Emmalee

We both wake up to the sound of someone banging on his door.

"Kid!" I hear Justus yell. "What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you want your breakfast!?"

My eyes fly open, and Romain and I make eye contact. The banging on the door continues, and I hear Justus say, "Is he dead, or what?"

"Go," Romain breathes out.

We both stand up, trying to make as little noise as possible, and I look around hurriedly before asking, "Where do I go?"

"Under the bed," he says after a few beats.

I give him a look before getting on my knees and falling on my knees. I slide under the bed and hold my breath. The only view I have is of Romain's feet, and he's heading toward the door. He opens it, and Justus' dusty feet enter the room.

"You didn't hear me or what?" Justus asks rudely. He's always rude.

"I was sleeping," he replies evenly.

"Here's your food," Justus says. "Take the day off."

"Thanks," Romain replies before he closes the door.

I wait for a few beats before sliding out from under the bed. He gestures at the tray before placing it on the bed, and I exhale a breath.

"We can't live like this," he mentions as he rubs his eyes.

"We'll be fine," I tell him, but even as the words leave my lips, I feel like we won't be fine. The fear of being caught is a living, breathing part of me, and we can't hide forever.

Something has to be done.

"I think it's best if you go now before they start looking for you," Romain claims. I nod and walk up to him. He pulls me close, and we hold each other for a few seconds. A few perfect seconds. Then, we pull away from each other, and Romain grabs my chin with his thumb and forefinger.

"I'll come to you later," I tell him before standing on the tips of my toes and placing a short kiss on his lips. Then, I walk past him and get out of the room.

There isn't anyone around, so I'm not detected. I race toward the main house, hoping and praying that I won't be seen. Thankfully, I reach my room safely.

My heart is pounding against my chest. I've never felt this nervous before. Knowing that we'll have to keep doing this until further notice discourages me, in a sense, but I don't want to feel demoralized a day into our relationship.

I'll just have to suck it up.

I jump in the shower and pull on my clothes as quickly as I can. I'm late for breakfast, and I don't want to draw too much attention to myself because I already skipped two meals yesterday.

Just as I'm brushing my hair, the door opens.

Trudy is standing at the door, and Nadine is behind her. "Emmalee?" she says. "Where have you been? I came here in the morning and your bed was empty."

"Oh," I say. "I just went for a walk."

"In the morning?" she asks. "Right before breakfast?"

I nod. "I wasn't feeling too good."

"Why not?" Trudy asks suspiciously as she walks toward me. She places her hands on my face, testing me for fever. "What happened?"

"Nothing," I say.

She looks at me suspiciously. If my bruise hadn't faded, she'd probably see it, but it isn't there anymore. I think it's better that way. I'd hate it if everyone knew that my father hit me. I find that too embarrassing.

"You're sure?"

I just nod.

Trudy sighs, and says, "Okay, then. If you say so. Why don't you come down for breakfast? People will start to worry that you're avoiding Soren."

That's exactly what I'm doing, but I won't say that to her.

"I'll be down there in a second," I promise her before turning to the mirror again.

Every step I take toward the dining room makes my heart sink. I wish I could find an excuse to hide away forever and not have to see anyone until the Cimmerians leave. My father is the first person to look my way as I approach and I do what I can to not meet his gaze.

"There she is," Alpha Denver, Soren's father, says as he turns around in his chair to look at me. "Emmalee, dear, are you alright? Your father told us of your sudden illness."

I wish I could roll my eyes at all of them, but I know better than that. "Yes, I'm feeling better now. Thank you. Good morning to all."

I sit down and avoid my mother's eyes. She's looking at me in a way that suggests that she knows exactly what happened between my father and me. I wonder what she thinks about it. My parents have never agreed on much in their whole lives. In fact, the only thing I've ever heard them agree on was Soren being a good match for me.

Does she agree with him about me marrying Soren despite my feelings? Is it strange and indicative of our relationship that I don't know?

My mother has always been very sensitive. Trudy was the one who raised us. The one I ran to when I first got my period. My mother has always been...too sensitive for the world, as my father has described.

Soren is seated directly across from me, and when I feel his eyes on me, I meet his gaze. I keep my expression blank, and my lips are pressed together tightly. He offers me a small smile, but I don't return it. This causes him to look down at his plate. Good. Maybe this will make him lose interest in me.

I doubt that his parents are forcing him into this the way mine are. It's always different for males. Always.

I stare down at my plate and think about Romain the entire time. I block out the conversations my father is having with Alpha Denver concerning expansions he's planning on making after the wedding. It sickens me way too much, because how can he so openly disregard my feelings? How can he treat Romain so poorly because of this spoiled brat?

Cade leans closer to me, and asks me in a low voice, "How's Romain? Better?"

"I think so," I claim, not wanting to get too into it.

I pick at my food and wish for breakfast to be over. It's usually not longer than twenty minutes, but today, it's close to an hour. Nobody makes a move to stand up, and I certainly won't be the first one.

Trudy places a bowl of fruit in front of me and says, "Eat it. You'll feel better. You barely touched your breakfast."

I don't argue with her; I just leave it at that and eat a few pieces of fruit. A few beats later, Soren inches closer to me and asks, "Do you want to talk? After this?"

I stare at him with my heart beating against the base of my throat. I'm so angry that I could stab him with the fork in my hand. "Sure," I force myself to say.

He nods and settles back in his seat. A few beats later, my father says, "Well, Alpha Denver, I think we've kept everyone on the table for too long. Why don't we continue this conversation in my office?"

I take this as my cue to stand up as well, and Soren does the same. He keeps his eyes on me, but I'm not looking directly at him. Instead, my eyes are rooted to the floor as I make it outside, well aware that he's following me.

"Emmalee," I hear Soren say behind me.

We've just walked through the front door, and I whirl around to face him. He steps close to me, too close, and peers into my eyes when he asks, "It's what happened yesterday, right?"

I press my lips together and bite my tongue so I don't say anything that I might regret.

"It is, right?" he says. "Look, I realize my mistake, and I promise you that it won't happen again."

"I think it's a little too late for you to make that promise," is all I say. "He's already been whipped. You can't take that back."

Soren runs a hand down his face, and something flashes in his dark eyes. "I hadn't realized just how much he meant to you all until Cade explained it to me. I don't know, I guess I was uncomfortable with the fact that you were so close to him."

I frown. "What? What are you talking about?"

"I hated how protective he was of you, and that triggered something in me. You can call it jealousy if you want," he claims. "I didn't like the way he looked at you, and that made me want to put him in his place."

"And how was he looking at me?" I ask, placing a hand on my hip.

"Like...like you belonged to him or something, and like I was the trespasser. But then Cade told me that you're all like siblings—you grew up together since you were babies—and then I understood just how sick and twisted I was to even assume that anything would be going on between the two of you. I really thought that he had a crush on you or something, and you're my fiancée, Emmalee."

For some reason, I can't find the right words to say to him. I'm shocked by what he's just said.

"I've offended you again," he states, taking a step back. "Great. All I do is mess up."

I'm still speechless—mostly shocked by how efficiently and quickly he managed to read the room and between the lines, but he's misinterpreting my silence.

He doesn't know just how right he is.

"Forgive me, Emmalee," he pleads. "I made a mistake, and it's one I've definitely learned from. All I want is to be on good terms with you. We're going to get married soon, and I'd hate it if you hated me because of this. Will you forgive me for making such a wicked assumption?"

I stare at his face, and nod. It's all I can do. He then smiles, a brilliant smile that touches his eyes, closes the distance between us, and wraps his arms around me.