Page 27 of Of Wolves and Wives

“Heath,” I gasp before pressing a hand to my mouth.

Helena nods once before turning on her heel. She tosses a set of golden keys at the nearest guard, ordering him to fetch Heath at once. Then she’s back at my side, her touch gentle as she helps me into the bed. My tears return full force as I gasp for breath while fighting not to lose my dinner all over her. She shifts the guilt around but pauses, her gaze coming to meet mine. I realize that she’s able to tell that I’ve been intimate with Rykker. Fire sparks in her eyes as she bends toward me.

“Did he force himself on you?”

I shake my head before whispering, “No.”

Helena watches me for a moment. I can feel her displeasure and anger rolling offer her, but I don’t fully understand it. Finally, without a word, she stands and paces away from the bed. I watch her, still clutching at my stomach. After a moment, she turns. Her face is twisted in anger that sends a wave of chills running down my spine. At this moment, she looks just as cruel as her husband. An unwelcome reminder that though she seems to be in my corner, she’s still a wolf.

“My husband is not to hear of this,” she hisses. “Understand?”

I frown but nod my head. Why would she think I would tell the Grey Prince of what happened tonight? It is the last thing I would think to do. Even if the prince wasn’t the man responsible for nearly killing me, for stealing countless women away from their families, and then killing them brutally, I wouldn’t tell him. I’m not sure I understand why Helena is requesting this of me, but it’s easy to agree.

Helena watches me for a long moment through narrowed eyes. I can’t help feeling like prey in her sights when she looks like this. She’s fierce, and I’m certain that she would strike should she need to. After a long moment, she straightens, her face smoothing back into its usual neutral look. Almost as though her anger wasn’t there. She gives me a nod before turning on her heel and sweeping from the room.

I watch her departure, feeling as though I’m missing something. But I’m distracted by Heath’s arrival. He is pushed into the room by a guard, a new maid darting around him and shooting him an annoyed look. The door is unceremoniously pulled closed, and the sound of the lock turning fills the room.

Heath’s presence immediately calms my stomach, much to my annoyance. I can feel his eyes on me, but I can’t bring myself to look at him, to assure him that I’m fine. He must be filled with questions as to why he’s here and what happened with Rykker. I’m not sure that I have any answers for him. Or that I want to share them with him. Shame warms my cheeks as I consider what I did with Rykker before he admitted to his role in making me an orphan.

“Rose,” Heath says.

Despite every desire to not glance at him, I do. His eyes are soft with worry as he takes a step toward me. I’m not sure I’m strong enough to send him away, even though I don’t want to be close to him. To any of them. The new maid seems to sense this, or perhaps was given orders by Helena, as she steps in his way. He frowns but doesn’t take another step closer. It’s a small relief that I don’t have to worry about this comfort.

The new maid gives him a curt nod before settling into the armchair near the fire. Her eyes don’t move from him as she narrows her eyes at him. I almost get the sense that she’s daring him to do something. Her unwavering gaze doesn’t seem to affect him, though, as he continues to watch me with concern in his gaze. It almost makes my stomach twist again.

His concern shouldn’t annoy me as much as it does. Obviously, he can’t know what happened. He’d have no idea as to what Rykker told me. Not that it really matters. I’m too far gone to care about the logic of it all. Rolling over, I feel tears once more pooling in my eyes. My heart aches over what I’ve just learned. Over what happened.

I hate how tender I felt toward Rykker. How his touch was enough to make me essentially throw myself at him, thinking it was what my heart wanted. I thought I could trust him. That I was supposed to be safe with him. Yet, he’s the one responsible for stealing everything from me. The one that took away the love that comes with a family. He destroyed my one place of belonging in the world. Then, he tried to claim my heart. Anger wells at this thought.

Then, I’m hit with the realization that Peirce and Heath might have known. They might know that one of their own was the one that changed the entire course of my life. The one that took away any chance at happiness while dooming me to a rough life on the unforgiving streets of the city. Is it possible that they all recognized me as the baby Rykker should’ve killed all those years ago?

My heart pounds as I realize it could be more than that. There’s a chance that Rykker didn’t act alone. That the others were there that night. That together, the three of them changed my life for the worse. There’s the possibility that their hands are as stained with the blood of my family as Rykker.

Monsters. Every last one of them. Worst than monsters, honestly. I can’t believe I allowed myself to be so easily won by them. That their charms and smiles were all, it took for me to tear down the walls I’d built around my heart. My anger shifts toward myself at that moment. I can’t believe I forgot every hard lesson the streets pounded into me. I should’ve known better than to think that I knew what they could give me. That I was meant to experience love. Everything that had happened had made it all too easy for me to forget what they truly were.

Wolves were never meant to be gentle. I should have never allowed myself to forget that. These men were wolves. It was in their nature to be bloodthirsty and cruel. What a fool I’d been to allow myself to forget that.

Closing my eyes, my shoulders shake as I let my tears free.

13

Heath

It pains me to watch Rose suffer. I’m broken by her soft cries knowing that I’m unable to go to her. I can’t offer her any comfort as she shatters across the room. It’s the worst kind of torture. Watching her, I try to figure out what happened. What caused her to break down like this? I’m curious as to where Rykker is. I thought he was the one meant to be here watching over her. The reason why I was locked away in the dungeon.

Slowly, her cries soften as she falls asleep. The silence is almost worse as I realize she’s cried herself to sleep. It takes everything in me to remain unmoving as I watch her. Waiting for this new maid to fall asleep. But her snores just never come. Outside the room, the darkness grows deeper and deeper. Finally, the maid drifts to sleep. Her soft snores release me from my position at the door. Carefully, I make my way toward the bed to Rose, where she lies.

Kneeling next to the bed, I watch her for a moment. Sleep softens her in a way that pulls at my heart. I don’t want to wake her, but I need to know. Reaching out, I caress her cheek with my thumb. She lets out a soft sigh before her eyes flutter open. I press a finger to my lips to signal for her to be quiet. A slight frown pulls at her lips, but she doesn’t utter a sound.

“What happened?” I whisper.

Her frown deepens as realization flashes through her eyes. She pulls away from me slightly as her eyes narrow.

“Rykker happened.”

“What did he do?” I ask, almost afraid of her answer. “Did he hurt you?”

“More than you would ever know,” she snaps before warily eyeing me. “Perhaps not.”

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