Chapter 47 He's Jealous

Chapter 47 He's Jealous
Varek

Fiona smiles at him with the softest gaze. It's not the warmth she has for Dante, but watching her walk on his arm makes me grind my teeth together. I can't focus on what Lucian's sister and this man are talking about. I don't even remember who he is or if he's worth dangling her in front of. The simpering courtesans irritate me, and my attention keeps drifting back over to where Fiona, the man, and a king and queen talk. I suppose they're his parents. He leads her away from his parents towards the dance floor, and  I nearly lose it. Every turn they take, the way his hand rests on her waist and her hand in his scrapes against my nerves until the wolf in me paces, snarling.

I tear my gaze away and notice the little clusters of people together, talking. Ronan is among a group of alpha kings talking, his cousin at his side, looking every bit the noble lady of Caldara, as is Lucian. Liora is with a much younger girl, draped in a cloak bearing the Solaran crest, speaking with an unfamiliar man. Dante is across the chamber, watching Fiona with the royals and their son. My wolf bristles at the way he watches, furious at the other gazes focused on her. It is supposed to be a good thing that Fiona has garnered so much attention, but it's not. I hate it. My wolf hates the idea of anyone looking at her. I want to drag her out of the hall and hide her in my chambers.

I force myself to turn away and focus. I need to get someone interested in Lucian's cousin. Ronan doesn't seem to be doing much better.

If that isn't irritating, people whisper about Fiona, and I realize that the talk isn't what I need to hear, but exactly what I should want.

"I didn't think the warrior princess had such grace. Did you see her?"

"It seems King Alden has been hiding how fitting of a ruler she could be…"

"King Varek?"

I turn, trying to focus on the alpha king coming up to me. I can tell he wants to make an offer for Fiona, but I can't hear it. My gaze is caught again and again by her. This time, she's laughing and flitting across the room with the young prince who approached her earlier. The heat burning in my chest threatens to break out and make me shift.

I can’t decide if I want to drag her out by the arm or kiss her until she stops breathing another man’s air.

No, it's more than I have decided, and I know that it's not an option.

I can’t stay here.

"I have matters of security to attend to. We can pick this conversation up over dinner, perhaps."

I don't wait for the man to stammer out an agreement before I leave Lucian's sister there and exit the area. I stalk across the room, through the archway, and into the colder corridors beyond. The laughter and music dull behind thick wood and stone, leaving me in near silence as the heavy door behind me. I drag in a breath, the cold is sharp against my skin, but it does nothing to lessen the heat of my jealousy. My hands ache from clenching them too tightly, nails biting into palms.

I brace a hand against the wall, drag in a long breath of the chill air. My wolf claws inside me, furious and restless, but I hold him tight. If I let him out now, I’ll stride back into that hall, tear through half the hall, and drag Fiona over my shoulder in front of every noble watching.

I can't do any of that, and I shouldn't even want to. I hate that I want to. I hate that I can already taste their blood in the air. I  can hear bones snapping and the rip of flesh against my claws. I breathe, counting each inhale until the urge to break something passes.

It hasn't been this bad since before. I jerk back from that thought. It hadn't even been this bad back then, and that makes even less sense. 

I go further down the hall, needing to get a little further away to somewhere the air doesn't still smell of her. I turn the corner and reach a line of windows. The night is pitch black, either because of cloud cover or just because the moon is somewhere else in the sky. Maybe it's just my mood that's turned the night, my castle, and the night to this deep, bleak blackness.

"Alpha," a voice drifts from down the hallway.
It's Lucian's sister who seems to think that she's pretty enough to tempt me. She always has. She slinks towards me with quiet footsteps. This isn't the first time she's approached me like this, but it's the first time it's irritated me so deeply. Her interest feels offensive. She brushes my arm with a hand that smells faintly of wine, and the wolf in me snarls, wanting to pull away from her.

“I thought we'd never have a moment alone tonight,” she purrs, close enough that I can feel the heat of her breath. Her voice is a practiced syrup. She slides one palm along my chest as if she owns this space. “I thought you might at least ask me to dance…"

"Why would I do that?"

"Lucian told me you were gathering prospects. I want only what’s best for Caldara...and for you, of course.” She leans in. Her eyes go hooded and molten. Not for the first time, I can see the hunger she has for me, and as always, I am unmoved by it. “I know why you must make arrangements for the sake of Caldara, but I can be very persuasive, Alpha. I could be…useful.”

"You could."

"My father would give his blessing to our marriage," she whispers. "I could be far more useful in your bed if you'd let me…"

Lucian and his father would indeed welcome any union that advances his position. He'd sell her wherever I told him to. She doesn't understand that it's my mercy that's kept her in Caldara all this time, despite all of the rumors she's floated through the servants about the relationship between us that will never exist.

“Lucian says you’re just being practical. I could keep you warm and produce heirs.”

The assurance in her voice makes me want to shove her away, but I think of Fiona hanging off Dante, and then the young prince. Something acidic and small gnaws at the edges of my irritation. There's a sense of satisfaction in being desired this way, so desperately, so completely.

I remember thinking I could instill such an interest in Fiona that I could seduce her into being willing to do anything I wanted. My stomach turns as I look down at Lucian's sister. For a moment, I let my hand slide down to her waist and pretend to consider.

Before I can get the words out, I feel the air stir behind her, and Fiona’s voice, sharp as a knife, slices through the air.

“Do you always parade yourself like a prize, or is tonight special?” The door closes behind her. She steps into the doorway, cool and precise as ever, and every nerve in my body tightens. She’s backlit by torchlight, grey fabric clinging to her like armor. She's alone, but her eyes glint in the low light.

Lucian’s sister turns on Fiona, her voice hisses with venom.

“You — who are you to speak to the alpha like that? Who are you to interfere?"

Fiona doesn’t flinch. She doesn't move. She doesn't even seem all that affected, but the heat in her eyes says something else.

“Send her away, Varek. Now. We need to talk, and it’s urgent.”

The words are harder than they should be if it were just about what she wanted to say. There's an urgency that pulls at me and dampens some of the heat that had been simmering in my chest.  

She's jealous of Lucian's sister. It's a better high than her flirting with me, gratifying in a deep and animalistic way. I wonder if she'll grab Lucian's sister and rip her away from me, try to drag me away, yank me down into a possessive kiss, and end this fucking torture.

I can almost taste her lips. My cock hardens in anticipation, even as the realization that I want all of that and more turns my gut to lead. This woman will be the death of me.

“No,” I say, enjoying the way Fiona jerks her gaze to mine. Lucian's sister swells, lifting her head proudly as if she's won something.

The heat in Fiona's eyes, the furious jealousy in her eyes, melts that pit of lead and turns the glint into a soft glow.

Fiona’s mouth twists into contempt. “You’re petty and stupid.” I jerk at the venom in her voice, glaring at her.

“Aren't you busy advertising yourself? Playing a good future queen? You've done a good job driving your value up. I'm expecting quite the payout for you."

She cocks an eyebrow. "And how do you plan to negotiate that payout when you're dead?"