6

A prisoner with room service

Anne

The room where they locked me up was bigger than the entire ground floor of my father’s house.

And that was saying a lot.

The room had a four-poster bed, a stone fireplace, a private bathroom, and three windows from which I could admire the beautiful mountain scenery while calculating how many bones I’d break if I tried to escape by throwing myself out one of them.

Ravenshade knew how to treat its prisoners.

“Do they always lock criminals up between silk sheets?” I asked mockingly.

The guard by the door didn’t answer.

He’d been standing there for ten minutes, motionless, with the same expression as someone who’d been sentenced to watch a pot that hadn’t boiled yet.

“Blink twice if Maxwell told you not to talk to me,” I said, and there was no reaction. "Once, if you were born without a sense of humor.”

The guard didn’t even breathe any harder.

It’s not his fault he has the personality of a chair, Nina muttered, still weak from the silver of the handcuffs.

I rubbed my wrists.

Cassian had ordered that my chains be removed upon entering the room, though two guards remained outside and another inside.

“Can I have my things back?” I asked cautiously.

The man finally looked at me.

“They’re being examined.”

“I have a torn dress, some herbs, and traces of honey. I’m sure the council will find enough evidence to justify an invasion.”

The door opened before he could answer.

Cassian entered, accompanied by Maxwell and three other councilors. The gray-haired man was carrying the same scroll from the Court under his arm, as if he feared I might forget the twenty-four-hour ultimatum.

That was unlikely.

The verdict had taken up residence in my head; it had kicked off its shoes and was using my thoughts as a couch.

Maxwell eyed me with open disapproval.

“Miss Marlowe.”

“Cheerful councilor,” I said sarcastically.

Cassian coughed to hide a laugh; Maxwell didn’t bother.

“The council needs answers.”

“Perfect. So do I. We can exchange them like civilized people.”

“Why did you leave Willow Creek with Alpha Blackstone?”

“Because my boyfriend had his pants down and my cousin’s dignity was even lower as she was giving him oral sex,” I said without a shred of restraint.

One of the councilors looked away.

Maxwell pressed his lips together.

“I’m asking why you crossed the border.”

“Nathan offered to take me far away. I accepted. Then someone decided to turn us into sitting ducks, and here I am, completely confused.”

“Did he ask you to claim him?”

I burst out laughing.

“Until last night, I didn’t know I was a magical heiress or that Nathan is my supposed mate. My romantic planning was a little behind schedule, you know. I found out today that I’d been cheated on.”

“The Alpha acknowledged you publicly.”

“The Alpha had poison in his blood and argued with a tree. I wouldn’t use every one of his statements as legal evidence.”

Cassian crossed his arms.

“He also said you saved his life.”

“We can definitely put that on record,” I said quickly.

Maxwell walked over to the window.

“Willow Creek claims that you possess strategic magic and that your recipes belong to the pack.”

“Willow Creek also claims that Garret is a respectable man. His judgment is clearly impaired because he isn’t afraid to have sex with my cousin, and I know she’s had at least a couple of STDs.”

“Your jokes won’t change the treaty.”

“And your threats won’t make my work public property,” I said firmly.

The atmosphere grew tense.

I didn’t know what the council was expecting. Perhaps they expected a frightened woman who would be grateful to breathe in a nice room.

But the memo hadn’t gotten through; they’d welcomed the wrong baker.

One of the younger council members opened a folder.

“Did you know Nathan Blackstone before the ceremony?”

“No.”

“Did your mother ever mention him?”

The question made me frown.

“My mother disappeared when I was young. She didn’t leave behind an organized list of forbidden Alphas.”

“Do you have anything of hers?”

I thought of the recipe book but didn’t answer.

Maxwell noticed.

“Your belongings will be searched.”

“My purse is already in the hands of your men.”

“I was asking if you hid anything.”

“And I was considering whether I felt like answering.”

Cassian took a step forward.

“Anne, Nathan might lose the pack,” he said seriously.

And the way he said my name changed something.

It wasn’t a threat; it was a plea, and I didn’t know how to respond to it.

“I know.”

“Then help us prove what happened.”

“Start by believing that the man was struck by an arrow because of me, not by me.”

Before I could add anything else, a roar echoed through the fortress, and the windows rattled violently. Immediately, the guard inside the room reached for his sword.

Another roar echoed, deeper this time, followed by a thud that seemed to shake the floor.

Cassian turned pale.

“Nathan.”

The door burst open, and Orla appeared with her hair down and blood on one sleeve.

“I need the woman,” she said.

It wasn’t the most affectionate way to ask for help.

“I have a name,” I said, frowning.

“The Alpha has awakened. He attacked two healers and broke one of the restraining chains.”

Maxwell looked down the hallway.

“Increase the sedation.”

“He’s already at the maximum dose.”

Something in his response made me frown.

“What did you give him?” I asked, and Orla turned toward me.

“Silver antidote, sedatives, and a stabilizer for the wolf.”

“Which ones?”

“Medical compounds.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I don’t have time to argue with a baker.”

“Too bad,” I said, shrugging. “It was the baker who kept the Alpha from dying in the woods.”

Orla clenched her jaw.

“Nathan alternates between moments of lucidity and feral episodes. He only calms down when he smells you.”

The room fell silent, and my heart skipped a beat.

Maxwell looked at me as if my scent were yet another administrative offense.

“No,” he said, and Cassian turned toward him. “We can’t let him kill the healers.”

“Bringing her closer will strengthen the bond.”

“It might also save the Alpha,” I retorted. “That detail seems important.”

Maxwell pointed to the door.

“If you enter that room, any contact could be interpreted as consent.”

“Then write that I went in to prevent a death. Use simple words, so no one gets confused.”

Cassian smiled slightly; Orla did not.

“You must follow my instructions,” she ordered.

“That will depend on whether your instructions make sense.”

They returned my purse after removing the knife and the empty bottle of brandy. My mother’s recipe book was still inside.

I clutched the purse to my chest.

For the first time since I arrived, I felt like I had something of my own.

We stepped out into the hallway.

As we walked, the air grew colder. Dark shadows crept along the walls as if the fortress were breathing with its owner.

Another roar shook the lamps.

He's suffering, Nina said.

I knew it.

And as absurd as it was, the thought of Nathan being hurt made my chest tighten in a strange way.

He had taken an arrow for me without even knowing me. He had shielded me with his body, given me his cloak, and, delirious, had said that I smelled like home.

Garret had known me for years and had never managed to see me.

Nathan had done it in a single night.

Orla opened a double door; inside were five warriors, two healers, and a destroyed bed.

The chains hung broken.

Nathan was crouched against the wall, partially transformed, his eyes black and his breathing ragged. Dark veins still stood out on his neck.

One of the healers tried to approach, but Nathan bared his fangs.

“Get out,” Orla ordered.

“Everyone?” Cassian asked.

“Everyone except her.”

The men left with obvious relief.

I remained by the door; Nathan turned his head, and his eyes met mine.

The growl stopped.

It didn’t disappear completely; it just turned into a low, confused, almost painful sound.

“Anne,” he said in a voice that wasn’t quite human.

I exhaled the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.

“Hello, argumentative tree.”

One of his claws scraped the ground, so I dared to take a step forward.

Orla tried to hold me back.

“Don’t get too close.”

I broke free.

“He doesn’t need another person giving him orders,” I blurted out without hesitation.

I moved forward slowly.

Nathan took in my scent, and the tension in his back eased slightly.

“That’s right,” I murmured. “It’s me. Vanilla cream, smoke, and questionable decisions.”

His lips moved.

“Home.”

My heart gave a painfully sweet thud.

I knelt down in front of him. Nathan reached out his hand but stopped short of touching me. Even in that state, he waited. So I closed the distance and placed my fingers on his.

His claws retracted.

Nathan let out a deep sigh and rested his forehead against my hand.

The whole room seemed to grow warmer.

“I need to prepare something,” I said, without taking my eyes off him. “And this time, no one will add any medication without telling me exactly what’s in it.”

Orla frowned, and Nathan closed his fingers around mine.

“Anne stays.”

It was an order.

For the first time since I’d arrived at Ravenshade, it didn’t bother me.