~ NYSSA

I knew something was up the moment Jeremiah offered to drive me home without answering my question about where Rowan was but I just assumed that Rowan would come find me on his own. After all, I’d been trying to mind link him for a few minutes only to run into a brick wall in his mind.

By noon, I still hadn’t heard from him, and I was getting worried.

Eric kept me company in the house, and I saw a few men keeping guard outside. No one was telling me shit about the vampires or the plan for today, and the entire pack was on lockdown.

"I make a very mean—"

"Stop!" I snapped, cutting Eric off mid-sentence. "I want to know where the fuck my mate is right now. Don’t give me the bullshit you’ve been giving about him being at the palace. I want actual fucking details!"

Eric stared at me silently for a long minute before sighing. "He’s working on some shit with Jeremiah. Don’ ask because I don’t know. My job is simple: keep you here."

"Why?"

He scoffed. "Did you really just ask that? A vampire thinks you’re his property, in what world did you think your mate wouldn’t ask that we keep you here?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "I know he wants to protect me, I’m not stupid. But when the vampire comes, I want to know."

"Why?" he asked, hands crossed over his chest. "Do you think you’ll be able to convince him? I hate to break it to you, Nyssa, but the threat of war isn’t enough to do that, then I don’t think you’ll be able to do shit."

I had nothing else to say to that so I fell silent and sent Rowan a text. It was one sentence asking him to call me.

He never saw it.

Evening rolled around and I still hadn’t heard shit about the vampires. Eric tried to hide it, but I could tell that he was on edge as well. The air buzzed with tension and nervous energy as I waited for my phone to ring or for someone to say—

A shrill ringing sound cut through the air. I grabbed my phone before realizing that it wasn’t my ringtone, it was Eric’s.

He reached for his phone with a lot more dignity than I did and placed it by his ears. I couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end, but judging by the look in his eyes, as he glanced at me, I knew who it was.

I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt that my mate was willing to call Eric and not me.

Before I could second guess my actions, I snatched the phone out of Eric’s grip. "Real fucking mature, Rowan."

There was silence for a few seconds followed by a deep sigh. "Hello, little wolf."

"You ignored me all day."

"I didn’t ignore you, I’ve bene trying to keep you safe, and now more than ever."

He didn’t say the words outright, but he didn’t have to. I knew exactly what he was alluding to. "They’re here, aren’t they?"

He hummed. "Just stay inside with Eric, you will be safe there. No one can come in or out of that house without me knowing first."

"Rowan, I should be—"

"Don’t," he cut me off firmly. "I must go, I love you."

He hung up before I could respond, nearly making me scream in frustration.

Eric just stood next to me quietly, his hand out as he waited for me to return his phone.

"Sorry about that," I murmured, placing it in his outstretched hand. "I shouldn’t have done that."

He waved me off. "Completely understandable. I know you want to help, but sometimes the best help you can offer is doing nothing."

"That doesn’t make any sense."

"No, it doesn’t," he admitted. "But it’s true. Come on, I brought cards, let’s see if you can beat me."

I tried to focus on the cards, truly, I did, but I could not concentrate long enough to win a single game. If Eric noticed, he didn’t make it known, he gloated each time he won and shuffled the deck again.

When the bell rang, we both froze in confusion.

Rowan’s words from earlier flashed in my mind: no one was supposed to be able to come in or out.

"I’ll answer it," Eric said slowly, brushing his hands down his clothes as he made his way to the door.

With one hand, he clutched the sheath of the knife by his side. His expression had gone serious in the blink of an eye and his stance was imposing. I listened intently for the creak of the door opening and when I did not hear any shouts, I forced myself to relax.

"It’s just Aria," he said finally and I let out a sigh of relief.

I heard the door shut behind them and watched as Eric walked into the living room first. He had a smile on his face and he was no longer gripping his weapon.

"I didn’t know she was coming, did you?"

"No, I—"

I didn’t get to finish what I was saying because in the blink of an eye, Aria struck.

I was so focused on Eric that I didn’t notice her retrieve a fire poker from the hallway. She swung hard, swung it over Eric’s head. He fell to the ground in a heap as I jumped back, my scream lodged somewhere deep in my throat.

She did it a second time for good measure before throwing it on the floor by his body. "Get up."

She took a step towards me, but I growled low. "Stay the fuck away from me. If you take one more step, I’ll fucking scream and the guards will be on you in a second."

"Go ahead, scream then, but know this, you will never get to that meeting point."

My brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"Why do you think I’m here?" she asked, hands crossed over her chest. "I knew Rowan would lock you up in here, and I know that meeting will go to chaos without you."

She took a slow step towards me, as if testing the waters.

"He isn’t dead. He will be up in half an hour tops. If you come with me, I’ll get us both out of here undetected and to that meeting point. It’s your choice."