It had been a week since Adrian had heard anything about Ava. At first, he thought he could give her the space she needed to heal but that plan hadn’t even taken off before he shut it down.
Less than twenty-four hours later, he was exhausting all his sources looking for her and losing his mind while at it.
He couldn’t attend the council meetings or even supervise Rhea’s interrogation. He couldn’t sleep because the moment he closed his eyes all he saw was her.
The room smelt like her. Her clothes were still arranged in her cupboard like she had just stepped out for a run or something and she would soon walk through those doors with a smile just for him.
But that would never happen because he’d ruined everything. He berated himself about everything. Thought and rethought every conversation and interaction they’d had.
He should have told her instead of letting everything fester between them. He poured himself a drink and raised it to his lips before remembering that it was alcohol that had brought him to this point. If only that night with Ivy had never happened then maybe… he tossed the glass away and it shattered on the wall spraying alcohol everywhere.
The door to his office opened.
It wasn’t that he was working, he just couldn’t return to his room that held so many memories of Ava.
“Adrian, you need to stop.”
Calvin settled across the desk from Adrian.
“I fucked us up, Calvin and I don’t know how to fix this. I just need her back.”
“Beating yourself up about it won’t bring her back, Adrian.”
“Easy for you to say. You still have Cynthia.”
“Goddess, Adrian. I didn’t make you cheat with Ivy. I didn’t come here for a fight. The pack needs you.”
Adrian buried his head in his hands.
“So what am I supposed to do about that? Act like everything is fine and I am not falling apart without her? I’m not sure I can do that.”
Adrian wasn’t sure he could even do anything at all at this point. He was a failure.
“You must try. You took your vows to put the pack first always. You need to keep that vow.” Calvin said firmly. “So stop feeling sorry about yourself and man up.”
Adrian looked up at him sharply. “You think I am feeling sorry for myself?”
Calvin looked at him unimpressed by his display of anger.
“Yes, you are. You haven’t been down for a pack dinner since she left and you avoided getting involved in the Rhea situation despite knowing how important this is for us.”
Adrian looked away. He had been feeling sorry for himself. Perhaps he had failed Ava. He couldn’t fail his pack as well. He locked up all his thoughts on Ava so that he could focus.
“What is the update on Rhea and what moves are the council planning?”
Calvin hid a smile. He had Adrian could never abandon them like that, he just needed a little push.
“She refuses to confess, she insists that off we can release her, she will come clean with us. The council wishes to continue her torture in hopes that it will make her more forthcoming.”
Adrian contemplated it.
“I see no reason why we can’t give her what she wants as long as she doesn’t harm anybody. But ask Cynthia if she would mind seeing her, she did stab her after all. If she has any reservations, we won’t do it.”
*******
Ivy moved away from the door. No, this simply could not happen.
“Adrian has been missing these past few meetings.” Her father said waiting for her response. She was quiet.
Not only was she simmering about this lecture that she wanted no part of but she was more than a little angry at the idiots that had not only botched the job of finishing Ava but had somehow lost her.
It was well said that if you wanted something done well, you would have to do it yourself. How could they have let her off so easily?
Apparently, she had been rescued. Just how many lives did Ava have that she always managed to escape any bad luck? She tried to tune back into her father’s conversation with her. Her chance would come again. She was sure.
For now, she had asked the surviving assassin to track down Ava and keep her posted on her whereabouts.
“They say he is still heartbroken after Ava’s departure. But they are wrong, aren’t they?”
Ivy remained silent. Ava again. Would she ever escape the woman’s shadow?
“Because it would mean that you have failed to keep Adrian. You have been his consort for a week yet you don’t carry his scent. He doesn’t touch you. What use have I for you then?”
So this was her use to her father, a broodmare to help him elevate his status in the pack.
Ivy comforted herself with the knowledge that while he had his own plan, she had hers and very soon, she would show him how well she had learnt from him.
He gripped her arm, hard enough that she knew it would bruise. She didn’t wince though, she just stared at him waiting for him to make his point.
“Listen to me loud and clear, Ivy. I know you found out that I wanted to marry you off so you went ahead to get pregnant to keep your place here. That is fine but until Adrian names that child his heir, you are still a liability.”
“I don’t care what you have to do to keep his attention but you will keep it. You will make him care about you so much that once that child is born, he will name it heir. Then you can leave the rest for me. Do you understand me?”
Yes, she understood very well. She would have to find a way to keep Adrian on her side for her own sake so that when the time came, she would very easily cast aside her father.
“Yes, Dad. I understand.”
She had gone off to Adrian’s office in a bid to do just that. So what if he threw her out before? It would be different now. She would make sure of it even if it meant that she would strip naked in front of him for it.
She had no shame now. Shame was a luxury that desperate people could not afford.
Then she overheard the conversation between him and Calvin.
Did they want to release Rhea? Forget about getting Adrian on her side, she wouldn’t be alive to see that happen.
If he found out that she had taken advantage of the drug that Rhea had slipped him to conceive this child and send Ava away, she wasn’t sure that even her unborn child could save her from his wrath.
What would she do? She worried, breaking off her nail as she nervously bit on it. She recalled the anger in Rhea’s eyes when she attacked her and Cynthia. If she got a chance to say anything, she would sing about Ivy.
Ivy, get a hold of yourself. Ivy chided herself. She could handle this situation.
She just had to make sure that Rhea didn’t talk at the trial or best yet that a trial was never held to start with.