Chapter 13 #2
"Now she looks at me like I'm something she scraped off her boot. Won't meet my eyes. Barely speaks to me. And I have no fucking clue what changed."
The two women exchanged a glance I couldn't read.
"Did something happen during the night?" Thea asked. "Something that might have upset her?"
I thought back. We'd gone to sleep. She'd been in the bed, I'd been in the chair, even though I wanted to curl around her. She'd woken before me, and when I'd opened my eyes, the walls were already up, higher than ever before.
"Nothing," I said. "I was asleep. She was asleep. When I woke up, she was washing her face at the basin and wouldn't look at me."
Cara and Thea exchanged another glance, which was starting to piss me off.
"Could she have overheard something?" Cara pressed. "A conversation? A—"
I wanted to knock my head into the wall. "There was no conversation. I was asleep."
"Dreams, then." Thea set down her pestle. "Do you talk in your sleep?"
The question caught me off guard. "How the fuck would I know? Maybe. The nightmares—" I hesitated. "Sometimes they're vivid."
Thea’s head tilted to the side like she was assessing a wound. "And what are these nightmares about?"
I didn't answer. Couldn't. It was bad enough I had to relive it every night—the chains and darkness and the moment everything fell apart. The moment I’d lost everything.
Thea's golden eyes softened with understanding. "She may have heard something she didn't have context for. Something that sounded... damning."
Other than my crazed screaming, I had no idea what she could have heard to make her flip on me like that. "Like what?"
"I don't know. You're the only one who knows what's in your nightmares." She picked up her mortar again. "But whatever it was, she clearly interpreted it badly. The question is: whether you want to ask her directly or wait for her to bring it up."
Neither option felt right. Asking meant admitting I'd noticed her coldness, which felt like pressure. Waiting meant letting the misunderstanding fester. I was fucked no matter what I decided to do.
"I'll figure it out," I muttered, though I had no idea how.
Before either of them could respond, the door burst open.
Riven stood in the doorway, his young face pale with alarm. "Alpha. There's someone at the gate. Says he has a message from Varro."
Every muscle in my body went rigid. "What kind of message?"
"He won't say. Only that it's for you personally." Riven's throat bobbed. "And Alpha—he's asking to see the witch, too."
The wolf surged beneath my skin, fury and protective rage flooding my veins. He wants OUR mate. He doesn't get to even LOOK at her.
"Where is Sable?" I demanded.
"Already heading to the gate." Riven flinched at whatever he saw in my expression. "Berg's with her. And Trouble."
I was out the door before he finished speaking.
The man at the gate was tall, broad-shouldered, and handsome in the way that made women look twice. Dark hair swept back from a face that belonged on a portrait—strong jaw, sharp cheekbones, easy smile that didn't quite reach the hollowness of his eyes.
But his hands told a different story. Burn scars covered them from fingertip to wrist, the skin mottled and twisted from old burns and new. The kind of scars that came from working with volatile ingredients. Or from magic gone wrong.
Sable was already there—or trying to be.
Berg had both massive arms wrapped around her, physically hauling her back from the gate while she fought him like a wildcat.
Trouble was on the ground in front of them, foxfire flaring so bright it left afterimages, his small body planted between Sable and the messenger like he was ready to burn the man alive.
"Let me go, Berg—"
"Can't do that." The bear's voice was strained. She was stronger than she looked, or angrier than he'd expected. "Alpha's not here yet."
"I don't need the Alpha, I need five seconds and a sharp object—"
"Sable." I was at her side in an instant, and the moment she heard my voice, she stopped struggling. Not because she'd calmed down—murder still blazed in her eyes—but because she had a better target for her fury now.
"That's him," she snarled, jerking her chin toward the messenger as Berg set her on her feet. " The faceless man from my vision—he's the one who burned my shop." Her voice dropped into something colder, more dangerous. "And that's not even the worst thing he's done to me."
"Hello, Sable." The messenger's voice was warm, pleasant, achingly familiar in a way that made my hackles rise. "It's been a long time."
"Rafe." The name came out of her like a curse. "You have some godsdamn nerve showing your face here."
Rafe.
The wolf went absolutely still. The one who sold her. The one who handed her to Varro. The one who—
"Thirteen years." Rafe spread his scarred hands—the hands from her vision, the hands that had built the bomb that destroyed her shop—and smiled that easy, charming smile. "You've held up well. Freedom suits you."
"Go fuck yourself." Her voice was shaking with rage. "You tried to kill me. You burned my mother's legacy to the ground."
"Ah, that." He shrugged one shoulder, utterly unconcerned. "Just following orders. Varro wanted to send a message. Nothing personal."
"Nothing personal?" She took a step toward him, her hands curled into fists. "You handed me to him like I was livestock. You watched them burn that brand into my skin. You smiled while I screamed, and you're telling me it was nothing personal?"
"Sable—" I reached for her arm.
She shook me off.
"Thirteen years." Her voice cracked. "Thirteen years of slavery because you sold me to a monster. And now you show up asking to see me like we're old friends? I should rip out your insides and roast you over a spit, you backstabbing fuck."
Rafe's smile didn't waver, in fact, it was almost like he thought Sable’s threats were adorable. "I carry the High Alpha's seal. Any move against me would be an act of war." His eyes flicked to me, assessing. "Your new protector understands politics, don't you, Alpha? He knows better than to—"
Sable's fist connected with his face before he could finish his attempt at a threat.
It was a solid punch—she’d put her whole body behind it, all that rage and grief and betrayal channeled into a single, devastating blow. Rafe's head snapped back, blood spraying from his nose, and he staggered back a few steps. Unfortunately, he’d kept his feet.
When he straightened, he was laughing. Blood dripped down his chin, staining his teeth red.
"There’s my little spitfire," he said, almost fondly. "That’s the Sable I remember."
I had him by the throat before I realized I'd moved.
"Give me one reason," I ordered, my voice barely above a whisper, "not to finish what she started."
Rafe didn't struggle. Didn't even seem afraid. He just met my eyes with that blood-stained smile and rasped: "Because I carry the High Alpha's seal. And because I haven't delivered my message yet."
My grip tightened. The wolf howled for blood.
"Harkan." Cara's voice was sharp with warning. "Let him speak. Then we decide what to do with him."
Every instinct screamed to tear him apart, anyway. But Cara was right. If he carried my father's seal, killing him would have consequences.
I released him with a shove that sent him stumbling.
"Talk," I snarled. "And make it quick."
Rafe straightened his coat, dabbing at his bloody nose with casual disdain. "Your father sends his regards. And an invitation. Varro will be attending the Mating Moon under the High Alpha's personal protection. Any move against him will be considered a move against the High Alpha himself."
The words landed like stones in still water.
Varro. At my Mating Moon. Protected by my father.
"Furthermore," Rafe continued, "the High Alpha requests the presence of the truth-taster at the ceremony. She's become quite... valuable. He'd like to assess her potential." His gaze slid to Sable, something dark and hungry in it. "Personally."
"Over my dead body," Sable spat.
"That can be arranged." Rafe's smile sharpened. "Though, I'd prefer you alive. You were always more fun that way."
I moved before I could stop myself—but Sable was faster.
Her second punch was even better than the first.
This time Rafe went down, hitting the ground hard enough to raise dust. He lay there for a moment, dazed, blood streaming from his nose and a split lip.
"Four days," Sable said, standing over him.
Her voice was ice and fire, grief and fury forged into something unbreakable.
"You have four days to hide behind the High Alpha's skirts, and then I'm going to find you.
You remember how good I am at finding things, right?
And then, I'm going to make you pay for every single fucking thing you stole from me. "
Rafe laughed, wet and bubbling through the blood. "I look forward to it."
He climbed to his feet, swaying slightly, and limped toward the gate. At the threshold, he paused and looked back.
"See you at the Mating Moon, spitfire." His eyes found Trouble, still bristling at Sable's feet, foxfire blazing.
Then he was gone.
Silence settled over the courtyard, heavy and electric.
Sable was shaking—not with fear, but with the aftermath of adrenaline and rage. Her knuckles were split, blood welling from the broken skin, and she didn't seem to notice.
"Sable." I stepped closer, carefully, giving her time to pull away if she needed to. "Let me see your hand."
She looked down at her fist like she'd forgotten it existed. "I'm fine."
"You're bleeding."
"It was worth it."
Pride swelled in my chest, fierce and hot. That's my mate, the wolf rumbled. That's OUR mate.
"Come on." I touched her elbow, gentle but firm. "Let Thea look at that. Then we plan."
"Plan what?"
I met her gaze. "How to destroy him. Varro. Rafe. My father's protection be damned. They don't get to walk into my territory and threaten what's mine."
Something shifted in her expression. The walls were still there—I could see them, feel them—but there was a crack now. A fracture in the ice.
"What's yours?" she repeated quietly.
"You know what I mean."
She held my gaze for a long moment. Then, slowly, she nodded.
"Four days," she said.
"Four days," I agreed.
The Mating Moon was coming. My father was making his move. And the man who'd sold my mate into slavery was walking free under the High Alpha's protection.
But not for long.
Not for long.