Ryden’s touch turned firmer, and his hand curled around her jaw. “I want to hear you say you are in agreement, Ana.”
Ana battled with the gloom that crept into her. “And there is no way to amend the agreement later or change it?”
“No.”
Her voice came out as a whisper. “I agree.”
“Good.” Ryden stroked her cheek again, and Ana forced herself not to pull away from his touch. He pushed off the bed as he straightened. “Be ready to leave within the hour.”
Ana watched him as he walked into the washroom, trying to process what had just happened. The conversation had revealed much about the true nature of the royal houses and the part she would now play among them. Offering her children up wasn’t comfortable, but she had to trust Ryden. If the houses regularly traded marriages between them, she couldn’t blame him for thinking she would be fine with it. She had to accept that she still had things to learn, and this was another piece of information she had never known.
She stared at the washroom where Ryden was. The biggest concern for her was her lack of physical connection to Ryden. If even significant hardship arose, she should be able to handle it as long as her fated mate was with her, but the attraction between them was nonexistent, while at the same time, the forlorn longing at the memories of Maddoc lingered.
Sighing, she got up from the bed and tried to shake off the unease. She had one more day until her wedding, and she had to get rid of these feelings by then.
2
MADDOC
Maddoc stared at Duke Ryden’s mansion as the sky brightened. He’d stood at the window all night watching the house, a vicious fury pulsing throughout his body, urging him to move—to do something about the fact that his Omega was in another man’s possession. But if he moved, even just one inch, the fury would overcome him and no doubt spoil the plans that were being put into place to get her back. He couldn’t risk that. Nothing was more important than getting Analisa back to him. And yet, his fury could not be quelled by such logic or reason. Especially not when this fucking duke had touched her while escorting her into his mansion.
“Maddoc.” Raine’s voice was annoyingly matter-of-fact. “You should eat something.”
He didn’t need to glance down to know she was holding a bowl of food. “I need nothing but a report on my Omega, Raine. If you cannot provide that, find someone who can.”
“We have servants in the mansion, but we won’t get a report from them for the next few days. You know that.”
Unfortunately, the extensive land that surrounded Duke Ryden’s mansion made it difficult to monitor and observe the building without alerting his sentries. The closest they could get was the servant homes on the edge of the grounds, and luckily more than one of the families supported Maddoc and his cause. As soon as he’d left the palace, Maddoc had sent instructions to his guild to set up central operations in the nearest servant house so he could monitor Ana’s movements while they made their plans. But once he saw her and the duke, he hadn’t moved from the window.
“We may be able to get a message from Elizabeth when she goes in tomorrow,” Raine continued, gesturing to the next room where one of the residents were, “but not sooner than that.”
“It’s not good enough.” Maddoc’s low growl burned the back of his throat. “I want to know what the fuck she was doing all night. And I want to know today!” The fury in him roiled at the thought she might have been anywhere near the duke last night. Thankfully, her heat wasn’t due for weeks. If there were any chance of it arriving while she was in the duke’s possession, he would have stormed in and collected her, regardless of the consequences—though those consequences would likely include the opportunity to kill the duke.
“We’ve always been very careful not to betray those who provide us with information,” Raine said carefully. “We’ve never asked them to do anything that will reveal their allegiance with us. It may be they are unable or unwilling to give us that information—”
The harsh growl in Maddoc’s throat cut off her words. There was no point explaining that none of that mattered now. He was on the edge of a cliff of sanity, ready to descend into the most mindless, violent rage if anyone breathed the wrong way.
Raine must have read something in his silence because she changed the subject. “I heard from Walrick. The king has called on his royal court to meet after the public court hearing opens today. They will be planning how to get the princess.”
Maddoc nodded slightly without taking his eyes off the mansion. He’d initially said he wanted to be at the palace, learning the king’s plan to do to get Ana back in order to ensure he got to her first. But realistically, he couldn’t go anywhere until his rage subsided.
Although he knew Ana was betrothed, he’d never once considered that he’d have to see her with a man other than her guards or her father. His plan had worked well—there was no reason to believe that things would fall apart on the third night and this would be a possible outcome. But he hadn’t accounted for Ana being so beautifully willful. He knew the duke wasn’t forcing her to do this—she would never have left her parents unless she wanted to; it had given him hope that her eyes were finally opening. But she was supposed to be with him when that happened. Her being with the duke made this about more than just the deal he made with the king about who would get her first. The need to get Ana back swirled throughout his body like a bitter, brutal whirlwind battering his insides, and it muted everything else.
Quiet footsteps behind them drew Raine’s attention, and she moved away, leaving him to sink back into the dark tension of his fury. At the same time, a flurry of movement sprung up in the courtyard.
Lifting his magnifying lens, Maddoc watched in the dreary morning light as a carriage came to a stop in the courtyard. Footmen and other staff flurried around it, checking the wheels and the horses, installing cushions, blankets, and a hamper. It wasn’t the kind of carriage used for a quick trip or to transport goods; it was a carriage fit for royalty. Analisa was going somewhere.
Maddoc’s mood shifted a little. Maybe he could capture her while she traveled. When he turned, he caught the end of the conversation between Raine and the servant who had arrived.
“—and so they intend to do that all day.”
“Do what?” Maddoc shot at him.
The man started, suddenly tense with Maddoc’s eyes on him. “Visit all the royal houses. They’re announcing their wedding and doing the tour.”
Maddoc turned back to look at the house, his mind in deep thought. Taking Ana while she toured the houses would be extremely difficult. The chances of escaping cleanly would be low.
The good thing was, if they were traveling, it was unlikely Ryden would have much opportunity to be too inappropriate with her. Of course, if it had been Maddoc, he would be between her legs for every moment on the journey between each house, but Ryden was the type of Alpha who wouldn't turn up to any royal house with a woman who looked well fucked. Not even a beautiful, irresistible Omega. Still, he had to know if he’d dared to touch her.
Lifting his lens again, he watched for them. The sun was bright in the sky by the time Ana stepped out of the mansion, and what a sight she was. Her sleek red hair spilled over her shoulders, and her satiny blue gown clung to her incredible figure. Duke Ryden stepped out after her, and Maddoc’s fury flared, his grip on his lens tightening. But as he watched them walk to the carriage and Ryden help her inside, his anger melted down to a smoldering irritation. They didn't fuck. It was clear for anyone to see. They weren’t comfortable with each other the way they should be if they’d been intimate. Hell, Ana shouldn’t even be able to walk properly if the Alpha who’d been betrothed to her for years had finally gotten to her last night. As the carriage began to move, he saw she was even angled away from the duke, a significant distance between them on the bench.