Chapter 61

Arsen POV

I watched as Aelin peeled off her clothes, stripping layer after layer of all the clothes she had decided to put on. She did it slowly, teasingly, peeking her skin at me, wanting to see my reaction. She went all the way down to only her bra and panties. If Aelin's suddenly found extreme confidence and lust wasn't strange already, the fact that she was wearing her old Kylain's underwear that she hadn't worn ever since the first day she arrived when we had bought her new clothes, surprised me for the worst. Something was very wrong in this situation.

Aelin wasn't riding the high that she was riding when she was this open with me. Her begging and teasing would only reach this heights when I was pleasuring her, but now, right after it. That's when she was always the sweetest and most innocent, yet she was showing a very different style. Her behavior seemed so unlike her that even letting her wolf gain control for a bit didn't explain it to me. She was exposing herself to me in ways in which I knew she would not be comfortable with and her wolf would not be happy doing either.

If Aelin had put on so many clothes and that underwear, I knew Aelin's human didn't want this. This wasn't a deliberate plan, nor was it a casuality. This had been premeditated but not by Aelin's human or human and wolf, but rather by a wolf who was using her human's shame to her advantage to hurt her back. I couldn't believe where my brain was going, but it made sense. Aelin would have never bargained for me to do those things like that. She would have blushed as soon as she saw my penis, yet she didn't. She asked to lick it. My lust had betrayed my senses and I wasn't able to notice then that something was wrong.

I began putting my clothes back on. Nothing would happen between the two of us today.

"Why are you putting on your clothes?" She pouted.

"There has been an emergency, I'll be back soon," I explained

"Can it seriously not wait? Don't you like me?" She pleaded.

"It can't."

I left for the door, walking out in this situation would be the best thing. Allow Aelin's human time to regain control without me in the room to bring out her wolf.

"Ascian would've fucked me by now," Aelin commented. I turned my head back around furiously, my wolf more hurt by that comment than it was good for us. Something was happening to Aelin and I had to keep my calm.

"You're playing with fire," I warned her.

"His touch would turn me into fire," she replied, smiling like the devil.

"*Cullen, find me a witch, quick,*" I mindlinked my Beta, building up walls for Aelin's wolf not to listen to what I was mindlinking.

"I have to leave, Aelin," I replied.

"Doesn't it hunt you that Khann has been inside of me and you still haven't?" She asked, "that I have dreams about him fucking me and not you?"

"Those are nightmares, Aelin," I corrected her, however that comment used as a reassurance to my wolf who was growing quite annoyed with her comments.

"*Ulises, come to the packhouse, my room, get your stuff.*"

"*Lia, prepare a cell.*"

"*Forrest, my room no.*"

I sent order after order as I watched Aelin. What had turned her switch like that? Did the witch do something that neither of us knew about?

Steps could be heard from outside the room as Ulises made it to the floor. Aelin breathed in the air.

"Why did you call him, Arsen?" Aelin asked. I watched her eyes as they were being stripped of all their light and playfulness, what was going on inside of her?

Ulises opened the door clearly in panic believing we were in danger or at least Aelin. Aelin was in danger but he couldn't see how or why. He came to a sudden halt as he saw Aelin, still in her underwear and while I didn't want Ulises or any man to see her like this, I understood the severity of the moment.

"What is-?"

"*Grab her and take her to the cells,*" I ordered.

He didn't argue with me but I saw doubt flicker in his eyes.

"Aelin, please hands behind your back," Ulises called but she didn't move. "I don't want to make this more difficult than it is. I'll repeat it again, hands behind your back, Aelin," this time his voice held more determination but Aelin still didn't budge.

It was then I decided to leave the room, I didn't want to see this and I knew Aelin once she was back would also hate if I stayed there to watch. I left the room and I hear some shuffling. Luckily, Aelin hadn't had too much training so Ulises was able to pin her down quite quickly.

"*Arsen, do you want to put some clothes on her?*" Ulises asked.

I enterred the room again, my eyes watching over at Aelin as she laid on the floor face down.

I made her stand up and I dressed her up, I put on one of my hoodies over her body, trapping her cuffed arms inside and I made her step into her own pair of black sweatpants. Her face was boiling with ire, however she wasn't the only one furious. My wolf was pissed at her for all those comments, for putting me and him in such a position, for allowing another male, make it Ulises or not, see her aand wrestle her with so little clothes.

"I hate you, Arsen," she spat once I was done dressing her.

I turned around lazily, keeping as cool and collected as one could possibly do. "Take her," I ordered Ulises.

He moved away from the door to get her and I saw that Forrest had also joined the party.

"*Any context I should be given?*" Forrest asked as he began to solve this puzzle.

"*Unfortunately, I know as much as you do,*" I replied.

All four of us walked all the way down to the cells, where Lia was waiting with an open cell. Her eyes opened up like plates as she saw who it was for. As Ulises pulled her inside, she gripped my arm, "*what are you doing?*"

"*This is for her wellbeing, trust me,*" I mindlinked back.

"I trusted you, Arsen," Aelin cried, but I couldn't even recognised her voice, "I trusted you."

*I have your witch, Arsen,*" Cullen mind linked.

"*Bring her to the cells.*"

"He raped me!" Aelin shouted, bringing her hands over her face as she curled into a ball to cry.

All three of them turned around to face me, accusatory looks on their faces as well as surprise written over them.

"Arsen, what did you do?" Lia accused.

"Put me in a cell until your mate comes with the witch, if that's what you want, Lia," I offered her, "but I didn't touched her without her consent and I know you know that."

Doubt swept even more into Lia as she took a step back. I understood that confusion because I felt the same.

"Don't listen to him, he'll use his Alpha voice," Aelin accused me.

"Aelin, shut up, my wolf is not happy with you and you're making it worse," I informed her with a cold tone.

"Are you going to use your Alpha-voice with me if I do?" Aelin asked, pushing me to do it as she mocked me. "Because you can't control your wolf, isn't that true, *Alpha*?"

My head turned to Aelin really quickly. Her eyes weren't even red from crying, she looked fine-psychotic. Aelin didn't know about my wolf, or at least I haven't told her about it and judging for the other three people's faces in the room, they hadn't either. It was then when they realised something was wrong.

"Ugh! It smells like dog in this-" Cullen had made it with a witch.

The witch didn't look at any of us, her gaze went directly to Aelin.

"Maeve Redwood?" The witch asked.

"I'm Aelin Huneke," Aelin replied angrily. First time I had heard her say her surname.

"Everyone here knows you're not," the witch said, "that's why you're in that cell, Maeve. You've been caught."