CHAPTER 20
1077 Words
EMBER'S POV
The room had been cleaned.
Every trace of what had happened earlier was gone. Fresh sheets. Open windows. New flowers placed carefully by the bedside like nothing had ever been out of place.
But I could still smell it.
Faint.
Lingering.
Blood.
I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the sleeve of my gown slowly. My reflection looked exactly how it should—composed, untouched, in control.
That was all anyone needed to see.
I lifted my chin slightly, studying my face for any sign of weakness.
There was none.
Good.
A knock sounded at the door.
Soft. Measured.
“Come in.”
The door opened just enough for a maid to slip through. She kept her head low as she approached.
“My lady… the Alpha has returned.”
My fingers stilled.
So soon.
“I see,” I said calmly.
“He’s called for the elders,” she added. “And… he’s questioning the guards.”
Of course he was.
I nodded once. “You may go.”
She didn’t need to be told twice.
The moment the door closed, the silence shifted.
“You should be more careful with who you let carry news like that.”
His voice came from behind the wall.
Julio.
I didn’t turn immediately. I picked up the brush on the table and ran it through my hair once before setting it down.
“You took your time,” I said.
A panel shifted quietly.
Julio stepped out from the concealed passage, closing it behind him like he had done it a hundred times before.
“Things needed to be handled properly,” he replied.
I turned to face him fully.
“Well?”
“She’s still there.”
Relief didn’t show on my face, but I felt it.
Barely.
“And?”
Julio’s gaze lingered on me for a moment longer than usual.
“Xavier found her.”
That made my chest tighten.
“Did he take her back?”
“No.”
Silence stretched between us.
That wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
“He went alone,” Julio continued. “Walked straight into their territory.”
I frowned slightly. “He's reckless.”
“Not reckless,” he corrected. “Focused.”
I turned away from him, walking toward the window.
The grounds outside looked calm, but I knew better. The moment Xavier started questioning people, that calm would break.
“He shouldn’t have found her that quickly,” I said.
Julio didn’t respond to that. Which meant he was thinking the same thing.
“He’s already suspicious,” Julio added after a moment. “You can feel it.”
I didn’t need him to tell me that. I had seen it before he even left. The way he looked at me. The distance in it.
“That doesn’t change anything,” I said.
“It does,” Julio replied quietly.
I turned back to him, my expression sharpening.
“How?”
He stepped closer, his voice lower now.
“You said this would remove her from the situation. That he would move on.”
“He will.”
Julio held my gaze.
“He didn’t.”
For a second, I said nothing.
Because there was no point denying what was already obvious.
“He went after her,” Julio continued. “Alone. Into vampire territory. That’s not something he does for just anyone.”
I clenched my jaw slightly.
“I know what he does and doesn’t do.”
“Do you?”
The question sat between us.
Uncomfortable.
I looked away first.
“This doesn’t change the outcome,” I said. “She’s still out of the pack. That’s what matters.”
“For now,” Julio said.
That again.
That hesitation.
“What are you not saying?” I asked.
Julio exhaled slowly.
“The one who has her… he’s not like the others.”
“I gathered that much.”
“He’s interested.”
I stilled.
“Interested in what?”
Julio’s expression didn’t shift.
“In her.”
Something cold settled in my chest.
That hadn’t been part of the plan.
“She’s human,” I said flatly.
“That’s not what he thinks.”
I turned away again, pacing this time.
Slow.
Measured.
“Then he’s wrong.”
“Maybe,” Julio said. “But it doesn’t change the fact that he’s keeping her.”
I stopped.
That's perfect, no?”
“It changes things.”
I looked at him sharply.
“No,” I said. “It doesn’t.”
Julio didn’t argue. He rarely did.
Instead, he stepped closer, his presence steady, grounding.
“Whatever happens,” he said quietly, “I’m with you.”
He dropped his hand on my stomach. I held his gaze. There was no hesitation there.
No doubt. Just certainty.
“I know,” I said.
That was the problem. He would follow through. No matter what it cost him.
I turned back toward the mirror, fixing a loose strand of hair that didn’t need fixing.
“This was necessary,” I continued. “She was becoming a problem.”
“And now?”
“Now we adapt.”
Julio watched me in silence.
“Xavier will come back,” he said after a moment.
“I expect him to.”
“And when he does?”
I met my own reflection.
Calm.
Controlled.
Unshaken.
“He won’t find anything,” I said.
Julio’s gaze lingered on me.
“You’re sure about that?”
I didn’t answer immediately. Because for the first time—I wasn’t completely sure. A knock came at the door again.
Sharper this time.
More urgent.
“My lady,” a voice called from outside. “The Alpha is asking for you.”
There it was. I smoothed my gown once more and straightened.
“Let him wait,” I said.
The voice hesitated. “He said it wasn’t a request.”
Of course he did. I glanced at Julio.
“Stay out of sight.”
He didn’t argue. He stepped back toward the hidden panel.
“Ember,” he said before disappearing, “be careful.”
I didn’t respond.
Because careful was no longer enough.
I walked toward the door, my expression settling back into place before I opened it.
And for the first time since all of this began—
I could feel it.
Things were slipping.
Just slightly.
Way out of my control.
- Writer
