Chapter 37 TORN BETWEEN TWO CHOICES
Ginny
“Who is there!” The rogue wolf barked again, nothing funny about the tone of his voice. “Better speak up now before I make you to.”
Oh fuck!
Why did I get myself into this stupid mess in the first place?
Shit!
I forced a hand over my mouth, my fingers trembling as I forced my breathing to still. Every instinct screamed at me to run—but I knew better. Any tiny movement and these rogue wolves would rip me to shreds.
The rogue wolf began to make his way towards me as he sniffed the air. I watched his shadow move, his head tilting slightly as his nostrils flared.
“Come out,” he hissed now, almost amused. “Or I’ll enjoy ripping you into shreds.”
The night seemed to lean in closer, holding its breath with me. My muscles burned from the effort of staying still, from keeping myself pressed tight against the tree, from swallowing the scream clawing up my throat.
Meanwhile, Kenna stood a few feet away, her back half-turned, her arms were folded as though she was bored rather than standing in the middle of treason. No ounce of surprise on her face.
Rather she looked irritated.
As if an interruption would be inconvenient.
The rogue took another step— much closer now that I could see the glint of his eyes, pale and sharp in the dark.
That was it.
If I stayed another second, I wouldn’t make it.
Before my brain could think twice, I slipped sideways, letting the tree shield me one last time before I broke into a run.
“Hey—!”
The shout exploded behind me but I didn’t dare look back for even a second. Branches lashed at my arms as I tore through the brush, my lungs burning with every step but all my brain could gather was…
Run.
Run.
Run.
I kept running until the dark shape of the villa burst into view, looming ahead like salvation. Without hesitation, I slammed through the servants’ entrance, nearly collapsing against the door as I shoved it shut behind me.
What the fuck?
I slid down the wall, my chest rising and falling in heavy gasps, sweat slick against my skin. My hands shook uncontrollably as I pressed them to my face, trying to ground myself. At least for the fact that I was safe.
I wasn’t dead.
I wasn’t bleeding.
I hadn’t been caught.
But my mind—
My mind was screaming with different thoughts all at once that I couldn’t think clearly. That damn bitch! Kenna. Her name tasted like poison as it rolled off my tongue.
She has orchestrated the whole thing— all of it. The attack at the Blood Moon Pack Villa, the chaos that nearly killed him.
Varkos.
My stomach twisted violently.
How the hell could she pretend to be so in love with him all this time when the only intention she wanted was to see him dead? And now…she’s planning to poison him on their wedding night.
“Oh God…”
I pressed my forehead against my knees, a mix of fear and confusion creeping fast into every single one of my bones. Should I tell him?
The thought flickered—and died just as quickly.
No…Varkos was the last person on earth to believe anything that would come out of my lips against Kenna. The Alpha of Bleeding Rose Country would never believe the word of a human slave over his future Luna, definitely not over the woman chosen by blood and pack and tradition.
I could already imagine the cold words he would bark at me the moment I dared to say a word of this to him.
“You’re lying.”
“You’re jealous.”
“You’re trying to sabotage my bond.”
My fingers curled into the fabric of my dress as fear wrapped tighter around my chest. And yet—why the fuck did the thought of him dying feel like something tearing open inside me?
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to force down the images that threatened to crawl their way into my head. The way Varkos had transformed into his Alpha form without hesitation—as he tore through the rogues just to save Lily.
The way he’d collapsed afterward, bloodied and broken all because he’d chosen to fight instead of retreat.
For a human child.
“Well…it’s not any concern of mine,” I muttered to myself harshly. Varkos was nothing but a monster that deserved every bit of all that was coming to him.
But yet the words felt…empty even as I said them.
Because monsters didn’t shield human children with their bodies, neither did monsters fight their own kind for touching what wasn’t theirs.
Stop!
I shoved the thoughts away, forcing myself to stand. Thinking about him like this was dangerously messing with my head, I needed to clear my head.
Now.
Without thinking twice about it, I slipped quietly down the corridor toward the bathing chambers, every sound making me flinch. When I finally reached the small servants’ bath, I locked the door behind me and leaned against it, breathing out shakily.
Water.
I needed to immerse myself in water to think clearly. I began to strip off my clothes, one by one, my hands still shaking from the thought of what I’d just been through as I stepped into the basin and steam began to rise.
The water wrapped around me instantly, warmth seeping into every one of my muscles which were still tight from the run. I scrubbed at my arms harder than necessary, as if I could erase what I’d heard.
Poison.
Wedding night.
Varkos dying.
My reflection stared right back at me in the water—my face pale, lips pressed tight with different things that I wanted to say all at once.
What should I do?
The question pulsed with every heartbeat.
If I stayed silent, he might die.
If I told him, it would be of much greater risk to Lily and me. Either way, something really terrible was about to happen in Bleeding Rose.
I sank deeper into the water, till it covered me whole and all I could stare at was the stone ceiling above me.