Chapter 71 Ensnared
❀ Maeve ❀
We walked through the mansion, my white dress—another gift from Nikolai, trailing behind me.
So thoughtful. He’d selected one with minimal weight. The skirt was short in the front, above my knees, then lengthened toward the back to end in a soft tail of butterfly gauze.
And yes, slim straps of gold crisscrossed over my shoulders and back. Small flakes shimmered on the bodice, catching the warm light of the lamps.
He stared at me so much I wondered how he hadn’t smacked his face against a pillar.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m fine, I promise. I don’t want to trace.”
He gave a nod, but the worried expression never left his face.
I’d wanted to see all of the house. To work my legs. They’d felt wobbly and weak all morning, and even an immortal needed mild exercise sometimes.
The stair railing was cold under my palm, smooth and so polished it reflected like a mirror.
The hall—immense.
It looked like the kind of place balls would be hosted in. I could already imagine the tall, lithe bodies of vampires in dark coats and body-hugging dresses twirling on the tiled floor.
I spun in place in the center of the hall, sighing.
This wouldn’t be a bad place to live.
Whoa. Hold up.
I glared at Nikolai, who’d been watching me with a hungry expression. Stockholm looked good on him.
But then I swallowed. My glare hadn’t had any effect.
The vampire stood still as a statue, blazing red gaze on me. He ran his eyes over my frame, but they always snapped back to my eyes.
“I’m glad you asked us to walk,” he said, voice husky. “You make me see this place in a new light. The admiration in your gaze satisfies me immensely.”
He didn’t look satisfied. He looked starved for a taste of something, of me.
“I-I’m glad. Did you purchase it? Oversee its construction?”
“Both. I needed control over every intricate detail of my home.”
I raised a brow, and the fiend smiled. So he knew he had a control issue.
“Come. I can’t wait for you to see the outside.”
Our footsteps echoed in the space, and just when I wondered if he had no staff, a hidden door slid open.
The woman walked stiffly, dressed in a pitch-black, sharp-cut kitchen uniform. Her dark hair was pulled back in a bun so severe it arched her brows.
Icy pale skin and red eyes confirmed she was a vampire.
She gave the master of the house and me a deep bow, then continued on her way.
“I instruct them to be efficient, quiet, and scarce.”
“Aren’t the hidden doors overkill?”
“Maybe. Do you not like it?”
“I mean, it’s your house. If it works for you…”
His face shadowed. “Our house, bride. Everything I own is half yours. You can make or break this structure if you want.”
I bristled at his proprietary tone.
“And just what exactly do you own?” I teased instead.
His eyes lit up.
“I own an emerald mountain with exports as far as the unknown lands. This estate. Twenty-five percent of the coffers of Veilmoor. The entire northern face of the mountains—”
My mouth watered. “Where do I sign?” I cut in.
Nikolai laughed, sliding his arm around my waist to pull me closer. He thought I was joking.
I wasn’t.
If we’d just settle the matter of my freedom to actually explore those lands on my own,and his tolerance of my lycan mate, I was all in for his vast wealth.
Half? Mine. Mine. Mine.
That was more wealth than I’d ever conceived in my entire nineteen years—
Sadness washed over me.
My birthday had been two weeks ago. In my imprisoned, hallucinatory state, it hadn’t even crossed my mind.
Nikolai noticed my sudden pallor.
“What’s happened?” He peered at me, intent, as though aching to solve all my problems.
Except the freedom-related one, of course.
I forced a waxy smile. “I’m okay… it’s nothing.”
It was obvious he didn’t buy it, and his jaw clenched. He definitely assumed I’d been thinking about leaving him. Thinking about Bastian.
Constantly. But I didn’t need to confirm it.
“Let’s see this beauty from the outside,” I said cheerily.
With a pat on his smartly dressed chest, I hurried on ahead before he could see my trembling lip.
The exterior was equally as grand. Several shining sconces lit up the building, casting it in surreal light.
A dozen cream-colored pillars proudly supported the front. The doors looked like they could withstand a siege. And the hedges—
Astounding. Glorious. Stately.
Smartly trimmed greens sprawled across the courtyard. A viciously thorned maze loomed to the right, and I thought it fortunate that such a thing as tracing existed.
I shivered at the thought of getting lost in it.
Nikolai stood to the side, watching me as usual. Awaiting my verdict.
“I want this home. I need it to belong to me.” My voice was matter-of-fact, clipped.
He relaxed, grinning, taking my words to mean I was choosing to stay.
I was—but with intent to come and go as I pleased. With intent to bring Bastian here, just to see his reaction to a home not made of dull, thick stone and iron.
“It’s yours,” Nikolai declared. “If you would come around here…” He gestured, palm pointing toward the hedge.
“If my surprise is in there, I’d readily forfeit it,” I said, voice high with fright.
Thorny hedge, with my bogus sense of direction? No, sir.
He immediately traced to my side, arm automatically drawn to my waist.
“Trust me,” he murmured, nuzzling my hair.
Neck flushing in reaction, I nodded.
Give him another chance to betray my trust, and I’d have another reason to be mad at him.
He led me down the length of the house, the hedge looming higher and higher the closer we got.
But right at the end of the building, I saw a junction. A path two carriages wide cut around the house just before the hedge.
“Close your eyes,” he said.
Now that I knew we weren’t braving the thorn hedge, shivers of excitement skittered through me.
I loved gifts. Loved wealth. Would hoard both once the impending war and familial strife were settled.
Loyally keeping my eyes closed, I followed his gentle lead down the cobblestone path.
His hand never left my waist, and I knew he would’ve covered my eyes if not for his missing right hand.
The wind was chill but soothing, the loss of sight heightening my perception of sound and scent.
And oh—the scents.
I had a feeling we were still walking along the expanse of the hedge. Maybe decorative blooms had been planted within. They smelled so good I changed my mind, I would ask Nikolai to trace me just to see them.
“We’re here.”
Had his voice wavered? Was he nervous about the gift, hoping I’d like it?
Let’s see.
I opened my eyes.
And blinked. And blinked.
But the image did not dissipate.
This was the upgrade he’d made to the house? This was the surprise?
How had he even known how badly I’d coveted the one in IronWolf?
My heart slowed as I realized he’d successfully knocked down my walls. Then it thudded as I took in the magnificent structure.
A piercing shriek rent the night, echoing up the looming mountains.
My eyes watered with joy as I whirled on him.
“You did this for me?”
Crimson glimmered in his beautiful, haunted face. “I had it commissioned from the first day I recognized the desire.”
I swallowed, should’ve known I could never stay mad at him.
My lazy machinations weren’t going to cut it.
If I wanted both males in my life, I had to be even more cunning.
Because when they did things like this, they bored into my heart deeper than I ever thought possible.