39

You hurt us, you hurt him.
I tried to block the voices out, wanting to cast them off as a nightmare but the voices came back, their loud whispers echoing in the foremost part of my mind. I slap my hands over my ears, willing for them to stop with their mockery, but they don’t.
You made him cry. You made us cry.
I groggily awoke, my clothes drenched in my own sweat. Sia is fast asleep beside me, laying on his stomach. I sit up straight, kicking the covers off me.
You hurt us. You hurt him. You hurt me.
It was not a nightmare. The voices are actually real. I went to the bathroom, and splashed cold water on my face. I checked the time. 2 a. m. I decided against going back to bed, and went to the balcony, taking in the moon that stood high in the sky. It didn’t remain quiet for a long time. The voices returned, louder than before, slamming into my head with force.
You hurt us. You made us cry. You hurt us. You made us cry.
Lightning struck and then I felt it. The raw power inches forward. My hair stood on my neck. Someone is here on this balcony with me. I am not alone. I slowly turned, and standing there, at the edge of the railing was a man. The power exuding from him made me want to fall on my knees, my face kissing the ground. I didn’t want to bow to a total stranger, so I held the railing to keep myself from falling.
The man is tall. His height couldn’t be more appraised. He had to be about seven feet. Uneven eyebrows framed his face. His orbs had specks of green and blue. His nose was slanted, cheeks hollow. He had hard lines around his mouth and I had a feeling he didn’t smile often. His neck was adorned with glittery necklaces. He was shirtless, tattoos covering every inch of skin, serving as a robe. Leather pants hung off his waist and clung to his long legs and firm thighs. His feet were hidden in military boots. He had a signet ring on his finger, and it gleamed against his pale skin. I looked at him over again, trying to decipher who he was, when suddenly it clicked.
The pale skin, those eyes, and that dangerous aura.
It was no doubt, that the man before me is Ruarc’s father. His gaze swept through me, and I felt underdressed in my tank top and sweatpants. Sweat trickled down my neck, knees quaked, and even at that, I refused to bow.
Then it stopped. The force. It just disappeared. I could breathe normally again. When I looked at him, he was grinning, looking at me as though I had passed a test.
“Who are you?”
My voice is hoarse and hollow. I know who he is, yet I still asked. He snapped his fingers and a wooden chair appeared before me. It bore no foam, just wood.
“Sit. You look like you would soon faint.”
His voice is as hard as granite, laced with authority.
I don’t refuse, sitting down, my hands on my knees as I looked at him. He had his back to me, hands clasped behind his back as he looked into space. Slowly he turned, his piercing gaze on me.
“Thjis,” he said curtly. “Lord of the Icelanders.”
Lord, not king. I dared not move. My breath felt like a silent whisper as it escaped my nostrils.
“I am…”
He cut me off. “I know who you are child,” he snaps. “You do not need to introduce yourself to me. I suppose you have questions, so ask them.”
Well, someone is angry.
“Why are you here? I know it’s not to check up on Sia.”
He forces a mild laugh from his aged mouth. “I came here to see you.”
I figured that. But why would someone as powerful as him want to see me? Me a pathetic little omega?
“Why? There isn’t anything interesting about me.”
He laughs. “You survived a blood bond to one of the most dangerous creatures alive, and you say you’re not interesting?”
I frowned at that. “I thought the blood bond was formed to save me?”
He looks at me for a very long time, studying me. It was unnerving.
“You weren’t supposed to survive it,” he snarled, and for a moment, I thought I saw fangs.
I wasn’t supposed to survive a blood bond? What the hell is this man talking about?
“Do elaborate.”
“Blood bonds are not created for the purpose of salvation but for destruction.”
Okay now I’m fucking confused. “But it is a bond,” I pointed out. “How can bonds destroy?”
He turned sharply to me. “You speak as though the bond between you and that female didn’t destroy you.”
Ouch. I’d like not to be reminded about my past if you don’t mind.
“When a blood bond is formed, the two souls are linked together in a way that is almost inseparable. To be apart is torture, to be together is worse.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I don’t expect you to.”
I let the insult slide.
“I want you to imagine this. You’re in a place where it’s just you and Nasia. And suddenly, the world comes crumbling down.”
I could see it then, Sia and I lay naked on the sand, fingers entwined as we listened to the movement of the waves across the sea. Suddenly, that bubble of paradise popped, when an army of soldiers burst in.
“You both have been captured by your enemies. Nasia is brought to his knees and is tortured. But every blow he receives, you receive the full brunt of it.”
I understand the meaning behind his words. Snapping out of that trance, I look at him. “Why are you telling me all these?”
He smiled. “Just thought I should share my knowledge.”
“Did… did you give the order for Anita to be killed?”
He frowned. “I have never liked that female. It’s a good thing she is dead. But I like you Clepp, a lot.”
I winced at my surname. I have never used it. Never saw the need to associate myself with the curse that is Clepp.
“Should I be afraid?”
“You should be. It’s not every day that the Lord of the Icelanders likes a mere she-wolf.”
I frowned at the insult. “I know your son. And I know he did everything to ensure you never knew me. So how did you find out?”
“I have spies everywhere. They learn of untold secrets and report back to me. You were never going to be a secret for long Clepp.”
“Your sons are a little too old for you to be monitoring them. Don’t you think?”
“I do as I please.”
“You do not seem shaken, that I might tell them about your visit.”
“You won’t tell.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I don’t, but I know that you are testing dangerous waters with that act of yours.”
“It’s not an act. I haven’t accepted him.”
“But you didn’t reject him either. Forgive my nosiness but what exactly did you gain from that little stunt?”
Nothing. I realize that I had gained nothing.
“Who else knows?”
“Well, his wives don’t know, and so are the rest of the creatures that roam the earth. I ask that you keep it that way until you figure out the mess that is your mind.”
“Are you asking me to reject him?”
“If it were up to me, I’d rather he never met you.”
“You’re harsh.”
“You’re not exactly kind with your words either.”
Well, that makes two of us.
“Shouldn’t I be an Icelander now that I have been marked?”
“Nasia prevented the change.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Ask him.”
But I couldn’t do that. If I did, he would know I spoke with his father and I don’t want him knowing just yet.
“So, is it okay for me to call you dad, dear father-in-law?”
He laughed. It wasn’t forced. “None of my sons’ wives have ever called me that.”
“I’m honoured to be the first.”
“War will break out between the duo if you accept my son.”
“The blood bond between you and Nasia might be weak but Nasia’s hatred for his brother is enough to…”
I cut him off. “Our blood bond is not weak.”
“But it’s not strong either. Because if it was, you would be able to hear his thoughts.”
“We have mated.”
He laughed softly. “Nasia hasn’t touched you.”
I blinked. He had to be lying. I think back to that day. Me naked, Sia clothed, the absence of soreness between my legs, but the claw marks.
“I clawed at him. We slept together.”
“I repeat, Nasia hadn’t touched you.”
Sia had lied. He had never touched me. Why then did he lie?
He had taken me for a pregnancy test knowing fully well that there was no way I could be pregnant.
Anger, pain and betrayal washed over me at once. I could feel my wolf clawing at the shield I set up between us, wanting to be free.
A single tear rolled down my cheek. Thjis looked at me, his face hardening. “Look away.”
I felt the raw power following that command and I realized that he was trying to compel me. Getting up, I put an invisible barrier up in my head. His power clawed, knocked but did not break through. He returned to skin; eyes wide with wonder as he looked at me.
“So, you can’t be compelled? Interesting,” he mused, the chair disappearing out of sight. Then his face hardened as a growl escaped his throat. “You shouldn’t have let me know,” he hissed. Lightning struck the sky once more and he went in the way he came.
And I realized then that the voices hadn’t said a word while we talked.