Chapter 41
Rhysand:
The door slammed harder than I intended, but it felt like the only way to release some of the pent up fury boiling inside m I didn’t stop to consider if Evelynne heard the sound or if perhaps it was too loud for her–I didn’t care at all, simple. Why the fuck was I riled up to this extent? I didn’t goddamn know why and that only increased the tension in my body.
It should just be two years, it would just be two years and then it will be over, we’ll go our separate ways but right now, two years felt like a whole decade.
Why was I this pissed? I had no idea.
What am I even pissed about? that she won’t tell me her secrets? or because she wanted to know mine in return? the more the questions, the deeper my anguish.
I stormed down the hallway, with hands clenched and with the tension in my muscles coiling together, as I desperately tried to soothe my nerves the farther I walked from the room, but all my efforts went down the drain.
What the hell was wrong with me? I knew everything wouldn’t go as planned the moment she walked up to me that day.
I knew it. But yet, I ignored it.
I had no intention of going back into that room. In fact, the very idea of returning to her silence, or her refusal to open up, made my skin crawl with frustration.
The woman was impossible. And yet, here I was, allowing her to get under my skin, to rile me up, as though I had some personal stake in her secrets. As though her life was my business, when in truth, it shouldn’t be my business.
I reached Roman’s hotel room number, and knocked on it harshly. The door was opened a few seconds later, revealing him standing in a white plain T–shirt, looking somewhat startled by the thundering expression on my face.
“What’s going on?” he looked behind me, brows squeezing into a frown as if expecting someone else to follow me down the hallway.
“I need you to book me another room. How you get it isn’t my business,” I stepped into the room, ignoring everything and walking over to the couch before slumping down on it.
Roman threw a frown to my direction as he shut the door close, “I told your there’s no room, they are booked.”
“That was yesterday. There should be at least a room for today, even if it is one less of a VIP room, I just need a goddamn room!” He regarded me with a curious stare as my words were out.
He blinked, “Is it my business to ask what’s going on?”
“No.” My fingers smoothly swept my hair to the back, disheveling it as a sudden urge to walk back into that room engulfed me–of course, it was my inner wolf trying to persuade me, but I’ve made my decision to not go back, cause I’ll hate for Evelynne to see me this way.
“Alright,” he sighed, clearly not in the mood for whatever mood I was in, but he nodded and grabbed his phone from the bedside table.
After a few moments of scrolling and making a couple of calls, he frowned at the last moment, before finally muttering, “Okay,” then turning to look back at me.
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Fac, 11 Feb
Chapter 41
“There aren’t any rooms available, the hotel is fully booked.”
I stared up at him, uncomprehending at first. Fully booked? even on the second day? Of course, the universe had decided to screw me over even more today. My jaw clenched, “Nothing at all? even at the nearby hotels?”
Roman shook his head. “Nothing”
What kind of goddamn conference are they holding for two days that has all their rooms booked anyway?
I could feel my pulse quicken, a mix of anger and… something else that I couldn’t quite place. I slumped my shoulders against the chair, running a hand through my hair, frustration gnawing at the edges of my composure.
Why the hell did it matter so much? Why was I this angry just because she wouldn’t confide in me?
It made no sense.
No fucking sense.
‘It makes so much sense if you reason it well, she is your goddamn mate! which you are refusing to claim cause of some nappy reasons. Dax growled in my head and a throbbing ache shot throw my nerves, straight to my head.
“Rhys, what’s going on?” Roman asked, his voice cautious, and brows furrowed in worry.
What was going on? That was the question I’d been asking myself since this whole situation with Evelynne began. I didn’t understand why I was this invested, why I felt this need–no, this desperation–to know more about her. She had been nothing but cold, closed off, and yet here I was, practically begging for her to open up to me. Why did it bother me so much that she kept pushing me away?
Dax commented again, ‘Cause she is your mate and whether you claim her or not, she is still yours. And this will keep happening as a punishment. So why not just end things, and all this by telling her the truth and claiming her?”
“Shut the fuck up, Dax!” I groaned, holding my head in my hands.
It wasn’t as easy as he was stating it.
‘Shutting me up wouldn’t keep the truth of the matter away. He continued pestering me, and a wave of thoughts crashed in
“Well, I’m not interested in knowing the truth, so keep shut and stay quiet. Leave my fucking head and thoughts, and keep your opinions away!” with my eyes closed and my thoughts out of place, I remained there for a while until Roman’s voice pulled me out of my reverie.
“Water?” Standing up from the couch, I took the bottled water he was stretching to me, and uncapped it before I walked over to the window.
There was silence in the room for a while, and I appreciated that Roman wasn’t pushing to get answers of what was going on
out of me.
“Still battling with your innerwolf on your mate, Alpha?” He asked.
Distracted, I nodded in response. “Sort of.”
“I’ll hate to be on your shoes at this moment.”
“Thank your very much for the comforting words,” I rolled my eyes, tone laced with sarcasm.
“Always welcome. But yunno-
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10:08 Ge, 11 Feb
Chapter 41
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I glanced at him through my shoulders, “Say anything I wouldn’t want to hear and I promise to have this bottle kissing your face before you can completely the sentence.”
He chuckled, raising his hands above his head, “Alright. I’ll keep my opinions then.”
“Better.” I stared out the window at the dark Boston skyline, trying to get a grip of my thoughts.
It wasn’t like me to get tangled up in other people’s problems. And it wasn’t even like me to get all this riled up just cause someone is refusing my help.
I’d never cared to pry, never had any interest in getting involved in personal drama. But with Evelynne… it was different.
It felt different. I wanted to help her. Not just cause of a flimsy paper of contract, but just like that.
The thought hit me hard, making my chest tighten with something I couldn’t explain.
Help her.
I didn’t know where the urge had come from, but it was there, gnawing at me.
‘Do I need to keep reminding you why?‘ Dax interrupted.
“Shut up!”
‘Alright,’ he went back to being silent after I silenced him.
She was in trouble–I could see it in her eyes, in the way she avoided looking at me before I could get a hint of what was going on in her head or the constant defiance in her eyes.
Her emerald eyes held more secrets than I could fathom and I was desperate to unravel all of them, leaving no stone unturned.
She was hiding something big, and I had a sickening feeling it wasn’t just about Desmond. But instead of letting me in, she was building walls, keeping me at arm’s length before I could even take a step closer.
Why did I care so much? And why was this intense feeling crashing up to my chest so suddenly.
Jealousy in its full length and glory engulfed my senses when I recalled what happened earlier this afternoon.
I wasn’t lying when I told her the picture was taken a year back, and wheover the woman in the picture was, wasn’t even my problem–nor could I remember whether it was Christina, Serena or Vera, all I knew was she was probably one of the couple of women Xavier pushed my way.
I was more worried about why on earth she was still chatting with her ex–mate which she had already publicly rejected.
“Rhys?” Roman’s voice cut through the haze, and I realized I’d been standing there, silent, for far too long.
I shook my head, straightening up. “It’s nothing,” I muttered and turned around. “Forget it.” He didn’t push, but the look on his face told me he knew something was off.
As I made my way down the hallway, the frustration twisted tighter inside me. I didn’t understand why Evelynne had this
effect on me.
‘I keep telling you it’s simply cause she’s you mate, but you aren’t listening to me here and that’s causing more frustration. Dax interrupted once again.
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Chapter 41
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This time around, I couldn’t even stop him because somehow I knew it was simply the truth he was spouting
Because truth is, I’ve never felt this much urge to help anyone in my life–only once, and that was ages ago.
My legs had a mind of its own as it led me to God–knows–where the more thought swirled in my head.
I wanted to help her–same way I wanted her.
Fuck, I wanted to help her–badly.
In any way at all that she would want me to, as long as at the end of the day, I’ll have her beside me.
Yes, beside me–definitely not behind me.
But she kept pushing, and I… I couldn’t help but feel like I was on the edge of something, something I couldn’t quite grasp. All I knew was that I wanted answers. Not just for the sake of this contract or whatever deal we had–this was personal.
And that realization only made everything worse.
I didn’t like the idea of Evelynne getting to me like this. I didn’t like feeling out of control. But I also couldn’t stop myself from wanting to figure her out.
And that, more than anything, scared the hell out of me.
I walked down the corridor, my mind still reeling from the frustration burning my nerves. My phone buzzed, snapping me out of my thoughts.
Fishing it out of my pocket, I glanced at the screen and froze.
The name on the display sent a wave of ice through me. My body stiffened and for a moment, I couldn’t move, as I felt that familiar tightening in my chest.
After months of silence, he was calling. Of course, it had to be now.
The phone buzzed again.
I clenched my jaw, hesitated, then finally answered.
“Rhysand.” His, or rather, my father’s voice was low, raw and familiar as it filled the silence.
“What do you want, Eric?” I forced the words out, a part of me knew that whatever he had to say to me, it wouldn’t be anything good.
Nor would it be anything I’m interested in hearing.
