Chapter 32

DOE

“You…you ~helped~ Ace brainwash his mate?” Belle demanded. “You told him to take her to Gullius ~fucking~ Mallor? The warlock who tried to kill you only a few months ago?”

So ~that’s~ why this place seemed so familiar to me. I had been here before. This was where that eerie dream took place—the one where the warlock erased my memories while Ace held me down.

Grayson nodded without expression. “He did it here in Zaweth, in a guest room in this palace. Of course, I didn’t know he was evil then, and he was the only warlock I knew who could help.

“Dorothy was going to be taken from Ace—from her family and friends—and I believe in mates staying together. There’s a reason the moon goddess paired them.”

Belle held up a hand to her mate, shaking her head. “I cannot believe the words coming out of your mouth right now. Will you put a lock on my mind if I ever decide to run from you again?”

“Of course not, Belle,” Grayson said. “Do you really think I’d do something like that to you?”

“But you’d let your cousin do it to his mate? You sound like the same kind of monster Ace is.”

“Those were different circumstances, and Dorothy had already had a lock on her mind before—”

“Ace isn’t a monster,” I cut in.

This argument of theirs was going nowhere, and I didn’t like the way Belle had spoken about my mate, even if I had said the same words to him at one point—words I deeply regretted.

“Everything he did was because he thought he was protecting me. Like I told you before, I’ve forgiven him for it all.”

Belle’s eyes softened. It was almost like she’d forgotten I was in the room. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Dorothy. I shouldn’t have said that. Ace isn’t a monster. I know your situation is complicated.”

By the way Belle’s jaw was set, I could tell she was still upset with Grayson, but she settled back against him anyway.

Grayson removed her from his lap and set her body next to him to appease her, I suspected. Still, he kept a secure arm around her.

He pressed a firm kiss to her hair before turning back to me. “If you’ve already forgiven Ace, why are you not together?”

My fingernails plucked at the edges of my leather seat. “Because…I’m worried there’s too much of a difference in power between us.

“Ace is so much stronger and bigger than me, and he has an entire pack of werewolves on his side who love and respect him—”

“They’re on your side too,” Kyle said. “You’re their luna. They love and respect you just as much as their alpha.”

“Maybe,” I mumbled. “I just… I’ve already seen how Ace can use his strength and influence against me, even if he thought he was doing what was best for me at the time.

“Who’s to say something like that won’t happen again?”

“I’ve asked myself that same question about my own relationship,” Belle said quietly.

She shared a knowing look with her mate. “Grayson hurt me once. Well, it wasn’t ~him~—it was the vampire possessing his body—but I still live in fear of something like that happening again.”

“Grayson could crush me both mentally and physically if he wanted to.”

She put a hand on Grayson’s knee. “But I trust him. I trust that he learned from his mistakes and would do anything in his power not to hurt me again.”

Grayson purred softly and pressed a quick kiss to her shoulder.

Belle looked back at me. “But more importantly, I trust ~myself~. I’m smart enough to get out of a bad situation. To know when I deserve more.”

“Just like you. You got away, Dorothy. You were kidnapped, brainwashed, and betrayed by everyone you know. And yet, here you are. I think you’re much stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

Kyle nodded in agreement. “It’s true. You’re an omega who ran from your mate right before your first heat.

“Not only have you been dealing with the horrible side effects of a starving mate bond, but you’re also on suppressants, which have hospitalized weaker omegas. Do you know how strong you must be?”

“Omegas also tend to seek out the company of others and wither away on their own,” Grayson added. “You have a lot of things going against you, Dorothy, but you’re still here.

“You’re still fighting. And doing a hell of a lot better than I would have thought.”

Their words settled over me like a warm blanket. They weren’t much different from the ones I had been telling myself over the last few months, but it was nice for others to see those qualities in me.

I’d been so worried about my friends and family seeing me as weak that I ran away, as if being independent was the only way to prove my strength.

But it wasn’t. The only way to prove my strength was to be strong—to face my fears with confidence.

Maybe being strong also meant caring for my omega side so that she could thrive as well. If being around other people was what my omega wanted, maybe that was what I should be doing.

Belle sat forward. “And just for the record, on behalf of all women out there, I resent the idea that being smaller than a man somehow makes you weaker.

“You’re smart. I know you’ve got a few tricks up your sleeve. Women have been using those tricks to fight back for centuries.”

I smiled, casting my mind back to when I kneed Ace’s father in the balls to force him to release me—or any of the times I distracted Ace with kisses and dirty promises to get him to do what I wanted.

“Yeah,” I agreed softly. I hauled in a breath. “I’m not so much afraid of not being able to fight back as I am of, well…” I sighed. “Ace is just so controlling. It’s like he lives to dominate me.”

“In a good or bad way?” Belle asked.

I arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Belle glanced up at her mate and licked her lips. “Some people are attracted to a partner who is in a more dominant role in the relationship. Especially during…um…uh—”

“During good ol’ hanky-panky,” Kyle finished for her, waggling his eyebrows.

Belle’s cheeks brightened, and she shifted closer to her mate, who wore an incredibly self-satisfied smirk on his face.

I was once again reassured by the fact that the king and queen’s bond so closely resembled mine and Ace’s.

Grayson seemed just as controlling as Ace, and yet, Belle never let him walk all over her. She seemed happy.

Maybe I could eventually get to that point with Ace.

“I guess I don’t mind Ace being in control ~some~ of the time…” I glanced down at my lap and swallowed. “But there are some times when he takes it too far and acts more like my dad than my mate.”

“Dad or Daddy?” Kyle asked.

Now it was my turn to blush. ~Jesus, Kyle doesn’t have a subtle bone in his body, does he?~

Belle wrinkled her nose. “Ew, Kyle.”

“Hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.” Kyle leaned back with his elbows on either side of his chair and grinned. “Roleplay really gets Elijah going. I cannot recommend it enough.”

I could only assume Elijah was Kyle’s mate.

Belle groaned and covered her face. “So much unnecessary information.”

Grayson chuckled before looking back at me with understanding eyes. “Ace will get better, you know. Male wolves are usually out of control possessive when they first meet their mates.”

“I’ve known Ace since we were six,” I huffed.

“Exactly,” Grayson said. “Which means Ace has been holding back his wolf from marking you since he was six as well.”

“So, he didn’t claim her against her will,” Belle muttered, unimpressed. “Should we give him a medal or something?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying at all,” Grayson replied. “I just mean, holding your inner animal back is harder than it may appear.

“When I met Belle, I didn’t even last a few hours before marking her. And my wolf doesn’t have nearly as strong a hold on me as Ace’s does on him.”

“Yeah, and by the way, you and I are going to have words about that later,” Belle said.

Grayson frowned.

“Elijah and I had our teeth in each other’s throats before we even spoke a word to each other,” Kyle admitted with a shrug.

Grayson nodded. “Right. Ace’s wolf has been in a frenzy ever since your father tried to take you from him when you were only seven years old. And again when you were fifteen. And again just recently.

“It’s a horrible feeling knowing your mate is in trouble and not being able to do anything about it.”

He pulled Belle closer to him. “Ace will calm down once he knows he can’t lose you. Once he marks and claims you as his. I promise.”

“And if he doesn’t, I know you’ll put him back in line,” Belle said. “Because you know what you deserve and what your boundaries are.”

I slumped back in my chair. For a few moments, I was silent. My thoughts tumbled around in my head, moving far too fast for me to process them or come to any decision.

“Dorothy?” Belle asked tentatively. “Are you okay?”

I opened my eyes—I must have closed them at some point—and looked at Belle. My throat started to burn.

I just felt so ~battered~. Sadness and resentment had been like acid inside of me, eroding my bones and muscles for the last several months. I missed my mate.

“I…” A shuddering breath left me. Tears flooded my eyes. “I’m just so tired.”

“Oh, Doe…” Belle shrugged off Grayson’s hold and crossed to my side of the room. “Scoot over, I’m joining you.”

I did as she asked and made room for her on my giant armchair. She sat down and pulled me into a tight hug. Both of us fit surprisingly well in the seat made for massive werewolves. It was cozy.

My omega side seemed to hum in content. After being alone for so long, physical touch felt absolutely incredible. I found myself thinking more clearly in Belle’s hold.

“I think I’m just scared,” I whispered after a long while.

“Scared of what?” Belle asked.

“That I’ll be hurt again.” I looked up at Belle. “How did you get over your fear?”

“I didn’t. It’s still there.”

More tears tightened my chest. “That’s not very reassuring.”

Belle exhaled softly. “Look, I’m not trying to sway your decision in any way, but I can see how much you miss your mate. Even though he hurt you, it’s clear he belongs in your life.

“I know because I was in a similar position not too long ago.

“Yes, there’s still fear, but,” her eyes drifted to her mate, “I’m very glad I didn’t let my fear get in the way of me experiencing the most epic love of my life.”

Her words hit me straight in the chest.

~Well, when she put it that way…~

I gently pulled myself from her hold. “I—I think I want to go home.”

Belle nodded. “Okay. I’ll take you back to your cabin—”

“No, I want to go ~home~. To my mate.” My heart wedged painfully into my throat, aching for him. “I want Ace.”

“Well, that’s good,” Grayson stated casually, “because he’s here.”

I wiped the hair out of my face and blinked up at the alpha through teary eyes. “W-what?”

“Ace is here in Zaweth. And he’s looking for you.”