The Scent of the Flower One Part 3

 

"Not just for my freedom," I said finally, the words coming out rougher than I'd intended. "For the pack's future. For the chance to be something more than a monster hiding in the mountains."

Lucas studied my face for a long moment, and I saw the exact instant when his resistance crumbled. He'd been with me through the worst of the curse's effects, had seen what the isolation and enforced loneliness had done to my sanity over the decades. Whatever reservations he had about bringing Catherine here, they were outweighed by his loyalty and, perhaps, his own desperate hope for a different future.

"The blue suite," he said finally. "I'll have Mary prepare it. Fresh linens, flowers, whatever touches might make a frightened woman feel more welcome."

Frightened. The word hit me like a physical blow. Of course she'd be frightened—taken from her family, brought to a castle that existed outside normal reality, handed over to a man who'd purchased her with gold and threats. The fact that I'd been thinking of her arrival in terms of prophecy and destiny didn't change the brutal reality of what I was putting her through.

"She'll be treated with every courtesy," I said. "Fed well, clothed appropriately, given books and music and whatever comforts might ease the transition."

"And when she asks to leave?"

When, not if. Lucas knew as well as I did that captivity dressed up in silk and courtesy was still captivity.

"I'll explain the situation," I said carefully. "The debt her father owes, the consequences of breaking our bargain. I'll help her understand that she's safest here, under my protection."

"And if she doesn't find your explanations convincing?"

The question forced me to confront truths I'd been avoiding. How far was I willing to go to keep her here? What lines would I cross in service of prophecy and my own desperate need?

"Then I'll convince her," I said quietly.

Lucas's expression darkened. "Kieran—"

"Not through force," I clarified quickly. "Through... incentive. Comfort, luxury, the promise that her family will remain safe and provided for as long as she honors the bargain."

Golden chains, my conscience whispered. Still chains.

But what choice did I have? Release her and watch the curse tighten its grip for another century? Continue as I had been, growing more feral and isolated with each passing year until I became the monster the local legends claimed I already was?

"The full moon is in two weeks," Lucas pointed out. "If she's here by then..."

He didn't need to finish the thought. The full moon brought out the worst aspects of my curse, stripped away what remained of my humanity and left only the wolf's hunger in its place. Having Catherine here during the change would be... problematic.

"I'll be chained," I said. "As always. She'll be safe."

"Will she? What happens when she hears you howling, when she realizes exactly what kind of creature she's been delivered to?"

The image formed in my mind with uncomfortable clarity—Catherine cowering in her chambers while inhuman sounds echoed through the castle walls, finally understanding the true nature of the bargain her father had struck. Would she run then? Would terror override whatever sense of duty or family loyalty had brought her here in the first place?

"She'll adapt," I said, though the words felt hollow even to me. "Humans are remarkably resilient when they have to be."

"And if she doesn't adapt? If she breaks under the strain?"

Then I'll have destroyed another innocent for the sake of my own salvation. The thought was too terrible to voice, but it lurked in the back of my mind like a poison I couldn't purge.

"She won't break," I said instead. "Her father spoke of her strength, her intelligence. She's held her family together through financial ruin and social disgrace. She's stronger than she knows."

Lucas nodded slowly, though his expression remained troubled. "I'll prepare the chambers," he said finally. "And I'll brief the staff on proper protocol for a human guest. But Kieran... if this goes wrong, if she's harmed in any way..."

"It won't," I interrupted, though my certainty felt increasingly fragile. "The prophecy—"

"Prophecies can be self-fulfilling," Lucas warned. "They can twist events to match their words, regardless of the cost in human suffering. Be very careful that you're not forcing fate's hand."

After he left, I stood alone in my study with nothing but the rose for company. Its scent seemed stronger now, more complex—as if anticipation had sharpened my senses beyond their normal limits. I could almost taste her on the air, could almost hear her voice calling my name.

Soon, I whispered to the empty room. Soon you'll be here, and we'll see what destiny has in store for us both.

But even as I spoke the words, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was standing at the edge of an abyss, preparing to drag an innocent woman over the cliff with me in my desperate bid for redemption.

The wolf in my chest stirred, excitement and hunger warring with something that might have been guilt.

Mine, it whispered. Soon she'll be mine.

I touched the rose petals one more time, then reached for the bell that would summon the staff. Chambers to prepare, plans to make, a future to arrange with all the careful precision of a man orchestrating his own salvation.

Or his final damnation.