Chapter 22: 22

Word Count: 1951

~Hunter

I yawn, stretching my legs out in front of me.

Azura sits before me, her knees pulled up, balancing a small canvas on her thighs. Beside her, nestled amongst the grass, is a palette with paints on it, her brush occasionally dipping into it as she works on whatever she is painting.

"Looks like I'm stuck here for a while," I tell her, looking up through the canopy of leaves, feeling the dappled sunlight shift across my face.

It took me a significant amount of time to convince Azura to come out here to the edge of the property. It helped when I told her parents are out.

It's been a few hours now and she doesn't seem to be regretting a decision. A small smile plays at her lips, and hasn't left since we sat down on the blanket I laid out.

I gaze at her, feeling a warmth playing in my stomach. She still seems anxious around me, but I feel so comfortable around her, like she is my own sister.

She's so unlike my real sister, that's for sure...

She looks up from her painting, her soft features tensing again. She hates the thought of me being here, but I'm beginning to think it's not because she hates me.

Something else is going on here.

"Have you ever wanted to leave?" I ask. I offer to take her with me when I leave every time I see her. I just enjoy the way she lights up at the thought.

She nods, smiling tightly.

I look back toward the sprawling manor. In all its significance, it appears cold and lifeless. People mull all about, but it's not because of any enjoyment the building may offer.

"It makes me sad, you know. Thinking about you here, not being able to explore," I murmur, more to myself than her.

She shrugs, dipping her brush into a blue, then into a little white paint. I watch, mesmerised as she mixes them together before bringing her brush back to the canvas.

I lean over to have a look. "What are you-"

She pulls back almost violently, clutching the painting toward her, concealing it from my view. I immediately back away, pushed back by her wide, frightened stare and flaring breaths.

"Not ready yet, huh? You'll have to show me these paintings soon," I say, giving her a pointed look. "When you're ready, of course."

She nods eagerly, her smile returning.

I let her paint in silence for a while longer, enjoying the sun against my skin. I rarely get moments of peace anymore, as everyone prepares for the wedding around me.

I'm still anxious to leave, yet the desperate pull to escape it's dimming. It's the mate bond, I'm assuming.

I'm just going to have to fight it.

Raising my gaze, I scan the lawn and gardens for Edgar, only to find Tay marching across the grass toward me. Edgar must have taken off, frightened by Kaan.

Will he come back for me?

Instead of focusing on my friend's abandonment, I look toward Tay, whose expression is wary. It's an unconventional look for her.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Maris is here," she says, her fingers knotting together in front of her.

Azura immediately scrambles up, piling all her paints into her basket before she takes off in a half walk half run across the lawn. Whoever this man is, he has inspired enough fear in Azura for her to make a break for it.

"Who?" I ask Tay.

"Maris. He's a friend of my father's and such a creep." She shudders, pressing the hem of her dress down as a gust of wind blows through.

"So..."

"My father wants Kaan to introduce you to his friend. Come on." She gestures back toward the manor, which is glazed in the sun's late afternoon glow.

Begrudgingly, I let her help me stand before we walk - well, I hobble - back to the manor.

Tay's mother is sick and her father is out at the moment, which means it will just be the three of us, unless Tay decides to stick around.

She leads me to the conservatory, where her parents broke the news to me that I would be marrying their son. The glass walls immediately threaten to close in on me.

Kaan is leaning against a solid statue of what appears to be an angel, drinking from a small glass filled with a deep, decedent looking liquid.

When I walk in, something shifts in his gaze, but it's impossible to grasp onto long enough to decipher.

"Ah, Hunter, there you are," he greets, his smile tight. "Come meet an old family friend, Maris."

I shift my attention to the man sitting on the bench in front of Kaan. He's closer in age to Kaan's father than him, and has a greasy smile that immediately triggers something defensive within me.

"Hello sir," I greet.

I'm immediately regretting not changing from my sundress to something a little more conservative. Maris's deep brown eyes start at my feet, and work their way up my bare legs.

"Hunter huh?" He smirks. "Interesting name."

I'm not surprised this man has been invited here. Kaan's parents have been inviting all kinds of dignitaries around to parade their child's union.

"As you know Maris, Hunter and I are marrying soon."

"Such a good looking couple too. You shall rule very well together." Maris looks between the two of us, taking a long drink from his glass.

I glance behind me, hoping I can use my injury as a way to get out of here with Tay, but she has made herself scarce.

Traitor.

"When is the wedding?"

"Next week," Kaan answers, glancing at me.

I swallow thickly. No one has confirmed that with me until now. The rumour has been going around, and it's not like I haven't seen the wedding preparations begin on the back lawn.

"Have you two spoken about the consummation?" Maris asks.

My eyes flare wider. It's not like I'm unfamiliar with the tradition, considering I was to be married to an Alpha. Still, the thought sends a cold shudder through my body.

Kaan appears equally uncomfortable. "It's a bit early in the evening to talk about any of that, isn't it?"

"Well, Kaan, I imagine you wouldn't take a wife who isn't perfectly pure. Unless of course, you've had her already?" Maris swings his sleazy stare back to me.

I'm so shocked any insult I may hurl back at him is lodged in my throat. It's probably for the best, because I can't be angering the wrong people now. Not when Kaan's parents have my fate in their hands.

Kaan's jaw settles into a hard line. He lets Maris's words ruminate around the room for a long, painful moment as he sets his glass down.

"Who Hunter has chosen to be with before me, if anyone, is none of my business. I hardly believe in such an old fashioned take on marriage," he responds.

Spoken like an Alpha...firm, to the point, but polite, giving Maris a chance to stop pressing the issue.

"And how will you know if your heir will be yours?" he continues.

"We haven't spoken about heirs yet." Kaan's tone is lethal.

Maris looks genuinely shocked at such a concept. "You cannot wait. It must happen as soon as possible."

I press my hand against my stomach, trying not to physically grimace at the thought of bearing a child. I'm not going to be tied down like that. I'm not going to be forced to have a child that won't have a chance to live the life it wants to.

"All that matters is Hunter is happy and comfortable here after our wedding." Kaan doesn't remove his intense glare off Maris.

"Of course." Finally, he backs down.

After some more, much lighter discussion, we have dinner. The discourse remains relatively pleasant, so, when the time is right, I excuse myself back to the room, feigning a sore back.

As I leave, the two agree to head to the neighbouring room for a drink. I linger in the shadows on the stairs as they exit the dining hall into the corridor.

"I didn't want to have such an unsavoury conversation in front of your beautiful fiancee, but if you are not concerned about her purity, then perhaps you should allow someone else to enjoy her prior to your wedding, to prepare her-"

A gasp gets caught in my throat as I watch Kaan grab Maris, who is a good few inches shorter than him, pushing him violently against the wall.

I press a hand over my mouth. I wouldn't be surprised if there's going to be a crack in that wall, the whole house seeming to shake under the impact.

"Are you asking me for permission to sleep with my wife?" Kaan snarls, leaning threateningly close to his old family friend.

"I.."

"Tell me," Kaan seethes, his tone so deadly I'm surprised Maris isn't pleading for mercy.

He is much braver to me. If I were pinned between a wall and an Alpha, I would sacrifice my dignity for my life.

"I was just trying to ensure your wedding night would be most enjoyable," Maris stutters, wincing.

Even from here, I can see Kaan's grip tighten. "If you ever speak about Hunter in such a way, to my face, or behind my back again, I will have you killed. Do you understand?"

"My greatest apologies for offending you, Alpha. In truth, I speak as I do because I sense you have reservations about your marriage...I was even going to offer my daughter to you, in case this marriage truly isn't for love, and you need a mistress-"

Kaan rears back before slamming his fist into Maris's face. The man crumples to his knees immediately, groaning as he clutches his face.

I blanch, disturbed by Kaan's sudden brutality. Seeing so angry, defending my honour, is both exhilarating and frightening.

I watch as he crouches in front of Maris. He grabs a handful of the man's greying hair, and tugs it back, revealing a bloodied face and a crooked nose.

"Don't insult me, or Hunter again." Kaan's voice has dropped to an unmistakably dangerous whisper. "Mistress? Do you truly think of me to be a spineless man?"

Maris shakes his head, cowering against the wall. "Of course not, Prince Kaan."

Kaan lets him go, standing gracefully.

"I implore you to go upstairs and attempt to seduce Hunter on your own, to see the results for yourself. She would do a wonderful job putting you in your place."

He pauses, rethinking his proposition. "That is, if you can get through me first.

I draw my knees up to my chest as I sit on the stairs, so stunned by Kaan's behaviour I don't know what to think. He's destroyed a deeply entrenched family relationship to defend me, even when he doesn't think I'm in the room.

"It appears as though I was mistaken about the nature of your relationship," Maris stutters, using the wall as aid as he stands. "My deepest apologies."

Seeing such a cowardly, sleazy man cower brings a smile to my face.

"You are uninvited from our wedding," Kaan snaps, turning his back on his father's old friend. "In fact I never want to see you again."

Before Kaan can start for the stairs, I scramble up and rush not to my room, but his.

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