Chapter 50

Amelia POV

The morning was cold, wet, and silent. I sat at the old motel table, steam from the cracked coffee mug blurring my vision. Richard moved stiffly by the counter, pouring boiling water into the machine as if that mundane act could erase last night.

He didn't look at me. I watched him avoid my eyes. Finally he cleared his throat.

"About last night... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said it the way I did. And what I found? It dies with me. No one else will know. I promise."

My fingers curled around the mug.

My voice cracked. "You promise?"

He met my gaze for the briefest second and nodded. I wanted to yell at him, to thank him, to crawl over the table and shake him. But I just lowered my head.

"Okay."

We sat there a while. He poured another cup for himself and tried to act casual.

"Did you sleep?" he asked.

I snorted. "Barely. You?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

He rubbed a hand over his face and yawned. "We should eat something before Nathan gets here."

He handed me a stale granola bar from his bag. I took it. We sat chewing in silence. He tapped the table awkwardly.

"I hate this." I looked at him.

"What?" He muttered,

"This...weird quiet. The fact that I don't know how to talk to you anymore." I bit my lip.

"Then try." He met my eyes and swallowed hard, opening his mouth, then shutting it.

Finally he sighed. "Nathan's going to kill us if we look like we've been fighting all night."

Nathan eventually showed up in another SUV, shaking water from his coat and scowling at us. He didn't bother asking questions. He just tossed Richard the spare keys.

"This one’s yours now. I'll deal with getting the other vehicle towed and repaired. Try not to kill each other on the way south, huh?"

Richard muttered thanks while I stood awkwardly beside the open door, dripping and shivering. Nathan gave us both one last long look before heading back down the muddy track toward the stranded SUV, leaving us alone to finish the drive in strained silence.

The ride south was miserable. Rain lashed the windows in thick, icy sheets. Richard drove in silence, his eyes locked on the flooded road. My fingers drummed on my knee.

I cleared my throat. "So what is this inspection? What am I supposed to be doing?"

His jaw ticked. "You'll see when we get there."

I let out a brittle laugh. "So you just wanted me along for company?"

He snapped. "I wanted you to see what we're fighting for!"

The SUV fishtailed. He slammed the brakes, yanking us onto the muddy shoulder. "Out," he said. Rain beat down on the roof. I gaped at him. "What?" He was already out the door. "OUT!"

I stumbled after him, mud squelching under my boots. Water flattened my hair to my skull. He turned and faced me, rain sliding off his nose. "We're sparring. Now."

I barked a laugh. "You’re insane."

He advanced. "You think this is a joke? You want them to take you seriously? Then fight me."

My hands balled into fists. I swung at him. He caught my wrist easily. "Too slow." I swung again, sloppy, rage boiling. He sidestepped. "Come on, Amelia. You're smarter than this!"

"Shut up!" I lunged, slipping, crashing into him. We both went down in the mud, rolling. My knee dug into his ribs. He twisted, pinning me. Our breath fogged the space between us.

"Get off!" I shoved at him. He didn’t move. His eyes burned into mine. I saw anger. Hurt. Desire.

"Amelia..."

"Don’t," I hissed. He just hovered there, breath coming hard, eyes locked on mine. I felt every inch of him pressing me down into the mud. The rain was cold but he was warm. His gaze dropped to my lips then back to my eyes.

"Amelia..." he said, voice cracking. My hands fisted in his shirt.

"Get off," I repeated, weaker now. But he didn't move for what felt like forever, breathing hard, eyes drinking me in. I felt his knee shift between mine and I shivered. He swallowed hard, finally pushing himself off reluctantly, as if he had to tear himself away.

He flinched and pushed himself off me, standing and turning away. Rain poured. My clothes clung to me. I shivered. I scrambled up, wiping mud from my face, chest heaving.

"Happy now?" He didn't answer. He just trudged back to the SUV, leaving me to follow.

Richard POV

We drove the rest of the way in silence. Every mile felt heavier than the last. When we reached the facility, the staff pretended not to stare. I swear I could hear their thoughts. About the ambassador, about us, about why we'd arrived late, about why we were soaked to the bone.

They told us only one cabin was available. One bed. I didn’t react. Just nodded and took the key. I could feel Amelia’s glare burn through me but she didn’t say a word.

The room was small. Damp. Two battered chairs. One ancient bed. She dumped her bag and sat at the edge, arms around her knees. The wind howled against the window.

She broke the silence. "This would never work. You know that, right?"

My throat felt tight. "I know."

She sniffed. "Because of the politics. The House. The fact they hate me. That you won't defend me."

I closed my eyes. "Because they see you as my weakness. And they're right."

She turned on me. "You think I'm your weakness?" I met her eyes. "No. You're my fucking breaking point. I can’t think straight when you're around."

Tears welled. She wiped them away angrily. "And I don't even have a wolf. I'm nothing to them."

I sat next to her, careful not to touch. "That's bullshit. You're smarter than any of them. You're braver than most."

She shook her head. "Doesn't matter. I'm always going to be the outsider. The orphan. The traitor's kid. The wolfless girl they pity or hate. Nothing about me was ever mine. Not even my own blood. I don't even know what she did. What I might be. I'm sick of not knowing who I am."

I felt my heart crack. I put my head in my hands. "I’m sorry. For what I said. For what I did. For making you say that."

We didn’t sleep. Every movement on the bed made us both go still. At one point my hand brushed her arm. She didn’t move. Neither did I. The storm outside raged on, but the silence between us was louder than any thunder.

I shifted on the narrow mattress, the storm beating on the walls.

I turned toward her in the dark. "Amelia...are you sure you don't have a wolf?"

She went still. "What?"

I swallowed. "Because I've been feeling...something. When we've kissed. When I had you pinned in the mud today. Something deep in you. Something that felt like it was trying to answer me."

She was silent for a long moment.

Then, voice shaking, she whispered, "I've felt something too. When we're too close. When I forget to hate you. When I almost want to..." She trailed off.

I reached for her hand. She let me take it. And even though we didn't say anything else, I felt her fingers squeeze back.