Chapter 82 82
Roman's Pov
Two weeks passed by like a blur.
In those weeks, I grew emotions I didn't think I'd ever experience — jealousy. A jealousy so monstrous I nearly killed an innocent man for it because he had a similar resemblance to Xavier.
Xavier had basically kidnapped Maisie because I barely saw her.
When I thought I'd spend time with her, he took her with him to the meeting of the Alpha's. During the general distribution of the Healer's wristband, he told me to stay behind and took Maisie. During his birthday party, he made sure she was physically out of reach and today, he would be getting married to her. He would mark her. Too bad, none of that would happen. Because we had our plan.
The morning of Xavier's and Maisie’s wedding dawned bright and crisp. Mid-seventies, clear blue skies, golden sun. It was a cruel twist of fate that the worst day of my life also happened to be one of the most beautiful days the BlackRock had seen all year.
I stared out the window, my teeth grinding. Behind me, Xavier and the rest of the groomsmen relaxed and prepped themselves for the upcoming ceremony. It was only an hour away.
An invisible iron band wrapped around my throat and squeezed. I wanted to throw them all off the fucking balcony.
‘Call off the wedding.’ My wolf hissed at me.
Not yet.
‘But you can't stop thinking about her.’ He reminded me. The bastard.
I suppressed a needful growl about escaping me. Even now, Maisie’s moans echoed in my ears. Walking away from her that day in the kitchen had almost killed me but I had to. Xavier was there.
So here we were. An hour away from all hell breaking loose. The jealousy and envy in my chest ballooned and nearly suffocated me.
“Jason.” Xavier’s voice brought my attention back to him. “You ready? It’s almost time.”
I turned. The sight of him in his wedding suit made my eyes twitch. The other groomsmen had disappeared. I hadn’t noticed them leave, and I couldn’t care less where they went.
It’s a big day.
We were staying at a luxury hotel near the Wedding Hall of Alpha's where the ceremony would be held. There were less than fifty people invited to the actual wedding—mostly members of Xavier’s families and a few of Maisie's employees she called her family.
The bridal suite was located two floors above us. Maisie was there at this very moment, preparing to wed another man.
A coppery taste filled my mouth. I hadn’t trusted myself to talk to her since our hotel rendezvous. I’d spent the past two weeks not seeing her or touching her. Hell, I grew so frustrated I nearly kidnapped her. I had thought about the kidnapping angle. Multiple times. If it weren’t for the plan, I would’ve even considered it seriously.
“We should be all set.” Xavier seemed oblivious to my inner turmoil. “We need to head down soon to mingle with the guests before the ceremony. T-minus one hour until—”
“— you marry her.” My words slipped out and landed in a vat of pin-drop silence.
Xavier grinned. “Yes. Until I marry her.”
This was sheer cruelty. I had no plans to be his best man but in his words, he wanted me to watch him ‘marry the woman who was formerly mine.’
“I’ve never been this happy in a long time.” He smiled. The idiot. If only he knew the woman he was about to marry was the same one he abandoned years ago.
I looked at him, in his custom tuxedo and fucking boutonnière, I burned with so much envy I almost choked on it.
I wanted to rip that boutonnière off his lapel. I wanted to march upstairs, grab Maisie, and claim her so thoroughly in front of every damn person in the building, there’d be no doubt left in anyone’s mind that she was mine. Only mine.
A small part of me had been tempted to visit her suite. Heaven knew how much I craved her enough that I’d take any piece of her I could get. However, the larger part of me had won out. Because of morals and because I was too fucking perfect to ruin a carefully arranged plan of 3 years.
When I said I wanted Maisie, I wanted all of her. Every smile, every tear, every sigh and moan. She consumed me, body and soul, and I refused to settle for anything less in return.
“Loosen up, Jason. You look jealous.” Xavier's incredulous laugh shook with a hint of nerves. “Don't worry, I'll take care of Chloe better than you ever did.”
‘Fuck you!’ My wolf snapped.
I almost grinned.
Xavier stared at me. A minute ticked by before he shook his head and walked away.
The door shut behind him. The minute hand swept past the half hour mark, and its soft tick was what sent me over the edge.
I swept my arm across a table of glasses in rage and watched them crash to the floor. The explosive shatter did nothing to alleviate the burn in my chest.
‘Don't worry, I'll take care of Chloe better than you ever did?’ Damn him!
Rage gripped me in a chokehold. I couldn't reason with this plan any longer. Not after two weeks without her. Fuck, I had to talk to Maisie about this. I needed to talk to her. I needed…fuck. I needed her.
I checked the clock again. I still had a little time before the ceremony started.
I strode out into the hall and toward the elevators, my pulse pumping with adrenaline. I made it halfway when my burner phone rang. It was the one I used specifically to communicate with Roman.
Dammit. His was the one call I couldn’t afford to ignore.
“What?” I resumed my walk toward the elevators.
“It’s time for Alpha Roman to show up.” Cole said with a smile in his voice.
His words sent calm into my frigid body. Thank heavens, the plan was about to begin.