CHAPTER FIFTY

"What the hell do you mean he's not there?" I jumped from the table, already throwing on my clothes as fast as I could manage.

"A valet said he arrived, but left—" He clamped his mouth shut.

My heart was hammering against my ribs.

"What, Rory? I need to know."

He eyed me worriedly before running his hand down his face in frustration.

"He left with Annalise." My heart stopped, and I could feel Sella snapping her jaws.

"Who the fuck is Annalise?" She growled, taking control.

"The Sire's Queen." He whispered, reaching for me.

Sella nipped at him, making him recoil.

"That son of a bitch..." She ranted, storming past Rory and out the door.

"Bastion!" She screeched over mind link, but there was only static. Our connection seemed fine, but his end wasn't responding correctly.

"Sella, where are you going?"

"To bring his ass back!" She snapped. He appeared before us in an instant.

"Absolutely not, Sella. You can't go into town. I'll get him."

She bared her teeth, but I fought her for the reins, Lysander's warning invading my mind.

As soon as my eyes reverted, Rory visibly relaxed.

"I'll find him, love."

"How?" I whimpered, clutching my belly. He thought for a moment before his eyes lit up.

"The cameras. I'll check their interaction. Maybe she mentioned where they were going." He spun on his heels, heading towards his office with haste.

I followed after him slower. I couldn't run with haste while pregnant. If they were wolves, it would make them sick.

By the time I reached the plush, eggshell-colored carpeting of his study, he already had the ordeal pulled up. He glanced up, leaning back and patting his knee for me to sit.

I obeyed, growling when I looked up to see some slutty bimbo approaching my mate. My ears zeroed in on their conversation, catching on quickly.

"Oh my goddess. Rory. He was-"

"Beguiled," he finished.

I could see him fighting it. I could hear the way his words and actions didn't match. I could even see the flicker of black in his eyes as Dorian lashed against it.

"Shit. How did this happen?"

Rory tapped his fingers on my leg.

"He's only a wolf. A strong wolf, but they are strong vampires."

"Why would they take Bastion?"

He sighed, sticking his nose in my hair.

"Probably to draw you out. They think you'll go to save him." I wanted to. Boy, did I want to.

I had never felt so slighted in my life. They took my mate. My mate. This was far worse than burning down a home or even trying to kill me. They took one of the most important people to me to use as bait.

I hissed, my fangs extending.

"Calm down, love. They want to get you worked up. They are counting on you to be impulsive and brash. We need to prove them wrong."

I calmed slightly, turning to face him. "You're going to get him, right?"

He gave me an encouraging smile. "Of course, love."

I rolled off his lap so he could stand.

"Do you know where they took him?" I asked, pulling him against me.

"I have an idea of where he could be. I'll need to confirm a few things with my dad. Try to get some rest. We'll have him back by tomorrow." He promised, lowering his lips to capture mine.

But as soon as they made contact, an ear-shattering cry escaped me, and I fell to my knees.

It felt as if someone had stabbed straight through my chest with a serrated blade.

I gasped for air, but I found none.

It was even more excruciating than having my ribs broken and lung pierced in the oasis. This struck me on a deeper level. So deep, that Sella had no choice but to resurface.

Rory winced, covering his ears as he dropped to his knees beside me.

"Fuck! Aria, what's wrong?!" He shouted over my wailing. One word from Sella and I was broken all over again.

"Unfaithful."

Rory's eyes glowed red, and his fangs bared at her short but telling explanation.

Within seconds, my cries of sorrow and physical torture had attracted most of our council.

My mother rushed to me, embracing me immediately as I curled into a ball on the floor. "Aria!

 Rory, what the hell happened?"

"That's what I want to know! All she told me is that Bastion has been unfaithful!"

Her eyes shot to me in panic.

"No."

Rory's POV

I looked on helplessly once again as my love lay broken on the floor. What is happening?

"Does someone want to tell me what the fuck is going on? What's wrong with her?" I demanded, looking around the room at the other three whose jaws were on the floor.

Brett cleared his throat, stepping forward to offer an explanation.

"If Bastion really were to... sleep with someone else... it would hurt his mate. Badly." He glanced down at his Queen with sorrowful eyes. "He wouldn't, though. He loves Aria too much. Maybe her wolf is confused."

I shook my head, rubbing my temples.

"Bastion was taken by the Sire's wife this morning. He was beguiled."

"Holy shit. Annalise is fucking Bastion to hurt Aria?" Dylan said incredulously.

I flinched at his phrasing, and Aria howled louder.

"Yes, Dylan. So how do we get it to stop?" I directed at Brett, leaning to rub circles onto my royal's back.

Brett just shrugged apologetically.

"I don't think there is a way. It will pass once they're done, but... if she continues..."

This was all going to hell. I hadn't properly assessed the possibility of them using Bastion. If I had, I wouldn't have allowed him to enter the city either. Why was the mate bond so fucking broken? They even added a safety net for cheating?

"Jesse." I snarled, making him jump. "I need you to reach out to the gods. We can't let the Sire take advantage of us. They want her to enter their arena, and we can't let that happen. Find a way to stop her pain. The stress can't be good for her."

"Rory." Kim's small voice stood out in the chaos. I turned to face her tear-stricken eyes. "It's a physical response. If she continues like this, she could die."

She could... die?

My mind flickered to her limp body soaking me with blood in the moss.

My hands moved on instinct, snatching her writhing body from her mother and pulling her against me.

"I'll head to the chapel." Jesse rushed, darting from the room.

Kim stood without protest for me taking her daughter and began to bark orders at the other two.

Dylan was to get ahold of my dad and bring him home right away. Brett was to prepare a cold compress, Tylenol, and water for the Queen. And she would do some research of her own on the mating bond to see if there was a loophole. I didn't even notice when she dismissed them and kneeled beside me.

"Rory, she needs off the floor."

I continued rocking my royal as her tears soaked my shirt, obsessively monitoring her heart.

"Rory!" Kim's shout stole my gaze, her brown eyes meeting mine. "Get her to your bed. Come on, you have to stay strong for her. She needs you now more than ever."

Her words were enough to get me moving. She was right.

I picked her up, cradling her to me as I walked her to our chambers. She had exhausted herself, and her screams had died down to whimpers.

Weren't they done yet?

I laid my love on Bastion's side of the bed, hoping that his scent would help her.

I couldn't tell if it worked or if that bitch had finally closed her legs, but she stopped crying.

Her breaths were shallow and quick, and her eyes were nearly closed.

"Love, take deep breaths. You're hyperventilating. Breathe with me." I held her against my chest, taking dramatic deep breaths until she followed suit.

A light knock later, Brett appeared with his items.

Before leaving, he gripped tightly onto Aria's hand, looking into her pained eyes as he said, "Bastion loves you more than anything in this world, Queen."

She shut her eyes, leaning against me as he took his leave.

I grabbed the medicine and water, opening her jaw and tilting her head back so I could help her take it.

Fuck.

An image of me begging her to drink rushed through me, and I fought to suppress it.

She wouldn't die. I wouldn't lose her again.

I picked up my phone, dialing our doctor and explaining the situation as briefly as possible.

She agreed to check on her, as well as bring some vials to draw my blood. She didn't have the strength to drink from me. Hell, I wasn't even sure if my blood could help her. The mating bond pain was some cross between spiritual and physical that I didn't understand. I was blind.

My eyes widened when I felt her hand squeeze mine weakly.

"Love?"

"Bastion... Is it true? Is he...?" She couldn't finish, but she didn't have to.

"Not by choice," I answered softly.

"How do you know?" Her voice broke midsentence, tugging at my heart.

"Because I know he would never do that. Aria, he loves you. He just... He can't fight the venom. He can't fight The Red Queen."