Chapter 54

Soren

With Celia’s back turned to me, I can finally let my stoic expression contort into one of worry rather than neutrality. I had to take her away from the door just in case the gift for me — or for us — was dangerous.

It could have been poisoned or contained a deadly powder that could kill us within a matter of minutes. It also could have been completely safe but I am not willing to take that chance.

If Celia were to die under my protection, her blood will be on my hands. I would have inadvertently started a war with the Lycans, who are very easily agitated and provoked, and it would have been a whole mess over something that I could have very easily stopped from coming into fruition.

Celia sighs and I have to hold back on reaching out to her and pulling her into my arms, to soothe her anxieties. Her shoulders remain slumped as she shoves the remaining clothes into her bag. She shakes her head every now and then and I know that I will have to explain what happened to her sooner rather than later.

I am about to turn away when Celia swivels on her heel, a slight frown on her face as she plants her hands on her hips.

“Soren,” I usually like hearing my name come out of her mouth but today it feels like a death sentence, “you have to have some idea about what was inside of the envelope, right?”

“Celia,” I breathe out and pinch the bridge of my nose.

“No, Soren, I will not accept whatever excuse it is that you have this time,” she pushes towards me and pokes a finger into my chest. “You know Bianca better than any of us do. You have to have some idea about what type of message that she sent to us.”

Us. My heart can’t help but skip a beat at the word. I like the fact that Celia and I are now a team, a unit working together as one against a threat that wishes to dispose of us.

“I promise to you, Celia, that I am telling you the truth. I have no clue what was at the door nor do I think that we should know what was inside the envelope,” I speak to her with nothing but the truth and the hope that she will believe me. “Ignorance is bliss.”

She removes her hand from my chest, the spot where her finger pushed into me now feeling ice cold.

“Ignorance may be bliss to you, Soren, but knowledge is power,” Celia says, her remark calculated and sharp.

A silence fills the room.

I look down at Celia, tilting my head to the side, and wonder where he sudden boldness has come from. We have argued and bickered with each other in the past before, yes, but it has always been out of uncontrollable emotions and grievances that have been left unsaid for so long.

It is so unlike her to act like this. Usually she is so soft spoken and kind, always allowing others to have their fill first before taking the rest for herself. She is a fantastic Healer, from what I have experienced and heard from Healer Anderson, so what is up with the sudden switch up between the kind hearted Celia versus the stubborn princess?

Has Celia always been so decisive and calculating? Is there something about her past that I simply do not know about?

It would make sense that she will change after receiving her title and rank as princess but it is such a stark contrast for her to be acting like this so soon. She could not have possibly changed overnight or with the snap of her fingers, but I suppose that desperate times call for desperate measures and decisions.

I brush the thought away and turn my attention back to her. When our eyes meet, I can’t help but pause for a moment and to take in the shade of her eyes. The hazel color lures me in, making me want to sit in silence and just stare at her for the rest of my life.

But I can’t. I have to keep her safe and alive and the only way I know how is to keep her as far away from the danger as possible.

“Knowledge is power, yes,” I slowly nod along with her words, narrowing my eyes at hers ever so slightly. “Why do you want to know of what Bianca — or anyone else for that matter— has used to threaten us?”

“Because it is my life, Soren,” her voice cracks but she is quick to cover it up by clearing her throat, “and I want to know all of the details before I blindly put my trust into someone. I don’t want to be burned or stabbed again.”

I go silent, unable to form a proper response to try and reassure her that I am here for her, that I do not plan on hurting her any more than I already have. I know that I have fucked up in the past and I know that I have emotionally hurt her, but I am going to need her to start trusting me now.

“We need as much information as we can get so we can be properly prepared to handle the task in front of us,” Celia quickly adds on and takes a step towards me, closing the distance between us.

Before I can even respond to her, the bedroom door’s lock softly clicks. The two of us turn and I move to shield Celia, my mated instinct kicking in, and hold my arm back to make for sure she stays behind.

I am ready for anything to come through the door, my muscles tensing, but it is just my Beta who swiftly slips inside. He holds a bag in his hands and bows his head towards me, remaining by the bedroom door.

“Sir,” he says, “the envelope contained this. I think it would be wise for you to take a look at it.”

I nod and take a quick glance at Celia from over my shoulder. She looks up at me with wide eyes, blinking at me as if she is lost in the haze of her own thoughts.

I walk across the room and take the bag in my hands.

I cannot bring myself to look at it, an overwhelming sense of dread filling my body. Celia takes her place at my side and slips the clear bag from my hands. I swallow the lump that forms in my throat and listen to Celia’s gasp of shock and horror.

My body goes numb. I reach to the side and pluck the paper from her hands, the weight of it so light and yet the overwhelming sense of dread makes it feel impossibly heavy.

Inside sits a white piece of paper. There are red letters on the page and I immediately recognize Bianca’s handwriting. The red marks on the page look remarkably close to blood, splattered and smeared across the edges. The paper reads:

I will kill you and that bitch and take what is mine if it is the last thing I’ll do.