Jennifer’s Pov
My chest hurt so bad I could feel it in my throat, but I kept my face still. I wasn’t going to let Kane see. Not that he cared. He looked just as cold as the Alpha, sitting there across from me, saying nothing the whole way.
When we reached the castle, I stepped down and he stepped down too. I already knew my way to the entrance now.
Inside, a maid met me. “This way, my lady. Dinner is served.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“I’m sorry, my lady, but the Alpha ordered that you eat.”
I stopped walking. “So they’re forcing me to eat now?”
“I’m sorry, my lady.” She kept her eyes down. “Please, this way.”
I didn’t have anything else to say to that. I followed her into the dining hall.
The table stretched long in front of me, covered in more food than I had ever seen in one place.
“Is this all for me?” I asked.
“Yes, my lady. We didn’t know your preferences, so we prepared a little of everything.”
I sat down and stared at it for a moment. If I was going to die anyway, I might as well be full when it happened.
That was when I realized I was actually hungry. There was no hope left to hold onto, so I told myself I should at least eat. I dug in, and with every bite something in my chest loosened, just a little. But underneath it, my heart still ached. I kept thinking about Brian. I still loved him, and I hated myself for it.
When I finished, the maid was waiting by the door.
“Are you done, my lady?”
“Yes.”
“There’s something we need to do next. Your fitting.”
“What fitting?”
“Before you truly become the Alpha’s bride, you must bond with him. The ceremony happens tomorrow. We need to fit your dress properly, my lady.”
I just nodded. What else was there to say?
They led me to a dressing room and started measuring me, pinning fabric, murmuring to each other. I stood there and let them work, my mind somewhere far away from my body.
“What color would you like, my lady?” one of them asked.
I opened my mouth to answer and nothing came out at first. Color. As if that mattered. As if any of this was really about what I wanted. But I caught myself before anything sharp could slip out, because none of this was her fault either.
“I don’t know,” I said instead, my voice tired rather than harsh. “Whatever you think looks best. I trust you.”
She smiled gently, like she understood more than she let on. “Silver, then. To match the circlet.”
“Silver is fine,” I said, and looked away so she wouldn’t see my eyes stinging.
“Are you alright, my lady?” she asked quietly.
“I’m just tired,” I said. “What’s your name?”
“Amelia, my lady.”
“Thank you, Amelia. For being kind to me.”
She gave me a small smile, like the kindness cost her nothing at all, and that alone almost undid me.
When they finished, Amelia looked at me carefully. “I can see you’re stressed. Would you like to see the castle? I can show you around, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure,” I said.
In the back of my mind I thought, if anything ever went wrong, if there was ever a chance to run, I should at least know where I was running from. I knew it was a foolish thought. I followed her anyway.
The castle was massive. Amelia walked me through the east wing, then the north, then the south, each one bigger than the last. Some of the rooms were completely empty but still kept spotless, like they were waiting for someone who might never come.
“How many people actually live here?” I asked.
“The Alpha and the Beta,” Amelia said. “The High Priestess comes and goes. And all of us who work here.”
“That’s it? Just the two of them?”
“Yes, my lady. Neither of them has a mate yet.”
“Oh,” I said, and didn’t know what else to say to that.
We turned a corner and stepped into a library.
I stopped in the doorway. I used to love reading, before all of this happened to me. For one second I felt something close to happiness. Then right behind it came the sadness, heavy and sudden, because I might never get to enjoy any of these books at all.
I told Amelia I wanted to be alone for a while, and she left me there.
I walked between the shelves, running my fingers along the spines, losing myself a little in the quiet.
“Hello, Jennifer.”
I jumped and spun around.
A man stood there, not as tall as Christian, but there was something in his face that resembled him. “Who are you?”
“Forgive me, I startled you. My manners.” He gave a small bow. “I’m Elijah. The Alpha’s cousin.”
“Okay,” I said, because I didn’t know what else there was to say to that.
“May I walk with you?”
“I’d rather be alone.”
“Depressed, aren’t you.” His voice was light, almost amused. “Knowing you’re probably going to die after the wedding night.”
I stared at him.
“Sorry, that came out wrong.” He didn’t sound sorry at all. “But it’s the truth. And I have a solution for you, if you want it.”
“What solution?”
“I didn’t think you’d want to hear it.”
“What solution, Elijah?”
“Be my mistress.”
He looked at me the way you’d look at something on a plate.
“What?” I said.
“You’re not bonded to him yet. You could be mine instead. That would stop you from ever becoming his. Wouldn’t you want that? As mine, you wouldn’t have to die.”
I looked at him, trying to understand what he thought he was offering me. Anyone else might have taken it without blinking. But this was the Alpha’s cousin standing in front of me, offering to steal his own family’s bride like it was nothing.
“No,” I said. “I’d rather stay where I am.”
His face changed. “So you’d rather die like a hostage.”
“Please. I want to be alone.”
He grabbed my wrist, hard, and pulled me toward him. “You dare reject my offer? I’m offering you something any woman would kill for. Do you know who I am?”
“You’re hurting me.” I tried to pull free. “Let go.”
“You’re going to accept it. Right now.”
“If this is who you really are,” I said, my voice shaking but steady, “then I would rather be the Alpha’s bride and die in peace than spend my life as your mistress. I would never.”
Something in his face went dark. He pulled out a dagger. “No one rejects me and sees the sunrise.”
He raised it toward me.
Then something struck his wrist so fast I barely saw it happen. Blood welled up where the blade had cut him, and he dropped it, releasing my hand at once.
We both turned.
Alpha Christian stood in the doorway like something carved out of stone.
He walked toward us, and the whole room seemed to shrink around him. His voice was low, but it cut through everything.
“Elijah. What gives you the right to touch my mate?”
Elijah opened his mouth.
“Leave,” Christian said, before he could get a word out.
Elijah turned to go, and Christian said his name again, once. Elijah stopped.
“Do not touch what belongs to me again,” Christian said. “Do not look at her. Or you will lose your head.”
Elijah bowed low, deep enough to show he understood, but when he lifted his eyes to me they were full of hate. Then he turned and walked out fast, like the room itself was pushing him out.
Christian’s eyes moved to me.
The library suddenly felt too small to hold both of us.
I waited for him to say something. Anything.
He didn’t. He just studied me for a long moment, like he was trying to read something written on my face. Then he turned and walked out too, leaving me standing there alone among the books.
I stood there a long time, wondering why he did that. Wondering if it meant something, or if it was just an act, something to soothe a woman who was going to be dead soon anyway.