Chapter 60

Agnes

The moment Elijah said those words, Thea darted behind my legs and gripped my skirt as if Olivia might whisk her away if she didn’t hold onto me. I didn’t know what to say or do, but feeling her body tense against me made my heart constrict painfully in my chest.

Behind her, Olivia stood in the doorway, her lips curved into a tense, unconvincing smile. But her eyes flashed with something closer to irritation than warmth as she looked down at Thea.

“Thea, sweetheart,” Olivia tried again, dropping to a crouch and holding her arms out, “it’s just me. Your mommy.”

Thea didn’t move.

It felt like a knife was twisting in my chest. She was terrified. I could see it in the way her knuckles turned white, her little shoulders hunched up like she wanted to fold into herself and disappear. I reached down instinctively and rested a hand on her back.

“Hey, it’s alright,” I murmured, offering Thea a smile. “Look, your mom brought you something. Why don’t you take a peek?”

Thea’s head tilted slightly, just enough for one wide eye to peek out from behind my thigh. Olivia stepped further into the room, motioning behind her. Two servants walked in, struggling to carry what could only be described as an enormous gift-wrapped box. It barely fit through the doorway.

Elijah, standing just a few feet away, raised an eyebrow. His gaze flickered to mine, and I could tell we were thinking the same thing. Whatever this was, it wasn’t a gift. It was a bribe.

I folded my arms across my chest, biting the inside of my cheek to keep the words from spilling out.

“It’s okay, Thea,” Elijah said quietly. I could tell he was trying to restrain himself, too—for Thea’s sake, not for Olivia’s. “Go ahead and open it.”

Thea hesitated, her small fists clenching and unclenching as she wavered between fear and curiosity. But finally, after what felt like an eternity, she stepped out from behind me and approached the box.

Her fingers found the edge of the wrapping paper, and with one final glance over her shoulder at Elijah, she began to peel it away.

The moment the paper fell away, Olivia knelt beside Thea, her expression softening into something more carefully rehearsed. “Do you like it, sweetheart?” she asked. Thea didn’t answer right away, just rubbed her arm nervously and leaned away from Olivia ever so slightly.

I blinked at the enormous dollhouse standing in front of us.

But it wasn’t just any dollhouse. I recognized the craftsmanship instantly; I had seen the maker’s work before—delicate, intricate, and stunning. This specific toymaker was the best in the entire pack, perhaps in all the packs, which only meant one thing: it had cost a small fortune to acquire this.

Thea’s eyes grew round as saucers as she took in the pink and blue siding and the scalloped eaves. Her lips parted slightly, and for the first time since Olivia arrived, she looked genuinely interested.

She stepped closer and began circling the large dollhouse, gently tracing the tiny windows and the perfect little porch with the tip of her finger.

Carefully, with Olivia’s help, she opened the dollhouse to reveal at least ten exquisitely-designed rooms, each complete with a beautiful set of furniture and a whole family of handmade dolls. The house itself was so large that the roof was nearly level with the top of Thea’s head, and the craftsmanship was incredible.

It was like a little girl’s dream.

I exchanged a glance with Elijah behind Olivia and Thea’s backs. He didn’t look at me, but judging from the way his mouth was pressed into a thin line and the flicker of unease in his eyes, he felt it too.

Olivia wasn’t here out of maternal love. This gift wasn’t ‘just because’. She wanted something. And that ‘something’ was Thea’s affection.

For a moment, I wondered if Elijah had been right—that Olivia might be trying to regain custody of Thea. She wasn’t the one who had sent the DNA samples in for testing, but it didn’t matter. Either she was trying to pull Thea to her side, or she was outright trying to weasel her way back into both of their lives.

I was leaning toward it being the latter. Which meant that, despite everything Elijah had assured me, my presence here was tentative at best.

A few sweet visits here, some lavish gifts there, a couple of tugs on the mate bond and some empty promises in between… and she could have both of them wrapped around her little finger, so long as she played her cards right.

The very thought made me wince and look away. I didn’t want to think that Elijah could be shallow enough to fall for something like that, but the fact of the matter was, she was his mate. They still bore the mating marks and nothing was tying him to me except for a contract.

She could manipulate him a lot easier than he thought.

For a long while, the room was quiet save for the faint sound of Thea inspecting the dollhouse. Olivia sat cross-legged beside her, watching intently as if trying to read Thea’s every little move.

Elijah and I lingered near the doorway, neither of us willing to step too far away but also not wanting to cause upset for Thea. So long as they were playing nicely, it was okay, right? I didn’t have the answer to that.

Still, I could feel the tension radiating off of Elijah. He was standing rigid beside me, his eyes narrowed like a hawk watching his young.

I shifted on my feet, stealing a glance at him—and froze.

“Elijah,” I said softly, nudging him with my elbow. He glanced at me, his brow furrowing slightly. “Your hand,” I said, nodding downward.

He followed my gaze, and his eyes widened slightly. In his closed fist, the glass of gin he had been holding earlier had shattered because he had been clutching it so tightly. When he opened his fingers, thin rivulets of blood trickled down his palm, smearing over the glass shards and dripping onto the carpet.

“Damn it,” he muttered as he stared down at the mess. “I didn’t realize…”

I reached for his wrist. “Come on. Let’s get that cleaned up.”

He hesitated, glancing once more at Olivia and Thea. But they seemed fine for now, and with security all over the premises, it wasn’t as if Olivia could try anything. After a brief pause, he nodded and let me lead him to the kitchen.

I turned the faucet on, letting warm water run over the cut as Elijah leaned against the counter.

“You need to relax,” I said softly, dabbing at his palm with a clean cloth. “She can’t take her away from you with one dollhouse.”

His jaw tightened. “I know. But that doesn’t stop the fear.”

I pressed my lips together. The vulnerability in his voice took me by surprise, softening some of the hard walls I’d built up lately.

“I get it,” I whispered. “I’d do anything to protect Thea, too. I lost my baby seven years ago, just a few weeks after her birth. If I can help it, I’ll never let another child suffer.”

Elijah’s gaze snapped to mine when I mentioned my own missing baby. I kept dabbing at his wound, keeping my gaze averted—if only to avoid looking at him. I couldn’t believe that I had just blurted that out, but it was too late now.

When I dared to glance up at Elijah, I half expected him to call me crazy like so many had or finally call me out on the DNA samples. But he didn’t. Rather, his eyes softened, and for a long moment, he just stared at me.

Something twisted inside of me then. A faint pull, a gentle thrum behind my ribcage, like an invisible thread tugging on me. I didn’t know why I did it, but I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against his knuckles.

The warmth spread instantly, and when I pulled back, the cut had disappeared.

Elijah stared at his hand, then at me.

“That’s twice now,” he said quietly, referencing the night he had licked my own cut and the wound had closed. “What…?”

I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything, a scream cut through the house.

Elijah was already moving before I could react. I didn’t hesitate to follow, my heart leaping into my throat. All of the worst-case scenarios flashed through my mind, instantly followed by cold fury. If Olivia did anything to hurt Thea—

The sight that greeted us stopped me cold.

Thea was hiding behind the couch, tears streaming down her cheeks. And Olivia stood over the dollhouse, which was now shattered into pieces at her feet, her fists still raised over her head.