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“Do you have any other injuries?” she demands of me. “You still have good color to your complexion, so he couldn’t have been feeding long.”
I wince. She misunderstands and offers a pitying look.
Oliver leans against Nyx and pinches the bridge of his nose, doing a terrible job of hiding his amusement. I glower at him until his shoulders stop shaking. I am torn between hating that the rest of our audience misunderstands the situation because they think Alaric is dangerous and trying to hurt me and being grateful that they aren’t openly gaping because of our intimacy.
When Oliver regains his composure, he lowers the hand covering his face.
“All right, we found them.” Oliver waves a hand. “Miss Valmont and I will meet you all back at the rendezvous point.”
The pack files out one by one. Hunt lingers, leaving only when Oliver sends him a stern look.
Once the last of them have left, I rise, turning my back to compose myself. When I’m ready, I face Oliver again.
He is leaning casually against the rocky wall, arms folded over his chest, ankles crossed, and an infuriating grin. Nyx bobs her head, which just seems like she’s laughing with him.
“He wouldn’t have hurt me,” I hiss.
“Oh, I could scent as much,” he says with a sharp laugh. “I don’t know how no one else noticed.”
“He doesn’t need to be tied up like a criminal,” I say, intentionally ignoring his comment.
Oliver pushes off the cave wall and strides over to the fire, kicking dirt into it, extinguishing the flames. “It isn’t only for your protection.”
I drop any further protests because I can’t argue with him putting the safety of his people above the word of someone who isn’t part of the pack when it isn’t actually hurting Alaric.
“There is something I must ask,” he says. Oliver’s gaze flicks to my hand. “That demon…”
“Is not the one that attacked,” I finished.
He nods then throws an arm over my shoulder. “I truly am glad we found both of you alive and well,” Oliver says gently. “Come, it is already night, and we still have a ways to go before reaching the Keep.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CLARA
Now that mymind has had a chance to clear, I can already see Elizabeth’s hold on him beginning to weaken. Within the castle walls, he seemed to feel the pull of our bond. But it was never as strong as it was in the cave. The realization stuns me. I find myself curious how much of that is due to our connection or his distance from Nightwich.
As we travel on, the weight of tension settles heavy on us all. Silence has replaced the whispered conversations and quiet laughter. A somber mood has descended like night, giving our band the air of a funeral procession.
With two pack members killed in the fight, I suppose it is. We fashioned a makeshift sled to carry their bodies.
The guards around Alaric have doubled, and rather than walking at the back as before, they march him at the front.
They believe he attacked me. Though I’m not sure, the truth would do any good. There have already been a few murmurings that some believe I was under his thrall, and he probably intended to kill me. I hate that they think him worse than before.
At least Oliver knows the truth. Now all I have to do is convince him that Alaric doesn’t pose a threat. But that will have to wait for later.
“Oliver… where are we going?” I ask. It’s not the most pressing topic on my mind, but I want to feel him out before attempting to talk through my theory.
“To the Keep,” he says.
“I mean, why? Why take Alaric?” I press my lips together as I figure out how to word the question without it coming out too much like an accusation. “What are you planning to do with him?”
A long moment passes before he answers. “You know the answer to that.”
Irritation simmers below the surface, and I need to work to keep it at bay. I cannot expect him to give me his full trust when I don’t know if I can give him mine. We might be friends, but it is still a far cry from what I have with Cassius, Della, and Lawrence.
Oliver won’t hurt me. At least not intentionally. Though I wonder how far that extends to Alaric. The two of them worked together to keep the demons at bay in the forest near Windbury, so there is some level of trust between them which would mean He knows Alaric isn’t a mindless monster—despite Elizabeth’s curse. He might be the only one in the pack that does.
