“Aurelia.” Weston stalked up to me like the predator he was. He’d been busy tending to his pack. He’d had to give out the last of their phoenix elixir, but no one died. For that, I was eternallygrateful. I hadn’t forgotten what Tanix had said, even though it hadn’t been what he’d meant. “You’re riding with me.”
“All due respect, Alpha—and this isn’t a ploy to get you to have anger sex because that would hurt too much right now—but no. Thank you, but I physically can’t. It’ll hurt too much to get up there and it’ll be hell to stay. Please, be nice to me for once, and let me walk.”
His gaze roamed my face, his expression crumpling into anger and pain as he took in my swollen eye, my cracked lips, the bruises on my cheek. He lifted his hand and made to trail a finger across my wounds as though he might absorb my pain into himself, but instead let his hand hover, probably afraid to hurt me further. The angry expression melted to regret and frustration, and I knew he hated that he’d allowed Alexander through. That he hadn’t been fast enough in performing his duty to keep me from harm.
“It’ll be okay if I just walk,” I said softly, swallowing down a lump in my throat.
I wanted to tell him that he had done his duty and protected me. That he had saved me. I’d already done that, though, many times over. First when he saw the damage Alexander had done and froze in enraged agony, and again every time he approached me thereafter. He never accepted my gratitude, though. To him, he'd failed. Nothing I said would dissuade him from his self-loathing.
He glanced at his horse, his lips tightening. “Fine. We’ll walk,” he snapped.
“No, no.Iwill walk. You will ride like the alpha you are?—“
“Gods finger me,” Hadriel said, exasperated. “Aurelia, love, shut the fuck up and let him walk with you. Can’t you see the stress you’re causing us all? Go! Walk! I’ll walk. We’ll all fucking walk if we can just get underway and get there. The faster we getto our own lands, the better. We can’t have those fuckers trying again. They might get it right next time.”
In the end I relented because I didn’t really have a choice. Weston and I walked. He led his horse, while the rest of the pack continued on as normal. The day was long and my body started to ache, but by the late afternoon I could see high walls and busy foot traffic leading to the city. We got closer still and I reached out for Weston’s hand, never having seen so many people nor a city as big. It sprawled in all directions farther than the eye could see. A thriving commerce area existed outside the walls, leading down a gentle slope to the glittering seas beyond. The whole scene was like an ant hill after a boot had trampled it, the dwindling light doing nothing to thin out the crowds.
“Holy crap,” I said softly as Weston stopped and looked back.
“Nova, take the supplies straight to the docks. Get a boat to run you out to the ship and make sure everything is set for us to leave at dawn. Tanix, Sixten, find an inn that will hold those of us staying in the city. I don’t care if we have to double or triple up in rooms, I want us all together. Dante, figure out the guard situation and make good with them. I want to be deep in this town’s pocket so that they protect our interests.”
“What does that mean, in the town’s pocket?” I asked as Weston waited for Tanix and Sixten to ride ahead before walking again.
“It means we’re going to bribe them to watch our backs. A lot of rich merchants do it, and that’s what we’re pretending to be. We have the false paperwork to prove it.” He paused. “You’re going to need to go back with Hadriel for now. Keep your head down. Stay in line. If you see something that makes you nervous, say something, okay?”
I nodded and did as he said, relieved when Hadriel got down off his horse to walk with me.
“Won’t Alexander just bribe the guards too?” I asked as we walked, splitting up near the city gates.
Hardly anyone looked my way. Most took note of the horses or the people sitting on top of them and almost never looked at those walking or with the carts. When they did happen to notice me, though, their eyes widened.
“Here, love.” Hadriel switched places with me, taking my hand and wrapping my fingers around the lead of his horse. “Don’t worry about Jenkins. He only bites when you’re being pushy with him. Treat him with respect and he’ll ignore you.”
“I really wish you hadn’t reminded me that he bites,” I mumbled, barely daring to side-eye the great war horse.
“This city is not partial to Granny’s product.” He removed the tie from my hair and spread my locks down the sides of my face. “I just love those streaks of white. It really works for you, my darling.”
“Yes, trauma does seem to work for me.”
“Well now you just made it sad.” He draped some of my hair over my swollen eye. “Granny’s product created a real mess here. They cracked down on it and forced it back into the shadow markets. Anyone caught with it faces steep fines or jail time. It annoyed the alpha when we arrived because it was hard for us to find any leads telling us where we might start the search for...well, you, I guess. Now, I think he’s probably thanking his lucky fucking arse. If we can just lay low and get the fuck out of here tomorrow, we should be okay.”
“Famous last words.”
“No shit, right? Here we go, we’re entering the city. Can you smile? No, that looks painful. Don’t do that. Keep your head down. We’re already healing and you still look fresh from a fight. It’ll stand out.”
I couldn’t keep my head down, though. I couldn’t stop myself from looking around in amazement at the buildings—some ofthem three stories tall—and the stone facing, the wide streets filled with people, the smells and the sounds—the sounds! It was crazy, there was noise everywhere. In one moment my senses would be assaulted by someone shouting above the cacophony while the delicious scent of freshly baked bread flirted with my nose. In the next, it smelled like someone had used the bathroom at my feet. Horse poop dotted the roads and people in stands or stalls yelled out at us when we passed, trying to sell their wares.
After navigating twists and turns and through a square that was four times as big as the one from my village—despite not being the main one—we came to a sprawling inn with a few levels and large stables that must’ve twisted around back. The horses were passed off and Hadriel stepped in to give some specific instructions. That done, we headed through the large inn door with a little arch and beautiful wrought metal sign.
“The Laughing Pig,” I read, following behind Hadriel.
Tanix was speaking to a woman behind a short and well-used counter. I had no idea how they’d found an inn so fast; they hadn’t been that far in front of us.
Weston stepped closer to me and his fingers wrapped around my upper arm to keep me put. He bent a little, whispering as he looked past me.
“I’m going to have food sent up to our room. We’ll lay low for the evening. Do you need anything?”
I knew he was probably keeping a low profile about talking to me because he didn’t want to draw attention to me, but my stomach clenched in unease anyway. We were almost back to his home where his life would resume as normal. I would no longer be his sole responsibility.
