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“To be fair, I was upset about that too.” He shrugs, the movement far too tense to be casual.
We both know who this is from.
I gingerly pick up the white paper, a shiver of unease running through me the moment the smooth material glides against my fingers. I take a deep breath before tearing clear through the seal, deciding to face this swiftly like ripping off a bandage.
Plucking the folded paper out, I unfold it, grasping it gingerly as I glimpse the red scrawl. I wouldn’t put it past Aldric to write this note in blood, just for dramatic effect.
To my sweet Skylar,
You made a fatal mistake, darling. I was having fun, dangling your freedom before you like cheese to a mouse, but playtime is over. I really wish you hadn’t acted so rashly; I had so many more plans for you, my sweet wolf.
My stomach churns at the pet names, my fingers itching to rip the vile paper into shreds, but I can’t.
You’re merely a pawn in my game, an insignificant pest so close to being squashed. I’m going to take my time with you, take out every pained scream my people loosed as their loved ones were shot down and blown to pieces, on that soft, supple skin of yours. I can’t wait to see you bared before me, my beautiful canvas, ready to be carved and butchered with my blade.
All the moisture seems to evaporate from my mouth, my throat as parched as the desert as I try to drag in enough air to fill my desperate lungs. It’s only a letter, a vague threat that he has no way of following through on, but that doesn’t quell the fear skittering up my spine.
I’ll be seeing you soon, my sweet.
Forever yours,
Aldric
“What does it say?” Everett barks, concern leaking from his tone as the blood drains from my face. Letting the paper flutter back down to the desk, I sit there numbly, waiting as my mate snatches it up.
I can’t even look at him, not with Aldric’s unhinged threats still echoing in my mind.
He’s not here.
Besides, even if he was, I can take him—we can take him. I’m not alone. I have my mates, both of our packs, and our new ally on our side.
The amulet warms against my skin, the magic even more powerful than before after the enchantment Aria added to it yesterday.
“I’m going to fucking tear his throat out,” Everett growls, the paper crumpling in his fist as pure, unfiltered rage vibrates from him.
“No, I am.” The words fall from my lips before I even know what I’m saying, a renewed, steely determination washing over me as I meet Everett’s icy blue gaze.
If hell freezes over.That’s what Everett’s eyes convey, the eternal flames of hell iced over, the fiery depths not extinguished, just transformed into a new form of death and destruction.
“Iget to watch him take his last breath.Iget to be the one who sinks my canines into his throat—who tastes his lifeblood on my tongue.” The promise wraps around me like a vow, like the fabric of the world is now counting on me to uphold my promise.
Everett swallows thickly, and to my surprise, he nods in understanding, putting aside his rage for mine to flourish and consume everything in its path like wildfire. My mate, my equal in every way.
The bond pulses between us, reminding us both of that fact, of the connection that ties our souls together. My true forever.
“Skylar,” he breathes, all traces of his gruffness vanishing as he walks around to my side of the desk. I turn, and he clasps my hands in his, gently guiding me to stand with him. “I have something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“I knew who you were before we met,” he admits, looking down as guilt creases his features. “I pulled every piece of information on you that I could, got surveillance to follow you, and got pictures of you. It started off as wanting to get you away from a man who would ever use his daughter as a bargaining chip. But as I learned about your past, that you too are an alpha, it morphed into something more, like a flicker of hope in my cold dead heart.”
“Everett,” I murmur, my eyes flicking between his, searching as I grapple with the true weight of what he’s saying.
“You weren’t going to be a token of mine and your father’s agreement,” he continues, taking a deep breath as though he’s determined to get through this. “I wanted something real with you as soon as I saw the pain in those golden eyes, like I knew you would somehow see me, understand me, more than any person ever has before.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I ask, my heart cracking even more for the man before me, my mate, who intrinsically knew we were fated long before we even met. “I’m sure you know now, though, that I’d never let my father use me like that.”
“Oh, I know,” he snorts. “But when I saw you in front of me, saw the broken pieces of your heart like a reflection of mine as you sought to reject the bond, I panicked. I saw the life I envisioned—as foolish as it had been to imagine—bursting into flames. I forced the words from my lips too, and built a wall. But like I said before, I never truly gave up because I knew you were mine the first time I saw your photo staring back at me. The grief in your eyes was so like my own.”
