Chapter 39
THIRTY-NINE
THE DUCHESS
I felt the moment the rofetamine hit Ocean’s bloodstream. It seared through our bond, a wave of polluted rage, making nausea swirl in my stomach. The glass I was holding shattered as it slipped from my hand.
“My apologies,” I managed to choke out as everyone turned to look at me.
My father’s gaze was hard.
Finch was stiff, no doubt feeling the same from Ocean in the bond.
“Excuse me,” I said, barely able to focus as I made my way to my dressing room, closing the door behind me. My skin was prickling, and I was coated in a sheen of cold sweat. I gasped for breath as the poisoned fury continued to pulse from Ocean.
My head was hurting, and my scent was leaking from me, surrounding me with a heavy, cloying, overly sweet perfume. My body was trying to respond to Ocean, trying to reach and calm him, though I could do nothing. Everything in me was screaming to run to him, to try and soothe him.
I had my alphas, my scent matches, but they’d claimed me in the most twisted way.
They’d surrounded me with their contempt and hatred, and it had only been Ocean’s steady reassurance that had kept me grounded.
Now that was gone, there was nothing. My dark bond felt hot, and it was throbbing with pain with every beat of my heart.
The feel of them through the bond was so much. Too much. It felt like it was tearing me apart.
A knock on the door behind me made me jump. “Laurel. I don’t know what you’re playing at, but you have two minutes to pull yourself together and get back out here,” my father snapped.
“Yes, Father,” I said, controlling my breathing. I tried to stand, and then, thankfully, my bond with my alphas suddenly changed.
It was like a switch had flicked, and all the feelings muted, what was once an onslaught of emotions now a faint trickle.
My scent stabilized, becoming fainter and settling back into its default pleasant emptiness.
The pain in my bond mark worsened, burning like fire, but I gritted my teeth and stood, bracing my arms on the counter.
I could handle pain.
I wiped the sweat off my face, freshened up, and fixed my makeup.
I carefully pulled aside my dress and peeled back the dressing to look at the bite mark.
It was inflamed, the teeth punctures raised and red lines joining the black that spidered out from the center.
I straightened, gazing at myself in the mirror until no one but the duchess looked back at me.
When I stepped out of the room, a smile on my face, I was able to focus again. Finch met my eyes, his own face pale, but there was grim satisfaction in his gaze at my suffering.