Chapter 27
· King Soren ·
I watch Aubrey from the corner of my eye in the rearview mirror as we drive in tense silence.
The streetlights cast fleeting shadows across her face, illuminating the worry etched in her furrowed brow.
Damian and I have switched places so he can have a break from driving.
My hands grip the steering wheel tight, knuckles white with the strain of holding back the storm of emotions threatening to burst forth.
Relief floods through me at having her back, safe and sound.
It mingles with a bitter undercurrent of betrayal that leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
The lies, the secrets - how deep do they run?
Was it all a lie? Were we a lie? These are the things that play on my mind.
My only relief is her compliance right now; she hasn’t tried to fight us, or run since finding her.
She also has not commented on my decision at the gas station about changing her.
Glancing over at Damian, he has fallen asleep in the passenger seat.
He stirs but doesn’t open it, as I test the mindlink subtly double-checking he is actually asleep.
Though his senses are unparalleled, he’ll probably wake from our voices but he knows not to intervene with anything regarding Bree–Aubrey.
That will take some getting used to; her real name suits her better.
Turning onto the final stretch, I peer at Aubrey, her head is against the window, eyes staring vacantly.
I’ve ignored her most of the trip not wanting to say something I can’t take back.
I am best off asking while I’m driving, while my hands are occupied because I feel like breaking something, and I don’t trust my temper right now.
“Aubrey,” I begin, my voice hoarse as I speak her real name, she lifts her head from the window and sits up straighter. “I need to know—” I don’t know where I’m going with this. I pause, suddenly afraid of her answer. What if everything was a lie?
She turns to me, eyes glistening. “Were you ever going to tell me?” I ask, keeping my gaze on the road. I don’t miss Damian stirring at the sound of my voice. He pretends to be asleep, not wanting to interrupt.
“Soren, I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you.” Her words slice through me like shards of glass. I want desperately to believe her, to trust in the connection we’ve forged. Doubt gnaws at me, insidious and relentless.
“That’s not what I asked. I know you’re sorry, whether that is because you’ve been caught or fear the repercussions, I don’t care,” I state, glancing in the mirror. “Sorry won’t change that you lied and it won’t change what happens next.” She turns her gaze back to the window.
“I tried to tell you, but the timing never felt right,” she whispers and I barely catch it over the hum of the engine.
“How can I be sure?” I ask, hating the vulnerability in my tone. “How do I know that everything—your feelings for me, us—wasn't just another lie?”
Aubrey leans forward. “Why would you think that? I never intended to get involved with you or Max, I was trying to lie low with Grandma.”
“So it was all a lie?”
“What? No… it… I am…” Aubrey reaches out, her fingers brushing my arm. I flinch involuntarily, and she withdraws, hurt flashing across her features.
“It wasn’t,” she whispers. “Originally I was running, though never from you, Soren. I swear it. I would have told you. I should have told you, but… “
I clench my jaw, warring with myself. Part of me yearns to pull her close, to lose myself in her warmth, and to forget the pain of the last few days. The wounds are too fresh, the trust too fragile.
“What? You need to explain because I’m struggling to understand how you can love someone and lie to them.”
“That’s why I didn’t tell you. I tried to, wanted to. I was petrified of losing you and Max, the life I had with you both. Even now with his mark on my neck, Soren, I still love you, and would choose you. I would die for you and Max.”
I know that much is true because she threw herself off a cliff to keep my son safe with no regard for her life as she did so.
As we round the corner toward home, I steal another glance at her. She sits curled in on herself, looking small and lost. Despite everything, my heart aches to comfort her.
I open the mindlink telling the guards to open the front gates; I won’t be stopping. I don’t want to risk anyone spotting Aubrey in the car. It would be out that we found her by now, and captured her and Bianca, but no one knows what we have done with them. I need to keep it that way for now.
“Aubrey, I need you to lay down in the back of the car until I tell you to sit back up.” She looks at me and quickly complies, lying down across the backseat without question.
I sense Damian’s curiosity when his face turns in my direction as we pull in through the front gates.
I immediately head to the garages around the back of the castle.
The questions linger, poisonous whispers in the back of my mind. What else has she hidden? What other secrets lie buried, and is something of this magnitude even salvageable?
I park the car, the engine’s rumble fading to silence. Neither of us moves to get out. “You can sit back up.”
“I want to believe you,” I say finally, meeting her gaze. “But I need time.”
Aubrey nods, a single tear trailing down her cheek.
“I understand,” she murmurs. “I also understand if you do decide to hand me in to the council, I will cooperate. I won’t fight you or run.
” I twist in my seat and peer over at her.
“I need to speak with them anyway after what I learned from Bianca.” She mutters the last comment.
I furrow my brows and Damian finally sits up from his slumped position. Aubrey reaches for the door handle with a heavy sigh.
“You’ll remain.” My words are sharper than intended and Damian looks at me opening the mindlink.
“Take Bianca to the dungeons. I need to speak with Aubrey.”
“Are you sure that is wise? Your aura is all over the place,” Damian is quick to reply while Aubrey leans back her hand moving from the door handle.
“Right now, yes, I can’t shift in the car,” I tell him and he looks at me doubtful because I could quite easily, but in here I know I would seriously hurt her if I did. My Lycan side is aware of that, and I don’t want that instinct taking over. Damian nods, climbing out of the car.
I speak before he can shut the door. He leans down peering in at me.
“Lock the place down, and shut down all phone lines in and out, clear out unnecessary staff, and if anyone asks why just tell them I am grieving the loss of my fiancée.”
His eyes dart to Aubrey in the back.
“You want me to clear out all the staff?”
“Soren…”
“Just do it, I don’t want anyone to know she is here or that we have Bianca. Enough rumors are going around.” Damian nods and moves to shut the garage doors.
Aubrey watches Damian before nervously glancing back at me.
“Where is he taking Bianca?”
“Dungeons for questioning, I need to know what Rhett is planning.” I tell her, keeping my eyes ahead.
“That is what I need to speak to the council about, though who I have no clue since I’m not sure which is corrupt,” she says.
“What do you mean?”
Aubrey’s eyes dart to mine. “I don’t want to upset you, maybe I should just tell Damian?”
“No, you are done lying to me, tell me,” I growl at her.
“I have no intention of lying to you, Soren. I’m afraid of hurting you further.”
I tilt my head considering her words wondering what she means.
At this point I don’t think much will surprise me because everything has gone to shit already.
Aubrey sighs and fiddles with her fingers nervously.
“Bianca… she said your wife’s death wasn’t a random rogue attack.
That the Vampire King was involved. Rhett killed his own father after he went to your wife to report him for human trafficking. He is working for the Vampire King.”
My heart clenches painfully. I’ve long suspected someone was behind the rogue attack, that isn’t new to me, but hearing it confirmed sends a wave of anger through me.
“Go on,” I urge, keeping my voice steady.
As Aubrey recounts Bianca’s revelations, pieces of a long-hidden puzzle begin to fall into place, and I find myself staring vacantly out the window.
“I’m sorry, Soren,” Aubrey finally tells me and I clench my teeth.
“We’ll get more answers out of Bianca, but for now…”
“For now, what?” she questions and I hear the subtle uptick to her heart rate; she is scared, scared I will kill her, or perhaps hand her over to authorities.
“For now we go inside, Max has missed you.” I tell her, climbing out of the car.
Aubrey doesn’t climb out like she is waiting for direct permission and I move to open her door. I know the place has been cleared of all staff except those Damian has hand picked to remain, so I lead Aubrey inside.
Upon entering the foyer, I’m greeted by an overwhelming silence.
The vast splendor of our mansion now feels eerily hollow, punctuated only by distant sounds: footsteps echoing from somewhere above us.
Aubrey hesitates for a moment at my elbow.
I nudge her forward to keep her moving. We are halfway down the hallway leading to the staircase when movement catches from the corner of my eye.
I turn to see the billiard room’s doors open and out rushes Max.
His eyes widen when he spots us and I hear my mother’s voice filter to me as she tries to stop him.
As she rushes out I shake my head letting her know it’s fine as I move to scoop him up.
“Your home,” he squeals as I soak up his scent.
“Yes, buddy. I’m home,” I say, my lips thinning into the best semblance of a smile I can muster.
He buries his face in the crook of my neck, wrapping his tiny arms around me in a tight hug. Every muscle in my body relaxes.