Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Rynn
Thunk. Thunk. Crack.
“Damn it.” I stared at the pieces of the target board now scattered on the ground, one of my axes lying in the debris. Half a thought from me, and the axe vanished, reappearing in my hand.
“That’s nifty.”
I turned to see Selene walking down the narrow pathway that led to this little courtyard.
There was a far larger one on the other side of the castle that had a sparring area and better targets, but the Alphas were currently using it, and I really didn’t want to see a bare-chested Cade wrestling Ryker, who would also no doubt be sans shirt.
Or Bastian sinking dagger after dagger into a bullseye with infinite ease.
Liar, an unwelcome thought whispered in my mind.
With a grimace, I dismissed my axe and set up another wooden target. I’d been venting my frustration for the better part of an hour and only had two left. Which was probably for the best because I needed to retreat inside before Ryker came looking for me.
The trick to dealing with him was to make sure there was always someone else present. It kept him from pinning me against the wall and kissing me until I gave in to him.
Or me from doing the same.
Turns out, a side effect of being intensely frustrated was my libido taking off like a runaway horse.
I had a tendency to hyperfixate on things, which meant I was barely sleeping these days. Every time I shut my eyes, I just thought of all the potential places I could look for the crest. The easiest way to get my brain to shut off for a while was to throw some orgasms at it.
Unfortunately, all my attempts to see to my own needs hadn’t been working, which had only led to me getting more frustrated.
Hence the axe throwing and broken targets.
It’d been two weeks since I’d learned about the existence of the crest, and I wasn’t any closer to finding out where it could be.
There were only so many books here for me to go through.
A trip to Drudonia was likely in order, but that would require negotiating with the Alphas .
. . and likely being alone with Bastian and Ryker on the road again.
Because even if Cade forbade Ryker to come, I knew he’d disobey.
It was getting more and more difficult to avoid him around the castle.
Bastian had been intervening here and there, but this couldn’t continue for much longer.
My skin was practically itching with the need to shift and go for a run, but I knew the second I set foot outside the stronghold that he would be there.
We’d end up in that damn cavern and I’d lose myself in him again.
Because I missed him. I missed the way he didn’t back down when we argued. I missed his feral and unhinged grins. And I missed the way his lips felt against my skin.
The dull ache in my chest sprung to life, burning like a wildfire.
You can’t exist, I thought sadly at the mating bond fighting so hard to be acknowledged.
I summoned my axe and threw it at the circular wooden board thirty feet away. The bladed edge sank into the wood, cracks forming around it.
“Bullseye,” Selene murmured from where she stood a few feet away from me.
She at least was settling in quite well.
We’d arranged for a whole new wardrobe to be brought for her, and she’d taken over cooking dinner most nights.
Turns out she was excellent at gardening too and had planted some herbs on several windowsills in the kitchen so our food actually had flavor again.
I’d sent Remy an update yesterday on how she was doing, keeping the letter brief. I had included a note at the end that read, Oh, and if you’re reading this Bastian, your abs are still weird and hideous.
An hour after sending it, Bastian had cornered me in the library and demanded I take it back.
So that had confirmed my suspicions about the Alphas monitoring my letters after Cade’s comment about all communication going through them.
The only reason I wasn’t more pissed was because I was so focused on finding the crest. And because, in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter.
I wouldn’t be staying with the Alphas forever, so I’d just deal with it for now.
“Do you need anything?” I turned away from the target to face Selene. As always, she looked stunning. Today, she’d left her hair down, and it fell in waves to her waist. The deep blue dress she was currently wearing made her golden-blonde hair look even brighter.
I was getting better about not blushing around her, but I was still terrible at small talk, so I mostly just inquired about how she was settling in.
“You know you can ask me about other things?” She gave me a polite smile. “Might I suggest the weather?”
I looked at her for a long moment. “You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”
Amusement shone in her eyes before she laughed. “I am. All of you are walking on eggshells around me, and it’s unnecessary.”
“You may not have noticed, but we’re a bit dysfunctional around here when it comes to social etiquette,” I said dryly.
Her smile became softer and felt more genuine. “I understand. The Alphas lived here by themselves for decades until you came along. And while I admit I don’t entirely understand the dynamic between you and them, it’s clear there are problems you all are working through.”
“That’s a nice way to put it.” I snorted.
“And now I’m here, further adding to the problem.”
“You’re not a problem,” I assured her quickly. “My baggage with the Alphas will not bleed over to you. I promise.”
Selene hadn’t been any more forthcoming about why she hadn’t fit in with her previous packs, and I hadn’t pried. But she had made it very clear that she needed things to work out with the Alphas. The implication being that her family would be extremely displeased if she were to return again.
Despite the polite distance she seemed to hold between herself and all of us, she fit in nicely and didn’t seem to mind being essentially ignored by everyone but me. Except at dinnertime. We’d gone back to having dinner together, mostly because Selene had insisted and we all wanted to eat her food.
I had to admit it was nice. Conversation might be a bit stilted at first, but we usually managed to find some safe topics.
For an hour a day, I could almost pretend we really were a pack.
That quickly ended when Bastian and Cade had to run interference to keep Ryker from following me back to my room.
“I take it that whatever you’ve been researching isn’t going well?” Selene’s eyes darted to the pieces of the target boards I’d already annihilated.
“No,” I admitted. “Just a bunch of dead ends.”
The frustration I’d been feeling all day resurfaced, and I pivoted back to the target. In one smooth motion, I pulled my arm back, summoned the axe, and threw it. It slammed into the wood a few inches next to the center.
And this was why I was practicing. Samara had a natural talent when it came to hand-eye coordination. I had to work for it.
“Are the axes courtesy of the Moroi?” Selene moved to stand to my side, several feet away, giving me space. Her gaze was curious as she watched the axe disappear into thin air from where it was stuck in the wood before reappearing in my hand.
“Yes.” I summoned the other axe in my left hand and held it out to her.
She stepped forward and took it before moving back.
I continued practicing with the other one.
“I went to Drudonia with Samara but also one of her now mates, Astaroth Devereux.” I used Roth’s full name because that was how most people outside their friends and family knew them.
“I'm familiar with Roth,” Selene said dryly.
“You’ve met?” I lowered my arm before attempting another throw and glanced at her. “Did you study at Drudonia?”
Selene was several decades older than me, so we wouldn’t have studied at the same time, but I didn’t see any other way she would have met Roth.
“I did,” she confirmed. “And a couple of years ago, I did a short stint there to study and also teach some seminars. Roth was still living there at the time. My interests lie in interpreting the art left behind by the Fae.”
“Sorry we don’t have much of that here.” I wrinkled my nose as I looked at the austere castle towering over us. “Have you visited any of the Moroi Houses? All of them have spectacular murals.”
Most of the Velesian strongholds also had artwork, but not to the same extent as the Moroi ones.
I couldn’t figure out why exactly, because in both realms, there was a mix of Unseelie and Seelie castles.
It did seem like the castles built in the Velesian realm were newer, so perhaps they just hadn’t had time to fully decorate them before Erendriel and the Seelie had cast their magic to destroy the Unseelie—basically themselves.
“I haven’t had the opportunity to visit the Moroi realm.” She hesitated for a moment. “My family, like many of the Fervis Order, hate the Moroi. My parents almost didn’t let me go to Drudonia because they knew it meant I’d be interacting with the Moroi during my time there.”
“And you?” I asked carefully. “How do you feel about the Moroi?”
She shrugged, somehow making it look elegant. “They’re not that different from us. So they drink blood instead of turning into beasts? We’re all monsters, and we have far more in common with them than not.”
I relaxed a little. Not that it really mattered since I wouldn’t be here long term, but from the little I knew about Selene, I liked her.
If she’d had a different response to my question, that would have strained things.
Because pretty face or not, if she’d talked shit about Samara, I would have punched her.
“I hope I’ll get the chance to visit some of the Moroi Houses someday.” Selene’s lips curved into an almost shy smile. “I’ve heard they’re stunning.”