“I know it’s hard now that you’ve made up your mind, but trust me. The way he feels about you? It’s not going away any time soon, no matter what you might’ve said to him.”
“Fuck, I hope you’re right.”
“I am.” He said it with such conviction that I couldn’t do anything but trust him.
“Okay,” I said, steeling myself for what I was about to do. “We’d better start spreading the word that I’m no longer under twenty-four-hour protection.”
“You have this stone Dathal mentioned?”
“It’s upstairs.” Before he could say anything, I added. “I’ll keep it with me at all times. He won’t take me by surprise. Not again.”
He’d been a dark shadow over my life for way too long.
It was time to change that.
TALIS
Patrollingthe night shift wasn’t something I’d chosen to do, but it forced me to keep my distance from Axel, which was what I needed right now.
Even if it wasn’t what I wanted.
I still felt a low-level rage at what he’d shared, and if Vai Zh’alek stepped foot in our forest, I’d happily tear him limb from limb and not feel a shred of guilt. Even thinking about it made my whole body itch with the need to shift and tear the forest apart searching for him.
Only Rys’s alpha orders to stay in the house and get some rest stopped me from doing exactly that.
The house was quiet when I ventured downstairs in search of food. Not surprising, considering half the pack were out on patrol while the rest were probably still asleep.
Pack scents lingered everywhere, so I wasn’t that shocked when I bumped into Sasha without sensing her first. But I was surprised she was here when she should’ve been guarding Axel.
I frowned when I noticed what she was wearing. “You look nice.”
She beamed. “Thanks. Thought I’d make the most of our newfound freedom and go shopping.”
“What?” Her words made no sense.
“Sasha!” Rys barked from the kitchen, and Sasha’s whole expression changed.
“Oh, fuck.” She patted my arm and slipped past me. “Sorry, I have to go. Later.” She was gone and out the door before I could react, leaving me standing in the hallway wondering what the fuck was going on.
Rys appeared in the kitchen doorway. “Come outside with me.”
It wasn’t a request, and I dutifully followed him out into the back garden. The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky, on its way to setting. I’d slept later than I thought. “Why are we out here?” Instinct told me nothing good would come from this conversation.
My shoulders tensed as we came to a stop near the tree line, hands already curled into fists.
“Because I don’t want you to break anything.”
I narrowed my eyes, turning to face him. “Rys—”
“Before I say anything, I’m ordering you to remain here for the rest of the day.” He didn’t raise his voice, but the power in the command shackled me to our pack house, raising my hackles.
I glared at him. Rys rarely used his alpha status like that. For him to do so now sent my edginess through the roof. “What the fuck is going on? Why isn’t Sasha on patrol in the forest?”
“We aren’t guarding Axel anymore.”
“What? Since when?”
“Since Lady Sarhin, Gabriel, and I spoke with him and Dathal this morning.”
