18 Meg
Meg
New plan. We take Roman and leave.
First of all, that was your plan from the beginning.
And it’s still the best one.
What we need to do is figure out what we’re dealing with here, I told my wolf, ignoring her huff of frustration.
This marriage sacrifice was more than it seemed, and I’d be damned if I played the ignorant puppet a moment longer.
I was caught in a web of lies that would send a smart person running for the hills, but as an alpha, my mission was to figure out exactly what was going on and fix things. If Morrigan had thought to keep me away from Roman with her cryptic warning, she’d only succeeded in adding fuel to the fire.
I burned with the need to do something to take back power over my own life.
Since I couldn’t untangle the motives of the gods, I started with something simpler:
The humans.
My trip downstairs did me no good. I was hoping to go right to the source, knowing that the staff of the house held all the good secrets. But Katrina had gone to the market and Stephen was off for the morning.
That left me in an empty house, but not alone.
“Alice,” I said to the glass window, taking a step back when she materialized. “I have questions.”
“Good afternoon,” she spoke in that robotic voice of hers. “The rain has stopped and—”
“Why am I not allowed outside?” I didn’t mean to cut her off, but I couldn’t care less about the weather.
Alice seemed to twitch for a second. “I’m afraid I don’t understand. The breeze calls for a light jacket if you plan to venture outside.”
I growled, trying to think. She needed prompts to guide her in the right direction, and in the times we’d talked before, she seemed to give lengthier answers to hypothetical questions.
“Why would a… mutant visiting the city of Ethica not be allowed to go outside?” I didn’t have proof they were keeping me here, but every time I tried to go further than the front yard, one of the security officers at the gate asked me to stay within sight.
The only time I left this place was when Roman came, and after the way he’d looked at me in the wedding dress yesterday, I assumed it’d be a while before I saw him again.
“The city of Ethica is more progressive than other human cities,” came Alice’s cheery tone. “But a mutant within the city would be safest with an escort to show them the wondrous sights and locations. As a virtual escort, what would you like to see online?”
I frowned.
Even their technology was lying to me. There was no mention of the protester who threw the brick at the window. None of the hushed concern I’d seen on Helen’s face. Alice just smiled, singing the praises of Ethica.
I’d have to be more selective in my questions.
“Alice, can you tell me what’s really going on out there in the city?”
She paused. “I don’t understand. You can try prompts like ‘trending songs,’ or ‘stock market scores,’ or ‘best food delivery.’”
It was as if she was trying to keep me ignorant.
Frustrated, I sat on the edge of the bed.
Maybe I needed to get even more specific. “Who is Lieutenant Roman Miller?”
“That information is classified.” Alice smiled.
“Who is Councilwoman Troy, then?” I barked back.
“Councilwoman Helen Troy is the ambassador of public relations and the head of the media department. She was elected at thirty-five and has served the great city of Ethica for the past fourteen years. Notable works of hers include restoration of the broadcast network with family friendly ratings and—”
“That’s enough please, Alice.” I dragged my hands over my face, then peeked through my fingers. “I don’t suppose you can give me the dirt on my betrothed husband, Justus Troy.”
Alice perked up. “Scanning his social media profiles now.”
Is that legal?
“Justus Troy, only son of Helen Troy, and heir to the Troy fortune, is a renowned playboy who frequently visits the city’s most prestigious VIP lounges. Despite the recent scandal of his engagement to what is rumored to be a mutant from the wild…”
I froze as an image of me filled the holograph screen with Justus kneeling, putting the ring on my finger.
“Justus Troy’s last known check-in was yesterday night at an adult-only club, and he’s been tagged in various posts over the past two weeks. Would you like to see the images?” Alice asked.
“Show me.” I sank deeper onto the bed as picture after picture flooded the screen. Half-naked women posed, sitting on Justus’s lap. The photo uploaded last night showed his lips locked with a pretty blonde wearing a high ponytail and tassels on her nipples.
“Alice, stop. Please,” I whispered.
“As you wish.” Her smiling face moved in front of me. “What else would you like to know?”
Nothing. I’d learned enough.
It wasn’t that I had any true love for Justus—hell, I was pining after his best friend—but seeing him living his life out there while I was left alone in his house… being made a fool of…
It wasn’t fair.
If I had to suffer for the good of us all, so should he. A crash downstairs had me jumping to my feet.
Katrina must’ve come home. I was dying to speak with a real person after talking circles around Alice.
I raced downstairs, scenting the fear and worry in the air before I heard the hushed, frantic voices.
Someone is hurt.
I growled as I burst into the kitchen, sending Stephen a scalding look as he moved to block Katrina from me, but not before I saw the bruising on her face and busted lip.
“Can I help you, Miss Meg?” Stephen asked, holding a bag of ice.
“What did you—”
“It’s not his fault,” Katrina cut me off, smiling through her split bottom lip. “Is there something we can get for you?”
“You can tell me who did this.” I couldn’t stop growling as I looked her over. I’d yet to see her with a hair out of place, and here she was, frazzled, with red marks on her arms and cuts that would take forever to heal with her slow human system.
I’d kill whoever hurt my bookish friend.
“It’s nothing.” She smiled bigger.
I growled louder.
Stephen took a cautious step back.
“What I mean to say, is that it’s nothing for you to worry about.” She took the ice from Stephen and held it gingerly against her face. “There was an incident at the market, but I always hated going there anyway. I’ll order grocery delivery from now on.”
“This happened at the store?” I asked.
Ask her what store. And where. My beast was fired up, ready to hurt someone. Those weren’t accidental marks. We’d been in enough fights to know when someone was directly attacked.
The color drained from Katrina’s face, but it wasn’t me who caused it. Boots stomping and men shouting orders came from the front hall.
“Justus, get home now!” Helen screeched into her phone. “They’re putting us under protective orders.”
I whirled around just as Roman burst into the kitchen. His heart beat fast, but it slowed a fraction as he saw me standing there. The relief was short-lived.
His jaw hardened again when he spotted Katrina. “I’ll be right back. They’re coming to ask you questions now.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, wishing I could cross the distance between us and force him to look at me like he’d done the other day outside my room.
That moment when I saw how much our bond meant to him. When he’d dropped all pretense and finally kissed me, right before he’d ripped my heart out.
My mate’s face was stone as he stared straight through me. “Come with me, Miss Meg. I’m to escort you to the sitting room.”