Chapter thirteen
1060 Words
The dress Silas left on the bed is a weapon, and we both know it. It is a shimmering obsidian slip dress that fits like a second skin, clinging to every curve I’ve spent the last three years trying to hide from him. It says, I am a woman. It says, You cannot ignore me.
When I walk down the grand staircase, Silas is waiting at the bottom. He is in a black-on-black suit, looking like a king from a dark fairytale. As his eyes travel up the slit of my dress, I see his throat move in a hard swallow. The gray in his eyes flickers with a hint of gold, but he instantly slams a mask of ice over his face.
"You look... appropriate for the occasion," he says, his voice flat and professional.
"Appropriate?" I huff, stepping off the last stair so I’m inches from him. I can smell the sandalwood and the sharp, cold scent of the coming winter. "I look like a problem, Silas. Admit it."
"You have always been a problem, Ivy," he growls, but he doesn't reach for me. He stuffs his hands into his pockets as if he doesn't trust them. "The Council is waiting. Do not speak unless I tell you to. To them, you are just a guest I am protecting out of obligation to your father. Nothing more."
The words sting. "Obligation. Right. Is that what that kiss in the hallway was? A professional courtesy?"
Silas’s jaw tightens so hard I hear his teeth grind. "That was a mistake born of adrenaline. It won't happen again. Now, let’s go."
The Council chamber is a subterranean vault of cold stone and flickering torches. Twelve Elders sit around a massive oak table, their eyes sharp and predatory. Among them is Seraphina, the "pure-blood" candidate they want for Silas. She is blonde, ethereal, and looks at me like I’m a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of Silas’s shoe.
"Silas Vane," the Lead Elder, a man named Marcus, speaks. His voice echoes like a gavel. "Reports say you have been... distracted. That you used Alpha strength to protect a human girl against a rogue scouting party. Explain the breach of secrecy."
Silas stands tall, his presence filling the room. "Lawrence Vance is my business partner and friend. His daughter is under my protection until the threat is neutralized. Any Alpha would do the same."
"And the rumors of a bond?" Seraphina asks, her voice like honeyed poison. "The pack can smell her on you, Silas. It’s messy. It’s weak."
I feel the heat rise in my cheeks. Silas doesn't even look at me. He keeps his gaze fixed on the Elders.
"There is no bond," Silas says, the lie coming out of his mouth as smooth as silk. "She is a human. The idea of a fated match is a fairy tale for pups. I am simply fulfilling a duty."
I feel like I’ve been slapped. I know he’s doing it to protect me, to keep the Council from coming after me, but the coldness in his voice is a knife to the heart.
"If that is the case," Marcus says, "then you will have no objection to the Trial of the Moon. Seraphina will stay at the estate for the next week. If you are truly unattached, you will begin the courtship rituals with her. The human can stay in the servant’s wing until her father wakes."
I wait for Silas to roar. I wait for him to flip the table and tell them to go to hell.
Instead, he bows his head slightly. "If that is the Council’s wish."
"Silas!" I whisper, horror dawning on me.
He ignores me, turning on his heel and walking out of the chamber. I have to scramble in my heels to keep up. As soon as we reach the car, I pull on his arm, forcing him to face me.
"A servant’s wing? Courtship rituals? Are you insane?"
"I’m keeping you alive!" he snaps, spinning around. The amber is back in his eyes now, burning with a frantic, suppressed rage. "If I claimed you in there, they would have seen you as a weakness. They would have challenged me for the Alpha seat, and the first thing a challenger does is kill the mate to destabilize the leader. Do you want to be a target, Ivy?"
"I’d rather be a target than a ghost!" I shout back. "You just stood there and told them I was nothing but an 'obligation.'"
Silas grabs my wrists, pinning them to the side of the SUV. He leans in until our noses are touching, his breath hot against my face. The magnetic pull is so strong it’s dizzying, but this time it’s laced with pure, unadulterated frustration.
"You are everything," he hisses, his voice trembling. "And that is why you have to be nothing to them. Seraphina is coming to the house. I will 'court' her by taking her to dinners and ignoring her. You will stay out of sight. We play the game, or we lose everything."
"And what about us?" I ask, my voice small. "What about the 'mistake' in the hallway?"
Silas looks at my lips, his gaze hungry and desperate, but he pulls back, letting go of my wrists as if I’ve burned him.
"There is no 'us,' Ivy. There is a billionaire and his ward. There is an Alpha and a human. That is the only reality that keeps you breathing."
He gets into the car and slams the door. I stand there in the dark, the silk of the dress feeling like a cold shroud. He wants a slow burn? Fine. I’ll give him a forest fire.
If he wants to pretend I’m just a guest, I’ll show him exactly what he’s missing. And if Seraphina thinks she can walk into my house and take my man, even if he won't admit he’s mine, she’s got another thing coming.
"Cassian!" I call out to the Beta, who is leaning against a tree nearby, enjoying the drama.
"Yeah, Princess?"
"Does the servant’s wing have a gym? Because I think I’m going to need to look my absolute best for these 'courtship dinners' I’ll be crashing."
Cassian grins, his eyes dancing. "Now that is the spirit. Silas doesn't know what he just started."
- Writer
