“Kade is not a good man, Abbie.” He doesn’t elaborate further. Instead, he turns on his heel and walks off before calling over his shoulder.
“You need to tell Gannon, if you don’t, I will,” Liam states, not bothering to stop.
“Wait,” I call out to him while chasing after him. He slows but doesn’t stop as he walks through the double doors.
“You can’t tell him. I barely know the man. You’re acting like I am about to run off with him,” I snap, annoyed at the accusation in his tone. Liam turns on me instantly, and I back up at the murderous look he gives me. My back hits the stone wall, and I gasp at his closeness.
“That is exactly what you will do. You will run off with your piece of shit mate and forget him. Just like she did. Then I will be left to pick up the pieces,” Liam snarls.
“He’s my mate,” I whisper, suddenly feeling tiny next to this man with the way he has me trapped and cornered. Everything he’s saying goes against everything I’ve ever learned about mates. We are supposed to be with our mates, not reject them. He reaches ahand up and I flinch, but he only twirls a lock of my hair around his finger.
“Gannon loves you. Kade doesn’t. That man isn’t capable of love. I guess you’ll find that out the hard way,” he whispers before letting go and stepping back.
“What’s that supposed to mean, Liam!” I growl. He glares at my tone. I didn’t mean for it to come out the way it did, but it’s too late to take it back.
I like Liam… but I don’t exactly trust his character analysis of other people given his own rather sociopathic tendencies. Maybe he’s just saying all of this to mess with me.
“Do the right thing, Abbie. You need to tell him. If you don’t and I have to, I will skin your mate alive and make you watch. If you want to be with your mate, fine. But don’t lead Gannon along. You hurt him like she did? Not even Gannon will be able to save you from me,” he says, his tone of voice turning darker along with his eyes. Tears prick the corners of my eyes at his words.
What is he talking about? Who is ‘she’? I don’t want to hurt Gannon.I’m overwhelmed by my own thoughts.
“I don’t want to hurt Gannon,” I tell him.
“Then you’ll tell him or reject your mate. If you want to be with that twat, Gannon will understand. But if he finds out because he caught you or I had to tell him, it will destroy him. But know this, Abbie. Just like you and Ivy are forever bound together, so are Gannon and me. Nothing will come between us,” he says while stepping toward me again.
His canines slip out, and his claws extend from his fingertips as he grabs my face. His thumb brushes over my cheek, and I swallow, feeling more like prey than I ever have in my life.
“You hurt him, and he may forgive you,” he tells me while his hand moves to my throat, his fingers wrap around my throat, his claws grazing the back of my neck and making my skin prickle with goosebumps as he leans in so close his stubble brushes my cheek.
“But I won’t. And I am not the sort of man you want to make an enemy of,” he whispers next to my ear.
A tear rolls down my cheek, and I nod before feeling his tongue move across my cheek, licking up the tear that brimmed and spilled over.
“So just keep that in mind. Like you and Ivy come together, so do Gannon and me. He is a good man, but I’ll let you in on a little secret.I’m not,” he growls before pecking my cheek and walking off, leaving me feeling sick with fear.
I stand there petrified, watching him leave when the door across from where I stand opens up. The king walks out of his office and stops, stunned to see me standing there crying.
“Abbie?” the king asks, and I look at him. His eyes go to the end of the hall where Liam is before he turns toward the stairs and disappears. The king sighs and pushes his door open wider, nodding toward it.
“Are you okay?” he asks, and I nod.
“I need to get back to my room,” I tell him, walking off.
“Abbie, is this over Kade being your mate?” The king calls out, and I stop suddenly angered that he would dare mention mates when he has locked his own mate away and rejected her over who her mother was.
“Even if it is, you would be the last person I would ask advice from, especially when your mate is rotting in a stable like a damn farm animal,” I snarl before walking off. I hear his growl behind me, and I half expect him to order me out of the castle too, but as I reach the stairs and look back at him, he stands by the window staring out at the stables. Good, I hope the bastard feels guilty.
Chapter Twelve
LATER THAT NIGHT
I’m awoken by Gannon’s voice outside. Sitting up, I shiver while rubbing my arms trying to warm them. “Kyson, I won’t let you—” Gannon’s words cut off abruptly, and I hear a grunt and a splash. My heart rate quickens at the sound, before it nearly leaps out of my chest when I hear the creak of the door.
Hastily moving, I sneak into the closest stall, trying to hide, his footsteps echo loudly, and the horses become unsettled. His aura ripples out violently, and I bite my lip to refrain from screaming out to Gannon.
Hiding amongst the hay, I wonder if Gannon is alright when I hear the crunch of footsteps coming nearer. I hold my breath, burrowing deeper into the hay. Peering out, I can’t help the whimper that escapes me when I notice Kyson, only it isn’t his normal form but that of his Lycan side. The moment the noise leaves my lips, I clamp a hand over my mouth at my mistake.
He turns swiftly in my direction, and I hold my breath. A few tense seconds pass by, and I hear him sniff the air while my heartbeats rapidly, drawing his attention further. His growl is thunderous, as he starts ripping through the hay, claws slashing violently as he searches for me. Within seconds, he finds me hiding, and I peer up at him, seeing his chest rising and falling heavily while his eyes blaze with fury. I clench my eyes shut when I see his hand coming toward me, only to hear him grunt. The thud of him hitting something makes my eyes jolt open to see Gannon has tackled him. He is dripping wet, which confirms he is the one who was tossed into the lake.