Chapter 9
*Ariella”
It’s quiet in my room. I wish I could focus on the attack but I can’t. My mind is hyper-fixated on one thing, my pregnancy and the unanswered question of who the father is.
S**d useless brain. Why can’t I remember? My body began to shake uncontrollably with panic. I am in one of the worst positions of my life. I can’t tell anyone. Especially my brothers.
A loud knock on the door brought me back to reality.
Fear courses through my body, who is here? Does anyone know? No, that’s s**d.
It has to be my brother’s men. Focus, we are in the middle of an attack. No one has to know anything, not now at
least.
I take a deep breath and try to steady myself before I open the door.
“Hello, my dear wife,” Marcus sneers from the hallway.
I immediately swing the door in an attempt to close it, but it’s too late. Marcus pushes the door open and forces his way in.
“Get out!” I growl, “Or-”
“Tsk, tsk,” he smirks, “Shh…don’t make any noises. I won’t do anything to you if you’re quiet. Otherwise…You know, your guards were lured away, and I guarantee they won’t be back in time to help you if you make me angry.”
“What do you want?” I stare at him.
“What do I want?” he laughs, closes the door behind him and moves towards me. “Isn’t it so clear? I want your back.”
I continue to back away until my back hits the table..
C**p, I forgot to put away my pregnancy test!
Just as I am about to cover the test with my hands, his eyes dart to the table and he chuckles menacingly. He quickly s**hes up the pregnancy test that I had s**y left out.
“What do we have here?” He asks mockingly.
I begin to hyperventilate. He’s the last person I want to know about this, I never wanted to see him again.
64%
11:20 Tue, 23 Jul
Chapter 9
I study the shape of his face, the color of his hair, and the dull emotion of his eyes. I feel repulsion more than anything else. But his face is full of elation and his eyes begin to tear up.
“I can’t believe this.”
“Marcus,” my voice c**ks as I finally find my voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Ariella,” his voice is like sand in my ears. “The Moon Goddess has blessed us.” He moves to pull me in his arms but I take a giant step back.
This doesn’t feel right, this feels wrong.
“Don’t touch me.”
“You are my wife, you are my mate,” he raises his voice aggressively.
Something snaps within my brain and my brain is finally no longer frozen. I may not remember much but I do remember his rejection, I remember his mistress, I remember that he tried to have me killed.
“I am no longer your wife or your mate. You rejected me!”
He licks his teeth and drops his eyes.
“You sold me as a breeder. This isn’t your child and you know it!” I barely know it but I do know that he is full of s**t.
He smirks and tosses the test in my direction, it lands on the floor.
“You got me.” He slowly walks over to me and leans toward my ear. “I would have given you a night you would never forget.”
I scoff and roll my eyes. The thought of him and I makes my stomach lurch to my
throat.
He plops himself on the foot of my bed and props himself up on an elbow. “I wonder what those brothers of yours will think?”
I freeze in fear once again. Everything feels like it is crashing all around me.
“They don’t know you at all, what you have done, what you are.”
“What you made me be,” I correct bitterly.
“It would be a shame if they found out, don’t you think?” He says in the same unaffected tone as one would use to discuss the weather.
64%
Chapter 9
But this is my life and it feels out of my control.
“What do you want, Marcus? What is your endgame?”
He didn’t want me then but now he does, for what? This makes no sense.
Another knock comes on my door. He and I both jump at the noise. No matter who is at the door, this will not end well for either one of us.
“Ari, it’s me,” Rafe’s voice calls out as he opens the door. I leap toward the pregnancy test on the floor and kick it under my bed.
Rafe stops in his tracks as Marcus stands from my bed.
“Who is this? Why are you here?” Rafe’s tone is pointed.
Marcus bows his head and then lies, “I am one of King Ethan’s men. He sent me to protect the Princess.”
I could expose him of his lies right here and now and let my brothers handle him for good but he isn’t one of their Alphas. He falls under Ethan’s jurisdiction.
If Rafe knows what happened between me and Marcus, he would kill Marcus. No doubt. But I can’t let that happen.
Regardless of whose fault it is, Marcus is an Alpha. Killing an Alpha from another country while their king is also in the same palace is no different than starting war. At a minimum, it would lead to the land negotiation between the two kingdoms to fall through.
“Leave us,” Rafe orders, and Marcus scurries out of my room like the coward he is.
I exhale, my nerves are completely shot. I take a seat where Marcus just had been as Shawn and Eli enter my room. They both look confused from passing Marcus in the hallway but no one says anything out loud.
“Is the attack done?” I ask.
“Yes,” Shawn answers with a frown as if he is trying to decide whether to say the rest of his sentence. “With King Ethan’s help.”
“That’s very kind of him.” I comment.
Shawn and Eli exchange a look, and Eli takes a seat beside me, gently taking my hands. This is making me nervous. They want to tell me something and whatever it is must be terrible. Goddess! Did Ethan tell them? My hand goes for my brand, still hidden under the sleeve of my shirt.
“Ari,” he begins uncomfortably. “So… is there anyone you are interested in?”
Chapter 9
“No, why?”
“How do you feel about marriage?”