Her blood turned cold, and she very nearly vomited. “Does Alaric know?”
He scoffed. “Of course not – were you not paying attention? This is to keep him away from you! And vice versa. The two of you…” He snarled and shook his head with annoyance. “The headache this marriage has caused me.”
“It was never meant to.”
“And yet it has.”
“Please…” Her voice cracked as her body shook. “We can… You do not have to do this. Please!”
“I do.” He sighed again, still appearing regretful, even upset that things had come to this.Is he that good of an actor? Or does he actually believe that this is the only way? And does that even matter?
Lord Wolfe gestured for her to turn around, and she did so, for she had no other choice.
“Into the forest,” he commanded of her.
“Wh – why?”
“I cannot risk your body being found,” he said. “My hope is that wolves will get to you, for it is that time of year. Now, come on, walk please.”
Her entire body was shaking. Her mind was addled. She could barely control her limbs, as they threatened to collapse beneath her. But a gun pointed into one’s back will have a person doing what they must to stay alive, and Clara started to walk as she had been told.
Around the cabin they went, heading deeper into the forest.
“You will not get away with this,” she tried desperately.
He chuckled. “I will.”
“Alaric –”
“It’s not your concern,” he snapped. “He will believe that you ran when left alone, for it will make the most sense to one of his ilk. So certain is he that he doesn’t deserve love that he will accept the worst because it fits his own delusions. It might be hard for him, but that is for the best.”
She shook her head as she continued to walk, tripping over a log, getting her dress tangled in the brush. It was muddy and hard to push ahead, but that gun… she could not risk stopping. “He will never believe you.”
“You’d better hope he does,” Lord Wolfe said. “I need him to accept his fate and vanish again as he had once done. But if he refuses…” He scoffed as if annoyed at the thought. “This gun comes with more than one bullet, if you catch my meaning.”
She gasped and turned around without thinking. “You wouldn’t dare!”
He frowned with bewilderment. “Your Grace, surely by this point you have come to realize there is little I will not do. And if I am forced to kill my nephew to keep his secrets hidden, so be it.” He glanced about them next, taking note of the forest which grew thick all about so that everything looked the same. “I suppose this spot here will do.”
“Please…” Her chin wobbled. Tears began to well. “You do not have to do this.”
“If it is any consolation…” He pointed the gun right at her, cocking it back. “I did rather like you, you know. More than that, pleb Helena, anyhow. You will be missed, Your Grace, know that.”
This cannot be it. This cannot be how it ends!Yet she looked down the barrel of that gun, her eyes then straying to Lord Wolfe’s, where she saw the grim determination reflecting in his cold glare. Nothing would change his mind…and it is time I accept that and make my peace.
No peace could be found. Regret became her only companion. Regret at a life not lived as she had wished. Regretted all thestupid mistakes she had ever made. And mostly, she regretted that she did not get a chance to see Alaric one more time and tell him how she felt. That stung the most.
Eyes closed. Breath held. Clara waited for the end…
Twenty-Three
Clara heard three noises simultaneously, although she could not say what order they came in.
One was a loud thud and a crash.
Another was the sound of someone crying out in pain, or perhaps it was surprise? It happened too quickly to tell.
And the third, that which had her eyes snapping open, was the unmistakable bang that could only be the sound made by the firing of the pistol.
