Chapter 25 25
Jasmine's POV:
I simply wanted to make sure that Amelia got hurt, and would be forced to return to the Packhouse while Denary and I enjoyed horse riding. What I absolutely did not plan for, was to sit through an entire ride watching Denary parade her around in a ridiculous little display of affection.
I clenched my jaw at the memory, my fingers curling around the window drape. “To hell with her.” I muttered under my breath because all through that damned ride, irritation crawled over my skin like ants.
Every time Denary looked at her, every time she smiled back at him like some doe-eyed nobody, I could feel my temper simmering beneath my ribs. The only moment my lips dared to tilt upward was when she climbed onto the horse, because I already knew exactly what was going to happen.
After all, the first day I arrived here, I didn’t come alone. Father would never allow his daughter, the daughter of Alpha Dante, to arrive anywhere empty-handed like some impoverished waif. So, I came with over thirty slaves, hand-selected by Father himself, trained to serve in Denary's packhouse but they answer to me and me alone.
So why, would it be difficult to order them to switch out a saddle? A little loose strap here, and a weakened leather buckle there, was enough to set everything up motion. And the horse, sensing Amelia’s fear, and reacting with that wild fury, was simply a delightful bonus.
And when she ended up hitting her head against the stone, joy surged through me. I pressed a hand to my chest even now, remembering the sight. “Perfect.” I whispered to myself, smiling.
But recalling Denary had rushed to Amelia’s side, my smile faltered. Then I realized that any decent man would help a woman in need, but the look of worry in his eyes was what made my stomach twist with anger.
I had loved Denary since childhood. Loved him, wanted him, claimed him in my heart long before Amelia ever stepped foot here. I endured his brother’s endless taunts, learned how to smile sweetly at his mother no matter how tedious she was, all of it, just to secure my rightful place beside him.
And now some nobody thought she could take him away? Not while I breathe.
“She should have cracked her skull.” I hissed and suddenly, a voice broke into my thoughts.
“Are you ok, my lady?”
I snapped my head around, eyes narrowing on Suzanne standing by the bed, wringing her hands like an idiot. “What do you want?” I snapped.
“I have been calling you for a while, my lady.” She stammered. “You looked, lost in thought, and I became worried.”
“I did not ask for your worries.” I spat. “Get out.”
She flinched, bowed, and scrambled away like a frightened mouse. I exhaled, annoyed that she had interrupted the delicious storm brewing in my mind.
Hissing, I went about brainstorming my new plan. The plan was to scare her until she slowly lost her mind as “accidents” mysteriously followed her in every hallway and corner of this Packhouse. And then, when she was hanging by threads, I would take my rightful place beside Denary.
I smiled, stretching my arms before saying to myself that this was the perfect moment to spend time with him. So, I stepped out, made my way down the grand hallway, my hips swaying, with my chin raised. When I reached his room, I knocked lightly, just as a proper lady should.
But I received no response, so I frowned and let myself in. “Denary…?”
I stopped midway as my eyes fell on Amelia lying comfortably on Denary's bed and my blood boiled instantly.
“You have got to be joking.” I whispered, my voice trembling with rage.
I stepped further inside, glaring at her limp little form. I tried to make sure she would be far away from him but now here she was, in his bed.
“And where in the hell is Denary?” I hissed, and turned toward the door, ready to slam it shut and hunt him down.
<><><>>><><><>><
Amelia's POV:
“Please!” I heard that same familiar voice plead, and I whipped my head around to see the same woman from the last time. Except this time she wasn’t clutching an arrow in her chest, she was standing at the edge of a cliff, trembling.
Someone was shouting at her, but I couldn’t see who and I also couldn’t place where I was, it all felt blurred at the edges, like I was standing too far back in my own mind. Then the shouting stopped and a hand shot out then shoved her and she met out a scream while falling down the cliff until I couldn't hear her voice anymore.
“Amelia!” I heard someone call out for me, forcing me to wake up with a gasp, one to see that I was all alone in Denary's room.
I pushed myself upright, but the moment I did, the whole room rolled like it was trying to throw me out of it. A wave of dizziness hit me so hard I had to grab the edge of the mattress and sank back down before I toppled over.
“God…” I pressed my hand to my forehead, trying to breathe through the spinning. “What was that?”
First she was shot by an arrow, now she was pushed to her death?
I tried to make sense of it, I tried to put the pieces anywhere that didn’t feel impossible but the only explanation my brain kept circling back to was the one I didn’t want to touch, that she might be my mother. Maybe these dreams were memories resurfacing, clawing their way up through whatever wall I’d built around them.
But why would every memory end with her dying?
She was shot in the first then pushed in the next like my mind couldn’t choose a version of her death, only that it needed me to remember it. I rubbed my face with both hands, frustration buzzing under my skin.
If she really was my mother… Why did every dream show me the moment she was taken from me, and never the moments she was mine?
I swallowed hard and my throat scraped painfully, so I forced myself to stand and pushed myself toward the door.
The moment I stepped out, I froze because I was stunned to see Mei seated on a floor beside the door, hands folded in her lap, back impossibly straight despite how long she must have been there.
“Mei?” My voice came out thin. “Why are you sitting here?”
She rose at once, head bowed. “My lady… I couldn’t possibly enter Alpha Denary’s chambers without his permission, so I chose to wait outside until you woke up.”
I blinked at her, surprised. “What if I didn’t wake up until nightfall, would you have stayed here the entire day?”
Mei nodded without hesitation and the earnestness in her eyes warmed something inside my chest. “Well ” I murmured, a little embarrassed by how touched I felt. “I’m glad you didn’t have to.”
But the dryness in my throat was becoming unbearable. “Mei… water, please.”
“Of course, my lady.” She slipped her arm gently around me and guided me to my room.
When I finally reached the bed, I sat on the edge, exhaling shakily. While Mei moved efficiently, pouring water from the jug into a cup, then placing it into my hands and I drained it in one go then I returned the cup to her, wiping a stray drop from my lip.
“Mei?” I asked softly. “How did I end up in Denary’s room?”
“I’m not entirely sure, my lady.” She folded her hands again. “I was working in the garden when everything happened. But according to the other maids, Alpha Denary rode in with you on his horse. They say he carried you like a bride and demanded that Uriel be brought up to his room.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks so fast it made me dizzy. I lowered my gaze, fingers curling into the blankets. When I woke up a while ago, I regretted every moment of that foolish ride. But now, picturing Denary’s expression as he held me, I couldn't help but smile. If the consequences of my recklessness was everyone seeing how much he cared about me, then maybe it didn't make a mistake at all.