Chapter Fourteen

I felt myself go dizzy and a gush of hazy memories and emotions flooded in.

“Hey,” Caspian said, pulling me into his arm as I cornered across the hall.

“Caspian!” I shrieked. “What are you doing? People will see,”

He pressed his face into my neck, letting out a breath, he had a boyish smell to him that was fresh and fruity. “Let them talk, we are to be mated in a few days after all.”

“Mmhmm,” I murmured, my face breaking into a smile.

He pulled his face away to look at me as his arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me in. “I’ve missed you,” Caspian said tenderly. “I’m sorry I have been so busy with the Alpha tending to pack duties but my father is determined to get me involved as much as possible considering I am about to shift.”

My eyes glistened with love. “I understand and I admire you for that. It makes my heart swell knowing you are going to one day rule our pack.”

“And with you by my side, don’t forget that,” he said, pressing a kiss to the side of my face.

“So…” I began, drawing my finger on the exposed part of his chest. “What do you say you meet me by the lake for the surprise I have planned for you.”

His eyes lit up in that child-like excitement he’d always had about him. “You do?”

And swiftly, I felt a shift and I was pulled into a different scene where I was crouched under the table in my father’s study, a large book in hand that I’d been hiding from my mother’s endless outings so I could remain back and read. I heard the door open and my father walked in angrily, someone hot on his heels.

“This is a complete waste of money and the Elders are going to be furious when they find out that this new set failed!” My father roared, shocking me. I’d never heard him sound that angry before.

“I’m sorry, Beta;” his companion said. It wasn’t a voice I recognized.

“We’ve invested money into this project and I don’t need any more apologies from you. We need it to work, we need you to devise a way to fix these and stop reporting dead bodies to us every fucking time, goddamnit!”

I flinched, shrinking into myself at the rage I detected from my father. It was as though I could feel it heating up the room, the anger emanating and closing all around us.

“I am terribly sorry, sir.” The man said, his voice low and terrified.

“You should be glad I didn’t snap your neck at once. Now get the hell out of here and make sure no one sees you. Inform Orion I’ll meet up with him on the night of the Rite of Transformation ceremony.”

“Yes, of course, Beta.”

And I heard the sound of retreating feet and a closed door just before my father erupted, violently swiping the content on the top of his table away. He grabbed the candelabrum and I stopped myself from yelling when my father flung it against the wall.

“Fuck Rowan!” He roared. “Fuck that damn boy and when I get him, I swear by the goddess I'll rip him apart slowly, taking every flesh of his and relishing in his death!”

And then suddenly, the house was ablaze. Flames kicked at the wall and I felt myself being engulfed by it. I opened my mouth to scream but my voice was drowned by the roar of the fire.

My eyes snapped open and I found myself back in my own body, at a different time, gasping for breath. The drugs were wearing off, and I was now left with the haunting memory of the dream I'd had but it wasn't a dream at all, it was a memory, and it was as vivid as it was in the dream, only now I remembered it.

Before now, it had been buried amongst all other things. The house hadn't caught fire but every other thing had happened, me in Caspian’s embrace, the kisses we exchanged, me in my father’s study, and finally, the one last thing that hadn't made an iota of sense to me at the time it'd happen —my father mentioning Rowan.

What did it mean? What was all this meant to be and why now was that particular memory clawing its way back to me so desperately? Obviously, now I knew how much my father was hated in the Nightshade pack but it was slowly dawning on me that the feeling of resentment was mutual; my father hated Rowan with the same intensity, if not even more.

I stared up at the dark ceiling, my heartbeat racing as I thought of the man I knew my father was and the man I had seen him as. The man who'd denied me that day at the pack was certainly not the father I thought him to be.

Who had been in his office that day? The one who he didn't want to be seen by anyone else? And who was Orion, the one he was supposed to meet up with on the night of my Rite of Transformation ceremony?

I could feel my head thunder the more I thought things over so I tried my best to shut them up but it was hard enough considering I was now alone in the infirmary and darkness had settled in.

Somehow I managed to fall asleep and I woke up to Rowan and Asher walking into the infirmary the next morning. Rowan was standing tall, his broad shoulders squared and his grey eyes scanning the room with a commanding intensity, his chiseled features and sharp jawline radiating an aura of strength and authority that seemed to fill the entire space.

His presence was commanding. It would be impossible not to notice a man like Rowan and I knew he knew that and he revered it, wearing it like a badge.

“How are you feeling?” Rowan asked, stopping at the foot of my bed. His voice was bland, he could easily be asking about the weather.

“Fine,” I swallowed. “Thank you… thank you for yesterday.”

“I owe the duty to protect you and while you are under my pack, Reed, none of the Nightshade pack will harm you. I give you my word.” He responded, his expression passive. There was nothing to it, I knew for certainty but a small part of me wished he didn't hate me as he did, and seeing as he did, I had no choice but to return the favor.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Good,” Rowan nodded. “Seeing as you managed to compose yourself with Marcellus, you are now ready to begin your training. Starting tomorrow, you will meet me at the courtyard by dawn.”

And he walked out, leaving me with Asher, my heart thundering in my chest.