The alley had left him wounded, in body and in pride. What it had really done, however, was show Markus exactly what Elisa was capable of, and now the man was utterly dazzled by her. There had barely been a minute of the night where Markus’s full attention hadn’t been on Elisa. They danced almost every song together, and sat beside one another when they weren’t. Could she ever have feelings for someone like Markus? Especially after the conversation they overheard? Did she just like that someone was giving her attention? No, that couldn’t be it, he decided. There were plenty of men back home who would give her attention, if she’d let them. Maybe that was what was bothering him the most – that this time she didn’t seem to be annoyed by someone’s attention, but rather, she was encouraging it. It had nothing to do with the fact that it wasn’t his attention, Wolf reminded himself. Elisa was high maintenance and too much trouble for him. He had decided that a long time ago.
With his teeth clenched and shoulders squared, he finally grew sick of standing against the wall. Pushing off, he strode across the floor towards her, keeping his eyes focused on the large jewel that sat appealingly on her collarbone. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Logan smile over at him, a wave of relief washing over his dark features.
“May I cut in?” Wolf asked, clearing his throat behind them. Markus looked over at him, a spark of either anger or resentment flash in his eyes.
“Of course,” he replied, somewhat reluctantly. Detaching himself from Elisa, she turned with a smile to Wolf, her cheeks glowing warmly. Wolf stepped between them, cutting off Markus from her view. He looked down at her, wrapping one hand around her tiny waist, and grabbing her hand firmly in his left. She smiled up at him, one of the few times she did so without any hostility. It didn’t take long for him to figure out why.
* * * * *
The night had been overwhelming from the start. After Wolf walked her to the table, she realized that she was seated right beside Markus. Needless to say, many faces turned to look curiously at her as she sat down. She was someone new, someone from another city…and she was clearly being favoured by their leader. On the other side sat Wolf, who thankfully looked just as uncomfortable as she felt. She never had the chance to ask him though, because as soon as Markus sat down, his full attention was on her. At first he made her extremely nervous, but as the meal progressed she slowly realized that she was starting to genuinely like him. He spoke like she was his equal, never demeaning or patronizing her like most men did. He told jokes, and pointed out people that sat at separate tables, telling her stories about their ridiculous lives. Despite his position in the court, Markus seemed to hate many of the things that defined it, much like Elisa did herself. There was a certain level of contempt for the obvious displays of wealth, which also annoyed him to a degree.
“Your dress, for example, is the perfect balance of wealth and modesty,” he said, touching the large ruby that hung around her throat. The heat of his fingers sent a slight jolt through her body as they brushed her skin.
“It is very lovely,” she agreed. It was unusual for Elisa to feel so – well, feminine. Her whole life had been spent trying to make people treat her like ‘one of the guys,’ but Markus didn’t treat her like that. He looked at her like she was the most beautiful woman in the room, and for some reason, she liked it. Maybe it was because she was getting older, she thought inwardly. Slowly, as her life progressed, she began to realize that there was more to life than just fighting in the King’s army. It was the best part of her life, but not the only. At that thought, she stole a glance at Wolf on her right. His face was devoid of emotion.
“Shall we dance?” Markus asked, his lips close to her ear. She turned back towards him. The rest of the evening had been spent on the dance floor. She wasn’t much of a dancer, but Markus made sure not to make her feel self-conscious about it. They laughed, and he helped her through each song. As it turned out, she wasn’t that bad at dancing after all.
“It’s because you’re a good fighter,” he said to her, leaning in close so she could hear him over the music. “You know how to move lightly on your feet.” The spot on her back where his hand rested felt hot, and the nearness of his body brought a flush to her face.
“May I cut in?” she heard his voice say from behind. Turning, she saw Wolf standing there, a strange look on his face as he stared past her at Markus. As Markus stepped back, Wolf swept in, gliding his hand around her waist. Even though she had just danced the better part of the night like this, it somehow felt different with Wolf. A jittery feeling formed in her stomach. Her head suddenly felt light. His hand felt strong on her lower back, skilfully leading her into the dance. Words escaped her.
“Are you having fun?” he asked. The tone of his voice was a mixture of playful and resentful. When Elisa looked up at him, his eyes focused on her face, searching her every feature, lingering at one point when he reached her lips. The room felt like it was spinning, dizziness overwhelmed her. Without thinking, she stepped closer to him to keep herself steady. She tried to back away again, but his hand on her lower back held her tightly against him.
Slowly, afraid almost, she looked up and into his eyes. “Yes,” she said finally. “I am having fun.”
He didn’t smile. Instead he still looked down at her with a searchingly. What did he want? She wondered. “Markus seems to have taken quite a liking to you –” he started to say.
“Is that what this is about?” she interrupted.
“Is what about?”
“This,” she motioned the two of them with her head. “Are you only dancing with me because you don’t like him?”
The question didn’t faze him. Shrugging his shoulders, he replied in his usual indifferent voice, “I felt like dancing.”
“You never feel like dancing…and especially not with me!” she pointed out.
“That’s stupid,” he scoffed. “You’re never out when we go out, how would you know that? Maybe if I saw you outside training, I would dance with you. Who knows?” he shrugged again. The dizziness in her head increased.
“Even if I did go out,” she began to argue back. “I bet you wouldn’t even notice, since your attention is occupied by two or three women at a time.” He laughed. Not a genuine laugh, but a Wolf laugh. The kind of laugh that just made you feel stupid, like he could care less about you or what you just said. She was about to continue, anger in the pit of her stomach boiling up, when she realized that it wasn’t anger at all. “I don’t feel well,” she blurted out, her body going slightly limp in his arms. Wolf reacted immediately, holding the majority of her weight.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice betraying a sincere sense of concern. It brought a slight smile to her lips, which disappeared quickly when she realized just how sick she truly felt.
“I need to lie down,” she admitted. Without another word, he began to lead her off the floor, his arm firmly around her waist.
“Tell me how to get to your room,” he said quietly in her ear, his lips lightly brushing against her cheek. Something in his voice made her stomach tighten, but she knew it was a misunderstanding. He was whispering so no one around them would hear. The last thing they wanted were rumours floating around about the two of them heading up to her room. Thankfully no one seemed to notice them leaving, not even Markus. She had a quick glimpse of him speaking to an older gentlemen right before they walked into the hallway. There was a part of her that felt bad for not saying goodnight to him, but the other part – the part that felt sick – did not want him to see her like this. She gave Wolf directions, and they hurried up the stairs to the second floor.
He opened the door to her room, letting her go so she could enter first. With a sigh of relief, she flopped down on the large bed, hoping it would make her feel better. It didn’t. The whole room began to spin. She groaned and covered her face with her hands. A sound filled the room that took her a second to recognize. Wolf was laughing. Not his patronizing kind of laugh, but a genuine laugh. She looked up at him in sh
ock.
“Are you laughing at me?”
He stood before her, looking down with a huge smile. “You’re drunk,” he said flatly.
“No I’m not!” she defended. Was she? How many drinks did she have? She tried to think back, but lost count as the memories got fuzzy.
“Didn’t I tell you to stick with just water?” Her eyes found him again, as he slowly shook his head. Sitting down beside her, he looked down with an amused face. “Everything in this place has alcohol in it, Elisa. Except the water. I warned you.”
She was drunk! The realization hit her with a sudden force. No wonder she had felt so carefree all night. Another groan escaped her lips. “This feels awful!” she said from behind her hands again. “How do you do this every night?”
He chuckled. “Well I don’t do it every night, but you do get used to it.” Elisa didn’t think she’d get used to it. Slowly, she pulled herself into a sitting position. Without her having to ask, Wolf walked to the tray of food still in the room and poured her a glass of water. He wordlessly handed it over.
“Thanks,” she sighed, shutting her eyes against the lights in the room. Even with them closed, she could feel his eyes on her. She had never been alone like this with Wolf.
“You should get some sleep,” he broke the silence. She opened her eyes to look at him. He stood stiffly beside the bed. Nodding her head, she placed the glass of water on a small table. A brave notion came into her head, and without thinking it through, she turned her back to him and spoke words that would normally have horrified her.
“Can you help me unlace my dress?” He sucked in a low breath, but his hands were immediately at the center of her back, heat against her skin. They worked quickly, but roughly, pulling at the delicate ribbon woven up the back of the garment. Her body remained still as he finished, the pressure around her midsection finally releasing. She let out a sigh of relief. Letting it drop slowly to the ground, Elisa stood there in only her undergarments. Turning back to face him, she watched as his eyes slowly raked down, and then back up to meet hers. There was a strange look on his face that made her stomach tighten. He stepped closer, reducing the space between them to merely inches, never taking his eyes off her own. Very slowly, he leaned in. Elisa stood, closing her eyes for the kiss, her lips slightly puckering in expectation. Then she felt his soft lips make contact, but not with her mouth. Instead they landed on her forehead, pausing there briefly before he backed up again. Her eyes opened in surprise to see him turning to leave.
“Wolf,” she called out. He stopped midway to the door. “Why are you so angry with me? What have I done to make you hate me so much?” Her voice was almost a whisper, but he heard her. She saw him turn with a sad look on his face.
“I’m not mad at you,” he said gently. It was nicer than she had expected – nicer than she was used to hearing him ever speak. “I don’t hate you either, why would you think that?” She shrugged, fighting back the flood of tears that appeared unannounced in her eyes. She hated to cry, especially in front of people. Looking away, she hoped he wouldn’t notice, but when she looked back, she could tell by his face that he knew. “If you must know, I’m angry with myself mostly. I –” he stopped, looking down at the ground. “I should have done something to save them.” He looked back up, the same indifferent look on his face again, all traces of sadness gone. Shrugging he said, “But I’m not mad at you, so stop thinking that.”
With that he turned back to leave. She wanted to say something else, anything to make him stay and open up, but she knew the moment was already gone. “Good night,” he called over his shoulder, not looking back as he walked out the door, closing it silently behind him. Elisa stood rooted to the spot, her mind confused and shaken. What had she been thinking? Of course he wasn’t going to kiss her – he could barely stand her. Nor she him, she reminded herself. Letting the breath she had been holding out, Elisa flopped back down on the bed, trying to make sense of it all. It had to be the alcohol, she decided. People always said alcohol made you do strange things. Wiggling under the sheets, she let herself fall asleep, her dizziness reduced to mere exhaustion.
* * * * *
Wolf stood in the hall, his hand braced against the wall. She would have crawled into bed by now, he told himself. Every instinct in him told him to go back in, take her in his arms, and do what he had wanted to do to her since the moment she walked into that hall. He wanted to show her that he didn’t hate her, that everything she thought about him was wrong. But he couldn’t. It was with all his strength that he hadn’t done it. She was drunk. It would be wrong to take advantage. Normally Elisa would never have looked at him the way she had, or been so forward in his presence. It had given him the briefest amount of hope, which caught him off guard. Did he want to have hope? What exactly was he hoping for? Shaking his head, Wolf slowly began walking away from her door, away from all the confusing feelings he had felt while he was in there. They didn’t like each other, at least not in that way. Logan would be waiting for him, probably with an armful of women that Wolf could take advantage of. Standing up straighter, he headed down the hall with a goal in mind. He would bury his feelings, denying that they had ever even existed.
As Wolf returned to the ballroom, still full with the partygoers, he saw Logan wave him over.
“Here he is!” he called out, bringing Wolf to the attention of the women around him. There were three. All very pretty – well, not as pretty as...no they were pretty. He wasn’t going to think that way anymore.
“Here I am,” he smiled back. “The party has officially arrived.” The women laughed, their eyes taking him in.
Logan stepped closer to him, lowering his voice slightly. “Everything okay?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I mean with Elisa,” he clarified, his eyebrows puckering slightly. Logan had always been able to read Wolf well. It was hard to hide anything from his best friend.
“She drank too much,” he laughed, keeping his voice casual. Logan’s expression relaxed.
“That’s my girl,” he chuckled, shaking his head. Wolf flinched slightly, but tried to hide it with a chuckle of his own. Logan moved them closer to the women, changing topics. “These ladies here were just telling me how lonely they are. Seems like their men have left the city,” he looked at Wolf meaningfully. “Headed north some time ago. I told them we’d be happy to keep them company this evening.”
Wolf raised his eyebrows in feigned interest. “Is that so? Well we can certainly oblige such beautiful women,” he said smoothly. The three girls giggled in that flirtatious way that was starting to annoy him. He kept the smile on his face. “Your men are mad to leave you alone. Especially to venture north!”
“That’s what we keep saying,” the dark haired one said, batting her eyes at him.
“What is north that requires their attention?” he asked casually.
The one who spoke shrugged. “Some business I’m sure. We have no idea, they don’t confide in us. Markus sent a whole troop of them there a short while ago.” Logan glanced at Wolf, keeping his expression neutral. He was probably jumping on the inside like Wolf was. This explained why Logan had been talking to these three all night.
“Why don’t we leave here and go to a tavern?” Logan suggested. “We can all sit and talk more comfortably there.” The women agreed with more giggling. Wolf had to consciously stop himself from rolling his eyes. The night was going to be a long one. He just hoped it would be worth it.
* * * * *
If Elisa thought the ball was the only thing that Markus would keep them around for, she was sorely mistaken. It had been three days since, and everyday Markus had thought up a new excuse for the three of them to stay longer. Her father was going to be furious with them when they finally got home. There were garden parties, ridiculous games that involved sacks and people tripping over each other; hunting parties where Elisa was required to ride alongside the men and hunt large birds; and another ball one evening, where
she was provided with another glorious dress, this one red with black lace fringe. Almost every minute of each day was filled with activities. The small servant girl, who Elisa discovered was named Mary, had become her own. She was there when Elisa woke up and when she went to bed. It was the first time that Elisa actually felt like royalty.
The boys were never around when she went out with Markus. Only on the hunting trip did she catch a glimpse of them, but they were too far for her to talk to. Markus kept Elisa by his side, filling her ears with constant chatter. Eventually she started to become annoyed with him, wanting nothing more but to be left alone. This morning was the first time she had a chance to do that. Sitting in the gardens, Elisa looked up at the clear blue sky and sucked in a huge breath of fresh air. Despite the heat of the day, it didn’t feel sticky. The gardens in the palace were massive compared to anything she had seen before. There was the maze, huge stretches of perfectly manicured grass, and a grand fountain that filled the air with the sound of falling water. Ponds were hidden all over the place, where the same fish from inside the ballroom swam around freely. It had become one of Elisa’s favourite places to be.
Now she sat on a bench that she had found on the afternoon of the garden party. In her attempt to get away for a minute, she stumbled across a small clearing where there was a tiny bench beside a pond. You couldn’t see it from the paths, so she felt hidden and alone. It was the only moment she had in the past few days to think over everything that had been happening since she arrived in the south. The biggest thing that weighed on her mind was her moment with Wolf. She hadn’t seen him since, as if he were purposefully ignoring her. The whole scene was embarrassing now that she thought about it, and she prayed he didn’t get the wrong message from her. There was no part of her that was the least bit interested in Wolf – in a romantic sense. He was fine as a friend, and a comrade in the army, but besides that...
The Eden Series: The Complete Collection Page 40