I knew he meant my sudden jump in pregnancy. “No. I don’t know what happened,” I admitted.But even if I did, I sure as hell wouldn't tell you.
“Do not lie to me.”
“I’m not lying.”
“Changes like this don’t just happen overnight!” he snapped.
“I know.”
But it did. And the only thing I could think of that happened was Noro and I having sex. How could that possibly have changed my body to this extent? Something else was happening here, and I wanted to know it just as badly as Blaze.
“Is the baby still alive?” he demanded.
I glared at him. “Yes.”
“Fine. Then nothing has changed, except you’re not free to roam the keep any longer. You’ll stay here, inmybedroom, where I can keep an eye on you myself.”
“What?”
“In fact, I may put you in chains for your defiance.”
My stomach lurched. “You can’t do that!”
“I can do whatever I please,” he said in a cruel purr, “and what I want is for you to stay put and fulfil your purpose just like I intended.”
My body trembled. This couldn’t be happening.
“Fuck you,” I said but it sounded weak even to my ears.
“We’ll get to that, omega,” Blaze muttered, sending a violent chill ripping down my spine. “For now I’m too angry to touch you, but I’m sure it will pass. In the meantime, I need to figure out what to do with that traitor Noro.”
My heart sank like lead. “Don’t hurt him. If you do, I’ll never do anything for you.”
His expression curled into a smirk. “It amuses me that you think you have a choice.”
I shifted into my wolf and lunged at him, snarling and snapping my jaws, one hundred pounds of pure rage. But Blaze simply held out his talons and gently grabbed my throat, holding me in place. He cut off just enough of my air that I backed off, shaking with anger and fear.
“This room is inescapable, so don’t bother trying,” he told me when I curled into a ball and glared at him. “It’s a sheer drop if you go out the window. You won’t survive.”
Hopelessness lanced through me. He knew I wouldn’t do anything to hurt myself. Not when I had my baby to think about.
“I’ll leave a guard on duty, just in case you try something,” Blaze said, striding for the door. “And since my trust appears to be misplaced, there’s only one person I have in mind. Maybe you two can catch up.”
I frowned. Blaze opened the door and in slinked in the last person I wanted to see.
I bared my fangs at Neil, who looked at me expressionlessly.
“Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid,” Blaze muttered to him.
“He won’t,” Neil promised.
The gryphon sauntered out, letting the heavy door slam shut behind him, leaving me alone with the man I hated most in the world.
Maybe if I channel my magic the right way I can make him drop dead.
Neil sat by the door a good distance away from me, but I never took my eyes off him.
“What is so special about that gryphon that you'd fall for him, too?” Neil asked suddenly.
