes.
“C*a*a.” I yawn and rub my eyes, “What are you doing?
Ca**a is around my room, packing my things and putting them into a pile. This girl has taken it a step further this time than just entering without knocking. This time, it looks like she is now messing with my staff.
Ca**ra jumps, clutching her chest in shock.
“Ariella! You startled me, I thought you were asleep, she gathers herself and she is the perfect princess again, “We’re leaving in an hour to Castor’s estate, I thought I’d help you pack”
“You really don’t have to do that, C**ra, 1 tell her. “I’m sure the s**ts will pack my things.”
“No, I wanted to do it myself so I sent them away,” she says again. “I feel bad about what happened to you, I can’t help but feel responsible
I push myself up and get out of bed.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” I tell her, “You were also a victim in that!
After my conversation with Ethan, I was beginning to see C**dra in a new light. She and I shared a lot in common. We both have lost our parents and were left with our brothers. And now we were both kidnapped
If she wants to apologize for her other bratty behavior from earlier she absolutely can, but I won’t let her apologize for something that she also just barely escaped from.
“Yeah but it wouldn’t have happened had I not suggested we go out into town, she murmurs, her eyes watery.
Chapter M
She has survivor’s guilt, In june. Even though I survived the arck as well, she got out relatively unscathed.
be
1 sigh and walk over to her.
“See 1 gestured to my legs as I made my way over to her. “I can walk, my legs are healed and there are barely any scars or
mises So stop feeling like this is your fault”
The hot spring water really workesl wonders, both on holy and ind. The attack didn’t linger on my mind any longer, and my body had healed entirely. The water hadn’t brought my wolfour, lan that had just been another wish.
And the trip to the Moumains had given me answers on my dorant woll, too. Just in a different way.
1 expect my words to have an immediate cheering effect on Candra but she only goes deeper into her gloom. She picks up my bags and saunters to the door.
“Breakfast is ready, by the way,” she mumbles as she makes her way out of the room, “Ethan insists that everyone get a good meal before we leave
T****t breakfast with my brothers and after that we load up into the car and drive. Ethan drives in the car in front along with Kyle and C**a
“How are things back home?” I ask Rafe and Eli
Their faces darken and I feel my heart drop.
“Not good” Rafe says.
“Shawn is at his wits end.” Eli adds, “There have been dozens of rogue attacks on the outlying territories.”
All of those people that live on those lands, at the mercy of attacks whenever.
“We sent soldiers to defend the villagers but we’re stretched thin, Rafe admits. “So many Alphas have been killed, refugees from those packs are flooding into the capital everyday,” Kafe frowns. “We won’t be able to keep this up. The capital can’t sustain so many new incomers all at once, and with these people abandoning their lands, it only gives the bandits a bigger piece to claim and make a stronghold. Not to mention emboldens them like nothing else to make more of these attacks.”
All the more reason we need Ethan’s support. I hope that I can persuade him to help without having to stay and be kept as “his” since he has made it clear that he doesn’t want to actually marry me. I don’t want our safety to depend on that. But will he accept any other offer? The look he gave me last night doesn’t fill me with any hope,
As we journey into Duke Castor’s lands, I notice the landscape becomes more dense with forest and vegetation. I spot wild deer prancing along the treeline in great numbers. Were they just that brave, or were they just so many of them that it didn’t matter that they were basically walking among wolves?
As we ride into the town of Rine, there is a bustle of excitement and activity as the locals decorate the streets for the upcoming festival.
“It’s been a long time since we did anything remotely like this back home,” Eli says with a forlorn smile,
I put my arm around him and hug him. “When we get back home, we’ll throw our own festival,” I promise him. “It will be like this again. Our people will be happy and safe again.”
Eli smiles and ruffles my hair, which annoys me because I spent lifteen minutes on this before we left.
The car stops in front of a massive manor. Footmen open the doors of the cars and another man leads us inside.
“The Duke is ready to receive you all in the main hall,” the m
man says as he leads us inside.
The main doors are pushed open, and Ethan walks through first. A man is standing with a group of others who I assume a
Chapter 36
advisors, but he leaves them almost immediately as we enter.
“Duke Castor.” Ethan greets the man that walks towards us
As the Duke gets closer. I immediately feel a strange power resonating off him.
The Duke greets everyone in the room by name and title, before stopping by me.
“And this must be the beautiful and long lost Princess Ariella,” he murmurs as he takes my hand, lifting it to his lips.
His eyes linger on mine, when he presses a gentle kiss on the back of my hand.