11. Phaedra

PHAEDRA

A fter almost an hour of surface-level chatting with Jean and Beatrice, they gave me a ticket back into the manor to pick up my dress several days later. I stuffed the ticket into my pocket and made a beeline for the exit. Randall wasn't around, so I didn't need to worry about getting an escort. I needed Asher desperately, and I didn't want to stay in this cold manor even a second longer. This place had once been like a second home to me, but I only felt bitterness here now.

I was just a few yards from the exit when one of the doors in the corridor opened and Connor walked out. I nearly bumped into him.

"Oh, Phaedra," he said with a smile. "What's got you in such a hurry?"

Connor was about six feet tall, and he had a blindingly bright smile. His hair was cinnamon brown, and it was always perfectly coiffed and gelled into his preferred easygoing style. I knew it took him forever to get his hair just as he liked it, and that he spent forever picking the right outfit for an occasion. Today, he wore a cream cashmere sweater and black slacks. He was handsome, of course, but seeing him now only filled me with revulsion.

I wished I could shove him out of the way and continue on, but it was engrained in me not to do anything to harm or disrespect a wolf in a higher station than me.

"Well…" I forced a smile. "I wasn't expecting to be pulled from my home so suddenly. I've got things I'd like to take care of."

"Sorry about the short notice, but what could be more important than being invited back here? Do you have some appointment to keep with someone from Den City?" He communicated his distaste for people who lived outside of high-wolf society with just a slight emphasis on the words "Den City." The smile he gave me made me want to spit.

"I doubt hearing about my plans would entertain you, Connor," I said. "You'll just have to take my word that I have business to take care of."

"I suppose so." He paused, sniffing the air. He walked around me, still sniffing like a shark searching for blood. "My, my," he said and touched my shoulder. "Something about you… is different."

I said nothing, but panic clawed at me. He must have noticed I was in heat.

"Maybe poverty has made you flourish." His hand brushed from my shoulder to the back of my neck. Every hair there stood on end, and I wished I could shrink away from his touch. "Or maybe it's something about your eyes. You're more attractive to me now than when you were my chosen."

It took everything in me to keep my face impassive. My wolf growled low. He was far, far too close to the truth for my liking. The only thing keeping him from realizing I was in heat was the fact that he thought I was human.

"Whatever is different about you"—he stroked the side of my neck with his thumb—"it makes me tempted to take you myself."

My anxiety spiked, and my wolf gnashed her teeth. I couldn't stay silent anymore. "Oh, Connor," I murmured, stepping away from his touch, "I'm sure whomever you've chosen as your mate now would be disappointed to hear that."

"Oh, is that what you're worried about?" He chuckled. "I'm still single. The ladies we have here are very lovely, but none of them have stimulated me the way you did." He sighed. "What is that saying? Distance makes the heart grow fonder? Well, I think that's true in this case. I might have been too hasty in rejecting you."

Goddess, I wanted to deck him, manners be damned.

"Connor, sir." Randall suddenly appeared in the corridor and jogged over to us. Thankfully, Connor turned his attention from me, and I could breathe again.

"What is it, Randall?" Connor demanded.

"The Dagger pack is hunting in our territory again."

"Again?" He growled. "The curs."

The two men started to talk, and I took the opportunity to escape. I turned the corner and spotted Penny, Connor's sister. Seeing her was like being doused with a bucket of ice water. Penny had been a dear friend of mine. We'd been so close, she used to joke that she was meant to be my younger sister instead of Connor's. It was a sweet but silly thought; she and Connor looked so much alike, there was no way she and I could have been related.

Only a year younger than me, she was bubbly, easygoing, and quirky enough that she never quite fit the mold of higher society. But seeing her now, the expression she wore was uncharacteristically grave.

It had been years, and my feelings toward Penny were still very complicated, but I wished I could stop and talk to her. But my being in heat spurred me to go, so I continued to rush on. She bumped into my arm as I passed by, pressing a note into my palm. I closed my hand tightly around it and went outside.

I didn't stop to look at the note until I was near the gates that led out to Den City. There, I opened my hand and looked at the carefully folded paper. Unwrapping it, I found Penny's careful script on her personal stationery.

Don't trust Connor. He's planning on giving you as a gift to Randall.

The word "gift" was underlined. That told me I wouldn't be a gift so much as a sex toy for Connor's right-hand. A mix of emotions swirled through me. On one hand, this proved Penny was still on my side and that she still cared about me, but on the other, it meant Connor was capable of sinking to lows I hadn't imagined.

It was even more imperative that I get the hell off this island.

Being back in high-wolf society had filled me with enough adrenaline to stave off the worst of my heat, but now it was over, I couldn't feel relief. Without that stress, there was nothing to temper the burning ache in my core. Sweat beaded along my spine and my forehead.

I was jogging along the path to Heartbridge Cave when it became overwhelming. I tripped over my own feet and slammed into the ground. Tears of frustration and pain filled my eyes, and I tried to push back up to my feet. I was so weak, my arms trembled.

It had never been this bad before. Even that first time I'd burned with need, I'd at least been able to walk. My vision was getting blurrier by the second. If this continued, I'd have to guide myself to the cave by scent and memory alone.

"Phaedra!"

El's voice came from above me. It was such a pleasant surprise. I hadn't even realized I was so close to her village.

"Phaedra, you look awful," she said, laying a tiny hand on my cheek. "And you're burning up."

"I have to get to Heartbridge Cave," I said, struggling to my feet. "I need to see Asher." And I needed to get this bandage off so I could lick the mark. Would he get there soon enough? I felt like I was turning inside out, and I wasn't sure I could wait even an hour for him.

She gasped. "The mark, of course. I'll go and get him for you."

"Wait, El." I dug in my pocket and removed the silk I'd bought. "Can we be friends again?"

Her eyes widened when she saw the shimmering fabric. And then she smiled, fluttering down to take it from me. "We were always friends," she told me gently. "A little fight like that isn't enough to keep me away."

I gave her a weak smile. She patted my hand, then zipped off so quickly, I could imagine how Kestrel had ever been able to catch a pix at all.