Page 64 of Malcolm

“Svin, I do not reward failure. Pass this message along with the others. The business on that wolven land. Wrap it up before the end of this week.”

With that he left the room behind, his golden robes making a shushing sound as it slid along the floor as he exited into the hallway.

In the Forest’s Edge

Eliza

It wasn’t hard to change Cabins, though Malcolm’s uncle seemed confused by her sudden desire to be alone. She’d palmed him off with an excuse that she didn’t want to force Malcolm to keep sleeping on the couch.

For a few days, she tried her best to keep her distance, though she knew he still watched her. Even when she wished to approach him, she didn’t. There wasn’t any point in starting something that would end.

If he couldn’t promise to let her go, then there was little possibility he’d let her get revenge.

When the day came for her to travel to the border with everyone, she woke up again from a night of fitful sleep. Ever since she’d left his side, her dreams had been filled with flashbacks from her past. She was lucky if she got more than three hours of sleep.

That morning, she heard heavy knocking; she opened the door only to nearly be barreled over by Lilly and Morgan, who entered her cabin, not giving her any time to breathe. Morgan pounded on her back. “We’re here to help you pack.”

Eliza took a step back, lifting her hands to put space between them. “I already finished packing," she said, watching Lilly walk over to the couch where her bag sat.

“Oh,” Morgan said, her disappointment clear in her voice. “And here I thought I could sneak this into your bag.” She lifted a plastic bag.

Eliza frowned. “What’s that?”

Morgan grinned. Opening the bag, she pulled out a silky white teddy. “Something for both you and Malcolm to enjoy.”

Eliza gawked at her for a long second before she averted her eyes. “Morgan, have you ever heard of something called boundaries?”

“Boundaries,” she repeated breezily. “What’s that?”

“Why did you move rooms?” Lilly suddenly asked in her usual blunt fashion. Giving the room a short once over, her eagle-like gaze fell on Eliza’s body. “You look like you barely slept.”

“I felt it was time to get used to sleeping alone,” she explained.

“Why would you do that—” Morgan lurched when an elbow ended up in her gut as Lilly smiled.

“Well, if you’re done packing, let's make our way to the main hall and get some breakfast. We need to hurry and catch up with the guys; otherwise, we won’t hear the end of it.”

Eliza nodded; she walked around Morgan to grab her bag before she followed the two out of the cabin. She knew they were curious about her sudden move, but she didn’t feel comfortable explaining to them that she was trying to put space between her and Malcolm.

She stood by her word, no matter how she felt, there could be nothing between them. She would be wasting his time, and the worst part was that his tying himself to her would only cause him harm.

Before she was taken, she’d sworn off love. She’d been done with throwing her heart at others only to receive nothing in return, and she was even more done when she saw the number of married people who’d come through the door of Shade with their wedding rings in their back pockets.

Now, the reason had changed, but she wasn’t meant to be loved or to fall in love. So, what if her heart ached when she closed her door and realized he wouldn’t be sleeping in the same bed as her? So what if she’d barely been able to sleep and spent most nights staring at the sky, praying that something would change for her? Alas, she was still a scarcely alive girl whose soul was surviving off the magic from the goddess inside her. She wasn’t going to drag an innocent into her damned life.

No matter how strong Malcolm was, she didn’t want to put him through that.

So, as she said, she indeed loved him, but because she loved him, she wasn’t going to put him through the pain that her mother had gone through. Though in her mother’s case, her father hadn’t been taken away, he’d been the origin of her pain.

“Are you not going to eat?” Lilly's voice pierced the cloud of her buzzing thoughts.

Eliza frowned realizing she’d been just staring into space. She looked from Lilly’s worried expression to the plate settled in front of her. She grabbed a piece of the apple; taking a bite, she couldn’t help humming at the sweaty taste.

“Oh, there’s Malcolm—oh, I mean the Alpha.”

Eliza inhaled sharply, choking.

“Shit, are you okay?” Lilly said, with worry slapping her back.

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