The Luna's Bodyguard [a mature werewolf romance]

Ch 28: Hide and Seek

NATE'S POV

I arrived at my rooms just as the maid left, catching the open door before it could slam shut behind her.

"Apologies, milord," she said, ducking her head. Blonde curls poked out of the witch's cap, and under other circumstances I would stopped in my tracks and taken the time to woo such a breathtakingly beautiful woman.

But I didn't have time for the strange urge to linger in her company, nor any real interest in scratching the itch. A red-headed thief had stolen my heart and I was on my way to win her back.

"No harm done," I said, dismissing the witch with a regal wave of my hand. And then, though I couldn't explain why, I added: "Be safe."

Her dark eyes flicked towards the ring on my hand, a ruby with the Pendragon serpent cut into the surface, meticulously polished and gutted of sealing wax. Then she curtseyed and took up a brisk walk, leaving a musky cloud of rose-oil in her wake.

Fell must be having a bath, I thought, wrinkling my nose at the offensively strong odour as I slipped into her chambers. Steam vented through the cracks in the bathroom door, making the princess suite cloudy. Or should I say, Ophelia.

I had to be blind not to have seen it. The signs were there from the beginning, and her dedication to protecting her sister was impressive in retrospect.

It was no wonder she'd felt compelled to come with us in the end, even though we'd given her chance after chance to turn around. She wasn't coming for you, I reminded myself, though the words sank in like razor blades.

Which was why I had to find her. Get her out of here. Because I didn't want to live in a world where she felt like she was forced to be with me, and I knew, as my father did, that Aurora — the real Aurora — would inevitably endanger herself in a foolish attempt to rescue Ophelia. Blood was supposed to run thicker than water, but they acted like a true family, even though they didn't share a shred of DNA.

The resistance wasn't going to be happy, but I didn't give a damn about the resistance anymore. It was clear they'd had a hand in Aurora and Ophelia's disappearance and return. They didn't care for the van Arsdale sisters' safety so much as their timely return, to reignite the courage of an exiled people and bolster the witch army that would sack the Pendragon castle.

All I'd ever wanted was to return this land to its rightful owners: the Lathurna siblings. All I'd ever wanted was a world where witches and half-witches, like my cousin, weren't sneered upon for their breathtaking connection with the mystical arts that underpinned every living thing in this world. I wanted my friends and family — the family that counted — to be safe. Happy. I'd never even stopped to ponder what my role in that future would be.

And now I'd trapped Ophelia, my mate, in a marriage she didn't actually want. That I had to find a way to dissolve, even though I wanted to claim her with every inch of my body and fuse my soul with hers. I'd heard her voice in my mind, when she'd called me a liar. It cut deeper than she knew.

Fuck. What was wrong with me?

I realised I was pacing and forced myself to stop, lifting my hand to knock on the door to the ensuite.

"Ophelia? Can we talk?"

There was a pause. Some sloshing water, muffled by the thick slab of oak. And then: