13. Meg

Chapter thirteen

Meg

*AURELIA*

I 've emptied my luggage and put everything in the wardrobe, enjoying the beautiful room Val and Eric chose for me. It's almost a bit too luxurious. I know I'm technically a princess, but that's not how I was raised. We did live comfortably, but this here takes it not just one step but a few further.

I can hear them before the door even opens.

"Goddesssssssss!" Marilou exclaims as she rushes into my room, with the whole gang following her. Valerie even tugs Eric along, which is a whole new level of discomfort.

Tori and Jazz jump on my bed, eyeing me expectantly. "We obviously need details," Tori says.

"All the details," Jazz agrees.

Nox grimaces. "Maybe not all the details."

"Yeah, he is right, maybe not all of them," Eric agrees. "I am the first to demand the smutty details, but in this case, it's my cousin and my protégé."

"You got yourself a good one," Valerie tells me, beaming in joy.

"Is it true that he is a genius?" Lion asks.

"I think so. I have no reason to doubt it," I say.

"He is," Eric says. "I had his IQ measured. He never forgets a detail he reads, and he is studying four or five different main subjects at university. He is very modest, though."

He truly is. He could easily show off with his accomplishments, but he doesn't. Another point on the list, I tell Maxima.

Of course, our mates are awesome, she says, like I've lost my mind. They are mated to us, after all.

You truly are a modest wolf, I mutter.

Why should I be modest? We are pretty awesome. Any man should be happy to be our mate.

She really isn't the most modest of lycans out there, but there is a softness in her voice when she mentions the word mate, and when she thinks of Arden and Cato. She can fool anyone but me. And despite her brash behavior, she is also the one who always picks me up when I feel down. She was the one being fed up with me when I lazed around and spent my time off the pack grounds to party, and she was the one constantly pushing me that we could do more, could be better, and had more potential than just be the sister and daughter of two of the most powerful alphas. Once I listened to her, I found out that she was right. I didn't want to waste my time on parties or guys. I wanted to become a better warrior, instead, and be a good supporter of my pack.

Slowly, things began to fall into place, and step by step, Maxima and I progressed until my father made me his successor.

"So, what's the plan for our stay?" Jazz asks, interrupting my thoughts. "I know you, Aurelia, I bet you want to work."

"I do need to work a bit," I admit. "But, I want you to have as much fun as possible."

"We can't possibly—" Marilou starts.

"Of course you can," I interrupt her. "I want you to enjoy this stay. Val, I bestow you with the task of making sure they do all the great stuff."

"Count on me." She smiles.

"It's not like I won't join the fun at all," I reassure them. "Just leaving out the sight-seeing for now."

"Plus, she has a mate to bang—" Tori starts, turning red when the others laugh. She slaps her forehead. "I meant to say hang out with."

"Maybe I will do both," I say, making the guys groan and the girls laugh.

"I'm going to stay with you," Nox tells me.

"Why?" Eric smirks and wiggles his brows. "Are you thinking of a ménage à trois?" His laugh only grows when Valerie elbows him.

Nox groans. "No, I certainly don't want to join a threesome with Auri and her mate. I meant to stick with her when she is working."

"How about you divide your duties?" I offer, not wanting him to be forced to join me all the time. Nox didn't have the chance to travel a lot growing up, and I don't want him to miss out. "When I need you, I'll give you a call. But the remainder of your time, you could… watch out for the others."

Nox furrows his brows. "When did you become such a smooth talker?"

Eric clasps his shoulder. "Don't say no to your alpha."

"So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" Terry asks. He's sitting next to Marilou now, pulling her into his arms.

"Sleep in," Val says. "You must be exhausted. I will pick you up for lunch, and then I will show you parts of Paris."

"Are you joining us?" Lion asks me. I notice he hasn't said much, making me wonder why he is so quiet and almost sullen.

"I can't," I admit. "I promised to pick up Arden early in the morning, and then catch up with what he found out about the kidnappings. But, I'll join you for any evening and night program."

Lion nods and shows me a crooked smile while Tori jumps up to hug me. "Miss you already," she says.

The others take this as the cue to finally leave for their own rooms. By the secret gazes Marilou and Terry exchange, I get the sneaky feeling that they have plans for later tonight. Eric caught their glance, too, because he grins. "Just, please, no one get pregnant under my watch, okay?"

Valerie rolls her eyes and tugs him out of my room. Meanwhile, I secretly sneak a couple of condoms to Marilou. She smirks at me, hiding them underneath her sweater before following the others. Lion is the last to leave. "Smooth," he says.

"Just girls helping girls out." I chuckle.

He nods, lingering at my door for a moment.

"Lion, is there something wrong?" I ask him.

He looks at me for a moment but takes a bit too long to answer. "No, everything's fine."

"You can talk to me, you know?" I say. "I promise it will stay between us."

"No, I can't," he blurts out, something in his eyes flashing. For a moment, he looks truly broken. "I can't."

"Why not?" I get up to approach him. "You are one of my best friends, Lion. I won't judge you."

"You know me, I just can't say the right thing, ever," he blurts out. "It's just—" He brushes through his hair. "Fuck. You know what, please forget it. Okay?"

"What—"

"Just forget we talked about this," he begs. "Good night."

With that, he hurries away, leaving me behind, feeling completely confused. What did he want to tell me? He was just one step away from finally saying what's been on his mind. I've felt that something was off for a couple of weeks now. It's moments like these when I notice my own incapacity and weakness. I should be able to solve this and help him—he is one of my closest friends. It should be easy to help, but I just don't seem to be able to.

*MEG*

I am Meg Rose Acorn.

Meg

Rose

Acorn

I startle when the door to the cell opens, and PJ walks inside. He is a tall, skinny man with dirty blond hair and pale skin. His lips curl into a smile, but his eyes are cold as usual. He is the new man and doesn't like me much. Behind him is Junior, the youngest of them, but not the newest. He has much more confidence than PJ; he is taller and bulkier, but the strongest is Night, who is leaning against the wall now, watching the other two.

PJ loosens my chains, grimacing when he looks at me. "You are ugly," he huffs.

"Who the hell asked you?" Junior mutters, not sparing me a glance. He doesn't go out of his way to be horrible to me. He mostly ignores me. His hands are gloved when he opens the lock to the shackles. Once they are done with their task, PJ and Junior leave.

"Alright," Night says, finally stepping inside. His lips curl into a smile while he grabs the end of the chain, still attached to the collar on my neck. He tugs at it. "Are you going to behave now, Azurite?"

I am Meg Rose Acorn.

Night pulls me closer, making me stumble forward. I'm too weak to stand upright, dropping to my knees. The rough surface scratches my skin, but I barely feel it anymore. It's so cold down here. They left me here for a day or two without anything to drink or eat, just with a bucket as my toilet.

"I asked you a question, Azurite," he snarls.

It's not good to upset him. Never is. They brought a young girl three days ago, calling her Opal because she was so pale and kept shivering. I didn't want them to keep her here. She was so young. Night got mad, madder than usual, tossing me into this cell down here.

I nod, my voice too raw to speak.

Night grabs a bottle of water, opens the cap, and holds it to my lips. "I'm feeling generous today," he says coolly.

I greedily take gulp after gulp while I wonder if she is still here… Opal.

There have been others like her. Sapphire and Amber were my age. They stayed for months, then they were gone all of a sudden. And there was a guy named Rubin once. He was nice and tried to help me. Night didn't like it and beat him so much he couldn't move.

I didn't see him anymore.

Over the years, a lot of girls and boys, women and men, came and left. Night's the one choosing their new names. There was a girl named Coral, and he liked her in particular, his eyes scanning her whenever she walked by, but he didn't keep her. He sent her away like all the others.

I am the only one he ever kept.

My name is Meg. Meg Rose Acorn.

"Azurite," he says, finally removing the collar and replacing it with a padded one, one that doesn't burn and doesn't make my skin feel raw. He brushes with his thumb over my lips. "They are all disappointments," he mutters. "None of them are like you." He gazes over my body. "Go and get freshened up," he huffs. "PJ is right. You look ugly."

I scurry to my feet, wavering slightly while doing so.

"You can eat after you take a bath," he says, straightening his back. "We have new guests coming," he says, brushing over his chin. "New little gemstones. Keep an eye on them and make sure they behave." He grabs my wrist. "You know what happens when you don't keep them in check."

"Yes, Night," I mutter.

He smiles, reaching out his hand and brushing his finger over my cheek. He looks at me, but it doesn't seem like he is truly seeing me. "So special," he says. "Azurite."

I am Meg, I repeat in my head like I did years ago when they brought me here, and Night started to call me Azurite. He would beat me when I said my real name, and I learned fast not to make him angry. But I never stopped telling it to myself. I don't want to forget who I am, who I once was.

I was Meg Rose Acorn.