The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (67 page)

Finally, she spotted him. His back was to her but she knew it was him instantly. His shoulders were so broad, she caught herself admiring them from afar. Not that she would ever admit it to anyone, but she did appreciate his good looks. But only when he wasn’t irritating her. As if he could feel her presence, Wolf turned, his eyes meeting hers right away.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice as cold as the air around them.
This was not a good idea
, she thought, kicking herself inwardly. She wanted to turn and retreat the way she had come, but he was waiting for her answer.

“I-I wanted to talk to you,” she answered hesitantly, stopping in front of him. He looked down at her, his face unreadable.

“Why?” He sounded angry. Was it at her, or had something else happened? She couldn’t tell. His scrutiny made her gulp. This had definitely not been a good idea. Shaking her head, she turned to leave, but his hand shot out, keeping her in place. His palm was hot on her arm, like he was fevered. “Answer me,” he said in a detached voice.

Elisa bit her lip, avoiding his stare. Instead she looked at the ground, trying to figure out herself why she had wanted to talk to him. “Elisa,” he said her name warningly, his patience obviously waning.

“I don’t know,” she replied honestly, shrugging her shoulders. He stepped back, releasing his hold on her. He crossed his arms over his chest, raising his eyebrows to signal that she should continue. She should. She knew that. But she just didn’t know how. Get it over with, she told herself. Since when was she such a chicken? “I guess I just wanted to know what you thought about Markus’ proposal.” There, she had put it out there…partially.

His eyebrows came together. “You came here to ask me that?” She nodded. “What do I think of it?” he repeated. “I think nothing of it.”

“Nothing of it,” she whispered, saying it over and over in her mind as well.

“What do you want me to think?”

Her gaze wandered to the forest, wishing she could be hiding in there instead of standing in front of Wolf. When she looked back at him his eyes were searching her face intently.

“Don’t you care at all?” she blurted out. Damn it! She did
not
want to cry, especially not in front of him. “Aren’t you going to fight for me? Tell him I’m yours and he can’t have me?” She watched as his face changed, a look she couldn’t discern written there. Whatever it was, it made her heart pick up speed. He reached out, putting his hand on her cheek, his fingers spreading into her hair. Wolf leaned down slowly. Surely her heart would beat right out of her chest. She closed her eyes, preparing for a kiss, but instead his lips landed on her cheek, not her lips.

It was a soft, tender kiss, and he lingered there for a second before pulling away only slightly, so the tips of their noses brushed against each other. He rested his forehead against hers and sighed deeply. She breathed him in. He smelled like forests and fields, and everything natural and good.

All too soon, he pulled away. Her body wanted to follow him, but she forced it to stand in place.

“Elisa,” he breathed, as if her name were a prayer. She looked up into his eyes, and was shocked again. She expected to see something soft there now, but he wore his cold mask again. She could read nothing from his expression. It was as if they hadn’t just touched. Like her mere presence offended him. Tears threatened her eyes again. She didn’t understand.

“You can do whatever you want to do, and marry whoever you desire,” he said flatly. “I don’t care.”

She swallowed harshly, pushing past the lump that had grown in her throat. “Thank you,” she said. His eyebrows shot up.

“For what?”

“For making it so much easier to make my decision, and for reminding me why I hate you so much.” She spun on her heel and walked away, wiping at the tears that burned down her cheeks. Her breath coming out short and panicked. Oh Goddess, she was having a panic attack. It didn’t make sense. It’s not like she didn’t know exactly how Wolf was.

Rushing down the spiral stairs to the street, Elisa began to walk purposefully. She knew what she had to do, and her mind was slowly coming to terms with it. Soon her tears dried. As she sped towards the palace she grew more confident and sure of her decision with each step. Never again would she feel this way, this pain and rejection. It was unfamiliar to her, and she didn’t want to experience it ever again for the rest of her life.

“Elisa!” a high pitched voice cried out. She stopped to look at the speaker. Walking towards her were four ladies from the court. The girl who called out was Elisa’s age, but they had never been friends. Veronica was a fashion icon in the court and they had absolutely nothing in common. Even so, Elisa waited patiently has she approached with a group of friends trailing behind her. She was the picture of perfection, with her long, black tresses wound into a sleek bun on her head, a few curls let loose to frame her round face and perfectly rouged cheeks. Right now Elisa found everything about her annoying. And if she recalled correctly, she was pretty certain Veronica had been interested in Wolf ever since he had arrived. That
did not
upset her right now.

“Hello Veronica,” she said, slightly more harshly than she had intended. The other girl didn’t seem to notice.

“I just heard the news,” she said happily, her eyes wide and bright, ripe with good gossip.

“News?”

“Don’t act so coy with me, Elisa! About Markus’ proposal, silly!” The girls around her all smiled at Elisa. “So tell us,” she continued, leaning in as if they were best friends revealing secrets. “Will you accept?”

Elisa looked at the girls and knew that if she answered them it would be around the city in mere minutes. Perhaps that’s exactly what she wanted, though. Imitating their anxious smiles, she slowly nodded her head. “Yes, yes I am,” she said, hoping she sounded appropriately excited. The girls all squealed in delight. “I was just on my way to tell my father, so if you’ll excuse me.”

“Of course!” Veronica chimed. She turned and left before any of them could start asking more questions. Yes, it would be around in seconds. And that was good.

Her father and King Jameson were sitting in his study, their feet propped on the King’s large mahogany desk, glasses of whiskey in hand. Elisa rolled her eyes at the scene. “Good morning,” she said, announcing herself. Both looked over lazily, neither righting their relaxed positions.

“Elisa,” the King smiled, “come in, join us.” He motioned to the chair beside her father. She looked at it quickly then shook her head. There was too much to do as it was. She didn’t have time to sit and chat.

“Isn’t it a little early for drinking? The sun is barely up,” she pointed out. Both smiled at each other.

“My word, Turk. I believe your daughter is chastising us.”

The Captain gave a gruff laugh. “She’s just like her mother,” he commented, almost proudly. Elisa tried to scowl at him, but failed. “What can we help you with, love?”

She took a deep breath, calming her nerves. As soon as she uttered these words there would be no going back.

* * * * *

As soon as she was out of sight, Wolf turned and slammed his fist into the stone wall. Pain shot up his entire arm. He swore, knowing he had probably just broken his hand. Great, he thought angrily. What the hell was wrong with him? Sprinting down the same path she had taken, he headed towards the street, meeting another guard along the way.

“I need to go wrap my hand,” he told him. There must have been something about Wolf’s face, or the coldness of his voice, that made the other man nod without asking further questions. Wolf decided he liked that man.

Walking through the streets, he felt as if a cloud hovered over him. She had actually come to him.
Finally
. And he had blown it. Elisa had stood there, vulnerable. It hurt him just to think about it. All he had wanted to do was grab her and wrap her in his arms, but instead he had crossed them over his chest to stop himself. She had actually wanted him to stop Markus from proposing. Was it because she wanted to actually be with him, or because he was an excuse for her to say no? It was this uncertainty that held him back. They couldn’t stand each other, he reminded himself. She didn’t want to be with him, she just didn’t want to be with Markus either.

It was all so frustrating for him. He growled out loud. A group of men came towards him, likely heading towards the tavern for some breakfast and a morning ale. That’s what he needed, to relax and drink himself into a stupor where nothing could hurt him anymore. Just like he had done while he was away in the South.

“Wolf!” one called out. “Where you off to with that murderous look in your eyes?” They all laughed.

Wolf tried to relax his shoulders, smiling his usual nonchalant grin at them. “I
was
going back to the dormitory, but I think I might need a drink over rest right about now.” They all laughed, slapping him on the back. He turned to walk with them towards their favourite tavern.

“I think we all need a drink this morning,” another said. “After all, we’ve all lost our chances with the vixen Elisa.” They laughed. Wolf froze.

“What do you mean?” he asked quickly.

“Haven’t you heard? She has accepted Markus’ offer of marriage. They leave today.” Wolf could feel the colour drain from his face. “I mean at least with you we still had a chance, but against Markus…” he trailed off. He didn’t even want to know what the man had meant by that, but if he was being honest with himself, he already knew. He hadn’t been a threat because they all saw how terribly he treated her. No one would have expected her to actually marry Wolf, despite their betrothal. Clenching his teeth, he turned back towards the dormitory, leaving the group and their questioning faces.

“Where you going?” they called out, but he ignored them.

What was she doing?
He screamed in his head. He balled both hands into fists, welcoming the searing pain in his right. Just like that, she was going to go and marry him, and leaving today at that! She would give him no chance to fix things? Damn her! Pushing past the guards at the front of the dormitory, ignoring their greetings, he climbed the floors to theirs, marching towards her door. Without knocking he stormed in the room, his eyes immediately resting on her.

* * * * *

Elisa yelped in surprise as Wolf barged into her room. She was about to yell at him for not knocking, but the words froze in her throat when she looked at his face. His eyes were focused on her with the most intense look she had ever seen. Her knees felt suddenly weak. She reached out to hold herself steady beside the bed. His chest was rising and falling rapidly with each angered breath.

“What do you want?” she finally got out, breathless. Damn it Elisa, she thought, pull yourself together!

His eyes flickered away from her, narrowing on the bag she had been packing on the bed. “What is that for?” he asked, slowly.

She gulped, looking down at her things. Her mouth felt dry, and her hands began to shake. He was mad. No, he was furious. She didn’t know what to say or do. He moved closer, standing only an arm’s length away.

“Answer me. Where are you going? What are you doing?”

She pulled herself up straighter, lifting her chin high and confident. “I’m going with Markus. I’ve accepted his proposal.” There. She had said it.

His eyes narrowed even more until she could barely see the light green colour of them. “Why?” was all he said. Before she answered he continued. “You are not marrying him.” Just like that, a command. Her blood boiled with anger.

“Actually, I am,” she replied. “I’ve already accepted. He is waiting for me even as we speak. We are to leave shortly.” She turned to resume her packing, trying to avoid the look in his eyes. He grabbed her arm firmly, turning her to face him again. “Let go,” she said warningly. He did, but kept his body close to hers, his nearness intimidating her.

“You do not love him,” he spat out. “He isn’t right for you.”

She laughed bitterly. “How would you know anything about the way I feel? Or who is right for me or not?” He reached up grabbing his hair in frustration.

“Damn it Elisa,” he practically yelled. “You are mine!” Elisa tried to ignore the feelings that erupted inside her with those words, holding onto her anger.

“I am no one’s!” she yelled back. “You don’t want me, remember Wolf? You don’t
care
!” They stared each other down, both breathing quickly.

“Please,” he said, desperately. “Don’t do this,” he added, his voice now calming. She shook her head in refusal, not wanting to hear.

“Just leave, Wolf,” she said, tired now. “I have to pack my things.”

“I’m not leaving until you agree not to leave with him.”

“Why?”

His jaw clenched again. She looked up at him challengingly. “Elisa,” he breathed her name again, causing goose bumps along her arms. He inched even closer to her, his eyes searching hers imploringly.

As he reached for her face, the door suddenly burst opened. What stood in the doorway made both their mouths drop open. He looked different, bigger, older, but his face was just the same, and oh so familiar. Warmth spread through her.

“Aiden?”