Chapter 52
KARIN POV
“It was awful, Mags,” I say, hardly able to keep calm. “I’ve had no one be afraid of me before. I don’t remember everything that happened, but I know by the look on their faces and the blood in my mouth that it wasn’t good.”
“Calm down, Lady Karin,” she says as she rubs my back. “I’m sure things will work out for the best. Sir Ansel will take care of things, but beyond that, I know you’ll figure out what’s going on with you.”
The smell of gin and cedar enters my nose, and I instinctively look up. Ansel stood in the doorway with his arms folded over his broad chest. Though his training was over, he remained shirtless with light jogger pants on. “Maggie, I need to speak with Karin alone,” he said firmly.
“Yes, sir,” Maggie replied and leaves the room.
Ansel shut the door behind her. “Well, it has been an eventful day, to say the least,” he said.
“I don’t know what to say,” I whispered. “I don’t know why Ada took control that way, knowing I would never hurt a soul. I may not have liked the things that Lady Gwendolyn linked to me but—”
Ansel raised his eyebrow. “Things she linked to you?”
“Yes, they were worse than what she said out loud, but still there was no cause for Ada to take over and almost kill her the way that she did.”
“What did she say?”
“It’s not important.”
“Karin, what did she say?”
“Apparently, Lady Cherry found humor in bragging about what she did to me. The rumors about what is going on between you and me are yesterday's news. Now it’s all about how unsuited I am for Blue Moon as a whole. She taunted me for all the things that were done to me—including the auction house.” I pulled my legs to my chest. “I can deal with that. I know where I came from, what happened and why, but it was the way she looked at me.”
“How did you look at you?”
“She looked at me like I was weak. Like it wasn’t just Blue Moon I didn’t belong with, but like I didn’t belong with you.”
“Karin…”
I shook my head. “I know what you’re going to say, Ansel, and I know that too. I’ve grown to care less what people think when it comes to our relationship because I know how important we are to one another, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t notice how out of place I am at times here. I think that’s part of the reason that I wanted to go to the Blue Moon ball so badly. With everything going on with my father, our surrogacy, all the changes, for one moment—one night—I just wanted to…feel beautiful and, I guess, normal.”
Ansel sits beside me and pulls me in his arms. “I’m sorry. I haven’t taken into consideration how cooped up you’ve must have been feeling here. I guess I have been Beasting you.”
“What?” I asked, scrunching my nose.
He chuckled. “Never mind. Just know that I hear you loud and clear and while I cannot fix everything, I know there are a couple of things I can do to start.”
“I’m listening.”
“Well, first, I’m assigning Maggie as you mentor in combat.”
“Really?!”
He laughed. “I wouldn’t be so excited if I were you. You haven’t seen what she can do. You two may be friendly, but I doubt that will be a factor when it comes to training you. I’ve seen her with Henry, and let's just say, she’s not the nicest when challenged.”
“Oh believe me, I know. I could have sworn once she considered swatting me with the brush because I refused to let her brush the tangles from my hair.” I run my hands through my hair. “Though granted, she’s gotten my hair to a healthy state, I’ve never seen it at before.”
“Good, then this should work out perfectly,” he said. “The next thing is I think you should spend some time outside of the manor; outside of my land.”
“R-really?”
Ansel smirked. “I see really is going to be the response for all of my suggestions.”
“Sorry,” I reply shyly. “You caught me off guard, is all.”
“I know. I mean it, though. You should see the town, visit the shops and interact with others. I trust you will stay out of trouble”—he rubbed his chin—“well, within the allotted amount you get into regularly.” I scowl at him, but he ignores it. “Third thing,” Ansel's face grows serious. “I would never tell you how to handle the relationship with your wolf, but if today is any sign of what’s been going on between you two, it seems that you’ve been out of sorts for some time.
Ada paces inside of me. I can still feel her anger, not only toward the other wolf, but toward me. “She’s been more aggressive and quicker tempered since the incident. I’ve been having a hard time keeping it all in, and today…I think everything reached a breaking point between us and she snapped.”
“I’m not surprised. Listen Karin, you are a graceful ballerina, a loving daughter, an elegant woman, and a bunch of other things, but you are also a wolf; a strong one at that. Forcing Ada to keep everything bottled inside because you’re worried how others will perceive you will permanently damage the bond between you two. You haven’t changed things; if anything, you put her in offensive mode against everyone, including you. If it wasn’t for Jeff and me, today, she would have gone to lengths that neither you would have come back from.” He smooths the frays of my hair. “Stop underestimating her and yourself. You don’t need to be afraid of the power inside of you. Use it as you’re training with Maggie. Ada and you need this. I promise you won’t go too far into the darkness.”
Ansel’s words soothe me, and I feel relaxed for the first time since what happened.
“I didn’t mean to go overboard,” Ada says sadly. “She just wouldn’t stop. We may not be the strongest in the litter, but we are also not the weakest.”
“I know. It’s my fault, I haven’t been listening to you. I’ve been so wrapped up in me I never thought about how keeping everything in was affecting you. I’m grateful to you for standing up for us today, and I’m sorry for how I’ve been.”
Ada stops pacing and lays serenely in a ball. Turning my attention back to Ansel, I kiss his cheek. “Thank you. You’re right. I’ll work on it.”
“Good. Now, for the last thing on my list.” He wraps his hands in my hair and pulls me to him. “Let’s take a shower and see if we can work out a bit of the remaining pent-up aggression in you.”
My heartbeat grew erratic under his touch. “What makes you think that I have pent up aggression?”
He leaned in and nuzzled his mark behind my ear. “Fine then, let me rephrase that. Let’s shower and see if we can work out a bit of the remaining pent-up aggression in me.” He ran his tongue against my neck. “Technically, you interrupted the training session with my men.”
“I did, didn’t I?”
He nodded and picked me up. Holding me bridal style, Ansel carried to me towards the bathroom. “Let’s really see what my Little Wolf can do,” he said, smirking.
