Chapter 162: 162. Caught II
Maisie
"I demand to speak to Prince Soren. That vixen bride of his did this! I know it!"
The yells grew louder when we reached the first floor, where four guards and Brynn blocked off Lord and Lady Graham, the latter whose cheeks were black with soot, and the ends of her hair looked... fried. Other than that and burned hem of her nightrobe, she seemed unharmed.
"I am truly sorry for the loss of your home," Brynn was saying, sounding like the head of an HR department. "But you must understand that the Prince wishes not to be disturbed and I would need to consult with him first before letting you in–"
Lady Graham caught us by the edge of the staircases and my eyes widened when eyes like chips of ice knocked into me. "You!"
I ducked behind Soren.
"Are you using me as your human shield, Adams?" he laughed.
"Isn’t that what husbands are for?" I whispered, heart thudding.
"Prince Soren," Lady Graham said and I heard the bright anger punctuating every word. "I’ll have you know what your mate has done! Our home is on fire! Two wings have been destroyed! Nine generations of history and wealth in ashes because of her. And my daughter!" Her voice shook. "Memah tells me she doesn’t know how long it might take her to recover. Every bone in her body is broken!"
Soren tilted back, black brows high on his face in an expression that clearly read, "What did you do?"
But there was no rebuke in his eyes. In fact, I thought the reason his mouth kept twitching was because he was seconds away from laughing.
When he addressed Lady Graham, though, his voice was cold and hard. "I’d strongly suggest you mind your tone in my home, Helen. You are scaring my wife."
"Did you hear nothing I said–"
"I did. I am deeply sorry for the accident that occurred in your home–"
"Accident?" Lady Graham hissed with such venom, I cringed. "This has her written all over it! It hasn’t even been five hours since you and your brothers accused my daughter of attempting to murder your mate and if I remember correctly, the silver haired brute who tried to strangle my daughter in front of the entire court clearly said all of her bones had been broken!" she shrieked like a dying vulture.
"And now Tessa suffers the same fate in the span of mere hours?! This is clearly a ploy for revenge and I won’t stand for it!"
Soren hummed. "What a terrible coincidence this is, indeed. But I must inquire. Do you have any evidence that my mate did this? Did Tessa give a statement on who her assailant was, and did she say it was Maisie?"
Silence rang out in the living area and I peeked around Soren’s broad back and found that Lady Graham’s face had reddened and uncertainty flickered in her eyes.
A deep rattle began in Soren’s chest that frightened even me. "Am I to believe you barged into my home to throw baseless accusations at my mate, just because you dislike her? Do you have any idea how traumatizing this evening has been for her?" he snarled.
My lips parted in surprise, and I made a mental note to ask Soren later if he had ever considered becoming an actor.
Lady Graham paled and shrunk back, but Lord Graham stepped forward. "How can she give a statement? She is being attended to by five healers!" he yelled.
Five? Well, damn. I didn’t think the drop was that high.
I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.
"If my mate survived being hounded by a pack of bloodlusting Lycans and having her bones shattered by your daughter, then I am sure Tessa will be just fine. Until then," Soren nodded towards Brynn. "See them out."
"But we have nowhere to sleep," Lady Graham cried. Then her gaze turned pleading. "If we could just..." she lowered her gaze. "If you would be kind enough to let us spend the night here..." she practically choked on the words. "... we would be most... grateful."
Soren looked back at me and I stilled when I realized he was making me decide. I thought about it for a moment. I thought about every encounter I’d had with these people and how they’d never been kind to me. I wanted to shake my head, but apparently, I was out of ’malicious’ steam for the day and I bit my lower lip, unsure.
I hadn’t meant to hurt anyone else apart from Tessa. I didn’t even think the fire would spread past her bedroom. I hated my bleeding heart and the fact that I knew they deserved it, but I still felt guilty anyway.
I nodded at Soren.
Soren arched a brow at that before returning his attention ahead. "Helen, the Grahams have always been rather close confidants of the Queen. I’m sure she can find a room or four for you in her residence. My vixen bride doesn’t feel like sharing."
I stifled my gasp and pinched his back.
He grabbed my wrist and like there was nobody else there in the hall with us, he lifted me off my feet, wrapping my legs around his waist. A furious blush spread all over my face and neck as I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding on. "What are you doing? Everyone can see us!" I whisper-shouted.
"I promised you a meal," Soren muttered, dropping his face into my neck as he began walking in a different direction. And then, he added loud enough for everyone to hear. "How about hot chocolate?"
Lady Graham looked like she was going to murder me. Brynn began ushering them outside, just as we turned around the corner, entering the massive kitchen.
"You can put me down now. We don’t have an audience anymore," I said, feeling flustered.
I felt my ass hit the cold island, and my breath hitched when Soren remained standing between my legs, his hands bracing either side of me. "This is how you thank me for saving your hide? Helen Graham is just as vicious as her daughter, you know. Had she caught you, she might have torn you apart, limb from limb."
My pulse spiked. "Thank you," I murmured.
"Not like that," he said, and I gasped when I felt him through his pants, pulsing hard and hot against my thigh. At my reaction, he chuckled, "Not that, either. Strong as you are, I’m not sure you could take me right now. You were limping seconds ago."
I scowled at him, but it didn’t last as his mouth dragged over my cheek in a soft kiss that sent tingles down my body. "There is something I want from you," he said, and despite myself, my neck arched as his soft kisses lowered from my cheek to the spot behind my ear, and down my neck. "And I don’t want you to give it lightly."
My hand found the front of his shirt and gripped. My eyes fell shut as I felt the pin prick of his canines on my collarbone. "What... is it?"
Something cool clasped around my neck and I pulled back to find a necklace dangling from my neck. The chain itself was a soft, rose gold that complimented the color of my skin. But the pendant...
It was a ring.
My eyes flicked up to Soren. The corners of his ears were red. "It’s a family heirloom. The only thing of my mother’s my aunt kept untouched. She gave it to me in hopes that I would pass it down to Tessa. But I could never bring myself to part with it.
I wasn’t entirely sure I was breathing at all when I lifted it, turning it over in my hand. "Soren."
"It was always yours, Maisie."
"Soren, I can’t accept this–"
"You don’t have to," he said quickly, voice rough with emotion. One of his hands slid down to rest possessively over my hip, thumb stroking in soothing circles. "Not tonight. Not until you’re ready. I know I dragged you down the altar without giving you a real choice. And I can’t undo that."
His eyes tracked mine. "This is me giving it back. Keep the necklace. Wear the ring only when you decide to stay. When we’ve earned it–when we’ve successfully conned you into loving us this year, and the year after, and every single day that follows. Until then, it’s just a promise that I’m yours whenever you want me to be."
My throat tightened.
It was an apology and a question all at once. It felt like a proposal. It was slightly terrifying... but I couldn’t find a single bone in my body that wanted to refuse it.
Because when I told Tessa I’d had an epiphany, I had meant it. Whatever this way between us, I wanted to hold on to it for a little while longer. But I was scared of admitting that to him, scared that if they knew how terrible a dent they had cracked in my defenses, they would change, and go back to being cruel bastards again.
I knew now that there were reasons behind their actions. Possibly more reasons than I would ever know or understand. And while knowing didn’t take it all away, it made my chest feel less tighter.
And as I watched him wander about the kitchen, trying to piece together dinner for me, I felt the start of something... warm. New.
It felt... nice.
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