I would have found it sweet if I wasn’t still trying to catch my breath.
I whimpered back, tried to stand. My legs were shaky, but Caelan pressed his body against mine, steadying me until I found my balance. Even in wolf form, he was taking care of me. Overprotective idiot.
Thessa appeared beside us, a little roughed up but standing and alive. The brown wolf who attacked her was nowhere to be seen. Apparently the Goldridge siblings were much better at this fighting thing than I was.
We didn’t have time for a reunion.
Caelan jerked his head toward a side entrance, a doorway leading away from the main battle, into a corridor beyond. Ourwolves seemed to have the better odds now; the fighting was shifting in our favor. But we needed to get out.
Together, we ran.
The hallway was darker and quieter. The sounds of battle faded behind us. My wounds ached with every step, but I pushed through it. We were so close to being free.
We rounded a corner…The hallway wasn’t empty.
Vix was there.
Because of course she was. Couldn’t have a dramatic escape without the psychotic ex-whatever showing up to monologue at us.
She stood in the center of the corridor, blocking our path, dressed in dark clothes with her brown hair wild around her face. And in her hand was a knife. Apparently she’d decided to go full villain aesthetic.
My wolf snarled.Bitch.
I wanted round two. I wanted to tear Vix apart for everything she’d done, the poison, the lies, the manipulation. But more than that, I wanted answers. I wanted to look this woman in the eye and watch her realize she’d lost.
I shifted, the transformation faster now, easier. A heartbeat later I was standing on two legs, staring down the woman who nearly destroyed everything.
“You thought you were being so clever, didn’t you?” My voice was steady. “Making up lies about my mate? Staging that scene in his office? Poisoning me?”
Vix’s expression flickered. “What lies? Everything I said was true.” Her smile was cruel. “I was his first, bitch. That wasn’t a lie.”
My heart clenched. But before I could respond, Caelan shifted behind me.
“It was one night and a fucking mistake, Vix. Stop weaponizing a foolish moment when I was a teenager.”
I turned to look at Caelan. He was standing behind me, bloodied, his expression hard, his eyes fixed on Vix with undisguised contempt.
“Let me ask this clearly,” I said, my voice steady despite everything. “Do you have any type of relationship with Vix, Caelan?”
Caelan grimaced. “No. We’re acquaintances at best. I can barely stand her.”
“But you slept with her.”
“Once. When I was seventeen and stupid.” His jaw tightened. “Everyone knows about it. It’s not a secret I was keeping from you. I just didn’t want to upset you over an incident that meant nothing. Because it did mean nothing, Riley. Vix means nothing to me. She never has.”
“You said ‘everyone knows about us,’” I pressed. “In your office. That’s what I heard.”
Understanding dawned on Caelan’s face. “I was talking about the old history. The one-night mistake when we were teenagers. Everyone at court knows about it because Vix has been trying to leverage it for years.” His voice dropped, pained. “I should have told you myself. I’m sorry. But I swear on my life, there is nothing between us. There never was, beyond that one stupid night.”
A noise came from where Vix was standing, and I turned back to her.
Vix’s face was twisted with rage. Gone was the cold, calculating mask, replaced by pure unhinged fury. Her grip on the knife tightened until her knuckles went white.
“You ruined everything,” Vix hissed at me. “He was supposed to be mine. The plan was perfect. Soren would take care of the Goldridges, and I would save Caelan. Run away with him. Start fresh somewhere new, just the two of us.” Her voice cracked, deranged. “But you were supposed to die. You just wouldn’t stay dead, would you?”
Wow. She had really convinced herself that Caelan was going to run away with her. The delusion was almost impressive.
“Sorry to disappoint.”
