LADESSA.
“You were on the phone with me, and you didn’t tell me you were coming here?” Rasmus’ voice rang in the air after he barged into the living room of Aunt Aria’s home. “Maybe because I don’t trust you.” Kael rose from his seat next to me and turned to face him.
“And yet you’re in my territory.” Rasmus scoffed.
“I’m not here for you, but Aunt Aria.”
“Enough, you two. We have a more pressing thing to discuss.” Aunt Aria stood up before walking toward her son, placing her hand on his chest and rubbing it softly. “What’s going on?” He asked his mother.
“Have you watched the news lately?”
“I don’t watch TV, you know that.” He replied.
Aunt Aria moved away from him and picked up the remote control. She scanned the channels until she found one with a breaking news advisory.
Kael’s hand grabbed mine and pulled me up from the couch before letting me stand in front of him. He gripped the corners of my shoulders, keeping me close to him.
My face flashed on the TV, making me flinch, but Kael held me in place while Rasmus kept shifting his gaze between me and the screen.
After the segment ended, his mother switched it off. No one said a word, but my face began to heat up as I knew the attention was all on me.
It was Rasmus who finally broke the silence.
“She looks way, way beautiful in person. Why did they choose that photo to use? Well, that’s to your advantage, as they could never identify you.” He chuckled, and when no one laughed, his face turned serious, and his eyes turned to Kael. “Is it true? She killed them?” “Self-defense,” Kael answered.
“No doubt about that if we’re talking about Draco’s men.”
“So it means she can still be acquitted for it.” His mom said.
“I don’t doubt that she will be, but we all know how brutal the King’s Court procedures are for criminals until they are released. I’m not going to let them put my wife behind bars.” “So, what are your plans?” Rasmus asked.
My hands raised to Kael’s hands on my shoulders, and I gripped him tightly because my knees were buckling. It was only then that it dawned on me how serious my crime was.
I was terrified of being caught by Alpha Draco’s men that I totally disregarded the King’s Court.
The King was focused on eliminating murderers, and he made killing a shifter a high crime. There were not many crimes like this in recent decades, compared to slavery, because of how brutal the penalties were.
But when it came to slavery, the King seemed to turn a blind eye, as he himself had a harem of women, and most of them were forced into it.
So even if they were saying I would be acquitted, I knew I was treading a thin line because it was connected to slavery, and I wasn’t physically assaulted. It would be my word against them.
“I will take Adessa to the King myself,” Kael said, making my eyes grow bigger.
I swiftly turned around, and he dropped his hands to his sides.
I didn’t know this part, as we had never talked about this. “Kael…”
His gaze fell on me, and his eyes softened. He reached for my arms and gently smoothed them with his hands. “Only the King can overturn your case without having you go to a trial.”
“But what if, instead, they took me and placed me in prison?”
“I will think of the right approach, but I can assure you, I won’t let them take you away from me.”
I didn’t know what to say anymore as fear coursed through me. I slammed my body against him and wrapped my arms around him. The thought of being taken away was terrifying, and I couldn’t stop myself from tearing up.
His arms snaked around me as he
hugged me back tightly. “At this
point, we don’t have a choice but to plead directly to the King. The police and other enforcement will not stop
looking for you, as they ar
do that. Once they caught you…”
He stopped talking, and my hold on him tightened. He didn’t need to complete his statement. I already knew what would come next, and I didn’t want to hear it.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Rasmus asked.
I loosened my hold on Kael until I completely let go and turned my body around to face him and Aunt Aria.
“No. It’ll be easier to move places if it’s just the two of us. Besides, I need you somewhere else.”
“What do you mean?”
“We can talk in private when I return, but for now, I need to leave Adessa here for a while.”
I already knew this part. I was okay with it earlier, but I was not sure anymore after the conversation about the King’s Court. I felt something would go wrong if he left me. “Adessa will stay here with me.” Aunt Aria said.
“She’ll be safer in my house,” Rasmus suggested.
“No,” Kael responded right away.
“Are you still thinking I would sneak my way into her pants?”
“This is not about you.” Kael snapped at him. “My wife will not be comfortable living in a home with another man.”
“Fine,” Rasmus replied, shaking his head.
“But you need to add more security around here,” his mother said. I smiled at her, grateful she didn’t hesitate to take me in when Kael asked her earlier.
“I can do that.”
“And screen people coming in,” Kael told him.
“What if they come here and investigate?” I asked.
“You won’t be staying here long. I just need a day, and then we’ll move.”
“Where are you going?” Rasmus asked.
“I need to go back to my territory. I need to take care of something first.”
I swallowed. He had told me earlier that he wanted to confront Miranda, but I was not sure what he would do to her. All he said was that he wanted her out of his territory.
“Don’t worry about Adessa. She’ll be safe here. Do what you need to do.” Aunt Aria said.
“I don’t know who to trust anymore. But I’m banking on you, Aunt Aria.”
“You can trust me and Rasmus. I will
vouch for my son. He might be reckless and a womanizer, but he will never betray you. At least, intentionally.” She emphasized the last word. It seemed she also knew what happened and why the etwo
had fallen apart. “I didn’t raise him that way. We are the only family you have, Kael. We’re not going to turn our back on you and Adessa.”
“Thank you,” Kael responded, and I mumbled the same thing.
“You need to start moving so you can return sooner. We are running short on time. Even if I want to say they won’t come here, they might do if they realize Rasmus people are in your pack.” Aunt Aria said, and I
knew she was right.
I turned around again and met Kael’s gaze. I heard Aunt Aria ushered her son out of the living room to give us privacy.
“Will you be okay here without me?” Kael asked.
Search the FindNovel.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.