There, There

There, There


LINCOLN

She didn’t so much as twitch as I stepped away, dimming the lights to a minimum glow as I exited her room and joined Ghost in the kitchen where he was sipping a freshly brewed mug of coffee.

“Are we still on for three a.m.?” he asked, taking a long swallow of his steaming black brew and causing me to wince.

I nodded, then checked the time on my phone as I made to leave. “Of course. I need to know if that information Gregor gave us was accurate or if he should lose his head.”

Ghost chuckled. “What happens if we find out she’s simply having an affair?”

My lip curled up in disgust and I gave him a flat look. “In that case you will record them on your phone and I will do everything in my power not to puke.”

Ghost grinned. “Let me guess, blackmail?”

I shook my head. “No. Security. Ever since Captain Anonymous sent me that video of my mother and sister ’celebrating’ Ginger, I realized how useful of a tool it could be. Any time I need to bleed something and let out my anger, I watch the video and pick out a couple of faces in the crowd to introduce myself to. And…should my mother or Giselle ever deny their cruelty or try to paint Ginger as the villain, I’ll have the truth in my pocket, ready to end their miserable lives. From now on, I want everything on record. At least, as far as they’re concerned.”

Ghost shook his head. “How does someone become that way? It’s hard to imagine. Jealousy…maybe? Like—it was okay for Ginger to be beautiful when she was your mother’s daughter, but the very moment she wasn’t…”

“Exactly,” I agreed. “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fakest of them all?” I snorted as I headed toward the front door. “You know what? After everything I saw tonight at dinner, I’m actually thinking Giselle might take my mother’s crown. She definitely excels at everything phony.”

“I’m going to head up to your suite to get ready,” Ghost informed me as I stepped over the threshold. 

“Don’t forget to lock up.”

The hall was noisier now, with many of the Gammas returning from dinner. So, I stood in the dark of the alcove for a moment, hidden by the privacy wall that blocked any and all passersby from noticing that there was a door here. Once the bulk of shadows and voices had passed, I slid out into the main hallway and sped toward the stairs, slowing my steps once I’d descended to the second floor landing and normalizing my pace so that I could tune into the sounds around me.

Focusing on the East Hall, I listened for any voices coming from the grand dining room and was more than a little irritated to find that Marsha was still in attendance. I thought for sure she would have demanded that my mother take her back to the house, but no, she was still here harping on and on about the Run tomorrow night.

Maybe I can hire a few rogues to abduct her...

Putting a little more swiftness in my steps, I hit the first floor landing and then froze. I could hear Giselle sobbing around the dark of the opposite corner. The Omega corner. And these tears, at least, sounded genuine.

Maybe Rafael said something to her after watching the video. Or maybe he refused to speak to her at all.

Curious, I stepped in that direction, stopping just behind the archway to keep out of sight. The low hum of a male’s voice reached my ears as the next few sobs that left Giselle’s throat were slightly muffled. As if whomever stood with her had pulled her into his arms to console her, or else he was tired of hearing her cry and gagged her. Either one was fine by me.

As the male’s low hum rose in octave, I was finally able to discern his words…and…his voice.

“There, there. You know that I still care about you, Giselle. I’d like to remain friends. But I just can’t marry you. I just…I can’t.”

Reuben Fucking Thorn. That little piece of shit.

Giselle’s voice sounded, nasally and thick with tears, “Is there someone else? Did I do something wrong? Why are you doing this to me? I thought your dad wanted an alliance!”

“He does, Giselle, he does. But not at my expense. Not when he knows how unhappy I would be.”

“Unhappy?” Giselle sobbed. “But how do you know you’d be unhappy if you won’t even give us a chance? Why were you so willing to before and not now? What changed? Who is it? Ginger?” A sigh. “It’s Ginger, isn’t it? You want her don’t you?”

Every one of my muscles locked into place as I awaited Thorn’s reply, but I already knew that whatever answer he gave her was going to be a lie and I readied myself to interrupt their little rendezvous so that I might personally escort the little prick out of my territory.

“It doesn’t matter, Giselle. Whether or not I want Ginger is none of your business. Either way, that has nothing to do with my decision.”

Bullshit.

“You’re lying!” Giselle snarled. “I know you are! Let me guess, you’re planning to offer for her now that she’s an Alpha’s daughter again…isn’t that right? You’re planning to ask Rafael for permission to date her, aren’t you?”

Enough.

I sauntered around the corner, my eyes going straight for Thorn as he said, without even a moment of hesitation, “Yes, Giselle, I am.”

“No,” I contested, a dark chuckle leaving my lips when I’m met with his over confident glare, “you’re not. You can’t.”

“I am and I can,” Thorn reaffirms, standing to his full height as he backs further into the corridor and away from my advancing form.

I cracked my shoulders and then my neck, smiling at nothing as I said, “I should have killed you on the mat this morning, but right now seems as good a time as any.”

Then...I lunged.