Chapter 214
He headed towards the figure in the woods, and I headed toward the direction he’d gestured towards. The pleasure still hummed in my veins, but I did want more. More than that, the anticipation of how jealous Candido would be made me throb. I felt like I was getting wetter with every step.
I walked for a few minutes before I found him. There was a great wall of darkness in front of him. He faced it, staring into it. At least, that’s what it looked like. I was close enough that I knew he could smell me, but he didn’t turn around. I approached him, about to call out to him when he spoke.
“I am glad to hear it,” he said. “What about Wolf Fang and Mountain Cliff?”
My eyes widened, and I held back from calling out to him, listening. He started to pace, but he didn’t seem to notice me, or maybe he didn’t care that I was there. And he shouldn’t. I was his mate. We were going to rule Full Moon together. I should know everything he does about the status of the werewolf world. I almost smiled, knowing that Candido was coming around to fully acknowledging our relationship.
“How long has the civil war been going on?... How soon? Where is Steven and his wife?... You think it has something to do with their daughter?” He sounded more and more frustrated. “This isn’t the time for petty squabbles. How long before they move in? Their defenses?”
I narrowed my eyes, listening to Candido’s half of the conversation. I figured Mountain Cliff was fine since he was talking about Steven and Lilian. It sounded like there were issues. I guessed this was what Raven wanted to talk to me about.
“In a few days’ time,” Candido said. “Until then.”
He hung up, it seemed, and turned. He looked at me briefly, but he said nothing and walked off. He didn’t even acknowledge me, but I held back from screaming after him, even though I really wanted to. I stared after him, trying to figure out what I should do next. I turned and headed back toward the group. Soon, I found Raven talking with one of the vampires from Peter’s group. She wrinkled her nose and looked at me.
“You smell desperate,” Raven said. “I mean really desperate.”
“What’s going on in Wolf Fang?” I asked.
She scoffed. “Too desperate. What’d you hear something?”
“Just tell me.”
Raven eyed me. Her eyes flashed red for a moment before she rolled her eyes. “They’re having some trouble keeping themselves together. In-fighting. Your dad’s let it go to shit, so there’s a question of whether they’ll be of any use when the real fight starts. Werewolf problems.”
Raven turned back to the vampire. “Let Cillian know. I’ve got a feeling it’s there.”
He nodded, glanced at me, and then left. Raven turned to me and shook her head.
“Honestly, you look ridiculous, and you smell like a brothel. You’re not even wearing pants.”
My face heated. “I do not smell like a brothel. Pants aren’t important.”
“They are when you smell desperate.” She rolled her eyes. “Did you even think to take clean yourself up after your little tryst with Cillian?”
“How did you know that?”
“I can smell him all over you,” she rolled her eyes. “Though, I suppose that was the point, right?”
I set my jaw and thought back to how Candido hadn’t even acknowledged me. Could he tell that we hadn’t actually had sex, or was Estella’s enchantment still so strong on him that he didn’t care?
She waved her hand in front of her face.
“I’m going to Wolf Fang,” I said.
Raven rolled her eyes. “Do what you want.”
I drew back. “You wanted me to go earlier. Now you don’t care?”
“Surprise, Hedy, I didn’t care then,” Raven said. “And you’re not exactly going to do anything useful. You’ll probably just throw your weight around, or at least try to, and probably end up almost getting killed again.”
She started to walk away, and I followed her.
“If you really believe that, why tell me anyway?”
“I was giving you an opportunity to learn from your mistakes. Silly me for thinking you had that capacity.” Raven said, nodding at someone. “You have no sense of what you’ve done and you don’t care to know. I doubt you would care even if you did know.”
“I don’t care,” I said. “All that matters to me is Candido, and if going to Wolf Fang will make that happen, then I’m going.”
Raven rolled her eyes. “As I said, do what you want.”
“What were you talking about with him earlier?”
“None of your business.”
“I’m Candido’s—”
“Hanger-on,” Raven interrupted. “Nuisance? Problem? Yeah, all of that, I know.”
She stepped into the air with a sigh. “As I said, do what you want. It really doesn’t concern me.”
Then, she vanished without another word. I huffed and headed toward where I could hear people gathering. There was the rumble of cars nearby. People were starting to move towards them, and I saw Cillian. They were all congregated around the caves that we had come through. The vampires who had shown up with Cillian were packing up two of the trucks. Some of the werewolves were packing up the third one.
I paused for a moment as I thought of what had happened only a few hours ago. Estella was dead and out of the way. Candido knew that Cillian had touched me. He was probably rolling in jealousy wherever he’d gone. That had to be why he walked away from me. If I could get to Wolf Fang and make them loyal to Candido, he’d see how great of a partner I am. He’ll remember how great we are together. I would be that much closer to breaking the spell Estella had put on him.
And if that didn’t work, I’d find the Heart of the Moon and change his mind. I’d make him forget Estella ever came back into his life. I’d make him love me the way he’s supposed to love me. As I drew closer, I realized that Candido was there among the people. He turned to Cillian and my heart lurched as they started talking. Fear filled me and I hurried towards them. If Candido told him about Estella, it would ruin everything. I still needed Cillian on my side
“Cillian,” I called as I got closer.
Candido turned away from Cillian and called out to someone else, completely ignoring me. Cillian cocked an eyebrow at me and snorted.
“Seems like Raven isn’t in a forgiving or kind mood…”
I blinked. “What do you mean?”
“She usually has extra clothes with her,” Cillian said. “I’d thought she’d give you something to wear.”
“I haven’t seen her since earlier,” I lied.
Cillian’s lips twitched as he adjusted the sword on his belt. I blinked, looking at him as I realized he was wearing something different than he had been earlier. When had he had the chance to change?
“What were you two talking about?”
“You,” he said. “And your penchant for getting into trouble.”
“Candido was talking about me?” I asked, glancing after him.
Cillian hummed lightly. “He asked if we would take you to Lunae’s Circle for the rest of the war and keep you there.”
“There’s no way I could go. My place is here.” I lifted my head. “I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter. His Majesty said hell no, and Candido didn’t put up much of a fuss about it. If anything, he seemed a little resigned, not that I can blame him.”
“What does that mean?”
“His Majesty doesn’t care enough about your life to do what Candido is actually asking of him.” His lips twitched. “Though I have a feeling that most of Lunae are on that same boat if Raven won’t even spare a pair of pants for you.”
I frowned and looked at him. “Is she so important?”
“She is our beloved princess,” Cillian said. “A great commander, talented with her craft… caring. She really lived up to Hedwig’s line.”
I set my jaw. “Sending emails?”
“We don’t use email,” Cillian said. “And Raven’s quite the explorer in her own right. I’d have thought you had figured that out by now.”
I frowned. “Why would I have thought much of her in all of her flashy clothing?”
Cillian eyed me. “Interesting you would say that after wearing her clothes.”
I turned away from him and looked to where Candido climbed onto the back of the truck. He pulled the woman from before up against him in a tight hug. She cried into his chest, and jealousy stirred in me. Just when I had gotten rid of Estella, another woman was trying to get between us!
I would have to get rid of her first.
