Page 90 of Aine

If I weren’t so empty, I’d laugh at the thought. Damien fails to realize that I don’t feel the mate bond as he does. There’s a bit of an unnatural pull, but it’s nothing compared to what I assume he feels on his end.

“If you go, you’re as good as dead to me,” I threaten.

I’m met with silence, and a few minutes later, I hear the back door slam shut. Creeping out of bed, I peer out the window and watch Damien storm into his office. Another cry falls from my lips as I watch him disappear into the space.

Thankfully, he doesn’t try to speak to me for the rest of the day, allowing me to mourn in peace. Olivia comes up a few times to check on me, but I ignore her knocks. She’s been sent by Damien.

It’s not until Alex comes up that I finally consider opening my door.

“Let me in, Aine,” he yells through the wood.

I shout for him to go away, but he ignores it and continues knocking.

“Will you let me in if I tell you I don’t agree with and am not going on the hunt?” he asks.

My lips purse as I turn and look at the door. Would he lie about that? Probably not. My knees knock together as I open my door just a crack.

He barges inside the moment he sees my red-rimmed eyeballs.

“About time.” He moves to my window and rips open the curtains. I wince at the sudden brightness. “I understand your pain right now, but it’s my job as your friend to make sure you’re eating and getting fresh air.”

He hums in approval as he notices the empty plate on my floor.

“Damien will be pleased to see you’ve eaten the food he made,” he says.

I shrug, not caring what Damien finds pleasing. Alex takes it upon himself to adjust all my items to his liking before making my bed. I stand tensely by the door and wait for him to finish.

Once he’s done, he grabs the tissues that sit on my dresser and starts wiping my face. The kind action has me tearing up, destroying his efforts to dry me off.

“Thank you,” I murmur.

Alex frowns but allows me to take the tissues and wipe at my own eyes.

“My brother is stupid for continuing to go on this hunt,” he says. “He thinks he’ll lose the pack’s respect if he changes the plan at the last minute.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t care why he’s doing it. It’s cruel and needless.”

Alex pushes my messy hair out of my face and nods. I wince as his finger snags a knot, the action encouraging him to grab a brush off my dresser and spin me around.

We remain silent as he works his way through my hair, smoothing out the strands. He’s surprisingly good at this, knowing to start at the ends and work his way to the roots, and I assume it’s something he learned to do for Freya. She has long hair, and I’m willing to bet he was all too happy to help take care of it.

“The beasts are leaving soon. Many of the women and almost all who are mated to a human choose to stay behind and get drunk in the dining hall the first night the hunters leave,” Alex explains as he finishes up the last bits of my hair. “Jenna and Olivia are already there. I think we should go.”

It would be nice not to be alone right now.

“Do the hunters stop by the dining hall to say goodbye?” I ask.

Alex chuckles, promising that they know better than to bother those who stay behind. I’m admittedly glad this hunt causes a pretty significant divide within the pack and not just between Damien and me. It makes me feel more justified in demanding he calls it off.

“Alcohol does sound nice,” I admit, wanting something to take my mind off Damien and my family.

Alex tosses my brush onto my bed and opens my door. He gestures for me to follow, his smile soft. “Make yourself scarce,” he yells into the hallway before I step out of my room.

I jump at the sudden outburst.

“Sorry!” He chuckles, placing a hand on my back and leading me out of my sanctuary. “I could hear somebody being nosy in the kitchen, so I just wanted to make sure they knew they weren’t welcome.”

The back door slams shut as we reach the bottom of the stairs. Alex doesn’t let me look out the back door to watch Damien depart, inserting himself between me and the glass as he forces me toward the front door.

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