Jonah's POV
We leave the cabin the next morning and Imani is silent the whole way. She walks, arms folded, eyes avoiding me. She doesn't complain about the heat or her legs. In fact, she travels ahead of me, marching in brisk steps, but never breaking into a run. I can feel the tenseness of her shoulder, I can feel the anger simmering right below the surface. She wishes she could run, she wishes she could avoid me forever at this moment. Or she wishes she could turn on me. As I catch a glance of her dark eyes, she might be closer to turning on me then I think.
The next day it's back to business. Rebels never take a day off, I think as I put on a tie. Imani watches me from bed, her face so blank it's painful. "Good morning," I say, ignoring the way she stares at me.
"Good morning."
"You're still angry with me."
"Shouldn't I be?" Her tone raises the hair on the back of my neck. I leave without response and run into Leon in the hall.
"Relaxing vacation?"
"No, not even close," I mutter, running a hand through my hair. "We had a misunderstanding and now she's angry with me."
"I'm sure with time things will improve."
"Let's hope." I push through a door and a room of men rise to their feet. I eye each of them. Good, everyone is here. "Sit."
They do as I command and I take my seat, Leon to my right. I lean onto the table. "I don't want to waste time. Update me on the nature of the rebellion. How much progress have our warriors made?"
My advisors look at me. "I think the better question would be how much progress have the rebels made. They're almost taken back the entire city of Boston."
My blood rises as I turn to my Beta. "Why are they starting in Boston? Weren't they just in Miami?"
My Beta folds his hands together. "We think they're trying to take cities back first. But they've largely stopped expansion anywhere but Boston."
An advisor speaks up. "We highly think it's symbolic. You found the Luna in Boston and they claim she was kidnapped against her will. Therefore, they want to take the city back, perhaps as a way of saying they'll take the Luna back too."
Exactly how close were Iris and Nia to Imani? I would ask her but I know she'd push me away. And knowing her, she'd be all too happy for them to come get her. She's probably working on it as we speak. I just need to prove it...but I'm working on that too. "What's the chance the Luna is working with them?"
They look startled. "Well, I, I-," Leon stammers. "I wouldn't think that she's working with them. She's here."
"Yes, but she's smart, smarter than half this room maybe. Last time she was able to work around her instincts, trick the matebond that sends emotions between us and escape in the dead of night. Do you know that media frenzy that happened? The one that brought the army to our door? She did that."
A tense silence fills the room. They'll never look at her the same. "But why?"
"Because she hated me. She still does. But that will change in time. She just needs to see that there is no escaping this and how much good we can do. Until then, she needs to be protected from herself." Even though I've said this, the room won't settle back into its previous calm.
"Should we have her monitored then?" An advisor asks. "Perhaps track who's serving her, who's watching her?"
"Exactly. I want inventory of every maid, server, dishwasher, even floor scrubber in this castle. I want to make sure there are no witches escape the ones I've approved. And get Ezra in here. I need to ask him questions about his sisters."
I stand and everyone in the rooms stands with me. "Meeting adjourned."
Leaving, I walk through the hall and I'm hit with a daze in my head. She's close. Walking closer, I see an open door. Imani hums, sitting inside a living room space, drinking from a mug. My eyes must be glaring yellow. She hasn't seemed to notice me. Maybe for her, her head is always so foggy, unless I'm really close, she can't even tell I'm there.
I guess the moon goddess is blessing me with this heat. It'll make it hard for her to do any scheming ...or betraying. I know she doesn't love me. At least not yet. But does she hate me? How far would she go if she got the opportunity to strike me down? I don't like the feeling it brings up in me.
"Your Majesty." The Beta's mate whispers to me. I turn. Imani still hasn't noticed us, she's buried herself in a book. "The results of the blood test came back."
I look at them and a smile crosses my face. In the healer's own hand, there's a note. Her iron levels are much lower than they should be in a werewolf female her age. Without iron, young wolves may have trouble staying alert, focusing all around behave in ways that wouldn't be similar to themselves, even in heat. The Wolfsbane left no permanent effect on her and I'm pleased to say Imani is experiencing a perfectly healthy heat. She's in a late-stage and genetically, her symptoms are expected to be incredibly strong. "Has she seen them already?"
"Yeah."
"And what was her reaction?"
"She didn't say anything, only looked." I let my gaze drift back to her before snapping my focus back to the paper. "Her iron levels are lower than they should be. And the full moon is coming too. Put her on a diet with more red meat in it."
"I tried. She said no."
My nostrils flare. She makes everything so complicated. "Well tell her that she eats it on her own or I'm going to come in and start feeding her. There's no reason for the Luna of Lunas to have results that make it look like she's being starved." I hand her the paper. "Speak to the dietician. Work something out."
"At once." She bows and leaves and I step into the doorway.
Imani turns. "Mira, can you get me a-," she pauses, "I don't want to see you."
I walk closer. "Why aren't you eating?" She clutches her head as her eyes shift from a warm coffee brown to a golden yellow.
"Stay where you are."
"Your iron levels are low."
"I hate the meat they serve me. It's rare, almost raw. And sometimes it's bloody."
I frown. "You're a werewolf, you should like the taste."
"I don't," she spits out. "It's disgusting. I don't like the taste of blood, I'm not an animal."
I ignore the insult and cup her cheek. She grits her teeth and a knot works in her jaw. She's always fighting me and I'm getting tired of it. "Do I have to feed you?"
"No." She swats my hand. "Go away, I'm still angry."
I sit next to her, letting my eyes bore into hers and the power roll off my skin. It affects her because she begins to fidget, to scratch her skin, to worm away and out of my grasp.
"Do I?" I whisper, getting close to her ear. "Do I have to feed you? I'll do it, I don't mind." She hums and I smile. "Goddess above, you smell so sweet."
Embarrassment shows in her eyes. I'll never get tired of flustering her. "I'll eat." She whispers. "Is that all you came here for?"
"No." I run my lips across her neck. "I came here to see you." She's shivering like she's has a bucket of cold water dumped over her head. I draw back, a smug smile on my face. "Cold?"
"No. Just angry." Her eyes burn gold. "Go away, you've talked to me and you've seen me." She's a few seconds away from being overwhelmed. The beast will take over and move her, the hormones will do what they're meant to. Even an Alpha couldn't fight it, how is Imani, a werewolf who still can't manage her shifts be able to.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." Her hands uncurl from their fists and settle on my knees. I watch them as they begin to move over my skin. I watch as the goosebumps rise on hers. It's easy to forget that she's probably actively plotting my downfall when we're like this. "Please." She takes her hands off me like I'm scorching. "Please."
My vision is cloudy, hazy. I want more, I want more, I don't want to go. The words repeat in my head. Even an Alpha can't fight it. "Please what?"
Her hands shake and before I get in answer, she crashes her lips on mine. Her fingers tangle with the buttons of my shirt and my eyebrows arch with surprise. I lean away. What are you playing at?"
Her eyes are hazy and unfocused. "I'm not playing a game."
"Then what are you planning. The same trick as last time?"
"I don't care right now." My chest is bare now and her hot fingers run across my skin. Her skin is feverishly hot. "I know you don't trust me, but I don't care."
"So what are you saying then?"
She meets my eyes and lifts my hand, bringing it up to her heart. The beat is erratic and fast. "I don't know what I'm saying. I don't know." I feel her embarrassment curling in my toes. And her want overwhelming it.
I run my fingers up her spine. "Do you know that?"
She nods. I run them up her jaw. "And that?" She nods again. I kiss her neck. "And that?" She's breathless as we continue, shivering and dragging her nails along my back. I indulge her, I indulge myself, I forget myself as my vision blurs. Her scent is divine, her touch fire, her sound, goddess, her sound.
Her hand reaches deeper and I freeze, pausing. "Imani. Imani stop." The command is enough to make her waver. "Did you read the healer's note? You're not yourself."
She's pulling at her own clothes and I can't tear my eyes away. Her voice cracks when she next speaks. "I want it."
"You're not yourself."
"I haven't been myself for months."
I growl and dig my hands into her hair. She presses herself closer to me and I try and ignore the heat spreading across my body. "You're less of yourself than you normally would be on a heat."
"Please," she rasps.
"We can't."
Her eyes analyze me, confusion lacing them. "You don't want this?"
"You need more iron in your diet."
She watches me with owl wide eyes. "We already agreed on that."
"Yes, but that's why we can 't do this. Not now, not here."
She's barely listening. Her hands are creeping up my back and into my hair. I pull away and put my shirt back on, buttoning it up. "I don't want you to regret this later."
"I'm surprised you even care so much." Ouch.
"Why? Because I'm a senseless monster who slaughters and ruins lives for fun? We've been over this narrative before, it's tiring." She's tight-lipped. I lean in, right next to her ear. "When your iron levels stabilize, call me again. This time, I want to hear you whining while looking directly at me after pulling me in by your own power."
"I wasn't whining."
I give her a wide grin. "Sure sweetheart."
She tugs her shirt back over her head. "So that's it? You're just going to go?" She follows close behind me. "When did you get this righteous moral code?"
"There's a difference between what happens in a war and what happens between the two of us."
"Maybe I'll just go to someone else to get what I need."
I freeze in my place. "What did you say?"
"Maybe I'll go to the next raven-haired, blue-eyed man to give me what I need. There has to be one in the city."
Before I can think, I've turned around and I have her pressed against the wall. Her eyes are wide with the slightest hint of fear, but also with satisfaction. She knew I would do this. She goaded me on purpose. But it doesn't stop my blood from rising. "Listen, sweetheart." The word rolls off my tongue like a hiss. "I don't appreciate you goading me. You're not going to do that."
"How do you know? Maybe I'm just desperate enough to."
My canines drop and I run them over the mating mark on her neck. She whimpers. She fucking whimpers. "Never say that again. Got it? Never even think about it again. My promise of ripping out the throat of any man who thinks of touching you the way I do still stands. Letting the thought live in your head, you're my mate."
She opens her eyes and smiles slyly. She's not even mad. Or scared. I'm a little worried. Have I pushed too far? "Then prove it to me."
Her eyes are the most intense yellow I've seen them. And they haven't even flickered once. Should I be worried? She's not even trying to think past her urges. What the hell has gotten into her? "No." I drop my hands and put them to my sides. "Eat what the dietician tells you to and you'll find yourself feeling more like yourself."
I walk away, leaving her by herself.
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Imani's POV
It takes me a few minutes to realize what I'm doing, standing in the hall by myself. I run my hands through my braids. What have I done? Why did I do that? My hands shake. Oh my god, I started that...I wanted that. The witch told me if I just let my urges take over, if I let myself get swept up in the feeling, he'll reveal himself to me. And with that will come his secrets. But he doesn't trust me, he told me that. And he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
I want to scream. She was right when she said getting lost in him would be easy. I got so lost I was willing to give it all away, right there, right then, when I followed him into the hallway. I could've ended up pregnant, I could've brought a child into the mix and end up trapping myself here. I bite my nails, pacing back and forth. I need to talk to her and we need a new strategy. The way things are going I'm either going to one, end up pregnant, or two, get so lost in the of that I tell him all of what I know.
My lips tingle with the ghost of the kiss and my skin aches in the places where he touched me last. I need a shower, nice and cold to shock this feeling out of me. I step into the stream of water, shivering at the ice-cold slap to the face. I don't want to feel like this anymore.
After merging from the water, I riffle through my closet lifting up the place where I tore up the carpet and pulling out a charm. I shake it three times and it glows and faint purple. She's received my message. The crystal glows with the effects of magic. "Three days". The words are a faint whisper, but I hear it. "Meet me in three days."
In three days she'll meet me in one of the numerous parlors and hallways, in one of the many rooms used for nothing in this opulent castle. With this information in hand, the only thing I can do is wait. Just avoid him and just wait.