Page 17 of The Wolf Prince's Mate

“What was what?” she replied, not taking her eyes off the tie.

“Why did you almost beat the girl to death?” I asked, my tone harder.

Lilith rolled her eyes.

“I haven’t seen you the whole day, and the first time we’re spending together, you want to make it about a servant girl?”

Was she being serious? She had the girl’s blood on her dress and had the nerve to look offended at my question. I gripped the hand on my tie, forcing her to look at me.

“What has come over you?” I questioned, searching her vibrant green eyes. “You almost killed an innocent girl for nothing, and all you can do is ask why I’m in a suit?”

“Maybe if you spent some time with me, I wouldn’t have to resort to extreme measures to get your attention.” She spat out, her tone dripping with venom.

I blinked, my brows knitted in confusion. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“You’re always at work. You never spend time with me. You don’t touch me. You don’t even eat with me. The only time I seem to have a slice of your attention is when I indulge your precious subjects. So, forgive me if I do it a lot. You pushed me to it.”

I took a few steps back, her hands falling from my grip in the process. I had not always been distant. I had done everything within my power to be the best husband and not let a repeat of what happened to my parents find its way to my home. Then, Lilith lost our baby, and everything changed.

Every attempt I made to get closer to her and be with her in her moment of pain was thwarted, and before my eyes, she turned into something I could barely recognize.

In the beginning, I thought it was the pain of losing a child that drove her to such extremes. Then, the days turned into weeks, the weeks rolled into months, and the months became years. It became increasingly difficult to know if it was still the pain or if this was who she was. I had to wonder if I had been so blinded by my love for her and how she fit so perfectly into my life that I hadn’t looked at what was beneathher mask.

“You never look at me. You don’t even laugh at my jokes. I overheard the elders talking about how you have no heir because I lost our baby. Maybe you hate me for that,” Lilith continued, her voice breaking into a sob. I found myself covering the distance I had created between us and gathering her into a hug.

It didn’t matter how vile she had become. I hated to see her cry, and there was a hopeful part of me that still believed the woman I loved was in there somewhere and would come out soon.

“I don’t hate you. I’ve just been really busy.”

“And you can’t have anyone help out? The reason you built a study was so you could work from home and be close to me, but you hardly make use of it.”

Her words were raw and tugged at the strings of my heart. I opened my mouth to convince her I didn’t find her repulsive when the grandfather clock in the living room chimed, breaking through the spell and alerting me of the time.

“Can we talk about this when I get home? I have a very important meeting to attend.”

The solemn look on her face deepened, and she broke the embrace.

“It’s fine. I understand my place.”

I wanted to ask what she meant by the statement, but my phone chimed with a notification from Micheal. So, I settled for a soft pat on the shoulder before heading out to my meeting.

The party was already in full swing by the time we arrived, and I immediately spotted Donovan in the middle of some politicians, sharing a joke.

“Mr. Thorne,” he exclaimed the moment he saw me. “I believe your presence signifies the absence of ill feelings between us.”

“It’s fine, Kelvin. I’ve been in this world long enough to understand how business works,” I replied with a tight smile, shaking his hand.

There was no sign of Mrs. Diamond yet, so I busied myself with the conversation in Kelvin’s circle.

Kelvin was currently retelling his success story for what would be the hundredth time tonight when the potent scent of strawberries and vanilla hit me like a punch in the gut, and I had to employ every bit of strength in me to keep my wolf from surging to the surface.

The room suddenly felt too small, and I struggled to hear the conversation around me over the thudding sound of my heart in my ears.

That was a scent I would recognize even on my deathbed. It was a scent I had been longing for day and night and would give anything to inhale, but it was also a scent that had no business being here.

It wasn’t her. The chances were next to nothing. Strawberries and vanilla were very popular scents amongst women. Trying to convince myself it was all in my head, I concluded that someone must’ve applied a bit too much perfume. Yet, the scent intensified with every second, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep my wolf at bay.

Finally giving in to the magnetic pull of the scent, I started to turn around as Kelvin’s eyes darted to the spot beside me. The breath was knocked out of my lungs.

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