*Isla*“Death?” I repeat as Maddox stares at me unblinking. “Really?”Maddox nods. “Yes, that’s the punishment for committing treason. What do you think it should be? I mean, we have to be tough on these people who break the law.”“What about all of those Alphas who just fought against you in the war?” I counter. “How many of them have been sentenced to death.”Maddox shifts slightly in his chair. “Well, that’s a little bit different. Those are Alphas. They have a different standard that they are held to.”“Shouldn’t it be higher?” I argue. “I mean, those people have sworn allegiance to you, too, and not only do they fight you themselves, but they also force others to do so as well, whether they want to or not. If you can put someone to death for lying about their background, shouldn’t you be doing the same for the men who just tried to take your throne from you?”Maddox stares at me with his lips pressed together. “You seem awfully invested in this,” he says. “I’m not exactly sure wh
*Isla*My dress is silver.I refused to wear a dress that looks anything like the one from the dream that I had about the ball. Likewise, I’m not going into the ballroom ahead of time. I am waiting. Not with the other women, but in a room down the hallway from where they will be entering the ballroom.I wish that Poppy were with me, but she’s not. She’s needed in the ballroom as a servant. With all of these extra women in the castle, she’s been very busy running around, making sure everyone has everything they need. My understanding is that most of the Alphas’ daughters have brought their own help for things like getting dressed, doing their hair, etc., but those people don’t bring them food or tidy up after them. That’s been left up to the castle staff.Maddox didn’t even stay here the whole time between our discussion and the ball. He ended up leaving to go back to the front and then returning. I know that Antony got away from the people chasing him because my cousin told me so, but
*Isla*“Rebecca?”I can’t breathe. I’m trying to get oxygen into my lung, but nothing is happening. My head feels dizzy. My knees refuse to support my body, and the room around me spins.Maddox’s hands are on my arms, holding me up. “Yes, Trinity looks very much like my dead wife.” The words come out of his mouth the same way that he might order soup or comment on the weather.“But… but… but….” I can’t manage to form a coherent sentence.The dream I had the other night all makes sense now. Somehow, I’d subconsciously known that Rebecca would return to being a threat to me now that the contest had begun.“Isla, calm down,” Maddox says to me. “People are beginning to stare.”I want to break away from him, to shout at him that if that’s all he cares about, then he can kiss my ass. But if I break away from him now, I will tumble to the ground.Using the mind-link, I call out to the only other person I would trust to help me in this situation. “Ben! Come here, please! I’m going to faint!”
*Maddox*Everyone is staring at Trinity, and I feel bad for her.It’s not her fault that she looks so remarkably like her older cousin. Of course, her parents and her uncle knew this going into this situation. They have done this to her on purpose, and I don’t like it! It’s one thing for them to constantly fuck around with me, but she’s just an innocent girl.I know what everyone wants now, and I have to oblige them, even though I don’t want to.My eyes go out the door to Isla. She’s sitting out there with her brother, getting some fresh air. Well, now is just as good a time as any.With a deep breath, I head over to Trinity. “May I have this dance?” I extend my hand to her. The girl’s cheeks deepen into a bright pink color before she nods and slides her slender fingers into mine. I lead her to the dancefloor, and everyone parts to make room for us.She looks lovely in her ballgown, but the more I am around her, the more I see the differences between her and my wife. Rebecca’s nose wa
*Isla*I didn’t know if I should go back to my room or to a garden or maybe straight to my parents’ house, though they hadn’t followed after me. Ben is on my tail, so as I fly down the hallway not really knowing where I’m going, the other thought I had, to the top of the castle and over the side, quickly goes away. Not that I’d do that to my baby, but I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t even entered my mind.How could Maddox do this to me?But then… am I really that surprised? He doesn’t seem to understand how I feel about all of this at all. He either doesn’t understand or he doesn’t care or both.I make it to the end of a hallway and have to stop because I don’t have any idea where I am, and I don’t know where to turn. Ben catches up to me then, which he probably could’ve done before since he’s not wearing a ballgown and his legs are almost the length of my body. He waits for me to turn and look at him and gives me a reassuring look. It’s not quite a smile because he probably
*Isla*I think I know what I need to do.It won’t be easy. He won’t let me go, but I need to.I need to leave the castle.Everything that Trinity has said solidifies in my mind that Maddox is not considering my needs one bit, and the fact that I am carrying his child doesn’t even seem to mean anything to him.“I think… I need to go,” I say to Trinity and Ben as we are still sitting in the garden.“Oh, all right,” Trinity says. “To your room?”I stand, my legs still slightly wobbly from everything that has been going on. Ben reaches out to steady me, but I recover before I can fall over or even need to grab him.“No, actually,” I tell her. “I mean, I think I need to go home. Back to my pack. Away from Maddox. And… all of this.”Trinity stands, too. “Isla, I don’t recommend that,” she says, and her voice is still low but stern. “I think that Maddox is going to end up getting himself into a lot of trouble with the other packs if he doesn’t go through with this, but he’s clever enough to
*Maddox*Suitcases. On the bed. Packed.Isla. In her mother’s arms.After the discussion I just had with her father, I can’t believe that her mother is encouraging her to leave the castle. Did Daniel not mean a word of what he was saying when he told me that Isla’s parents would encourage her to stay so long as I could assure him that she wouldn’t have to worry about any of these other women?Of course, she doesn’t have to worry about them. They are white noise. Only here to serve the specific purpose of getting these other Alphas off of my back. I have told her that a dozen times, but she will not listen to me.Now, it seems she is listening to her mother, and the message Constance is telling her is not the same one I just heard from her husband’s mouth.The Luna turns around and stares at me with a mix of surprise and anger in her eyes, possibly a touch of hurt. “I was trying to convince MY baby not to leave, that she needs to stay here and see this through, thank you very much. You
*Isla*Maddox went back to the dance.I don’t blame him. I understand he needs to be there, and I understand a bit more why he didn’t tell me about Trinity, too. I have never lost someone like that before—someone I loved with all of my heart, a spouse, a mate, but I can imagine how painful it would be not only to have lost them, but to also blame myself for their death, and then to see them again.I put myself in Maddox’s position. How would I feel if I had watched him die, thought it was probably my fault, and then saw him again in the face of his cousin?It’s hard to say what a person would do in those circumstances, but it is easy for me to understand that it would be difficult.For the next few weeks, I am hyperfocused on every movement Maddox makes. Which woman is he talking to? When is he talking to them? How does he approach them, and how do they approach him?But he doesn’t disappoint men.After the pomp and circumstance of the ball was over, and all of the families went home,