His Beloved

Chapter XXII

Chapter XXII
*Mature scene in this chapter*

Aron came to get me for dinner – had tried insisting that I stay in bed and have it but I needed to get out and see something else other than the four walls of my bedroom. Taking my usual seat, I stared down at the bowl of soup in front of me, its smells making my mouth water. I briefly felt bad for Aron and his single goblet of blood but I knew he enjoyed it.

"How are you feeling?" He asked me.

I bit back my smile as I sipped some of my soup. "I feel exactly as I did when you asked me that question three minutes ago."

His lips tilted slightly and he shook his head.

"Aron?" Alrik burst into the room with a livid expression on his face and I dropped my spoon in shock. "More wolves."

"How many?" Aron asked with a quiet sigh.

"Twelve," Alrik grunted. "We rounded up half, the others got away. All under the orders of your sister and her henchmen. We lost eight of our own."

Aron's eyes went black as he stood up from the table and I gulped. "Take them all to the dungeons and get Clara's location from them-"

"Why did you not kill her when you killed her mate?" Alrik growled. "That was a very foolish thing you did and now your Bride is in even more danger because of it. Why did you have to do what you did?"

"There's no use asking those kinds of questions!" Aron snapped. "What's done is done and now I will clean up the mess I have made. Do as I have instructed and be on your way."

Alrik made a strangled nose in the back of his throat before storming from the room, barking orders. My head was starting to hurt and I didn't like the drawn expression on Aron's face either. Killing Clara's mate – especially right in front of her had been a very big mistake and Aron knew that. I still wasn't sure why he had done it – he had me back, he'd gotten what he wanted...maybe his pride had been hurt, who knows, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that this problem wasn't going away anytime soon.

"This is not how a newly married couple should be spending their first few months together," he grumbled.

"What are you going to do?" I asked quietly. Aron remained silent and for the first time, he didn't have a plan. He always seemed so organised to me, he always had a road to take or a decision ready to make, and this time he had nothing. I bit my lip as a thought popped into my mind. "Maybe I should go and stay with my parents?"

He looked at me with such an expression that I snapped my mouth shut. "Why would I even let you out of my sight right now?"

"Well...If I went under the radar, she would never know...then you can focus on finding her..." It wasn't really sounding like a very good idea, but it wasn't like he was suggesting anything either.

"She would find you there," he grumbled. "Or somebody else who has it out for me would find you, not to mention it's so werewolf orientated near your home. Your sister is mated to one-"

"My sister is not my enemy," I told him. "Her mate would not hurt me."

"You don't know that," he said. "I don't know where that wolf's loyalty lies and I am not taking any more risks with you. Its better you stay here in the castle until this is all sorted out."

The room was quiet and Aron began walking around slowly, sighing every now and then. I gave up on eating the rest of my soup, given I lost my appetite the moment Alrik had burst through the room. Everything had gotten so out of hand and my mind wandered back to an easier time when my only worry was not face planting down the aisle at mine an Aron's wedding.