Letting out a low growl, Cillian grasped her shoulders. He hated seeing her this angry, and he hated that he was being this forceful about it when he knew she didn’t want this, but he needed to keep her safe. She looked up at him, her expression bewildered and slightly horrified at the same time, confusion lurking in her gaze.
“I’m not going to give Eric any chance to get hold of you again,” he growled. “Even if that means you hate me. I’m going to keep you safe. Right now, us getting married is the best way to make sure that happens. We can revisit things after I’ve taken care of that asshole. For now, this isn’t negotiable.”
She didn’t respond right away; she simply glared up at him.
“I’ll take you to the altar kicking and screaming if I have to,” he said, his voice flat, his tone matter-of-fact. “I wouldn’t like it, but I’ll do it.”
Her jaw tightened, and he could tell that she would never forgive him for what he was doing to her.
But if that meant she would be safe from Eric and the rest of the Night Pack, he would take it.
“Fine,” she muttered.
He nodded, releasing her. “We can go to the pack house and make it official first thing in the morning.”
Chapter 6 - Amber
Humming, Amber clipped a stem, which fell to the counter with a soft thump. The smells of a dozen different fragrant flowers wrapped around her. To some people, the scents might have been overpowering, tickling their noses. To her, they blended together in perfect harmony.
“Amber, can you help me with this?” Alex called from the doorway leading to the nursery’s outdoor section.
Amber twisted to look over at her coworker and smiled. “Be there in a sec!”
She turned back to the pile of flowers splayed out on the table in front of her, a mix of lilies and roses and tulips, mostly, with some amaryllis off to the side. She clipped another stem and slid the flower to nestle in a vase amongst a tiny bouquet of color. She adjusted a couple of flowers, tied a bow around the vase’s neck, then turned to walk outside to join Alex.
“I’m just having trouble figuring out where these go,” Alex said once Amber joined her, sounding more than a little sheepish. She gestured at the tiny pot with a succulent in her hand and blushed. “I know I should by now—”
“You’re fine,” Amber said. “Those go over at the far end. Second aisle. Here, I’ll show you.”
She guided Alex down the aisle, the two of them moving in companionable silence. The scent of fresh soil surrounded them as the sun beat down. Over the past few months of working here, Amber had learned more than she could have imagined about flowers and gardening. She had been good enough at it to get a promotion in the short time she had been here.
“So I heard you got married a couple of days ago?” Alex asked once Amber had shown her the correct shelf
Amber stiffened. She forced a smile before turning toward Alex. “Yeah,” she said.
“Congratulations!” Alex said.
But Amber must not have seemed particularly enthused, because Alex’s smile died. “Or… not?” Alex said. “Sorry, I don’t really know why you look so morose about your own wedding.”
Because it wasn’t my choice,Amber thought, more than a little bitterly. She had always imagined her wedding to be a small but intimate and meaningful affair, with a pretty dress and a wild party at the end. She hadn’t expected to be dragged to the pack house and have a rather bemused and surprised alpha officiate a brief, bland ceremony.
Amber hadn’t missed the strange looks Camden had given Cillian. He made no secret that he was just as thrown off as Amber, but he didn’t ask questions, at least not in front of her. She just hoped that he would push Cillian about it later.
But trying to explain all of that right now would drag up painful thoughts of Eric. She could still feel her skin crawling sometimes, as if he was right behind her.
“I guess I’m still just a bit surprised about the whole thing,” she said, trying to sound chipper and friendly. “It’s a big adjustment, you know?”
“No kidding,” Alex said. “The entire pack is talking about it. No one saw it coming. How long have you two known one another?”
Amber bit back a sigh. Alex was sweet, if a little young and naïve. She wasn’t going to chew her out over something that she couldn’t help. It wasn’t her fault that Cillian turned out to bea controlling asshole. A really hot one, but a controlling asshole nonetheless.
“Sometimes life takes strange turns,” she finally said with a forced smile. “Come on. I need some help with the roses. There are a few rough-looking ones we need to toss.”
Alex seemed to understand that the conversation was closed, so she nodded and followed Amber back inside.
***
Amber had lived in a cute two-bedroom apartment for years. She had grown used to its quirks, and she liked the smaller size.
