King Dax tosses his pen onto the clipboard, leaning back in his chair, rubbing his index, middle and thumb together. “Will someone tell me why I had to leave my family to come to a meeting five hours earlier than I had planned?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” I stand when speaking to him and clear my throat. “It’s regarding the matter of the dark coven. There is information I have not been forthcoming about.”
“By all means,speak,” he says in the most condescending tone, meaning to intimidate me.
“The rogue who I brought here as a prisoner is the same one my people—the pack members harmed the witch—attacked. As you are aware, the witches have proposed that I either give Jay over to them or mate their kin, Medein Rosa.”
“So, you are here to tell us that you plan to enter a spiritual bond with Medein?” the council asks in a hopeful tone.
“No. Actually, what I have to present complicates that plan.”
All eyes are glued to me, eager to hear what I have to say. I swallow hard. “Jay is my fated mate. I’ve known for quite some time.”
Everyone exchanges glances.
Taya gasps, “She is?” She rests a hand on Sam’s shoulder, and the other is clutched to her chest. Her face lights up with thrill at the news.
She’s gotten close to Jay in a sense. Jay being accepted by someone close to this pack and knowing my father well gives me hope that the rest of Bloodhound will, too.
“She is,” I say with genuine pride.
“That does complicate things,” the king mutters.
Though he couldn’t say anything.
“Does it? She’s his fated mate. I don’t think there’s any question of who he should be with,” Taya says.
“But by having Caleb accept the coven’s offer, we are avoiding a potential war,” one councilman says.
“There’s no way to know whether a war would occur. They may even come back with another offer upon hearing this news.”
“But the only other exchange they were intrigued by wasmymate.” Sam places his hand over Taya’s. “I’m sorry, but I won’t risk your safety, angel.”
“A fated mate is sacred to our culture. And since Caleb can’t truly mate with a witch, Caleb’s wolf will weaken with the recognition of Jay’s existence. Surely, the witches don’t want a doomed alliance,” Taya says.
It seems Sam and Taya are on opposite ends. The council and Sam are on the same page. But the only person who can influence the ultimate decision is King Dax. Who hates my guts.
I’m not liking the odds.
The king is slumped in his chair. After silence, he stands and clears his throat. “I’ll need some time to think. I will discuss this with the coven and report back with my decision. Dismissed.”
Chapter FORTY-SIX
Jay
It’s one of those days again. For the past forty-eight hours, I’ve been like this—fatigued.
My demons have returned to remind me that I’m unworthy of survival. That’s when I cut. Not to kill myself, but to distract myself from my own mind.
I’ve spent the majority of my time in bed unless Jemma needed something. For the most part, I think I’m past crying. Now, I’m just a hollow shell, existing when I wish I didn’t.
Then there are days like this where wanting to die is the sole motivation for getting out of bed. I don’t want to kill myself, nor do I have plans to. No, I want my fate to be more passive than that. I crave a natural disaster to take me out of my misery, to catch a fatal sickness—a freak accident would be fine, too. Justsomething.
On days like this, I’m less careful about my safety. I’ve taken many late-night walks in the woods hoping something would attack me. But the irony is I’m the one people are afraid of.
Let me be clear: I don’t want to die because some guy doesn’t love me. Although I’m sure others would love to minimize it. It’s because I am unlovable. Sure, a male reaffirmed that belief for me, but it existed before him. I can have moments of security in myself, but I’m not afraid to admit that sometimes I need more.
These issues predate Caleb. I just thought I was past them. For whatever reason, I got better, and that it wasn’t a coincidence it started when Caleb came around. I had hoped maybe he was the cure. In hindsight, it was naïve to think myproblems just went away, but I hadn’t had them since I got here. Now they’re back—stronger than ever—like they’re making up for lost time.
