Chapter 88: Foul Nicknames
[ROWAN POV]
I stared blankly at Briar’s closed door for what seemed like the longest time. My body slumped against it as though my legs were nothing more than pieces of rotting wood.
My throat felt dry from the moment I marked Briar’s neck.
I had never believed in the fated bond. For the longest time, I thought that it was a sham, a fairytale made up by the romantics who thought the fated bond was something so powerful and magical that it could change lives.
There were stories of enemies becoming lovers and strangers who fell in love at first sight. People with grudges were able to settle everything that separated them just because of the bond.
In my eyes, that wasn’t romantic. It felt more frightful, considering how the fated bond seemed to strip people of their minds. I could never fathom how grudges could be so easily set aside for the sake of ’fated love’. That was only further proven when I realized Briar was my fated mate for the first time; I felt nothing for her.
If anything, my hatred merely grew.
It felt like a joke. The Moon Goddess played me and my brothers for fools by pairing Briar with us, especially after everything that Briar had done.
Worst of all, she didn’t even seem aware of it. I couldn’t tell if she had truly forgotten everything, if she was lying, or if she thought it was such a small and inconspicuous thing that she didn’t even bother putting in any effort to remember.
However, the more time I spent with Briar, the more I felt myself slipping. Cracks had formed in my resolve, and now, I had properly sunk in.
I wanted nothing more than to beat down the door and embrace Briar, but my mind recalled the disgusted, hateful expression on her face. I paused, staring blankly at the heavy wooden door. As much as I hated to admit it, all those rumors about fated mates turned out to be true.
So much time had passed that I had forgotten how it felt to feel such a strong pull towards another individual.
There was no point standing around. I assigned some guards to secretly stand outside of Briar’s room, making sure she didn’t escape. Several warriors had arrived from Shadowclaw mere hours ago, and it was good that they did. I couldn’t stay here any longer.
Even just standing outside the room, Briar’s scent was so strong that it was slowly driving me insane. It felt like torture to be separated by nothing more than a thin door and a wall of hatred.
I needed some air to clear my head.
Slowly, I trudged back to the wing meant for me, Soren, and Cassian. As soon as I opened the door, Soren and Cassian noticed me. They were in the lounge, with Soren reading a book and Cassian staring mindlessly out the window. When they heard the door open, they turned.
"Did she try to escape again?" Cassian immediately asked, frowning. "Maybe we should just bolt down her door as well."
"With silver?" Soren asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What else?" Cassian said with a snort.
"Are you planning to keep her locked there like a caged animal?" Soren said.
"Isn’t that what we’re doing right now anyway?" Cassian replied with a shrug and a roll of his eyes. "I don’t understand what’s the point of building this safehouse. Just bring her back to Shadowclaw and execute her―"
"No!" Soren and I said at the same time, effectively cutting Cassian off.
As a result, Cassian jerked back in surprise, clearly not expecting us to yell at the same time.
"Okay, okay," he said, sneering. "Geez. What’s with this reaction?"
He looked carefully at Soren and me, his eyes narrowing with suspicion with each passing second. I reached up and scratched the back of my neck. I had never felt this way before, but the more he stared, the more increasingly uncomfortable I got. For some reason, a shot of guilt pierced through me, and I found it difficult to meet his eyes.
I tried my best to maintain an even expression, not wanting Cassian to pry.
"So?" Cassian finally asked, his voice gruff as though unsatisfied. "What did the bitch want?"
My eyes twitched a little at the derogatory nickname, but I didn’t address it. Instead, I answered his question.
"She found a wolf loitering outside the safehouse," I said.
Crossing the room, I reached for the bottle of whiskey, pouring myself a generous glass. Trust Cassian to always make sure every house we stayed in was stocked to the brim with alcohol. Placing the glass to my lips, I tossed my head back and chugged it. The alcohol burned its way down my throat but did little to dull my senses.
Even though the whiskey had been altered to fit werewolf systems, it still didn’t burn as strongly as it would for humans.
"A wolf?" Cassian asked, frowning. Then, his gaze darkened. "Lucien?"
"That’s not possible," Soren said. "If it were Lucien, she would’ve been a lot more careful to escape without getting caught. She was making too much ruckus."
"Correct," I said, watching as the glass filled once more with golden liquid. "She wasn’t trying to escape. She just wanted our attention."
"Why?" Cassian asked. "Who’s the wolf that she spotted?"
I brought the glass to my lips again. However, this time, I didn’t drink from it yet. "She said it’s Willow."
"Willow?!" Cassian exclaimed. His eyes widened, and his voice reverberated across the room.
Soren’s expression seemed grave as well. He was deep in thought.
"That’s..." Cassian said with a shake of his head. "That’s not possible."
"And you saw her too?" Soren asked. He tried to maintain a calm expression, but his voice betrayed him almost immediately. Even his hands were trembling as they remained fists at his side.
"No," I said. Instantly, the look on my brothers’ faces fell. "When I looked out of the window, there was nothing there."
"So she lied," Cassian said flatly. "What’s new?"
"That’s not necessarily true." I pointed out, "She didn’t try to escape."
"It’s just to lower our guard," Cassian argued with a scoff. "I bet you she was just waiting for the right chance to escape. Once we were distracted looking for that mystery wolf, she’ll slip right out and run back to Lucien."
Soren, on the other hand, looked at the ground. I could see that he was disappointed. Finally, he raised his eyes. His eyebrows were hard set with determination.
"What happened in that room, then, if she wasn’t trying to escape?" he asked.
I raised an eyebrow. "Nothing." The lie slid past my lips as smoothly as butter on a hot pan. "She tried to convince me that she spotted Willow outside her window. I didn’t see a wolf there, and left the room after assigning guards to stand outside her door."
"That’s all?" Soren asked. He didn’t seem convinced. "You were gone for so long, just for that?"
"What else can there be?" I asked. "If that’s all, I am going to bed. Don’t forget, we’re headed back to Shadowclaw tomorrow morning. I wouldn’t stay up too late if I were you."
I set the empty glass down on the table with a clink, making my way past them for the door on the other side of the room that led to our bedrooms. However, just as I made my way past Soren, he reached out and grabbed my elbow.
"Wait," he said, stopping me.
I turned back to look at him as he sniffed the air once. My heart missed a beat.
"What’s that... smell?" he asked, frowning. "You smell like... like Briar."
Soren’s words quickly garnered Cassian’s attention. He made his way over and sniffed the air a few times. Then, he scrunched his nose and recoiled.
"Soren is right," Cassian said. "What did you do in that room, Rowan?" he asked. He clenched his jaw and thought for half a minute before his eyes widened with realization. "Don’t tell me―"
"I am going to bed," I said, shrugging off Soren’s hand. He jolted a little due to my force, but otherwise didn’t move from his spot.
I continued my way to the door, but just as I was about to reach for the doorknob, Cassian darted forward.
"Now wait just a minute," Cassian said, stopping in front of me to prevent me from moving further forward. He planted himself firmly between me and the door, blocking my access. "Are you serious, Rowan? Have you gone mad?"
"What is it?" Soren asked, coming over.
"I’m not going to lie, I thought Soren might’ve been the dumbest one of us all, but you?" Cassian said, laughing sarcastically. Soren made a face at the backhanded jab, but stayed quiet, patiently waiting for Cassian to finish speaking. "I didn’t think that you would be the one to fall for that witch’s tricks first!"
"What witch’s tricks?" Soren asked, turning to look at us two. I could practically see the cogs in his head spinning overtime, trying to keep up.
I felt a rush of fury dart through me. Finally, the last string of my sanity snapped. I reached forward, yanking at Cassian’s collar before pinning him to the door.
"Stop with your nicknames," I growled.
It took just one second for Cassian’s expression to go from surprise to coldness.
"I was right," he said, his voice icy. "You really went and marked her!"
