Chapter Thirty-Six

My heartbeat sounded loud in my ears, sweat dripping down my brow as I pretended to read a book. Anthony and William left over an hour ago, and I was surprised that I hadn't fainted from how nervous I felt, being all alone. Where the heck was this person, and why were they taking so long to get here?

I huffed and sat my book aside, rubbing at my temples as I stood up and walked over to the windows, staring out at the darkening sky. I wrapped my arms across my chest and rubbed at my arms wishing for this all to be over so that I could go back to my normal life with William and Anthony. Well...not really normal considering we were three men laying with one another, but you get the point. I hated all this sneaking around or worrying whether or not I would live to see another day...I was tired of it, so very tired and I wanted this to hurry up and happen already. I mean, sweet Mary it had already been an hour since the men left, and yet the room was still as silent as the grave.

I subtly peeked over to the bookshelf by the fireplace. How were they handling being in such a small place for so long? Surely they were uncomfortable by now.

I looked away and leaned on the table, nibbling at my bottom lip, pulling my hair over my shoulder before I picked up a scone Thomas had tested and dropped off, taking small bites as I let my eyes graze over the grounds below, attempting to see if there was someone sneaking around. But of course, I didn't see anyone. Not that I would, considering it was getting harder to see outside. Still didn't hurt to try, though.

My heart did a painful flip when I heard the door behind me creek, the fear rising within me as I gulped and remained where I was standing. Oh sweet Mary, they're here, I thought to myself, panicking as I continued this act of nonchalance. My body began shaking when I heard a step behind me, my heart rushing a mile a minute as I felt their body heat behind me, the assailant standing so close to me that I could literally feel their breath on the back of my neck. Why wasn't William and Marvin jumping out now? Surely this would be the time, right, I wondered to myself, too scared to turn around.

"I truly am sorry for this," my assassin spoke, and I jumped when I heard a grunt and something heavy hitting the floor, the sound causing me to whip around to see Marvin pinning down a dark skinned young man, who was struggling to get out of my brother's hold. "Y-You do not understand! I have to do this! My love demands this of me!" The man whined, throwing his leg up and kicking my bother right off of him.

Luckily, his freedom wasn't for long, for William ran in behind him and grabbed him against his chest. "Anderson what is the meaning of this?" William demanded, grunting as the man struggled against him. "Why are you trying to kill Melani?"

I looked over to Anthony as he approached me, gently grabbing my arm as those teal eyes stared down at me. "Follow me, Melani."

I shook my head and gently took my arm out of his grasp, still feeling scared as I instead approached this...Anderson person, the man stopping in his actions to meet my gaze. William shot me a look, silently telling me to get away and go to Anthony, however...for some reason...despite this growing ball of fear filling me as I stared at the man who tried to kill me, I felt...confident in staring him down, the questions whirling in my head as I stopped in front of him, a frown on my face.

"Why?" I asked him simply, hugging myself tightly as Anderson turned his attention away from me. And could it really be? Did I just see guilt swimming in those dark eyes of his? Or had I been imagining it? "Why do all this to kill me? D-Do you hold a grudge against me, or something?"

Anderson snorted, and winced when William tightened his grip and sent him a glare. Marvin then stalked over to him and began putting his hands in chains, sending angry looks towards the other man. "I don't want to kill you. I have to. For my love."

Once he was shackled, Marvin grabbed him and allowed William to walk into his vision, those sage eyes narrowing. "So Edith put you up to this? Why, to avenge her bastard brother?" He scoffed and ran his fingers through his hair, placing his other hand on his hip as he began to pace.

"She was devastated when you locked him away," Anderson began, the fight in him long gone as he simply slumped against Marvin. "I love Edith, and when your loves asks you to do something for them, do you not put forth your entire being in order to make them happy?"

William whirled around to face him, pointing a finger in his face. "Not if it puts an innocent life on the line, Anderson. You do understand the severity of this situation, yes? You and Edith both will face charges of treason for attempting to kill the future Queen of England."

Anderson's eyes went wide and the fight in him fired back up as he began struggling in Marvin's arms, the man's face full of desperation as he aggressively shook his head. "Please do not harm a hair on Edith's head. Twas I that concocted this plan! She was not part of this!"

Anthony glanced at me briefly, before he walked over to William and leaned in by the blond's ear, a frown on his tan face. "He's lying. This has Edith written all over it," he told him, soft enough that even I barely heard it.

William stared at Anthony and briefly nodded his head. "Oh I know it was Edith. She's usually the mastermind behind these types of cruelties." He moved from Anthony and walked over to Anderson, a stern look on his face. "Johnathan Anderson, you are hereby under arrest for treason, and shall be sentenced to death by beheading at the end of the week. Captain Rosethorn, take this traitor to the cells." He turned to look at Anthony. "And Anthony, I need you to retrieve Edith for me. Do be sure that she is in chains. I wouldn't want her to try anything else."

Both Anthony and Marvin nodded, while Anderson went wild with cries and plea's to leave his "beloved" alone. But once that man was finally out of my sight, I felt a weight lift off of my shoulders as I sighed and hugged myself, finally glad that this whole debacle was over. Well, hopefully over.

I jumped slightly when I felt William pull me to his chest, his heartbeat a welcomed sound as I leaned closer into his warmth. "Thank you for not letting him get me," I spoke to him softly, feeling secure with his arms around me. "For a moment there, I was terrified you three had fallen asleep in wait."

William snorted and looked down at me, that sage gaze searching mine as he lifted his hand and gently cupped my cheek. "I wasn't going to let him do anything to you Mel. Did I not promise you that?" He sighed and gently pressed a soft kiss against my lips, my eyes falling shut as a sigh of bliss flew from me. After a moment, he pulled away from me, a sweet smile on his full lips. "I'm just happy that this is over, and that you're alright. And once Edith is imprisoned, hopefully Elliot will see that such actions will not be tolerated. Perhaps having both of his siblings in jail will shed a new light into his life and allow him to learn that he's a spoiled brat who can't get away with everything."

I snuggled closer against him. "I hope you're right, William. I don't think I can take another of their siblings trying to do something to me. I just wish to live in peace alongside you and Anthony."

I felt him kiss the top of my head, his arms tightening slightly around me as he held me close. "I would love that as well, Melani."

A/N: Again, sorry for the longer than usual wait, I have another story that I'm preparing to publish and I wanted to make sure everything was good on that lol. Its a book 2 for my story Frost. (Its a bxb story between and alien king and a human man, if you're bored and want to read something lol. And that story's already finished, so you don't have to worry about me trying to publish the next chapter or whatever)

But anywho, another question from KiteMite done!

And if anyone else has any questions for the characters, don't be shy to comment them down below!

Enjoy the chapter!