Chapter 8
Ansel’s eyes darkened to the blue of murky waters. I took a step back from the desk and watched his face contort into a snarl. “Of course. Do not be fooled by this arrangement. This is not personal, only business. I need an heir, and your surrogacy will provide me with one. What you do after the baby’s arrival is none of my concern.”
The words stung worse than any amount of abuse I’d endured from the traffickers prior. Ada whimpered inside of me, and I sighed.
“Now do you believe me?” I say to her, but she only whimpers again.
I place the contract on the desk and pick up his pen. “Alright then, I accept,” I say as I sign. The pen is still warm to the touch, causing the corners of my mouth to turn up into a small smile. Years ago, Ansel’s illness left his fingers deathly cold, and I was always afraid that I would soon receive news of his passing. Waking up and rushing to make sure that he was alive had become as much of a routine for me as brushing my teeth.
I remember wanting nothing more than for his fingers to be warm to the touch like they are now. That he would survive and be healthy. I peek at him as he focuses on papers in front of him on his desk. He is healthy physically, but emotionally is another story.
“All signed?” he asks without looking up.
“Yes.”
“Good. Now for—” His words halt, and he tilts his head upward. Listening intensely for a moment, he gives me his attention again. “We will have to continue this later. I have business to attend to.” Standing from his desk, he brushes past me to the door. “Meredith will provide you with anything that you need in my absence.” I nod and Ansel disappears from my sight.
Leaving his study, I freeze at the sound of a familiar voice.
“Is it true that he rescued her from some wolf dealers that fled from the auction?” one of the maids asked Meredith.
“Mhm. Apparently brutally slaughtered them, too. I heard their decaying bodies are still on display in the district. I will tell you one thing. The Second Prince may be terrifying in human form, but his wolf is nothing but the devil. I’ve only seen it once, but the carnage it left behind is something I’ll never forget.”
I cover my mouth.
So the golden wolf really was him.
She was right. Ansel himself was scary enough, but his wolf was something out of a horror movie. The way it ripped into the men was so vicious, I’d forced myself to declare that a creature so beautiful doing something so heinous had to have been a dream.
I tune back into their conversation and realize that they are talking about me.
“…you’re guess is just as good as mine,” Meredith says to the other maid. “I don’t know why he would bring back such a scruffy little plaything. I mean, you’ve seen his chosen mate, Cherry. They’re getting married. I get wanting to have fun one last time, but you would think he would be embarrassed to be seen with her.”
The maid giggles and shakes her head. “Well, maybe he likes her for her glowing personality?” Their giggles turn into full, drawn-out cackles and my cheeks redden. I smooth the elegant dress that suddenly feels too big. I feel like an impostor clad in designer and couture makeup.
Things don’t change throughout the rest of the day. Meredith pokes and prods me and asks me inappropriate questions.
“Mmm…any diseases or infections that we should be made aware of from your past indiscretions? I know working girls don’t always take care of their bodies as they should.” She is rude and makes her dislike for me clear. “Such small breasts and hips…complications are sure to arise…” Every time she touches me, my skin crawls. I hate her, but I endure her treatment without a fuss for now.
The nighttime is a different story, however. Ansel isn’t the only one with a special ability, though mine is a bit more of a secret. Sneaking into Meredith’s room, I watch her sleep. I gently touched her hand.
“N-no…” Meredith says in her dream. I stand in the shadows of it and enjoy how she cowers in fear. She doesn’t know that it is me affecting what she sees, and that I fully plan to make it a nightmare. Figments of her imagination take the shape of Blue Moon pack members who call for her exile. They demand that she isn’t given food, water or sanctuary, much to her horror.
I sneak out of her room and hear a loud scream tear from it. I’m almost giddy by the time I’m back inside my room. Perhaps that dream will torture her enough to keep her on her best behavior in the future.
ANSEL POV
“I don’t have time for this shit. Are you going to give me the information that I want or are you going to make me do things that I really don’t want to?” The wolf dealers tighten their lips and avoid Ansel’s eyes. He chuckles. “Respectable, but stupid. You know what? How about some poetry instead?” They give him a look of confusion that grows when the gammas laugh.
Ansel rolled up his sleeves and extended his claws. The moonlight gleams against his pale blue eyes, making him look almost ethereal. “The people of the little town, tell me I’m the only one who can save them now. They tell me they are being hunted, by a hidden monster that slaughters whatever it wanted. They say that I am their savior and beg me to set them free…” Ansel raised his arm and struck one of the dealers, leaving bloody claw marks behind. Blood pooled from each and the man bent over in agony. Grabbing his head, Ansel slammed it hard into the brick of the dungeon wall. “But little did they know the monster that was killing them…was me…”
Releasing the man, he laughed manically when he fell to the ground. He watched fear etch itself on the other dealers’ faces, and he placed his hand on one of the gammas’ shoulders. “I happen to like that poem,” he said. “I thought it was one of my best yet.”
“I agree, boss. If they think that one was scary, they should hear the one about what happened to the man who hit his wife.”
“W-whatever you want to know, we will tell you…” one of the dealers said while the others nodded.
Ansel grinned. “Cooperation! I love that in any relationship.” Wiping the blood from his fingers with his handkerchief, he folded his arms over his chest. “Now that we’ve gotten the rough stuff out of the way, how about we approach things calmly this time around?”
After getting all the information needed from his hostages, Ansel excused himself and left the gammas to finish up. The remaining traffickers were going to die, whether it was by his hands or his men, but he was relieved that he got the information he needed first.
“Ansel, your follow up meeting with me is in ten minutes. Don’t be late, and no, I will not accept that you were killing for the good of Blue Moon as an excuse for your absence.”
Ansel rolled his eyes. “I’m on my way, Aron. I want you to know that for a psychiatrist, you are more of a stressor to me than any other trigger I could have.”
“Sticks and stones…sticks and stones.”
Ansel couldn’t help but grin. Aron had become more than just his psychiatrist over the months, they’d become genuine friends. He was patient and knew Ansel on a level that many didn’t. He listened to things that he was dealing with, and there was no judgement. At first, Ansel thought it was just a part of his training, but he quickly realized that it was done out of friendship, too. It was comforting considering the fast pace that everything around him was going.
Making his way to Aron’s office, he entered without knocking. “I have an appointment,” he said with amusement on his face.
Aron looked up from the papers on his desk. “Never gets old,” he said sarcastically. He motioned for Ansel to sit, and he clasped his hands in front of him. “How are you today? I heard that the past few hours for you have been pretty interesting.”
“Oh, in what way?”
“Don’t play coy with me Ansel, you were never good at it.”
“Fine,” Ansel said, sighing. “We infiltrated a trafficking ring and were able to stop the sale of a lot of wolves. They’re getting bolder about the crimes that they are committing around here. Thankfully, I was able to get a bit of intel from the dealers that we imprisoned. It’s not a lot, but it’s enough to put me on the right path to hopefully get ahead of all of this.”
Aron nodded. “Understood…and what about the personal matters?”
“Is this the part where you bring up my father? You don’t have to remind me, Aron, I know. He’s terminal, with less than a year remaining. Dwelling on it won’t change much.”
“I’m not asking you to dwell on it Ansel, I’m asking you to address it. Your father is going to pass, and you will take his place as Alpha. You need an heir, and since Cherry…you haven’t exactly been exploring your options.'
“So what? You expect me to just screw any and everything that comes my way?”
“No, but you don’t think the fact that your libido has practically gone to shit is a problem? You said it yourself that since Cherry, you haven’t been able to get an erection. I don’t know if that’s because you are heartbroken that you two broke up or if she’d driven you to the point of hating women, but whatever it is, it’s getting in the way of you fulfilling your royal duties. You come to me once a week for this and so far, nothing has changed. I mean seriously, and I’m asking as your psychiatrist and friend, when is the last time you’ve even desired another woman?”
Ansel sat in thought for a moment, unsure if he should mention Karin. Rubbing his hands across his face, he sighed. “Yesterday.”
“E-excuse me?”
“You heard me, doc. I desired a woman yesterday. So much, in fact, I had to take some time to myself to keep from attacking her.” Aron sat with his mouth open, and Ansel rolled his eyes. “I could do without the stare down, doc.”
“Sorry!” Aron said loudly as he shuffled through his notes. “I just-who is this woman who brought about such a miracle?”
