Chapter 84 84
Odette's Pov
My heart skipped a beat each time Aaron smiled at me. I missed hearing his voice, missed feeling his touch and when I looked at him, everything just made sense.
Aaron pulled me closer and whispered in my ear, making me laugh. Then, I leaned into his touch and we watched the sunset for a while.
It was this moment I wanted for the rest of my life. This peace, this came… never in my life did I dream of being here with him but here I was.
As soon as it was dark and the maids lit the candles, Aaron looked at me and asked me what happened after I left the carriage, after I ran back to confront Leila and Adam.
My heart clenched but not because of the memory but because of what I was supposed to say.
How do I tell him I didn't meet Leila and Adam but I overheard them confess to killing his first wife? How do I even tell him Adam was the one who abducted me and ordered his men to rape me? How would he even react? Suddenly, the memory of last night returned and I shivered. Aaron had become that monster to save me. What would he turn into if I told him Adam had killed his wife?
“Odette?” He called my name softly and wrapped his hand around mine. “Are you alright?”
I blinked. He was pale from the blood loss yet he looked at me like I was the one who needed more medical attention. How did I end up with such a thoughtful man?
“Odette,” his voice was soft. “Tell me what happened, darling.”
I opened my mouth to tell him everything but the fury, the heartbreak, the monster who cracked beneath his skin when he became it, flashed in my mind and I knew if I told him, he would not only kill Adam and Leila but would kill half of their pack. And if the BloodMoon was as close as I feared, he might not come back from it.
So I lied.
“I didn't see them… Adam or Leila,” I started. “I had looked everywhere for them and still couldn't find them. So when I was about to leave… some stranger grabbed me. He asked me to dance with him and wouldn't take no for an answer.”
That wasn't a lie. A stranger had grabbed me but he had said none of that. He had been given the order to rape me.
Aaron's eyes darkened immediately and I could see the veins pulse at his temples.
I reached out so quickly my fingers shook. “They didn't touch me. I'm okay. Please…”
His jaw clenched but he swallowed his rage. Then he took my hand gently and said, “I won't let anything happen to you again. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I nodded slowly. “Thank you.”
Guilt slammed into me so hard I almost couldn't breathe.
“You'll be fine.” He pulled me into his arms and stroked my hair.
I melted in his embrace, closing my eyes against the truth echoing in my head.
For the first time in a while, I had lied. And for the first time, I wasn't comfortable.
That night, that guilt returned in the form of a nightmare.
I saw Aaron but he didn't look like my Aaron. He looked nothing like the man who kissed my forehead or held my hand while I slept. Instead, I saw a monster looming over a lifeless body. I moved closer to identify the corpse and gasped. It was Clarisse.
Clarisse's eyes suddenly snapped open and she glared at me. “This is all your fault!”
“No.” I cried.
“This is all your fault, Odette. You lied to him!” She howled.
Then Aaron turned to look at me and I took a step back till I couldn't anymore.
I woke up with a scream, my nails digging into the blankets. Aaron woke up instantly and wrapped his arms around me.
“It's okay,” he whispered, his voice rough with sleep. “I'm here. You're safe.”
I shuddered in his embrace but he kept stroking my back gently. My eyes drifted to the window and I swallowed another gasp. Glowing with a faint red hue was the nearing Blood Moon. I tightened my hold around him and wished everything except him would go away.
The following day, after breakfast, Aaron insisted on staying with me. He barely let me walk to the door without hovering. I would've laughed if I wasn't still shaken from the dream but then, Caesar showed up, expression tight, and told Aaron he needed to talk.
Aaron turned to me and lifted my chin. “I'll be back, darling.” Then he kissed me before he left.
My cheeks heated and I fanned my face, trying to see if there was something in the air when Clarisse nudged my side like an older sister.
“Your husband is very romantic,” she said, teasingly.
“I know.” I mumbled with a blush.
“Eh? This is your fault, you know.” She nudged me again and I froze.
‘My fault’. Those were the same words she told me in the nightmare.
I didn't hear the rest of her words as I started to walk away but she called after me.
“Odette?” She called. “Where are you going?”
I swallowed hard. “The library. I… I need answers.”
Her smile faded as she followed me. “Answers?”
We walked to the forbidden section of the castle's library.
Gerald, the librarian, looked up as soon as he saw me.
“Lady Odette, how much I help you?” He asked.
I turned to Clarisse, suddenly wishing she didn't come. “You should go.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Absolutely not.”
“Clarisse, please.” I was this close to begging.
She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “You want to know about Aaron, don't you?”
My throat tightened. She wasn't wrong. I wanted to know about Aaron enough to stop the BloodMoon curse from affecting him.
Clarisee took my hand and smiled. “The BloodMoon is getting closer and you need answers so I'm staying.”
I exhaled shakily and nodded to the librarian. “You showed me a picture the last time I was here. The picture of a woman surrounded by wolves.”
Clarisse blinked. “What picture?”
Before I could speak, Gerald pulled the old painting from a drawer. The sepia-toned woman stared forward, her arms were stretched and the wolves circled her like some kind of guardians or monsters. I couldn't tell which role they played.
Clarisee sucked in a breath and immediately put back the picture.
“Is there a way to stop Aaron's curse before the Blood Moon?” she asked. “Before he loses control?”
Gerald hesitated for a long time. Then, quietly, he said. “No. The curse is… permanent.”
My heart dropped but then I forced myself to ask. “There has to be a way. There is one, isn't there? Please, Gerald, you have to help me.”
He hesitated again, longer this time before finally whispering.
“Well, there… is one way.” He said. “Although, it is also impossible.”
Clarisee and I exchanged a glance.
“What way is it?” I whispered.
“The Witch of Delacroix.” He said at last.
The name hit me like a gust of winter air.
“Delacroix?” We both whispered.
He nodded. “The witch clan that created the curse in the first place. Their bloodline was wiped out a century again… but rumours say one survived.”
Clarisse found her voice first. “Where is she?”
“Deep in the Northern mountains,” he said. “Beyond the icefalls. No one goes to that place and lives to tell the tale.”
Clarisse shivered. “We can't. We can't go to the North.”
“I'm going.” I said and both of them stared at me like I'd lost my mind.
“Odette…” Clarisse panicked.
“I have to,” I turned to her. “If there's even a chance, just one, that I can help Aaron, that I have to try. I have to find her.”
Clarisse grabbed my arm. “Odette, the North kill people.”
“And so does the Blood Moon.” I whispered.
Gerald heaved a sigh. “Lady Odette, I believe…”
The doors of the forbidden library slammed open, startling the three of us.
Caesar burst inside, his eyes dark like storms. “You need to pack your bags now! You too, old man! ”
My stomach dropped. “Why? What happened?”
“There's no time to explain,” he said impatiently. “We have to leave immediately.”
Leave? Now? What was happening?
We hurried out of the forbidden library, still confused on what we'd just heard but everything got much worse the moment we reached the stairs.
It was pure chaos.
The maids were running up and down the hallway, their arms full of folded clothes, boots and items they could find. Some of them were crying, others were shouting orders and the rest were trembling so hard they dropped whatever they held.
My chest tightened immediately.
“W - What's happening?” I whispered, but my voice was swallowed by the noise.
Finally Caesar stopped long enough to glance back at me. He clenched his jaw so hard I feared his teeth would crack.
“We have to move, Odette. Now!”
“That doesn't tell me anything.” My voice cracked and I hated how small it sounded. “Caesar, what's going on?”
“I can't tell you!” He snapped.
He kept walking. Clarisse hurried after him but I didn't move. I couldn't.
Clarisse turned when she realized it wasn't behind her. “Odette, come on!”
I shook my head. “No! Not until someone tells me what's happening.”
Caesar froze. On any day, I would've been too afraid to challenge him. He never liked me, not really, not my presence or the effect I had on Aaron but right now, none of that mattered.
“I'm not moving, not another step until you tell me where Aaron is and what is happening in this castle?!” I said, clenching my fists.
He exhaled sharply and turned around to face me, looking ready to explode as he marched towards me. I braced myself, refusing to look away.
He leaned down until his face was inches from mine, anger rolling off him like heat.
“Fine,” he said, “you want the truth?”
I nodded, even though a part of me wished desperately that I hadn't asked.
His eyes darkened. “Aaron’s father is dead.”
Everything in me went silent.
Suddenly, everything else disappeared and I felt the words hit me like a physical blow.
Dead?
Before I could even breathe again, Caesar kept going, his voice dropping to a growl. “And his brothers have declared war on him.”
Clarisse gasped behind me but I couldn't look at her. I couldn't look anywhere except Caesar's face.
Suddenly, my stomach twisted painfully.
Where was Aaron? Was he safe? Was he fighting? Hurt?
“Now, do you understand why we need to leave?” Caesar snapped.
I nodded. “Where is he?”