Ana eyed him. Something about him was different, he looked more regal, and certainly more resolute. “What is it?”
“Before I tell you, I want to know how you feel about this outlaw.”
“I feel nothing for him,” Ana said immediately. Something inside her twisted at the words, but she wasn’t going to give him the benefit of the doubt anymore.
“You are sure?” Ryden asked, watching her closely.
“Absolutely. He is a criminal.”
“Then come with me.”
Ana sighed. “We talked about this—”
“We did, but at that time I didn’t have the support of Houses Thorneshaw and Goldfrost.”
Ana stilled. “What do you mean? Support for what?”
“Support for us to break the Royal Promise and marry now.”
Ana’s eyes widened. “I don’t understand. How can that happen?”
“I can explain it all on the way,” he said, handing her the cloak, “but we must go now.”
Ana pulled away from him. “I can’t risk anything happening to my father because of this. If I’m not there, Maddoc will blame others and hurt people.”
“He can blame me,” Ryden said bluntly, his upper muscles flexing. “This is not a secret, Ana. I will send a message to your father about what’s happening, and our wedding will be announced and celebrated everywhere. If Maddoc wants you, he will have to go through me and at least two other houses to get you, not to mention your father.”
“And if he succeeds?” Ana said, slightly panicked. “You will all be dead, and I’ll be stuck with him!”
Ryden gently grabbed her shoulders, and stepped close to her, lowering his voice. “I already told you that I want to marry you, no matter what happened with that thug. That is not going to change at any time. I won’t give you to this bastard because he is bent on revenge. We have our entire lives ahead of us. We cannot live them in fear.”
Ana took a deep breath. Ryden was right, of course. She’d been clinging to the fact that she only had one more night with Maddoc before her father killed him, but if he managed to escape, he wouldn’t leave her alone; he’d basically said so. Maybe she should be more proactive and stop being a victim for once?
“Ana?” When she looked up at Ryden, he peered down at her with a hard jaw. “Do you doubt us?”
Ana smiled at him. With all the successful Alpha and Omegas who had been paired the way they had, it was difficult to maintain any doubts about them belonging together. “No. It’s just a surprise. Everything feels like it moving so fast.”
“I know, but we were always going to be together, and I shouldn’t have let you go through even the first nights. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, Ryden.” And it wasn’t hers either. Ana took a deep breath. “All right, let’s go.”
9
MADDOC
The first thing that alerted him something was wrong was that Analisa’s guards were not at the door.
Maddoc clenched his fists, tension sparking up his muscles. It was not a good sign. Either they had left her unprotected or she wasn’t in there. Either way he wasn’t going to be happy. He’d been impressed with the king’s attempts to keep her safe. Although his guards were practically useless, he was at least trying, and Maddoc had to be appreciative of that.
Staying alert, he approached the room tentatively, remaining watchful for anything else out of place in the corridor. There were no other doors along this corridor, and it was out of the way for most courtiers, so it had been perfect for his time with his Omega. Only one more night to go.
When he opened the door and entered, he was annoyed to see it empty. Granted it wasn’t dusk yet, but Analisa had always been waiting for him. He closed the door behind him, and examined the space. It was exactly the way it had been the last two nights; a table in the far left with food spread out along it, a crude washroom in the corner, and a large bed in the center. The darkening sky had an orange tint to it today and filled the room with a warm glow that would make Analisa’s hair look stunning. Her beautiful scent still lingered in the room, and in his nose from when he licked and nibbled her clit this morning. It had been a mistake to get between her legs like that just before they had to leave each other. He’d been rock hard all day, distracted, and fucking irritable. The way she moaned, the way she stroked his hair… Fuck. He couldn’t wait to claim her. He was even contemplating forgetting the rules and sinking inside her before dusk arrived, but everything had been too carefully planned to start fucking around with things now. So he would wait, cling to his last remaining willpower until dusk. Then he would take everything.
He walked to the window. Nothing looked amiss, and yet everything felt wrong. Analisa should be in here.
When dusk arrived, she had better be in the room or hell would rain down on the king. The only thing that man seemed to have gotten right was producing a woman like Analisa.
Maddoc should have known that she would be different. Of course she was the most beautiful woman in Allandis, but beauty did not always mean anything. He’d been apprehensive about whether she truly was the way she’d been portrayed. Some virginal, innocent child, who they were clearly intending to keep as a child for as long as possible, so the king could hold onto his reign.
Maddoc had seen her visiting villages and towns, talking to the people, playing with children—always pleasant, never a harsh word for any of the commoners, even when they harassed her. But that behavior made her seem dull, with no personality, no fire. And with all that beautiful red hair… what a fucking waste it would have been.
He made it his mission to see her five times before arranging this plan, and she never once strayed from the personality constructed for her. Luckily, Analisa wasn’t like that at all.
And in all truth, she never could’ve been—she was his, after all.
He gritted his teeth as the sky changed, a vicious fury flaring around his body. She wasn’t coming.
Maddoc stormed out of the room, holding back the roar he wanted to blare across the whole palace. He couldn’t alert anyone yet, not until he got to the king and found out what he’d done with Ana. Then he would suffer.
It didn’t take long to gather his men stationed nearby. Within half an hour, they used the known entry points to enter the palace and gather outside the king’s throne room.
Even though he was infuriated, it was clear that something was amiss in the palace. Even if Analisa wasn’t coming, it was strange to not be greeted by guards, trying to kill him, capture him, or escort him out. It was unlikely the king would allow him to simply roam the palace when he had no reason to be there, regardless of what the people of Allandis thought about his visits. Maddoc tried to be careful and think things through, but anger was coursing through his veins more than any other time in his life. He had been so close, but she had slipped through his fingers. He would need to start again—another three nights.
Once his men were ready, he burst into the throne room and strode to the center, his eyes on the king while his men flanked him. The king sat next to the queen, who looked teary, and a number of their advisors surrounded him.