Chapter 9 - Mira
My mind reeled with panic as my feet sped up the stairs. I kept running, practically breaking into a full-out sprint as I raced toward my room, the only place I could even think of that would give me a modicum of solace and privacy.
The instant I reached the room, I slammed the door shut behind me, flipping the lock without a second thought. My back leaned against the door, chest heaving as I willed my breathing to get back under control. I closed my eyes as my hands began to tremble. I begged myself to get a grip, but my mind kept trying to spin out into fear.
They had found me. I had no idea how they had managed it, but they had somehow managed to track me down. I had hoped that leaving would make Harrison forget the whole stupid thing. But the way he’d looked at me when I had walked in told me that I had likely only made things worse. I just wanted this whole nightmare to end.
My legs threatened to give out, so I made my way to the bed and sat on the edge. I groaned as I bent over, running my fingers through my hair. He had found me. How the hell had he found me so fast? I had hoped that if I left, he would just give up and leave me be. But the look in his eyes when he had seen me told me I had only pissed him off.
What should I do? Should I run? My gaze locked on the closed door to the massive closet where I had tucked my suitcase after I finished unpacking. My fingers itched to grab it and throw as many clothes as possible into it and run the second it turned dark. Except, what good would that do? Harrison had found me here; it was almost a certainty he would find me if I ran again. And at least here, it seemed I had people who were willing to help me. Jackson. And Declan.
Declan, who had said we were going to be mated tomorrow. The surrealness of the statement made my head spin even faster. The man who had been my bully had decided, without consulting me, that I was going to be tied to him. I knew he had done it to protect me, but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why.
And I didn’t even want to be mated. Not like this, at least. That was how I had gotten into this mess in the first place, and now it was out of my control. I knew he wouldn’t listen to me or back down even if I asked him to. He had been stubborn ever since we were kids. I couldn’t imagine he would change, especially not over something like this.
As these thoughts crossed my mind, a fist pounded, shaking the door I was resting on. Startled, I jumped, gasping and stumbling back. For a wild moment, I thought maybe Harrison had somehow come back into the mansion and was going to drag me away regardless of Declan’s protection.
“Mira, it’s me.” Declan’s voice from the other side of the door was somehow almost as bad as imagining Harrison standing there. “I’m coming in.”
“It’s locked,” I managed to choke out as the doorknob rattled. I pushed myself off the bed and walked back to the door. “I’m coming.”
I reached my hand to the door and hesitated. For a second, I debated keeping the door locked. I might have, but I knew I would have to face him eventually. I flicked the lock on the knob and stepped back.
The door opened to reveal Declan on the other side. He didn’t say anything at first. Instead, he stood there, regarding me. My heart pounded as I waited for him to speak. The intense stare in his gaze seemed to pierce through me in a way that made my insides hot and my breath catch.
“Hey,” I muttered, not able to look at him.
“Are you all right?” he asked. The fact that this was the first question out of his mouth when it could have been something far more aggressive made me pause for a moment. I hadn’t expected him to ask. That surprise was probably what caused me to admit the truth.
“No, not really,” I said. “I’m pretty shaken up.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, and I could hear the authenticity in the words. “And I wish I could give you time to yourself or whatever you needed. But we don’t have the luxury of time, so I’m going to have to ask you some questions, and you probably aren’t going to like them. But I’m going to ask them, anyway.”
I nodded. “Kind of expected that. Go ahead.”
“What’s going on?” he asked.
I forced myself to look up at him. There wasn’t hostility in his eyes. Or, if it was there, it wasn’t for me. The intensity there seemed fueled only by the desire to get the full story. That didn’t help me get the words out, but he stood before me, waiting silently.
“I…” I didn’t know how to explain any of it. All I wanted was for all of it to go away. I didn’t want to have to deal with it. But the intense expression on Declan’s rugged face told me I wasn’t going to get out of an explanation. Still, the look he gave me made the words stick in my throat. I felt rooted to the spot, my entire body warming all over under the scrutiny of his gaze.
“I covered for you back there, but I think I deserve some answers,” he said. “What the hell was he talking about when he said you’re a murderer?”
“It’s not true,” I said. “I didn’t—”
“No shit it’s not true. There’s no way in hell you’re a murderer. I know it was a load of bullshit, but I need to know the story. Was that why you ran away from your old pack in the first place? Because they thought you killed someone?”
His confidence in my innocence slowed and tempered the panic racing through me. I relaxed and forced myself to take a deep breath.
“Partially,” I finally said. It felt strange, almost uncomfortable as I tried to open up to the man who was once my tormentor. But he needed to know if he was going to help me, so I forced myself to work through the unease. “A couple of weeks ago, a pack member, his name was Jay, was found dead. Murdered. They didn’t have any leads at first, but somehow they decided to pin the blame on me. Not unexpected. I was the outcast and the lowest in the hierarchy. But they were planning on placing me on trial. One of the shifters leading the investigation said they had a whole bunch of evidence pointing to me. Which didn’t make sense. I barely knew him.”
Jay had come into the restaurant where I worked a handful of times. He’d been charming and friendly enough. He had left decent tips and bantered with me a bit, that casual, meaningless flirting that sometimes happened between servers and patrons. The last time he had come into the restaurant had been the night he died. There hadn’t been anything unusual. No one following him, no shadowy lurking figure. Just Jay.
The next day, when word began to spread that he had been found murdered, I honestly hadn’t believed it. And then the police began sniffing around.
“At first, I thought if I just let it be and didn’t do anything, they would find out the truth and everything would be all right, so I waited,” I continued. “By the time I realized that had been a huge mistake, it was too late, and I was their primary suspect. Practically no one in town would talk to me. Just as it was starting to get really bad, Harrison summoned me to his office.”
I could still remember walking into his office, the smell of tobacco from a cigar lingering in the stale air. He had a smug smile on his face as he leaned back in his chair, his eyes raking me up and down as he told me to close the door. Just that look alone had been nearly enough to make me vomit. The smoke and his proposition made it a near certainty. It was a miracle I managed to hold everything in.
Declan was watching me with an unnerving intensity, and it was only then that I realized I had fallen silent, lost in a memory I would rather forget but knew would stay with me for life.
“He told me he would make it all go away if I… if I decided to marry him.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Declan stiffen as he let out a low, furious growl. “He gave me a week to decide.”
Anger flashed in his eyes, but he nodded as if things were finally beginning to make sense. “And instead of agreeing or risk going to trial, you decided to run,” he said in a low snarl.
“No ‘risk’ about it. He made it perfectly clear that if I said no, I’d be found guilty and spend the rest of my life in jail.” I looked up at Declan, meeting his eyes. “I decided to run instead. I didn’t want to get married just to clear my name. I found the job and then came here. I didn’t think he’d be able to find me.”
I finished somewhat lamely, not sure what else to say, what else I could say. I didn’t know how to convey the panic I’d been feeling, how trapped I had felt. I didn’t know how to explain that part of me had wanted to just stay where I was and hope the whole thing would blow over, the way I dealt with most things. I just didn’t want to deal with it.
As these thoughts swam through my head, Declan watched me. After a moment, he said, “I’m guessing Lacey isn’t a nickname, then,” he said.
I gave a breathless half-laugh. “Yeah. I thought it might keep me away from his radar. Guess we can see how well that turned out.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “I have no idea how they found me, but I suppose that doesn’t matter. But yeah, that’s basically the whole story. I ran because I was in trouble, and now it seems that trouble caught up to me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just didn’t know how, or whether you would kick me out. If I had known they would come, I would have told you.”
Declan remained silent. He had turned away from me, staring out the window. I saw his fists had clenched, and my fears intensified.
“Declan?” I asked nervously. When he remained silent, I added, “I know I just dropped a lot of information on you, but the silence is a little unnerving.”
I watched him give an exhale. “Give me a minute,” he said.
I nodded, my throat dry. The anger radiating off him was palpable. “I get it,” I said. “I would probably be mad, too.”
“Of course I’m mad,” he snarled, still not looking at me.
I took a deep breath. “I can go pack my things,” I said quietly.
“What?” he turned to look at me, staring at me as if I had sprouted tentacles.
“You said you’re mad at me,” I said. “I get it. I lied. I can leave and—”
“You’re not going anywhere,” he growled, stalking toward me. His hands went to my shoulders. “I’m furious at that asshole Harrison for putting you in that type of position. He calls himself an alpha? He’s a piece of shit. That’s what he is.”
The declaration took me by surprise for a moment. My mouth dropped open slightly.
“I’m not going to let him do this to you,” he snarled again. The intensity in his voice and eyes made my heart pound, and the areas where his palms and fingers gripped my arms felt electrified. “I’m going to keep you safe. We’ll get married tomorrow. I can plan all the arrangements.”
I hesitated. So many emotions ran through me. Resentment at being forced into yet another unwanted marriage. Anger that circumstances had forced me to marry the man who had bullied and rejected me. Fear that Harrison wouldn’t stop even with the marriage. I didn’t want to go through with it. But I had no idea how to express any of that.
“I don’t know,” I muttered, not looking at him.
He shook his head. “I’m not giving you a choice. I said I was going to protect you, and this is the best way to do that. I’m not letting that asshole find any sort of excuse to get his claws into you.”
I stayed silent for another moment, though I knew I didn’t have a choice. I had to marry him. My bully. The guy who had publicly rejected me and effectively ran me out of my old pack. The shifter who was currently giving me the only out I had at my disposal.
Slowly, I nodded. “All right,” I said. “Tomorrow.”
You can get out of this as soon as things settle down, I told myself. Once Harrison left us alone and it was safe, I could leave. Though that thought gave my rational side some sort of comfort, my wolf snarled her dissatisfaction, her tail swishing. She wanted to stay near Declan, near his wolf. I pushed her reaction aside, though I was painfully aware of just how close he was. He hadn’t let go of me. If anything, he had moved a step closer. His scent washed over me, making it hard to concentrate, and I could feel the heat radiating off him.
He nodded. “Good.” He reached up and brushed a strand of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. Shivers followed the path of his finger before shooting through the rest of my body. I couldn’t stop my breath from hitching slightly. “I’m going to protect you, Mira.”
“I appreciate you doing this,” I said. It was the only thing I could think to say, but I had to say something to drown out my pounding heart, though I was certain he could hear it. “It’s very…” I trailed off, not sure how to express my muddled emotions. The uncertainty, the resentment, the anger, the fear, the absurdity.
“Of course.” There was a beat. His eyes didn’t leave my face as he searched for what to say next. “I’m impressed, though.”
My brow furrowed. “Impressed?”
His hand remained on my bicep, his thumb stroking the bare skin in a way that was almost distracting. “You ran away. You uprooted your life to get away from that creep. And you stood up to him by refusing to marry him.” He had taken a step closer. “That takes a lot of strength and bravery. Of course I’m impressed.”
I shook my head. I would have taken a step back, but his hand on my arm and his scent rooted me to the spot. “I’m not brave at all,” I said. “I should have left when I saw the warning signs. Harrison had been leering at me for over a year. At the very least, I should have left when I started hearing the rumors and the finger-pointing started.” I exhaled, running my fingers through my hair. “But I stayed. Because I was waiting for things to sort themselves out. So I sat around like an idiot until it was too late. Just like I always do.”
He shook his head. “You’re brave,” he repeated.
It was sweet of him to say, but we both knew it wasn’t true. “I’ve always been too passive,” I said. “Even in our old pack. I just sat around and let things happen.” Let myself get bullied , I thought but didn’t say. Sat around hoping that you would figure out how I felt without having to tell you. The only time I wasn’t passive was the time I told you how I felt… and we both know how that went.
He shook his head again, though this time in something like exasperation. “You really have no idea,” he said.
My brow furrowed. What was he talking about? “No idea what?” I asked.
Then his lips were on mine, and nothing else seemed to matter.