9. Runa
Runa
I’m freaking out.
After leaving the dinner table, where my parents scolded me while the Fireborn Alpha sat there ever so pleased with himself, I pace my bedroom.
When Maren walks through the door, I’ll yank her hair out for recommending her lover as the Regulator for her fiancé.
Who happens to be the most dangerous alpha male to walk the earth.
At this rate, I’ll wear out the rug.
I check the time. Where the hell is she? I hope not with Sven! Or Ash, for that matter.
I plop onto the bed. “This is a shitshow.”
Maren enters, a big smile plastered on her face.
She stretches out her arms and tackles me on the mattress.
“Oh, my brilliant, brilliant sister.” She kisses my cheek.
“What a performance you put on for them. They ate it up. All of it. Ash ordered Sven to make him a mixture to take with him during the purge, and Sven is working on it now. They’ll test it out, and if it works with Ash’s fire, Sven will come with me.
I’ve no doubt it will work since Sven is their best alchemist, so we’re all set.
Woohoo! This worked out better than I imagined, and I have you to thank for that. ”
I stare at the ceiling. “Welcome.” I was going to yank her hair.
I was going to confront her. But Maren is so happy and eager to go to the Fireborn territory now, that I rethink my violence.
Maybe it’s for the best that I say nothing, because it won’t make any difference now since Ash has accepted Sven.
He doesn’t appear to be a male who backs down from his decisions easily.
If it makes sense to him, he’ll go for it.
Maren lifts up on her elbows and lies on her side. “Aren’t you happy for me?”
“I’m afraid for you.”
“We’ll be careful, like we were here.”
“But here, you’re in your pack. There, you’ll be in the Fireborn Alpha’s pack, in his territory, his everything, and you’re bringing your lover with you. Maren, can’t you see how dangerous that is?”
“I would rather die than leave Sven.”
“You just might die.”
“Then it will be for love.”
I swallow. “The Fireborn Alpha must have an heir.”
Maren nods. “Not until I’m ready. And that will take a while. In the meantime, Ash will find a lover.”
I want to throw up. “You seem to have it all figured out.”
“That’s because I do.”
“Have you considered leaving Sven here, giving Ash an heir as quickly as possible, then separating from him? He’ll get an heir and freedom. And so will you. Unless, of course, he falls in love with you.”
“He won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
“You’ve spent five minutes with him. You do not even know if he likes you or not.”
Maren rolls to her back, and we both stare at the ceiling. “There’s no spark. When he looks at me, it’s like he’s looking at a spoon.” She intertwines our fingers. Her hand is warm like mine.
“Did Sven murder the Fireborn’s Regulator so he could take his place?” I ask.
Maren stiffens. “I don’t think so.”
That’s the most unconvincing denial ever. Maybe Sven did it, but he hasn’t told her. One thing is for sure: He is capable of murder.
“It is possible you are sleeping with a murderer?” I ask.
Maren snorts. “Let’s not judge a man for being human. You and I live in a castle surrounded by water and luxury, while men wage wars. They’re all murderers, Runa. All of them.”
“This is different.”
“Why?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe because Ash’s Regulator is innocent in all this.” I turn to look at her profile. “If Ash thinks there’s foul play, he won’t just go after Sven. He might go after all of us.”
Maren huffs and stands by the bed, hands on her hips. “What would you have me do, sister?”
“Accept your marriage.”
“I have accepted it. Why do you think I’ve been drinking every day?”
“No, I mean accept the Fireborn Alpha.”
Maren pulls me up to stand with her and cups my face.
“The heart wants what the heart wants. I can’t tell my heart to love a man it doesn’t, any more than Ash Fireborn can tell his to love me.
We’re pawns in the game of pack politics.
He hates it. I hate it. But we conform because humans run the world.
Until we’re free, truly free, we must conform. ”
She lets go of me and pads toward the bathroom.
I follow her. While she undresses, I lean against the stone wall. “So Ash is testing Sven’s alchemy skills?”
“Mmhm.”
“When?”
“Tonight. Sven gave him the mixture. Ash will drink it tonight and do whatever he does. Why?” Maren steps into the steaming bath and sighs as she gets comfortable.
Because Sven is jealous, which means he’s not thinking clearly and might try to kill the Fireborn wolf yet again.
I assume he will fail. Yet again, but this time, Ash might catch him and think we orchestrated everything.
Best-case scenario, the treaty breaks, and Ash departs.
Worst case? We all die. “No reason. See you later.”
“Where are you going?”
“I need to check on Mom.”
“Let’s play cards when you get back.”
“Sure.” I exit the room and head straight for the laundry room, where I find the baskets of folded clothes that belong to the Fireborns.
We’re supposed to deliver those in the morning when we go there for breakfast and housekeeping, but I need an excuse to be there tonight in case I’m caught snooping around their quarters.
The freezing weather outside heralds a storm. They haven’t mentioned postponing their departure until after the storm passes, but they’ll have to consider that the weather out here could change quickly.
A gust of wind sways my body, and I jog across the bridge as quickly as possible, before the wind topples me down.
I check the balconies for Fireborns. Not that I expect any of them to be sitting or standing outside right now, but I don’t know whether the fire running through their veins makes them hot.
Ash burned me when I touched him, so cold temperatures might soothe him more than an average wolf.
He’s not on his balcony, but the dim light in his room tells me he might be in his bedroom. This means I must wait for him to leave.
Soren takes his medicine once a day. He can take it first thing in the morning or before bedtime. The bedtime dose includes a downer to help him sleep, so Soren prefers the night dose to the day one. Sometimes, when the full moon rides him, he takes both doses.
I hope Ash takes a night dose with a nice downer. This way, he’ll go off with Sven now and return much later to sleep like a log.
Downstairs, I enter the tower housing the Fireborn pack. The guards nod a greeting, and I nod back before making my way upstairs, where I press an ear against Ash’s door. I hear soft footsteps, so I know he’s inside.
I keep listening, thinking of what I should do.
The footsteps approach the door. I bolt down the hallway and hide inside a linen closet. My ears twitch, trying to make out his whereabouts. Boots hit the steps. When I’m sure he has descended, I peer out from the closet. The hallway is clear.
Basket under my arm, I carry it down the hall when heavy footsteps climb back up the stairs.
I return to the linen closet.
Ash chats with another wolf. Doors open and close as several wolves gather in the hallway. They’re planning on bathing in the pool where the Regulator drowned. Eww. There are two other baths in this tower. In any case, the wolves agree on the time and are gone.
I sneak into Ash’s bedroom.
The scent of the alpha male hits my groin immediately.
An involuntary whine escapes me. I’m so glad nobody’s around to hear my horny plight, because I sound like a desperate omega bitch in heat.
Which I’m not and can never be for my sister’s fiancé.
It feels wrong, but my body can’t help it. He smells delicious.
My nipples rub against my bra as my breasts swell painfully, my stupid body thinking his scent means the heat should come before the night of the full moon. I swallow my saliva. He smells good enough to eat.
When Ash returns, he will smell that I was in the room. There’s no hiding the fact that I was here. Hence the reason I brought the basket, which I will now drop off on his bed. I search his nightstand for the vial that contains the medicine Sven might’ve already made for him.
I don’t see it anywhere, but Ash’s pillow catches my eye.
Don’t sniff.
Don’t.
I bend, press my nose into his pillow, and take a deep breath.
My lower belly contracts painfully. It feels like I pressed my nose between his legs, which to us wolves is part of the mating cycle when we’re in our animal forms. I inhale a lungful, then gather myself and step back. When I swallow, I can taste him on my tongue.
I lick my lips and swallow again. Then I sneeze. Oh, that felt good. I sneeze again. Excellent.
I want to shift and rub my fur on his sheets. What a mess that would be if he detected that I’d done that. How humiliating. I won’t do it. He’s reserved for Maren, even if she doesn’t want him.
I put away Ash’s clothes and search for the Regulator vial in the drawers, the bags, the closet, and among his dirty clothes. It’s nowhere to be found, so maybe Ash already drank it.
Maybe I’m too late and Ash will drown in the baths like his Regulator. As I pull the curtains together, I spot the alchemy vial on the table outside. The mixture is frozen.
I quickly step out onto the terrace, grab it, and slip it into my pocket. Mission accomplished, I close the terrace door and draw the curtains. I turn to leave, but freeze because Ash Fireborn stands in the room.
Stealthy bastard.
He’s a mountain of a male, a monster with wide shoulders. Unmoving, blocking the exit, arms crossed over his chest, wearing gray sweatpants. Gray fucking sweatpants.
“Lose something?” he asks.