Love Bite Obey

Chapter 8: Secrets

Author's Note: Before a chapter is published in this book, I'm the only person who has laid eyes on it. Because of that, I sometimes misjudge how it would feel to read the chapter. It is important to me that Julia's actions make sense, and when I published this chapter last week, I saw that many of the comments mentioned that her actions seemed off. I have now rewritten half of this chapter, correcting that mistake. I think that it is much better now and flows better with the story overall. Thank you to everyone who gave feedback.

This chapter was changed on 24 Feb 2021. If you read it early, then I recommend rereading it.

Dead leaves crinkle under Rahlan's boots. Our steps are the only sound in this dark forest. I trudge forward behind him, moving slowly. We can't even manage a normal walking pace. It's been an hour since we fled from Dinore, but I doubt that we've made it very far. Mittens and Ari would have covered this distance in twenty minutes, but we were forced to abandon them in the stables.

It's been almost forty hours since I last slept, and my body is at the edge. While the steak may have filled my stomach, it did not make up for my lack of sleep. Despite my slow steps, Rahlan hasn't scolded me to hurry or offered to carry me. He must be struggling too.

My sleeveless arms are wrapped tight around my chest in an attempt to keep warm. I'm freezing, I'm exhausted, and I'm sick of Rahlan's secrets.

I hurry up to walk beside him, still keeping my arms wrapped around myself.

"You knew they were coming," I say.

He gives me a sidelong glance.

"On the day your mother came, you left in a hurry, traveling west. Unlike you, the local villagers afford me the respect of answering my questions, and I now know that the land to the west of Litton is Urko, where we stand."

The moon affords me just enough light to see his eyebrows crease up. Ignoring his irritation, I continue. "You saw the armies of Urko gathering, and since Litton is near the border, you knew that it would be the first to be taken. That night, you were intimate with me, all the while hiding the fact that a foreign force was marching on Litton," I spit the last few words. "Then you took me with you to the king's outpost to send a message for help, leaving your men and Jaclyn in Litton."

His lips make a thin line, but I'm not finished. "Instead of helping them, you decided to be self-absorbed once again and venture into Urko!"

"Do not try speak with authority on matters you do not understand," he growls.

"Then why are we here, Rahlan?" I raise my hands up into the air.

"'Tis not for you to know."

"Why don't you want to get married? Or is that also not for me to know?"

The irritation on his face gives way to surprise. He didn't think I knew, but his deception would only hold while I was naive to the world of vampires. Living at Litton, that may have remained the case, but Zaray has given me enough pieces to put it all together.

"You shifted the blame on the priests," I say, "like a king blaming a palace servant for a loss in battle. No priest would have defied you, and even if they did, we could have spent a day traveling here and been married. So why?"

"'Tis not worth the effort."

My blood boils. "Not worth the effort!? Getting married is not worth a few days of your time?" I clench my fists, my nails biting into my skin. "Maybe it wasn't worth it to you. If we fell out, you'd only lose me, whereas I would lose the food on my plate and my shelter from the cold. I trusted my entire life to you by returning to Litton, and marriage would have provided me with some security, knowing that you'd remain committed."