By the end of their meeting, the king decided to take her back after she married Ryden, and force Redcrest to fall in line, and that suited Maddoc fine. He planned to take her before she married. If possible, he would take her tonight and leave these warring men to their own devices.
Finally, the court dispersed to prepare their plans, leaving Orick and Atara alone in the room.
"We will get her back, Atara," Orick murmured as he took her hands in his. “And she will understand. We just need to explain things to her, that's all."
"She is rebelling." Atara’s voice was raspy. "She knows that we haven't been truthful with her and this is her way of lashing out. She has always been so calm and so obedient… It was bound to happen eventually."
"It wasn't," the king growled. "She never would have had any of these reactions or tempers if it wasn't for that bastard. He is the one who upset the balance here, not us."
"And you have to wonder," the queen murmured thoughtfully, "if that's what he had always intended to do."
Maddoc held his breath as a long silence filled the room. It wasn't possible for the ruling couple to figure out his plan, but they knew by now that he was not stupid. If Ana had truly told them some of the things she had spoken about with him, they would know that he was leading her toward topics that they would not approve of. If they stopped thinking about their throne so intensely and instead thought about why he’d done what he had, they might figure it out. But he knew they wouldn't.
"No, he said he had nothing to do with the attack on me," Orick said finally. "If that truly was a random occurrence, how could he know to be there in order to intervene and be owed a promise?"
The queen was silent for a moment. "That is assuming a lot, Orick. Those men may not have been from Allandis and they may have had nothing to do with Maddoc, but he took advantage of the situation and benefited from everything that happened. It’s too much of a coincidence. I don’t know how he was involved, but he is. Do not underestimate him."
Maddoc's beard twitched. It was too late for that.
It took a while to leave the palace undetected. When he returned to the safe house, Maddoc was pleased Ana had not yet returned. According to their spies out in Allandis, it seemed she was spending a couple of hours at each house and still had two more to go. They wouldn’t be back at Ryden's mansion before dusk.
Maddoc discussed the king's plans with his commanders. Most of his men held the required skills needed and were already on the mainland of Allandis, but there were a few specialists he would have to call upon, and it would be a rush for them to get there. He would also need a way to disappear into the ’shire without being followed.
“We can’t do it tonight, Doc,” Bram concluded finally.
Maddoc growled his displeasure, but Bram just shrugged.
“It’s impossible.” He popped one end of a twig into the corner of his mouth. “We won’t have the manpower ‘til tomorra’, we won’t have our herd of guild ’orses or the right weaponry ’til then neither. And the way that mansion is protected, we won’t get far if we try for ’er tonight.” Bram used to help farmers with ailing crops turn their stock around, but when the crown deemed him nameless, he lost everything he owned. Now, he was Maddoc’s most experienced and trusted strategist, and though he had his quirks, Maddoc had learned it was wise to listen to him.
Bram squinted and looked at the map again, chewing his twig. “I say we get ’er at the weddin’ gardens. Easy to get in, easy to get out, easy to get lost and stay lost.”
“The king will try to get her then too,” Griff reminded him. Griff, another nameless man, was an older Alpha who’d once been a knight. He was Maddoc’s second-in-command. “We have to prepare for that.”
“Yeah, but afterward,” Bram pointed out. “We are snatchin’ her before.”
“And they will be expecting something—”
Maddoc turned away and let his commanders talk it over, returning to the window to struggle with his growing irritation. If it had to happen tomorrow, that was just one more night without Ana. And another night with her in Ryden’s possession.
“Are you all right, Maddoc?”
He glanced over to see Raine. “I’m going to the mansion.”
Raine stiffened. “That’s not a good idea. Even if you’re not caught and detained, you’re too conspicuous.” She waved her hands at his body to make a point about his size. “They will know you’re nearby and planning something. It will make things harder for us tomorrow.”
“I want to know what’s going on in there,” he demanded.
Raine pursed her lips and was silent. Too silent.
Maddoc frowned. “What is it?”
“Elizabeth was able to go in and report back to us since they have been out all day.”
Maddoc turned to her. “And?”
“They are sharing a room, Maddoc,” she said reluctantly. “And a bed.”
A growl blazed from his throat and chest as his fury reignited.
“But there was no indication of…” Raine stumbled over her words. “She changed the sheets and it doesn’t seem like anything happened.”
Nothing happened? There was no doubt Ryden had touched Ana if they were sharing a bed.
Raine’s voice was soft when she spoke again. “Maddoc, if you want company tonight—”
“Leave.”
Maddoc grabbed his magnifying lens and turned toward the window, toward the mansion, back on the brutal edge of his rage. He only had to control it for one more night.
3
ANA
Ana remained in an unsettled state of confusion for the whole day.
The more she pondered what Ryden told her about the houses, the more things made sense. It was why certain families were always seen together and others weren’t. It was why the rife gossip and speculation that high society thrived almost always centered around members of the houses or the nobles associated with them. This new awareness shone a bright light on everything Ana had originally thought, and as she toured each house, it was like she was seeing them for the first time.
At Goldfrost and Thorneshaw, she met privately with Everard, Theodore, Darcel and Rhoslyn to confirm she was in full agreement with the alliance. They were all visibly relieved, but the uneasy feeling that she was letting down her future children never left her. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only thing on her mind.
During their tour, Ryden was very affectionate. He held her hand, brushed her shoulder, pressed his hand against the small of her back, rested his hand on her hip and even kissed her forehead, and each time Ana expected her body to flourish and ripple with pleasure the way it had with Maddoc—to tingle and tremble in all kinds of delicious ways. But it didn’t happen with Ryden, and over the course of the day she grew concerned.
Was she under too much stress because of what had happened recently? Maybe Ryden was under a lot of stress too and his pheromones couldn’t affect her the way they were supposed to. But the more excuses she came up with, the more she remembered her parents. Regardless of what was happening around them, they remained attracted to each other; in fact, during times of stress, they sought out each other for comfort. More than once, she’d seen her mother curled in her father’s lap, with him rocking her as they talked about various problems that they were dealing with—the contact comforting them both. It couldn’t be stress affecting her response to Ryden.