Gwen looked down at her hands. "Simon got worse as the years went on. He hurt me badly three months ago, and I was stuck in bed for a few weeks. I got desperate, and asked someone for help that I shouldn't have."
God, I hated knowing that he'd hurt her so many times, and for so long. I hoped there was someone she could talk to and rely on, too, because I couldn't be that person for her anymore. I wished there was a way to fix all of the shit that had gone down between us.
"I thought he was the only genuinely nice guy in the Cabinet," she admitted. "I realized recently that he's just as cunning as everyone else in power positions, and I'm kind of fucked. I shouldn’t be dealing with all of these older immortals. I'm terrible at it."
Callum stiffened.
"Who?" Jonah asked, but I was pretty sure I already knew based on what Callum had told me before.
"Grayson Darke. The demon king."
Merrily's fated mate.
"Does Merrily stalk him?"I asked Callum.
"No."
Shit.
"He's looking for a mate," Gwen said. "I don't know why, and I know it's abnormal. He didn't want to go into it when I asked. He agreed to kill Simon for me if I agreed to seal a bond with him. We signed a magical contract just a few hours before Callum killed Simon. A spellcaster made the agreement unbreakable."
Oh my god.
"This is bad,"I told Callum.
"Very."
"Darke worded the contract carefully. It only specified that I would mate with himwhenSimon was dead. I assume he was going to send that assassin he has. The one people whisper about. Now, he keeps sending demons here to remind me that he wants to go through with the ceremony in a few days," she explained.
"Do you have the contract?" Callum was even stiffer than before.
Gwen pulled a worn, folded sheet of paper from her pocket. Her forehead was creased, her lip trapped between her teeth as she brought it over to us, handing it to me instead of Callum.
She was either worried she would make me territorial by handing it directly to him, which was definitely overkill, or she was just afraid of Callum. Probably the second one. And if so, her fear was warranted.
"If she mates with Grayson, isn't Merrily screwed?"I asked him.
"Basically."
"Why do you think he wants to mate with Gwen?"
"He would control two more seats in the Cabinet. Between our allies and his, we have one more vote than he does right now. If he takes the wolves, the Shadow District has the numbers."
Callum unfolded the sheet and read the contract slowly.
"Why did you ask me for help?" Jonah asked Gwen.
Her face reddened.
I had a sinking feeling that I knew why.
"The only way we could come up with for me to get out of the contract was by sealing a mate bond with someone else first. It doesn't say I can't, and it can't be enforced if I take a different mate," Gwen explained.
"So you were expecting me to mate with you to get you out of this," Jonah said flatly.
Gwen's cheeks reddened further. "I was hoping we could talk about the possibility, notexpectinganything. I know it's not ideal, and we have things to talk about, but?—"
Jonah rose to his feet. "Kat. Callum. I assume you can handle this."
