Bonded Ever After (The Royal Gold Keepers #3)

Chapter 5

FIVE

Callum

I’m drunk again, at a party I don’t even want to be at, but anything’s better than being alone. I think I’ve been drunk every day since I found out Elora was sleeping with Ferone. I’m in a hell of my own making, and if I feel too much, I think I’ll just die. Just cease to exist.

Elora was my everything, my whole world, and I’ve lost her.

Worse yet, she seems not to care how I feel. How this has killed me. She wants us to talk together, as if what happens in Paradise Falls really doesn’t matter. Fuck that.

Why had I ever spoken those words that what happened here didn’t matter? Why the fuck hadn’t I made it clearer to her that I didn’t want her near anyone? That I owned her. That she was mine and mine alone.

“Hi, Stud,” some girl says as she drops into my lap.

I stare at her, not caring, not feeling, just wishing I could fade from existence. She smiles at me, drawing her face close to mine. Her big brown eyes are encircled by dark mascara that’s already begun to run. She smells like cheap vodka and cheap perfume, so strangely at odds with everything about Elora.

Another girl drops into the seat next to me. “So, like, when do you go to Neverwood? Soon, right?”

One week. One week until I’m alone with Elora in Neverwood. I’d already decided I wouldn’t be walking with her. Already decided that if Ferone was enough for her here, she wouldn’t have access to me, even if it killed both of us out there.

Still, the idea fills me with dread. If something actually happens to her… I push the thought aside even as an image of her hurt surfaces to my mind. I’d said the worst things I could possibly say to her, thinking I’d feel better if I hurt her too, but I didn’t. I felt worse.

There’s no end to my misery. No end to the hell I’m in. Before I touched Elora, there was some awareness in the back of my mind that I might be able to have her. Hope. Jagged hope that I could have something pure and wonderful in this life.

All of that is gone now.

“Are you looking forward to Neverwood?” the girl next to me prompts.

I take a swing from the bottle of vodka in my hand. “No.”

They giggle. They banter with each other, each one vying for my attention. I want to tell them to go away. That I have nothing to offer them. Before the night is over, I’ll be wasted, my dick too soft to do anything at all, but I don’t say that. I don’t tell them anything.

Music blasts from the stereo. Twenty-something-year-olds grind against each other in the living room while I sit frozen on the couch, watching it all unfold. The house is crowded. Everyone from the university squeezing in to have a little fun. Do any of them have a clue how pathetic this is?

Suddenly, my gaze lands on someone. Ferone. His dark hair has been styled. He’s wearing a dark green shirt and slacks, far too dressed up for a party. But I wonder if he’s actually dressed up for someone else. For Elora.

My gut tightens. Of course he is. He has her now, so he has no need for any other woman. When he can see her, touch her, slip inside her, his world is complete. He doesn’t need anything or anyone else to be happy because he has the woman I love.

I start to stand. The woman in my lap falls off. I clench the bottle of liquor in my hand and sway on my feet. I’m going to fucking kill him. And the thing is, no one will stop me. There will be no punishment. Because I’m the motherfucking Gold Keeper, and the only benefit to such a miserable job is that I can act without consequence.

I start toward him, and stagger in surprise when Teth suddenly steps in front of me. “Want to go outside and get some air?”

I try to push past him.

He grabs my shirt, pulling me so that he can whisper in my ear. “Let’s go outside.”

I shake my head. “No. I’m going to kill him.”

His grip only tightens. “I know. Let’s go outside. Let’s get some air.”

“No, I have to keep an eye on him.”

All I want is to beat the shit out of him. To know he won’t ever be capable of touching her again. I want to break him like he broke me.

Teth guides me back to the couch, and we sit down together. Tension radiates from Teth, and I don’t blame him. He wants to stop whatever disaster I’m planning, but he also knows he can’t. If I want to do something, there’s no force on earth that can stop me.

I go to take another swig and Teth catches the bottle and lowers it back down. He doesn’t say anything, and the urge to fight him wells inside of me, then vanishes. Maybe slowing on my drink right now is a good idea.

Maybe I need to calm down before I do something I’ll regret.

Instantly, my spine stiffens. I turn toward the door. I can’t see it from my spot, but I know she’s here before she steps into the room. It’s impossible to breathe. Impossible to do anything except stare. She’s wearing a short black dress that dips low enough in the front that you can see the lace from her black bra. She has on black heels that make the already tall woman look even taller. Her blonde hair lies in waves down her back, and her lips are painted with a deep red lipstick.

My groin tightens. My entire body responds. Fire courses through my veins and an undeniable need to hold her makes it hard to breathe. I miss her. Fuck, how I miss her.

She’s animated, seeming to talk to anyone and everyone , which is very unlike her. She seems to be pulling people into conversations she’s never spoken to before, and there’s laughing and excitement around her. It’s like everyone in the room is aware of her, is being pulled into her gravitation, and I don’t blame them. I feel the pulling too.

Then Ferone is beside her.

Everything changes. Everything inside of me is twisting into something dark and ugly. She turns to him as everyone watches and kisses him. Hard. His hands go to her waist. She tilts her head for him, and the floor drops out from under me.

I start to stand. Teth pushes me back down next to him.

My gaze swings to my best friend. I need help. I need guidance.

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” he tells me, his dark eyes filled with warning.

There’s whooping and shouting, and I turn back to see Elora dragging Ferone up the stairs as everybody watches with excitement. Her gaze slides across the crowd, meets mine, and lingers for half a second before she looks away. Then she’s gone up the stairs, and I’m left in even smaller pieces than before.

This can’t be happening.

I get the feeling that this is punishment. Punishment for the way I spoke to her earlier. Maybe she figures she hasn’t hurt me enough, that she needs to make it publicly clear that she’s fucking this asshole right in front of me.

He’s probably already touching her. Already undressing her.

I rise to my feet, and Teth is there in an instant. “Callum…”

I drop the bottle on the floor, not caring when it spills everywhere. Then I meet his gaze. “You’re not going to be able to stop me, so please get the hell out of my way.”

He seems to search my expression for a minute before he steps out of the way. I push my way through the crowd, hating how the music feels too loud, hating that there are people everywhere. It’s like I’m crawling out of my skin and no one can see it except me.

I reach the stairs and climb them like a man climbing to his doom. If I see Ferone up there touching her, if I see him anywhere near her, I’m going to kill him. Not figuratively. I’m going to literally break every bone in his body, and no one is going to be able to stop me.

I get to the first door, try the handle, and find it locked. Stepping back, I kick the fucking thing in and see two terrified people in the middle of fucking. Turning away from them, I go to the next door and do the same thing, but the naked people in the room aren’t them. Lucky for Ferone. Two more broken doors lead to nothing, and then I’m at the final door. Heart in my throat, I kick it open.

Ferone is shirtless on the bed. Elora is in nothing but her bra, underwear, and heels. She’s standing in front of him as his hands rest on her waist. Her eyes widen as they fall on me and time seems to stand still. If I hadn’t walked in here right now, they’d be fucking.

Springing forward, I grab Elora’s dress from off the floor and throw it at her, then yank her out of his grip. I swing back my fist to punch Ferone in the face, but then Elora is there between us, her face twisted with anger.

“Get out! Get the fuck out!”

“Back away,” I tell her.

“No,” she tells me stubbornly.

I’m breathing hard. “I’m going to kill him, and you’re not going to stop me.”

She shoves me back, and in my drunken state I stagger. “Go back to your women and your liquor. We’re having our own party, and you’re not invited.”

I eye the man behind her. “Going to let your slut do all the talking for you?”

Ferone stands. “Look, asshole, if you were any other kind of man, I would’ve kicked your ass a long time ago, but my hands are pretty well tied with you being you. I get your families have beef, I get that you would be awful to anyone she dates, but we’re together now, and you’re just going to have to accept that.”

I laugh. I can’t help myself. Does he really think he can give her what she needs? His gentle thrusting probably doesn’t do a damn thing for her. She needs a man like me. A man who can be her equal.

Elora pulls on her dress between us, then grabs Ferone’s hand. “We’ll just continue this at my place.”

As they go to pass me, I shove Ferone back. He glares. I shove him again. Elora tries to get between us, but I move around her, a fighter even in my drunken state. He finally punches me, but it’s nothing. Barely a blow. I wind back, and at the last minute, I gentle my punch. I hit him square in the face, knocking him to the floor.

He doesn’t get up, but his chest continues to rise and fall.

Turning to Elora, I don’t think, I just act. I pick her up and toss her over my shoulder, then head down the stairs. She punches my back. She kicks. And she must actually be trying to hurt me, because it does hurt. I carry her out of the party and down the street, deciding on a whim to head to my house, since it’s only a couple streets away.

“Put me down, you oaf!” she screams.

I pat her butt, then caress it. I’ve missed that butt.

“I’m going to kick your ass when you put me down, you idiotic neanderthal!”

It’s weird. I don’t even mind that she’s yelling, or that she’s mad at me. I just like being near her, like hearing her voice, even though that’s fucked up.

We reach my dark house, and I step inside. I flick on a lone light switch and then set her down in front of me. She regards me with a mixture of anger and wariness. I just hope she can’t see my desperation as I look back at her.

“You can spend one night without Ferone’s dick.”

She glares. “You don’t get it.”

I angle her until her back hits the wall in my foyer, and then I lean close and say, “I get it. You’ve been fucking that asshole every night since you got back from Neverwood, and you can’t bring yourself to spend one night without his wimpy, tiny little dick.”

To my surprise, she looks confused. “I haven’t been sleeping with Ferone.”

I laugh, but the laugh is filled with anger. “Everybody knows. You haven’t exactly been subtle about who you’re letting into that pussy of yours.”

She gives me an irritated look. “People talk, Callum, that’s what they do. If the rumors are true, you’ve banged your way through the whole cheerleading squad, all the science geeks, and you’re making your round through the art club. All in a week. I imagine your dick is pretty tired after all that.”

I study her face, trying to see any signs that she’s lying, but there are none. “You’re telling me that after what I just walked in on, you’re not sleeping with Ferone.”

Her cheeks heat. “That was actually going to be our first time. Not that it’s any of your business.”

I take her by the back of the neck and force her to look at me. “Don’t lie to me.”

Her eyes glare into mine. “Why would I lie to you? I’m a free woman. I can do whatever the hell I want, and it’s none of your business.”

“People said they saw him leaving your house.”

“He’s never been to my house,” she says, emphasizing each word.

I release her, feeling strange. She hasn’t slept with Ferone? It’s like all the strength leaves my body, and I just want to sit down. Over the past few weeks I’ve been fueled by jealousy and rage, and just about nothing else. But I was wrong? How is this possible?

“Time to go,” she says, taking a step toward the door.

“Go?” I say, the word coming out broken. “Go where?”

She gives me a strange look. “Back to the party with Ferone. I have plans.”

I stare. “Plans to fuck him?”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “Yes.”

It’s like I’ve gathered the broken pieces of myself in my arms, and now I don’t know what to do with them. “You don’t have to go back to him. You don’t have to sleep with him.”

Looking away, she says, “Yes. Yes, I do.”

When she tries to head to the door, I catch her arm. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” she asks quietly.

“For everything awful I’ve said to you. For the awful way I’ve been treating you. I thought you and Ferone… I thought you were together, and I couldn’t handle it.”

She doesn’t look at me. “You were cruel, Callum. I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to forgive you for that.”

I move closer to her, looking down at her, feeling broken. What had I said to her? Something about her mom and her dad. Biting words. Awful words. I don’t deserve her forgiveness after that, but I need it.

“You’re right. I deserve that. I used the things that were most important to you to hurt you, but I’m never going to do that again. I’m going to be a better man for you. I know that you can’t believe that right now, but you’ll see. With time.”

She finally looks up at me with uncertainty. “I have a lot going on. I need someone I can trust, and I think Ferone is that person.”

I shake my head, a knife twisting in my heart. “I’m that person. I know things are complicated, but I swear, I’m that person.”

“You don’t get it,” she says brokenly. “I have to go. I have to sleep with Ferone.”

“Why?” And I’m begging her with that word.

“I just do.”

“Tell me.”

“It’s complicated.”

“I don’t care.”

“I’m pregnant!” she shouts, then covers her mouth with both hands, looking horrified.

Pregnant? Did she just say she was pregnant? She hasn’t been with anyone else… That means… That means she’s carrying my child. Elora is going to have my baby.

Happiness explodes inside of me, and I pull her into a hug, grasping her tightly. My Elora. The woman I love. Pregnant.

“I can’t believe it,” I say, a lump forming in my throat. “I’m so happy.”

“Happy?” she asks, sounding shocked. “You know this isn’t a good thing.”

“How can it not be a good thing? This is the best thing I’ve ever heard. You’re growing my baby inside of you.” We’re going to have a family. A real family.

She struggles out of my hug and looks up at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Callum, what do you think they’ll do when they find out I’m pregnant? What’s the first question they’ll ask?”

I stare, not comprehending. “They’ll be happy a Gold Keeper got pregnant so easily. They’ll be amazed.”

“Not when they find out you’re the father.” Her words drop like stones between us.

It’s weird. I hadn’t thought about that at all. Just the idea that my Elora was pregnant with our baby was all I cared about. Now, the reality of our situation settles over me. There are two families. Two separate families. Never in a million years would anyone think about the two families becoming one. What’s more, it seems likely that all future Gold Keepers will only have one child. Would this be our one child? They’d never be able to accept only one Gold Keeper going to get Goldarium. So, what would they do about it?

“It’s not like they can undo this. It’s done,” I say, picturing telling the Council, telling them to suck it, and that Elora and I would be raising this baby together, with or without their approval.

“Callum.” She says my name softly. “They could try to get rid of the baby. I’d have to be careful all the time. Watch my back. Watch the foods I eat. Even watch the shampoo I use. You know how many ways they have of getting rid of a baby.”

Fuck. My hands curl into fists. “Let them try. Let them try to hurt my woman or my child. I will burn this fucking place to the ground and leave nothing but ashes.”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “That’s a nice idea, Callum, but that’s not the world we live in.” Her sharp intake of breath is audible. “The only way for this baby to be safe is for them to think it’s someone else’s. There has to be a possibility, no matter how slim, that this is Ferone’s baby. He might have doubts, but he won’t share them. I know it. The baby will be safe. It’ll be raised safely with Ferone and I, and–”

“No.” I’m shaking my head. “No, that can’t happen.”

“Callum–”

“Look at me. There’s no way that I can sit by and watch you raise our baby with another man.”

Her beautiful mismatched eyes stare into mine. “I don’t think we have a choice.”

“We do.”

“Then what’s your solution?”

“I–I don’t know,” I say, “but I’m going to come up with one.”

“In three days?” she asks, sounding desperate.

“Three days?” I repeat.

“That’s when the physical is. Then they’ll know, and it’ll be too late to pin Ferone as the father… unless he and I work something out.”

I come closer and touch her arms. She steps away from my touch, and my hands fall. “I’m going to come up with a solution, okay? I swear it.”

“Are you willing to gamble with our child’s life on this?”

My hands clench. “Please, just give me until the physical. I’ll come up with a plan.”

She doesn’t look convinced. “I’ll give you two days. If you don’t have an idea before then, I’m going forward with my plan.”

I try to hug her, but she steps away.

Fuck. “I know I hurt you, but thank you for giving me this time.”

The sadness in her eyes tears at my heartstrings. “Two days, Callum. Then, no matter how hard it is, no matter how angry you get, I’m following through with my plan. This baby is too important to risk otherwise.”

I try to think of something to say. Something that will fix the hurt between us. Something that will make her realize just how much I love her. “I would do anything for you. Anything at all.”

“Except trust me, it seems,” she says quietly.

My heart aches. “Elora–”

There’s a sound in the house. We both turn and look into the shadows. I glance back at Elora and see her wide eyes. She rushes for the door and slips out. I want to go after her, but instead I tear through the house, looking for the source of the sound, and find no one and nothing.

Maybe it was just the house settling. It probably was, but I hate that it frightened her. There was so much left to say. So much left to do. But for now, I have to focus on the problem in front of me. I need to find a way to protect my baby and the woman I love, without losing them to another man.

And I need to be sober to do it.