Page 50 of The Bodyguard and the Alpha
“Ms Ferrera. You need to come out now or we will be obliged to come and get you.”
I could do this. I was the Ice Queen. Stiffening my spine, my face snapped into my professional expression, showing no fear. “I’m coming,” I said. My voice sounded strong. Confident. I was a quivering bundle of nerves, but they didn’t know that.
Bastien’s gaze burned into my back as I walked away from him. I opened the door to see Matteo and four human women in Council uniform. All armed, guns held ready.
My shield still hummed. Behind me, I heard the rumble of an angry Beast.
“I’m here,” I said. “And I am going to co-operate. There is no need for violence.”
“Stand down,” said one with greying hair and an insignia on her shoulders. The guns lowered and I took a shaky breath. “Please come with us.” Two soldiers stepped back, making space for me.
I didn’t look back. I didn’t want to see the expression on Bastien’s face when I walked away.
I stepped into the gap, flicking my fingers as I moved. My shield collapsed down, until it sat just inches away from myskin. My pre-cog had calmed, but I wasn’t planning on taking any chances. Not when I had Bastien waiting for me.
Chapter 50
Bastien
The door shut behind my mate and the room seemed suddenly darker without her presence. I hadn’t wanted to let them take her. I wasn’t going to let them take her. But when my eyes had scanned the Order and my mate had said she should go, my human half had risen up inside his cage, shouting at me.
Listen to her. She’s been our bodyguard for years and you’ve always listened to her. If she says this is the safest course of action, then trust her. She’s never been wrong.
I don’t want her out of my sight.
Like I do?He snarled.Sometimes we don’t get what we want. It’s a fucking Council Order. Fight it and you’ll both be locked away.
Between the two of them they convinced me. But I still hated it. My eyes didn’t leave her until the door shut behind her, the solid steel cutting off the sight of her. I listened as she walked away, the sounds of her footsteps rapidly fading as the guards escorted her away.
Fuck.
I whirled. My punch blasted a hole into the wall.
Running feet sounded in the corridor. “Mr President?” It was Matteo.
“I need my brother.”
“He’s not here right now, sir. He was urgently called away.”
And the Council just happened to send soldiers to carry out an Apprehension Order when the head of Palace security was absent. I think not.
The whole thing stank.
Pacing, my body full of tension, I tested the bond. My mate was calm. Nervous, but not afraid. She was serene, the anger she’d displayed earlier tucked away as if I didn’t exist. But I knew it was there. And it was my fault.
I recalled the words she had thrown at me right before the Council soldiers arrived. She still doubted me.
A growl burst out of my chest. How could I convince her that she has always been ours? That my heart has beat for her for five years? That the human in me wanted her as much as I did?
I didn’t know how to tell her except with my body. He was the one with words. The one who kept me locked in my prison where I slowly went insane without her touch. Feeling her near me. Her scent in my nostrils. But no bond. No touch. He made the decisions without me and I couldn’t explain them to her. I couldn’t justify his decisions.
You need to let me out.
You had your chance and you fucked it up. She’s MINE.
And you’ve done such a good job while you were in charge?
My claws gripped my thighs, scraping bloody furrows in my skin.She is my mate. She wanted the bond. She loves me. I felt it. She told me.
