Chapter 6

Three days passed and I was still not allowed to leave my room. Mary was always close by, bringing me food, snacks, and tea. Helping me dress up and filling my days with gossip going around the mansion and inside the territory. They were mostly about the coming ceremony, who was coming, and what they would be wearing.

She barely left my side which was beginning to suffocate me. And I spent my days trying to act as the real Inara would. But I wasn’t sure how long I could keep that up when I could hear the buzz of the house. The day was fast approaching, and everyone was shifting around it.

Once she left for the night, I stopped pretending to sleep and got up from the bed. I turned to the wardrobe and the purse I had carried when I and Avery went shopping. The marble from that fox was still in there. Blue and cold to the touch.

“Will this actually work?”

My heart raced. I didn’t want his help, but I feared I was running out of time. I took the marble and placed it in the wardrobe beside my bed, deciding against it.

~

“Can’t you just ask them once more?” I tried to look as pitiful and sorry as possible.

“The marquis and my lady are both so busy.” Mary protested.

“I have been locked in for three days. I feel tired, exhausted and bored.”

“I can’t even see how the preparations are going.”

“Do you really not pity me, even a little.”

“I made a mistake and I am so sorry for it.”

Mary sighed. I have been on her like this all morning, but she still hadn’t budged even a little. I haven’t seen my mother since that night, and I doubted she would be of help. Regaining my freedom was the only other option.

“I will see what I can’ do.”

I breathed out in relief, smiling widely.

“Thank you.”

Once she was gone, I couldn’t sit still. It was day four. Once I regained my freedom, I still needed to plan properly, how to escape the castle, where to go. So, I would probably need more time to plan. I could not wait till the very last minute.

Mary came back a few hours later, looking strangely tired and disheveled.

“The marquis declined.”

My heart fell.

“You should have gone to my mother directly.”

“She also declined.”

“She said she doesn’t see the need for you to be out and about. You needed your beauty rest and relaxation so that you can be even more stunning on that day.”

I palmed my face

That witch.

But it was clear, at this rate, I had no other choice than to call upon the fox. He was my only way out of this.

“Uhmm, Mary….” I needed information.

“Yes, my lady.”

“Do you know about a fox, with red hair.”

Her eyes widened.

“You mean Kane?”

“Yes,” I jumped.

“You know him?”

“Who doesn’t? He is the only fox around here with red hair.”

“You met him?”

I shook my head quickly.

“No, just caught a glance while I was shopping with mother the other day. Thought he looked very handsome.”

She breathed out.

“Indeed, he is. But stay away from him.”

My heart skipped. That wasn’t the kind of intel I wanted.

“Not like I will have to worry when you will be claimed soon anyway.”

~

Once more, I pretended to sleep till Mary left for the night. The house was even quieter than usual, making me hyper aware of everything and everyone, including the guards in front of my room. Or maybe, I was just nervous.

When I could no longer calm myself, I picked the marble from beside my bed, cradling it in my palm like it would burn, Mary’s warning echoing in my ears, then I brought it closer to my mouth.

“Hey…” I whispered, not wanting to alert the guards outside.

“Fox.” I had no idea how to address him.

“It’s me…v…Inara.” I almost messed up there.

“Inara Bloomwood.”

“Uhmm…your offer, does it still stand?”

Nothing happened. I wasn’t even sure this was real.

Crest fallen, I slumped back on the bed and resisted the urge to cry at my predicament.

Sleep didn’t come as it should. My last hope just flew out the window and once again, I was left with the option of running away myself.

I turned to the window and opened it. The night air was harsh and cold. And the distance from my room to the ground hadn’t drawn closer.

But it was clearly my only option.

Resigned, I turned back to bed and closed my eyes.

“Are you really trying to seduce me like this?” A voice whispered in my ears.

“Hmmm.” I shifted in my sleep.

“This is pretty old school but for some reason, it seems to be working.”

“Now, I am in love with silk and this very blue.” Warm hands cupped the deep of my waist. And I snapped my eyes open.

Green eyes stared back at me. I jerked, but a strong hand held me in place.

“Do you want to wake the whole house?” He turned his eyes to the door, and I instantly knew he was talking about my guards. He grinned, revealing those fangs of his and my heart skipped.

It worked.

But did I really call a stranger to my room?

Quietly, he got up from the bed, urging me to do the same while he turned to the window that I left open. He clearly came through that. The moment I was up on my feet, he wrapped an arm around my waist and jumped.

I slammed both hands against my mouth, stopping the shriek that wanted to escape as I buried my face in his shirt. Cold air slapped against my skin, causing goosebumps to rise all over my body.

“You don’t look so fearless now.” He chuckled just as I realized he wasn’t falling. I pried my eyes open to see us hovering in the air and instantly felt dizzy.

Do I trust airplanes? Yes

Do I trust myself in certain heights, no matter how high? Sure. Fifty percent.

Do I trust a man I know nothing of who sees me as his next new toy? No.

“Relax. We haven’t started yet, so I can’t let you fall yet.” He whispered against my hair. His breath a far contrast to the cold hair outside.

Then a sound caught my ears.

I froze instantly. It came again, this time, louder, sharper. And my cheeks heated up as I instantly recognized the sound of someone moaning.

“Want to see?” The fox ask.

“What? No, get me down.”

He was moving already. Gliding through the sky like he owned it, following the sound as it became louder and louder. Then he stopped.

It was the Marquis’s studies. I didn’t want to see him and Avery fucking so I was going to look away. Till I noticed that there were three women, naked and kissing. While the Marquis had another on top the desk, fucking her from behind. I knew instantly that it wasn’t my mother and felt like my heart would tear into two.

Then, he grabbed the woman’s hair, forcing her to lift her face.

I closed my mouth and pried my eyes away unable to take in the sight anymore.

“Get me out of here.”

The fox said nothing this time and took me away from there, to the edge of the garden, near the woods.

“You look shocked.” Kane entered. I turned to him and looked away. Not sure what I was feeling.

“I guess that happens when a daughter sees her father fucking.”

“And here I thought the Marquis was a dull, cold man, always licking the booths of those in power.”

“No.” I lowered my head. That wasn’t it. I never expected anything from the man who had a child because he was ordered to so he could give her away when the time was right. And whatever good thought I had of him disappeared after I saw the marks on his wife’s body.

But the look on her face.

Mary.

She didn’t look like she was being forced.

At the same time, does she even have an option to refuse when the marquis practically owns all the women in this mansion? And was his wife okay with it?

I wasn’t even sure how I felt.

“Hey, you called me here to take you away, why the long face?” The fox pried me out of my thought.

“Do you want to have fun as well?” He grabbed my waist. I pushed him away.

“No. Not in your wildest dreams.”

He smiled.

“At least you know what I see in my dreams.” He leaned in, his scent pushing into my senses like fog.

“Stop.” I moved away, needing space.

“I need your help.” I entered quickly, directing the conversation.

“I want to escape this fate.”

His brows raised.

“Not just the bear clan. I don’t want to be just another hole for semen and babies.”

“Your father will never allow that.”

“I know.”

“So, I will have to take you away, still?” He smiled. I stiffened. The look in his eyes warning me to be careful. But I had no other choice. What was the worse that could happen?

I took a deep breath.

“Yes.”