Page 55 of Rejected By the Alpha King

A guard stood by Irene’s door, one that I recognized. “Cassius,” I said hesitantly. Another guard who didn’t like me all that much.

“Alpha mate,” he said stiffly. When he caught sight of Finn, he raised an eyebrow. “Have you already done something to be punished?”

“I volunteered,” Finn laughed. “I like Anna.”

Cassius just grunted.

“I wanted to see how Irene was doing. Do I need Jax’s permission?” I asked.

To my surprise, the guard moved to the aside. “You are the alpha’s mate. You do not need permission.”

Well, wasn’t that nice? Something I could do on my own. “Thank you. Finn, do you mind staying out here for a minute? I promise to let you meet her afterward.”

Finn just shook his head. “Not until I make sure the house is safe for you. Sorry, Cassius. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I would have been pissed if you didn’t. I’ll be accompanying you, of course.”

Wonderful. Two sets of ears to overhear what I had hoped would be a very private conversation. Opening the door, Cassius announced us. To my surprise, a very energetic witch greeted us in the kitchen. “You’re here! I’ve been asking to talk to you every day for a week, but Jax said you were still adjusting to pack life.”

Did he now? I grimaced. “I’ve been asking to see you as well, but he says you’re healing. I guess he just didn’t want us to meet.”

“Can you blame him?” She laughed and winked. “Gentlemen, we’re going to sit and chat in the living room. If we promise not to move a muscle, can we get some privacy?”

“After he’s finished with his walk-through,” Cassius said flatly. A few minutes later, with one guard at the front door and one guard at the back, we relaxed in the living room.

“The place is cheerier than I imagined, but then, the Darkwyn coven is the only witch den I’ve ever seen.”

“All fake sunshine,” Irene said as she rolled her eyes. “But they have more to protect than I do. Perhaps if I had been more cautious, I would not be attempting to recover my magic.”

“How is that going?”

“Slowly. I’ve healed the witch wound, and now I work on replenishing.” Irene studied me closely. “You should know that the first year I was here, Jax had me…observe you from afar.”

“Observe me? What do you mean?” Realization hit me. “Use witch sight.”

“Yes.”

I waited a beat. “Did you try it?”

“Yes.”

Well, damn. “I’d say I feel a little violated, but I guess we both knew that wasn’t true. So Jax knew the whole time that I’m a…”

“Careful, Anna. That is not something you want to admit out loud,” Irene warned me suddenly and glanced at the window. “No, he did not know. I did not tell him.”

Surprised, I frowned. “Why not?”

“Because I came here for you,” Irene said quietly. “The whole reason I came to Black Diamond was for you, and I knew then that you were not all that you seemed. I kept your secret.”

I had no idea. Maybe Irene and I could have been friends. Maybe we could have helped each other. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You needed to heal in more ways than one, and I could not help you.” She folded the palms of her hands in her lap. “You want to know what the Darkwyn witches said to Jax? I do not need magic to know that you came with intent.”

Swallowing hard, I nodded. “I get why he doesn’t want to let me go, but he hates me again. I thought we’d moved past it. I thought we were…trusting each other. Something changed while we were there. When he looks at me, it’s with disgust. It has to be because of what I am.”

“I doubt that. What you are is special. Even he knows that. I don’t know any more than that.

I’m sorry.”

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