He moved away from her, furious with himself for letting his guard down. He should have heard her coming from a mile away, but his lust-addled mind had focused solely on his mate.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded, sick of her conniving ways. He held up a hand to stop her reply. It didn’t matter. “You need to leave the palace and never return. You are hereby forbidden to step foot on palace grounds.”
Her loud gasp echoed through the trees. “You don’t mean that.”
“I have never meant anything more, Ora, and if you don’t leave on your own accord, I will kill you. One way or another, you’re leaving.”
Her lip wobbled, and she advanced toward him. “Ren, it’sme. We’ve known each other most of our lives.”
“That’s the only reason I have yet to stake your head on the front gates,” he said, his voice like ice. “I can easily change my mind, and if Amelia sees you and it upsets her, I will.”
“Are you here of your own free will?” she whispered, her eyes scanning the area.
Her wording threw him off guard. “I am, and you are not welcome. Leave. This is your last warning.”
She whispered something, snapped her mouth shut, and winced. He expected her to argue, to beg him to let her stay, but she said nothing.
Her eyes widened, and she pointed behind him. He turned to assess, finding nothing.A distraction,he realized too late when she barreled into him. She crashed her lips to his and bit downhard enough to break his skin open. A metallic taste filled his mouth, and he shoved her away.
A searing pain heated his chest, and he fell to his knees. A foreign fury lit him from the inside out and mingled with his own.Amelia.
He started to stand, but Ora’s words held him in place.
“See? I told you we were mates,husband.”
33
Amelia’s mate should have found her by now. Knowing him, he was hiding and waiting to jump out and scare the shit out of her. As long as he fucked her again, she didn’t care.
Jogging back the way she came, she careened around a tree and halted at the sight before her. Ora pointed somewhere in the distance. When Rennick turned to look, she charged him and slammed her body into his. Pure, unadulterated rage ripped through Amelia.
Without thinking, she sprinted forward, willing herself to be invisible. She didn’t know if it’d work, but she had to try. If she remembered correctly, Rennick would see through her glamour, but Ora wouldn’t. Her mate hit his knees, and her anger burned brighter. If Ora hurt him, she would die a slow death.
Amelia closed in on them and heard Ora claim Rennick as her husband. He roared with fury and climbed to his feet. Ora backed away from him, but before he could advance toward her, Amelia yelled, “Stop!”
Ora’s death was hers.
Rennick whipped around, and he must have seen something on her face because he stepped aside. Amelia approached hermate and jerked the hunting knife from his boot as she stalked past him, willing the snow beneath her boots to appear undisturbed.
Ora spun in a circle, scanning the area. “You’re too late!” she screamed at nothing but woods before turning to face Rennick. “We’re married, and you’re mine.”
Amelia stepped behind her, dropped her glamour, and yanked Ora’s head back by her hair. “No, the fuck he’s not,” she snarled, pressing her knife into Ora’s neck hard enough to pierce the skin. “If you move, I will paint the snow with your blood.”
Ora whimpered, her eyes pleading with Rennick. “Don’t let her hurt your mate.”
Amelia yanked on her hair harder. “Don’t speak to him.” Her eyes met Rennick’s, and the sadistic fucker smiled so wide she thought his face might split in half. She dug her knife deeper into Ora’s skin and leaned down. “When you get to hell, tell Orcus hello for me.”
Ora struggled and screamed, but Amelia ripped the knife across her throat and held her in place to watch the life drain from her eyes.
As Ora grew limp in her grasp, reality came crashing back in. Amelia released the body and staggered back in shock.I killed a person.
Rennick gently led her away from the bloody scene, trying to soothe her.
“I-I killed her,” she stammered, unable to look away from the blood-soaked snow.
Rennick held her chin and forced her to look at him. “It’s okay, love. She touched what is yours. Had you not killed her, I would have.”
“She called you her husband,” she said, still in a daze. “You’re mine.”
