Chapter Fifty

For once, I had something to be thankful for—Aimes’s presence beside me as we followed the guard up the stairs from the dungeon. I was ready to fight if he’d been ordered to stay in the cell alone.

Immediately, a range of ugly possibilities had run through my head. What if somebody hurt him while I wasn’t there? What if they took him away and put him someplace else to keep us separated and scared?

Having him next to me gave me strength. Whatever was coming, I didn’t have to go through it alone.

There was less activity in the halls than I was used to seeing, but there was a definite buzz in the air. Energy, almost electric, even if I couldn't understand where it was coming from, or why. The regime change, or something else?

As we approached the dining room, I reminded myself of how important it was to keep Annecy on my good side, at least on the surface. Since the guards hadn't hurt us yet, it was thanks to her and the presence of her own soldiers now strolling around the castle like they owned the place.

If only she didn't already know so much about me. But there was nothing I could do about that. I could only do my best in the present to keep my inner thoughts and fears away from her so she couldn't use them against me.

The long dining table wasn't set as lavishly as Connolly liked it, and there were only two people seated at it. At one end sat Annecy, and immediately I recognized the gorgeous red dress she wore as belonging to Connolly's wife.

Speaking of, where was Jessa? Did she run away on her own, or had Connolly sent her off somewhere? I hoped he hadn't left her floundering by herself, though it wouldn't surprise me if he had. The poor woman. And poor Aimes. I could tell he was sick with worry for his adoptive mom.

At the other end of the table sat Stride. Right away, the hair on the back of my neck spiked alert when I caught sight of him. There was something very wrong about the way he was sitting. Like he was barely able to keep himself upright. His head kept bobbing—it was obvious he was fighting against something. Was he drugged?

I bit back the question since it would be pointless to ask. I wouldn't get a straight answer anyway.

“Harlow.” Annecy’s nose wrinkled at the sight of me, and she waved her hand in my direction as I approached the table. “No, stay back. I'm trying to eat here, and your smell isn't helping my appetite.”

Meanwhile, she was eating a bowl of soup containing eyeballs and a piece of meat so rare, it practically mooed. But sure, I was the problem. I took a giant step backward and waited for what came next.

“Do you want to tell her, or should I?” She smiled across the table toward Stride, who barely lifted his chin in response.

I had a feeling he wasn't in a position to tell anybody anything.

“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “I will. Stride has finally seen the light. He's agreed to marry me and give me his wolf mark.”

Agreed? Something told me his agreement had nothing to do with it. He was never exactly my favorite, and I had come within moments of killing him—or rather, my wolf had—but I wasn't exactly trying to hold her back. That didn't mean it made me happy to see him the way he was.

Yet he wasn't what worried me the most just then. It was Aimes, vibrating with intense energy at my side.

“What have you done to him?” he snarled.

When he made a move like he wanted to go to Stride, two of Annecy’s men stepped in front of him, sneering.

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Annecy said, going back to her soup.

“Don’t give me that shit,” Aimes fired back. “It's obvious he's been tortured at the very least. Look at him! He can barely sit up.”

Now I could see the only reason he was able to do that at all—he was tied to his chair, ropes cutting across his midsection. His arms and legs were free, but he wasn’t going anywhere.

“He's been through a lot. We all have,” she added before finishing her soup and setting the bowl aside.

I was actually glad I happened to walk in on her eating like this, because until now, I thought I was hungry. Food was the farthest thing from my mind thanks to her and the eyeballs she’d just ingested.

“Did you sedate him? He can't even hold his head up,” I asked, cringing when Stride’s head bobbed again and his chin came to rest on his chest.

“Anyway,” she continued, pointedly ignoring my observation, “I wanted you both to be the first to know. The official wedding ceremony between the Alpha and me will take place in three days, which should give everyone a chance to get here while allowing preparations to be made. This is going to be the biggest, most memorable wedding any pack has ever known.”

Insanity shone in her wide smile. This bitch had flat-out lost her mind.

Was that what happened to a person when they’d spent most of their life being resentful, hurt, and angry? Did all of that harden over time until it crystallized into obsession and insanity?

I couldn't believe I hadn’t seen it in her before. Of course, I’d sort of been in the middle of trying to make sense of the most confusing, dangerous situation I'd ever been through, but still.

“So you’re going ahead with all this, huh?” I asked.

“What, did you doubt me?” She turned her full attention my way, her green eyes glittering. “Don't you know by now that once I put a plan in place, I see it through? Or did you think that was nothing but posturing when I told you the truth about your parentage?”

Her lips twitched, and a sly smile began to spread. “How are you feeling about that, by the way? I'm sure it can't be easy. Would you like to talk about it? Maybe I'll make us a cup of tea.”

Funny how two things could be true at the same time.

On the one hand, I knew she was baiting me. Seeing how far she could push before I lost control of my temper. Checking to see if I’d be stupid enough to try to attack with my hands bound behind my back in charmed shackles.

On the other hand? I wanted nothing more than to slice her into bloody ribbons. Heat blazed in my chest, and my bound hands tightened into fists as the desire to spill her blood strengthened with every beat of my heart.

Aimes nudged my side with his, stirring me out of my hate but not completely. I wasn't going to throw myself at her and rip her neck out. Tempting though.

“So what's your plan now?” Aimes asked. “Are you going to keep him sedated for the next three days? Or are you going to torture him more?”

She slammed a fist on the table hard enough to make the crystal plates and goblets rattle. “You know, you're a little too mouthy. It might be a good idea to watch yourself since I don't actually need you. I could get rid of you at any time.”

“Not if you want me to play along with your little plan,” I reminded her in something close to a growl.

Suppressed or not, my wolf was not putting up with this shit either.

“Then you should have a conversation with your mate,” Annecy shot back, giving him a death stare. “Remind him of his place in all of this.”

There was that fire again, blazing in its intensity while locked inside me, and this time I couldn't ignore it or pretend it wasn't there.

“There’s still time to reconsider,” I announced in a voice that hardly sounded like my own.

It was stronger, more powerful. Dangerous.

“Excuse me?” Her head tipped to the side, eyes narrowing to slits. “Who are you to—”

“What you’re about to set into motion can’t be undone.” My voice grew louder with every word, words I wasn't even thinking before they came out of my mouth.

It was like something else had gotten hold of me and was speaking through me. My wolf? Was she back? The idea made my blood sprint through my veins.

“That’s sort of the point,” she retorted.

“You are headed for your own doom if you insist on going forward with this,” I predicted.

Aimes muttered something under his breath, but there was no stopping me. The simple satisfaction of watching confusion and uncertainty wash over Annecy’s face wasn't something I was going to give up easily. For the first time since being captured for the second time, I felt like I had power.

“You’re going to wish you hadn't set this in motion, Annecy,” I warned.

Her eyes darted over my face, her brows drawn together like she was trying to figure out whether I was for real or not.

Finally, she snorted, tossing her head. “Right. You're very impressive. I'm shaking.”

She did a little shiver for effect, and the soldiers scattered around the room snickered.

“Get them out of here,” she ordered with a little wave. “My mate and I still have a lot of things to discuss.”

I barely bit back a cry of frustration at the idea of being sent back down to the dungeon.

She held up a finger as though reading my thoughts. “Give them one of the rooms upstairs, and see to it that they're fed, washed, and dressed. I want them looking good for the wedding. I can't have them stinking up the place when we have such important guests coming.”

I was too relieved at the idea of sleeping in a bed to care much about anything else. Sleep was what I needed most, and food. After that, I might be in a better headspace to figure all this out.

Like why it seemed as if someone else had spoken through me a minute ago.

“Oh, and Harlow?” she called out behind us while we were being led away. “I'm going to need you to figure out how you'll take care of your father. Because that's non-negotiable.”

My father. I still couldn't get over the idea.

Yet somehow, I was supposed to kill him to make her happy.

Or else she'd kill my mate.

No pressure or anything.