“It’s not like you stayed in the same room,” Annabelle said.
“Most of the time,” I added.
Hazel flushed. “He was injured! It’s not like we were having relations.”
I giggled. “Did you really just say ‘having relations’?”
“For a married woman about to be a mother, you’re quite immature,” she said, but a smile pulled at her mouth. “I lay there with him. I wanted to be there if he needed anything.”
“How scandalous,” Annabelle teased.
We fell quiet for a moment.
“What do you think they’re talking about in there?” I finally asked.
A mischievous grin spread across Annabelle’s face, and she had that familiar, naughty sparkle in her eyes. “Shall we find out?”
“How do you intend to do that?” Hazel asked. “I thought the great hall was un–eavesdrop–able.”
“Only if the door is closed,” Annabelle said with a smirk. She turned to me. “You remember last time?”
“Yes, we kept the door from closing so we could listen in. And we wouldn’t have been caught if you hadn’t gotten so excited.”
“It was my fault,” she admitted. “We’ll be more careful this time.”
I watched, curious as to how she was going to pull this off.
“Daisy!” she called out, waving her hand. Daisy looked up from the cakes she was making.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Can you check and see if the men need any tea?”
Daisy nodded. “I’d be happy to, ma’am.”
We followed her out to the hallway, waiting with bated breath as she slipped between the doors of the great hall. She was in there for only a few seconds before she came back out to us. We jumped immediately as she exited, Annabelle grasping the door handle seconds before the door clicked shut. She carefully pulled the door so the latches rested against each other, and the door was cracked open. Like last time, no one would notice unless they looked at the door hard at a very particular angle. Even then, with almost half the men over fifty, they probably wouldn’t notice.
“They said they were fine, that they didn’t need anything,” Daisy reported.
“Very good,” Annabelle said softly. Now that the door was open, she didn’t want the men to know we were right outside. With their advanced senses, they’d be able to hear us if we were too loud.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Daisy asked.
“No, but thank you, Daisy,” I said.
“Of course, ma’am,” she said, giving me a curtsy. “I’m going to go back to my cakes, but if you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen.”
She left us waiting by the door. When we were certain she was back in the kitchen and wouldn’t catch us, the three of us pressed our ears against the wooden doors. The conversation was subdued, but if we listened carefully, we heard what they were saying.
“I’m not happy about it either, but I think it’s our only choice,” Jasper said, his voice commanding but weary.
“They aren’t going to like it,” warned Stephen.
“They don’t have to.”
“We’ll send Conor with them, just in case?” asked Peter.
“I think that would be best.”
“I don’t mind,” Conor said.
I heard Jasper sigh. “All right, then. That’s settled. Next week, we’re going to see the elders.”
Chapter Fourteen
Annabelle pulled away from the door, her hand flying to her mouth. I glanced between Annabelle and Hazel, who both looked concerned. I gestured to them, trying to figure out what they were thinking, but Annabelle shook her head, put her finger to her lips, and motioned for us to follow her into the parlor. I was reticent to leave our eavesdropping, but after a long look back at the door, I moved down the hallway with the rest of the girls. I sat down on the loveseat, and Annabelle sat beside me. Hazel took the chair. Both girls had creases in their foreheads and worry in their eyes.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “What’s wrong?”
Annabelle glanced back down the hallway to be sure no one would overhear us. “They’re going to the elders.”
“I thought that was good.” I looked between the girls. “Don’t we want them to go to the elders? Won’t the elders help them track down Seth?”
Annabelle bit their lip. “Of course, we’re happy they have enough proof to contact the elders. We need their help tracking down Seth. The problem is, they aren’t merely contacting the elders. They’re actually going to see them.”
“That’s bad?”
“Not bad, exactly,” Hazel said, looking at Annabelle as if she was searching for words.
“Going to the elders means that this is serious,” Annabelle explained.
“I thought we knew that it was serious already,” I said.
“We did. Thing is, if they’re going to the elders, it means they’ve exhausted all of their resources. They have nothing left, so they’re going in person for an appeal. They only go visit the elders when absolutely necessary. The elders are in Sweden, so it’s a bit of a trip.”
“Sweden?” I asked. “But that could take weeks.”
“Exactly,” Annabelle said. “It’s an ‘in case of emergency’ type situation.
“I don’t want Jasper to be gone for weeks,” I said. “The baby is due soon.”
“He might not have a choice,” Hazel said, her expression uneasy. “This is dangerous. We already have one body, almost two. They need to do everything they can to put him behind bars.”
She was right, of course. I would never feel safe until Seth was out of the picture. If they had to go to Sweden and meet with the elders, as long as it made life better for me and the baby, I had no choice but to make peace with it. Still, conditions were not ideal for a long trip.
“I don’t like this,” I sighed.
Annabelle put her hand on my arm. “None of us do. Unfortunately, it’s the type of choices Jasper has to make when he’s the alpha.”
I nodded. “I understand.” Still, my eyes filled with tears. This was all so overwhelming. I hadn’t signed up to be the wife of an alpha, but I was now. Sometimes it seemed like I was supposed to suppress my frustration just because I was married to Jasper, and it was beginning to weigh on me.
A few moments later the men came out of the room. None of them said much. Stephen took Annabelle’s hand and led her out to the carriage with the rest of the men. Adam and Hazel went upstairs to gather their things; Conor declared that Adam was stable enough to be sent home, provided he wasn’t too active. Likewise, Conor was ready to go home, and he gathered his luggage as well.
Throughout all of this, I didn’t see Jasper at all. He went straight from the great hall into his office. I recognized his quick gait and the tense look on his face. He was stressed and would not want to be disturbed. As much as I wanted to check in with him and find out what was going on, I knew he was better left alone.
So instead, feeling resigned, I went upstairs. Bridget drew me a bath and I soaked in the warm water for a while, hoping the bath would melt away some of my stress. I don’t know if it was that or the lavender oil, but I did feel a little bit relieved once I got out and slipped into my nightdress.
Still, as I tried to relax in bed, my mind was racing. I was abjectly terrified that while Jasper was gone I would go into labor. Sure, I wasn’t due for another month, but who knew how long they might be gone? A meeting with the elders had the potential to last a day or a week.
I was fine. Really, it was fine. I took a deep breath.
Unable to sleep, I reached over onto my bedside table and picked up my mother’s copy of Jane Eyre. It was one of the only things I had been able to salvage from my life before Wolf’s Peak. I had been thrown out of my home after being unable to pay my rent and was only able to carry a few things in a bag. While I slept on the street that night, my bag was stolen, but the book had been under my arm. I had gone back to my old house—more of a shack, in al
l honesty—planning to break in and get more things, but in the time I had been gone, the landlord had cleared everything out. I was lucky that Annabelle had found me at that point, otherwise I wasn’t sure what I would have done.
The book had been my mother’s favorite. I had read it over and over again, so many times that the book was worn around the bindings. I didn’t care. It was the only comforting thing left from my old life, and I was going to treasure it for the rest of my new life.
I fell asleep with my lamp flickering beside me and my book in my hands. I finally woke up right before lunch with a little bit of a headache.
I went downstairs and sat down to eat. Stress was gnawing at my chest, and my appetite was low. I picked at my food and sipped at my tea. The baby was kicking, hungry, but my stomach was churning and food didn’t seem good. I sighed, rubbing my head.
“Everything all right, dear?”
I turned to see Jasper coming through the door.
“I’m fine,” I told him. “Just a little trouble sleeping last night.”
He sat down next to me and rested his hand on my leg. “I need to talk to you about something,” he said, his voice serious. I knew what he was about to tell me, but I feigned innocence, simply nodding.
“Tomorrow I leave for London,” he said. “I’ll be spending about a week there probably, but hopefully less.”
“Oh,” I said. That hadn’t been what I was expecting.
“After that, several of the men and I are going to be paying a visit to the elders in Sweden.”
There we were.
“How long?” I asked.
He wouldn’t look me in the eye. “Most likely the trip will take about three weeks.”
The blood drained from my face. “Three weeks?”
“Unfortunately.”
“But Jasper, a week in London and three weeks in Sweden...that’s right at my due date.”
He still couldn’t look at me, instead staring down at his hands. “I know.”
“So you won’t be here?” I asked.
Finally, he met my eye. “Christine, I’m going to do everything in my power to be here.”
“But what if something happens?” I asked. “What if it snows and your trip is delayed?”
He didn’t seem to have words for that. Tears sprang to my eyes.
“You—you can’t make me do this alone!” I said. “You brought me here. You married me, you got me pregnant, and now you’re not going to be here when this baby is born? How could you do that to me? To us?”
He put his hands up. “Now, Christine—”
“No!” I said, pushing him away. “I can’t believe this. Why do you need to go to London, anyway? Can’t you cut that trip out, and go to Sweden right away?”
His face twisted in pain. “I wish that I could, but I have to go keep the prince updated. It’s political—”
“Damn your politics!” I said. “I’m your wife!”
“I know, I know,” he said trying to soothe me. “Believe me, please, this is not at all how I wanted things to go.”
“Then change it,” I begged him. Perhaps I was being irrational. I didn’t care. I could not do this alone.
“I can’t. I have a duty.”
“What about your duty to your wife? To your baby?”
“Christine, it’s my responsibility.”
“Your responsibility is to be here, with me, when our baby is born!”
He grasped my hands. “Christine, I will do absolutely everything in my power to be here when the baby is born.”
I shook my head. “That’s not good enough.”
He sighed. “Christine, I will be here. If I must turn into a wolf and run across Europe, I will be here.”
Perhaps he had no recourse to promise such a thing, but his reassurances were soothing me. I took a deep breath.
“All right,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
He cringed. “I have something else I need to talk to you about.”
His expression worried me. Whatever he was going to talk about, it was not good.
“Yes?” I asked, dread settling in my stomach.
“While I’m gone, you will have around–the–clock protection. Two of my councilmen will be here at all times, protecting you.”
I shook my head. “That’s an overreaction, don’t you think?” I asked. “I don’t need to be babysat.”
“Of course not,” Jasper said, shaking his head. “This is for your protection.”
“Do you really think Seth would come in here?” I asked. “I’m already stuck in here all the time. I never leave. I don’t need someone watching over me.”
“I disagree.”
“Jasper, I’m already being suffocated!” I cried.
“You won’t even notice they’re here.”
“Oh, that’s not true and you know it!”
“They’ll walk the perimeter, guarding the house. They won’t interfere with you,” he said.
I shook my head. “Fine,” I said. I could ignore them, I supposed.
“There’s another thing,” Jasper said, and his face told me this would be even worse than the previous revelation.
“Oh God,” I muttered. “Now what?”
“The house protection is only while I’m in London.”
“Oh,” I said with relief. “That’s not so bad.”
“While I’m visiting the elders, I need to take most of the men with me. Therefore, while we’re in Sweden, I’m sending you away.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
“I’m sending you—”
“No, I heard you,” I said. “What do you mean, sending me away?”
“We’re not going to have enough men left behind to watch over Wolf’s Peak. The royal family has homes all over the country. We’re going to put you up in one of those while we’re gone to get you away.”
“You’re pulling me away from here?” I asked him. “Jasper, I’m about to have a baby!”
“I know, I know,” he sighed. “This isn’t ideal, I know.”
“Not ideal? Jasper, this is one of the worst situations we could be in!”
“I’ll send Hazel and Annabelle with you,” he said. “And Bridget, of course, to assist you. You won’t be bored.”
“Boredom is not the issue!” I cried out, although I had to admit having my friends along would be helpful. “My issue is that I’m a month away from having a baby and you’re sending me somewhere!”
“I know—”
“What happens if I go into labor while I’m banished?”
“Don’t think of it as banishment—”
“But what happens if I go into labor?”
“We’ve thought of that,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady to soothe me. “That’s why Conor will be going with you. He’s a doctor; he’s delivered babies before. He’ll be there if anything were to happen early.”
I remembered overhearing them as they mentioned Conor, but the conversation hadn’t made much sense since I hadn’t heard the conversation before it, so I hadn’t paid it much mind. While it did make me feel a little better to know that Conor would be there in case something went wrong, it wasn’t enough.
“You can’t pull me away from here,” I told him. “This is my home now. I need to stay here and prepare for my family. I need to make sure the nursery is all ready.”
“The nursery is ready.”
“But what if something happens?” It was a poor protest, but I was reaching.
“Christine, I understand what you’re saying, but I think you’re overreacting.”
I stood up from the table. “I’m overreacting?” I asked him. “Jasper, I am eight months pregnant. This baby will be here in four weeks. You’re going to be gone for all four of those weeks, and now you’re proposing to send me away for the last three? Are you out of your damn mind?”
“Christine, I know it’s rough. Trust me, I know. If I could do this differently, I would.”
“Then do it differently!”
I begged again. “Don’t make me leave here! Hire police officers to patrol the house if you have to, just don’t make me leave!”
“I wish I could, but Seth is too dangerous—”
“If he’s so dangerous, why are you leaving at all? If you’re that concerned, stay with me!”
“If I could, I would, but I need to get to the elders!” He was beginning to get agitated now.
I was crying, tears of stress and sadness and anger dripping down my face. This was the last thing I needed right now. I was constantly tired, hardly sleeping.
“How can you even consider doing this to me?” I asked him, my voice scarcely over a whisper as I spoke through sobs.
“Trust me, we spent a lot of consideration on this,” Jasper said. “We came up with many different options, and this was the best one.”
“Then you need better options!”
“Life doesn’t work like that, Christine!”
“You’re a duke and an alpha. You have control. Make it work!”
“You are married to the duke and the alpha. You should know by now that I don’t have that kind of luxury!”
“You didn’t even give me a chance!” I cried. “I knew you were a duke when I married you, but I didn’t know you were a werewolf or an alpha. You forced me into this. If I had known all of this was going to happen, I would have said no! I would rather live on the streets than be forced into this!”
Finally, it was off my chest, as much as I might regret it.
Hurt flashed across his face, but he took a breath and regained his composure.
“Christine, you’re going to leave Wolf’s Peak while we’re gone. End of discussion.”
Chapter Fifteen
Jasper hadn’t planned to leave until the next day, but instead he left for London that night. His official explanation was that the sooner he left, the sooner he would return and the sooner the men would leave to go see the elders, but I suspected our fight had something to do with it. Perhaps that should have upset me, but it didn’t. Had he been home, I would have spent the entire time either sulking or begging him to reconsider, and I didn’t have the energy for either.
When he left that night, his goodbye was curt and cold, simply a peck on the lips and a promise to be back as soon as possible. I watched from the parlor as the carriage left so he could greet the train in Ervine. When he was gone, I went and locked myself in my room.
The Wolf's Bait (The Wolf's Peak Saga Book 2) Page 11