Jayce’S POV.
“You have to tell her!” King, my wolf scolds in my mind as I alight from the car and stand up tall, straightening my suit and scanning the surroundings. All my guards around bow and I give them a slight nod.
King and I have been quarrelling in my mind since morning about the issue with Skye. Just like Reed, he wants me to tell Alora about my past with Skye, but that’s not something I want to do anytime soon.
I’m too scared of how she’s going to react when she finds out that I was sleeping with another girl. The look of disappointment in her eyes is something I do not look forward to seeing any time soon.
I need more time to figure out how to tell her.
“Not anytime soon, King.” I say and block him out so he’ll leave me the hell alone. It’s a good thing he cannot communicate with Alora’s wolf yet. I would’ve been in grave trouble.
I’m about to start walking into the house, but I pause when I see one of the pack doctor’s coming out of the main castle building where my Chambers is situated. My mind immediately goes to Alora.
No! No!
God No.
“Doctor Karl!” I call and stride over to him. He bows respectfully, but I gesture he looks at me because I do not have time for pleasantries right now. I need him to tell me what’s wrong with Alora.
“Were you here to see my mate?” I ask eagerly. My knees buckle when he nods. My eyes grow wide with worry.
“What happened to her?”
“She had an injury during her training. A sprain on the ankle. I came over to look at it and give her an ointment to apply. It’s not very serious. She should be fine in a few days.” The more he talks, the more agitated I get. I rush into the house and head straight upstairs to our bedroom where I meet her lying on the bed.
My eyes fall on her legs. My heart twists when I see that her right ankle has been bandaged.
“Baby.” I rush over to the bed. “Why didn’t you tell me about your injury?” My eyes are scanning every part of her body to see if there are other injuries, but there appears to be no other. My gaze balances on her face.
It’s neutral.
She’s not smiling. Neither is she frowning.
She isn’t even looking at me.
“Because it’s just a sprain. I’ll be fine in a few days. It’s no cause for alarm.” Her voice is as cold as ice.
Alora never speaks to me like this.
No matter what happens, she never fails to smile at me. She has never used a cold tone when talking to me.
There’s something going on.
I prop on the bed and study her closely.
“Is everything alright?” I ask calmly, carefully, with my softest voice. I don’t feel too good about this.
When she looks at me, the look in her eyes almost sends me to my early grave. They are dark, teary and sad.
“Baby please tell me what’s wrong. You’re getting me worked up right now. Is your trainer giving you a hard time?”
“No, she is not!” Her voice is tight with bitterness. A single tear falls from her eyes. “And her name is Halle!”
“Right. Halle. I’m sorry.”
Peace.
Peace is the only thing I advocate for between us right now.
“Then tell me what’s wrong.”
“Why did you lie to me?” Her voice cracks.
Realisation slams into me like two hundred pounds of common sense. I am momentarily dumbstruck.
Is she talking about what I think it is?
“Skye. You’ve been sleeping with her, haven’t you? That’s what you’ve been hiding from me all this time.” The tears in her eyes break loose. They pour down her face like a waterfall.
Skye did this.
As I think about what I can do to her, my jaw is as tight as my eyes, as tight as my fists, as tight as the strain in my arms.
I brush my hand over my face, exhaling deeply. I’m trying not to drown in the craze of the panic clutching my heart.
“I can explain.”
“Of course you can!”
“Those things happened between Skye and I when I had not met you. I stopped the moment I brought you into this castle. I’m not sleeping with her. I haven’t even been in the same bedroom with her ever since I brought you here. I would never disrespect you like that, Alora.” Blood is surging through my veins, rushing through my body like a raging river. My head is spinning with the surge of adrenaline fortifying my being.
Without that hormone, I would be limp on the floor right now.
“You’ve lied to me before. How am I sure you aren’t lying right now?”
“Baby, look at me.” I stretch my hand forward to hold her chin, but she slaps it away. The spot burns.
“Don’t touch me” she spits out the words like a dragon spitting out fire. They incinerate me to ashes.
My heart is heavy. My vision is blurry. My heart is strained.
“I don’t want to see your face right now. Please leave, or I will.”
My legs haul me up from the bed. I look down at her, hoping she’ll change her mind and ask me to stay, but she doesn’t. She’s staring at the far corner of the room and tears are still streaming down her cheeks.
I brought this upon myself.
Reed warned me and so did King, but I didn’t listen to them.
Skye told her a completely different version of that story.
“Please leave.” She cries and I walk away from the bed.
I don’t want to leave, but I have to. I need to give her time to collect her thoughts.
We’ll talk tomorrow.
“It’s a thing of the past, baby. I’m sorry I lied. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but this is the truth. I haven’t touched that girl since the day I brought you here. I hope you believe me. Good night.” I go outside and close the door behind me.
Guilt and shame has covered every inch of my body. I don’t know what to do with myself right now. She has a sprained ankle and I’m making things worse by hurting her emotionally.
I’ve fucked up!