Page 44 of Bound to the Dragon
Vigo casts me a sidelong look as he shuffles past, and I have to hang my head in shame. I can’t imagine what they all think of me, but I don’t have time to think about it right now. I still have to play the double agent for a while longer to keep Shadow Pine safe. As long as the rogues think I’m with them, I can keep my mate and his pack out of harm’s way.
“When can we expect to get our people back?” The leader’s voice fires out from behind a smoldering overturned chair.
Blaze’s head jerks back, and he glowers at her bold question. “Are you really asking me that after two attacks?”
The leader balks. “Well, your negotiator here has agreed to stay, so I will assume your alliance with Silver Glade is non-existent. If you let them go, you won’t have any more problems with us.”
Blaze’s hazel stare locks with mine, his shock tangible. “Has she?” he drawls. “In that case, you can expect them to be released immediately.”
I want to call out to him and tell him that I haven’t betrayed him, but the words stick in my throat. I can’t say anything without blowing my cover and shattering everything.
He spins away, leading the rest of his pack out of the packhouse, and I’m left alone with a heavy heart.
The only question is, where do I go from here? I genuinely have no idea.
CHAPTER 16
BLAZE
Ihave the healers look over Vigo and the other captives as soon as we return to the estate. Except for a bit of dehydration, there aren’t any serious injuries.
I order bedrest for them for the day, just as Madison would have if she were here.
But she isn’t. She switched sides. She’s working with the rogues now, or maybe she always has been.
I can’t wrap my head around that. Had she done it to secure Shadow Pine’s future, or for her own benefit?
I have no way of knowing, and I’m not going to venture back into Silver Glade territory to find out.
Madison hadn’t thought enough to discuss her plans with me, more secrecy lacing our relationship or whatever’s left of it. The yank of our bond remains, but so does the recoil of her betrayal.
I have to focus on my pack. It’s where I have to keep my attention and fixation. It should have been there from the beginning. I allowed this bond to compromise my judgment, and it almost cost me my Beta and the trust of the pack, if it hasn’t already.
The first thing I do is call a meeting with every available enforcer and pack member.
“The threat between the rogues and us is over. They won’t be back.” I hesitate to add. “And neither will Madison.”
Their dumbfounded expressions match mine.
Vigo asks the question that’s on everyone’s mind. “What happened to her?”
“She has made her choice.” That’s all I can offer without going off on a tangent. Or losing my mind entirely.
I also don’t have anything more to say. I wish I knew what the hell was going through her head right now.
No. I won’t let any more thoughts of Madison distract me. She’s already taken up too much of my time. It’s already consumed too much of me.
“From now on, we continue as we did before,” I tell my pack. “And as far as an heir goes, that is something we will have to deal with when the time comes.”
“And the alliance with Silver Glade?” The question comes from someone I don’t see, but it’s something I had considered before calling this meeting to order.
I don’t know what to say about it. For now, it seems moot, but I’m reluctant to admit it.
“Forget about alliances and treaties,” I order. “Let’s get this mess cleaned up and try to get the world back to the way it was before.”
I dismiss the meeting, but Vigo lingers back. “You make it sound so simple.”
“I know it’s not, but it’s all I can do right now. Madison put us in an impossible position.”
