32. Phaedra

PHAEDRA

I didn't bother putting on the nice dress before heading to the alpha manor. It was one of the few things I was planning on taking with me off the island. It, the envelope of money, and a few other things from my den were in the bag slung over my shoulder.

I made my way through the bustling streets of high-wolf society. Everyone was excited about the ascension, though not as excited as I would have thought. After the destruction of the Holo statue, there had been talk about Connor being a bad fit for alpha. That talk had died down in the weeks that followed, but as Den City mixed with high-wolf society to witness the ascension, I heard the gossip again.

"I wonder if Holo is going to step in and stop this," someone asked.

"No, the ascension will go through," another said. "But he won't be as powerful as Edgar or receive her blessing."

Hearing these comments filled me with a confusing mix of emotions. Part of me got some satisfaction of hearing my ex talked about so poorly; another part was a bit scandalized this talk had reached all the way to the manor; and still another part of me wondered what this uncertainty would do for relations between the people and high-wolf society.

I used to believe the people of Den City were content with living off the scraps of high-wolf society because they understood the hierarchy. But that was when I was still in Connor's favor, before I knew Asher. After living among the discontented people of Den City—after a month of being bound to someone who was planning a coup—I'd started to realize the real reason they didn't storm the gates was because they feared Edgar Salcedo's power almost as much as they feared discontent from the gods.

The people of Den City were unkind to me, but they weren't stupid. They cared about each other and their future as a pack. With Connor at the helm, a man they already doubted, would they be as content to let things continue as it were? I doubted it.

Well, whatever. There was no use dwelling on it now. Once I paid off my debts to Edgar, I could kiss this awful place goodbye and make my own way. It wasn't my problem.

Still, I found myself wondering how Asher would get through the tight network of people crowding the streets. I didn't want Edgar to die, but I wanted Asher to succeed more. I shook my head. Not my problem. I needed to leave these feelings behind and focus on myself and my fresh start on the mainland.

When I reached the manor, I found it buzzing with activity. I saw a few familiar faces as I made my way to Edgar's wing, but no one noticed me. Just like I planned, everyone was too busy with preparations. The people standing on ladders and putting up last minute decorations paid me no mind.

I'd hoped I'd see Penny or Theodora on the way, but it was a long shot. I wanted to keep in touch with both of them, so after I dropped off the money, I'd leave a note in Penny's room.

Finally, I stood in front of the tall, wooden door leading to Edgar's rooms. All I had to do was muster up the courage to knock, but now that I was standing here, I felt a twinge of doubt.

I believed one hundred percent in my gut instincts, but I couldn't tell if what I was feeling was intuition or just the side effect of losing my mate and saying goodbye to my best friend on the same day. I tried to swallow it and lifted my hand.

I rapped on the door a few times. "Edgar, are you there? It's Phaedra."

I heard rustling on the other side of the door, but as I spoke, that rustling stopped.

"I'm so sorry to bother you right before the ceremony, but I need to talk to you," I said. "I was hoping to pay off my loyalty contract to the Wilcox pack. I have the money, and I was hoping to have it paid before the last ferry leaves tonight."

I waited, but still nothing.

I cleared my throat nervously. He wasn't normally this quiet. "I-I hope this isn't too much of a shock. I cut my bond with my mate, and I'm excited about starting fresh on the mainland."

Even to my ears, the words sounded empty and filled with longing. I missed Asher with everything in me, and we hadn't even had a proper goodbye. Perhaps I could stay on the island a little longer, talk to Asher one more time. He would be arriving any moment to kill the man I was trying to meet with. If I hung around long enough, I would see him. Maybe I wouldn't have time to say goodbye, but at least I'd see him.

But no. He had Selene. After he spoke to her and explained how we'd severed the bond, she might accompany him to the alpha manor. What if the last thing I saw of Asher was of him and Selene fighting together? Would that be my last memory of Isle Royale?

I shivered as tears started to sting my eyes. "Edgar?" I knocked again. "I-I'm opening the door."

I pushed open the door, and froze. Edgar wasn't in here, but a wolf with a coat splotched with white, gray, and beige stood waiting for me. I had just enough time to realize that that was Connor's wolf before he lunged at me and knocked me down.

I tried to catch myself on the way down, but all I did was scrape my arm against the doorjamb. With the weight of Connor's wolf on top of me, I hit the floor hard. The last thing I remembered was the boom as my head smacked against the marble floor. And then nothing.

I came to with a groan. I was sitting in black velvet armchair. My head throbbed where I'd hit it, and something tickled its way down my arm. For a moment, I thought a bug was crawling on me, but there was crimson on my forearm. I was bleeding.

I started to sit up, and I realized that I wasn't wearing jeans and a sweatshirt anymore. With a start, I jumped out of the chair. I was in a floor-length ball gown. It was gold, Connor's favorite color, with a strapless, sweetheart neckline. The shimmering sequins sparkled no matter how I stood or where I turned, and the structured corset was cinched at the waist without suffocating me.

This must have been the dress Beatrice and Jean had been working on. It was gorgeous. El would have lost her mind obsessing over all of the detail.

But how did it get on me? With another jolt, even more powerful than the first, I remembered Connor's wolf. I turned my head and found him adjusting his bowtie in the mirror. His tuxedo was the same gold as my dress, embossed with shimmering filigree.

He had put this dress on me. The thought of his hands on my body repulsed me. I felt an answering revulsion in my wolf, but she felt alarmingly far away from me—almost an echo.

"You know," he said with infuriating calmness. "I almost stopped them from finishing your dress. I was thinking of having you killed for mating with an enemy alpha." Satisfied with his tie, he turned from the mirror and slipped his hands in the pockets of his black slacks. "You should be throwing yourself at my feet and thanking me for changing my mind."

"You're a bastard, Connor." The old me would have cringed at speaking to him like that, knowing his temperament and the fact that he was the alpha's son, but I didn't care.

If he was bothered by what I'd said, he gave no indication. "That's no way to talk to your mate."

"Excuse me?" I demanded. "Mate?"

"Yes. Now your bond to that cur is gone, you can take your rightful place as my wife, my queen."

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. What he was saying made no sense. "You're not alpha yet," I growled. "I want to speak to Edgar."

Briefly, his dark eyes filled with rage, but it was gone almost as quickly as it appeared. "I'm close enough to alpha now that I don't need to defer to my father. In fact, I already feel the power of the alpha command running through my veins."

He smirked at me, and dread pumped through my blood.

" Come to me, Phaedra, " he said. " Kiss me. "

My eyes widened. I felt the tug of the alpha command on my bones to start moving, but it wasn't strong enough to make me walk to him and press my lips to his. I smirked, relishing his shocked expression.

"I guess the power isn't fully yours if I can refuse it."

"That doesn't make any sense." He turned to the door and opened it. "Randall, come here."

Randall appeared in the room. He was also in a tux, but his was just black.

" Give me five handstand pushups, " Connor commanded.

Without a second of hesitation, Randall dropped down, tearing through the elbow seams of his tux to do the pushups. My smirk fell. What? Why hadn't the command worked on me? Was it because I'd dabbled in Kestrel's dark magic? It was good that Connor couldn't compel me, but what were the greater implications of this? For some reason, I was reminded of the strange language of the spell in the book I'd given to Kestrel. Maybe I'd seen something in the book that had given me new abilities.

My thoughts came to a hard stop when Connor gripped my upper arm. He dragged me out of the room, disregarding his right-hand who was frowning about his ripped sleeves.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "Once I've ascended, I'll be able to get you to do whatever I want."

"Connor, stop!" I tried to pull free, but his grip tightened. He had hold of the arm that was bleeding, and the pressure forced more crimson to drip on the marble. On top of that, my head still ached.

"It's fortunate that you found your wolf," he said. "My mother tried to set me up with so many women, but none of them could replace you. I just couldn't get you out of my head. Do you know how angry I was when my men saw you sneaking out to meet Asher? I wanted to have them drag you back to me then."

"You had me followed?" I demanded, a fresh wave of indignation flowing through me.

He rolled his eyes, as if the question were obvious and unreasonable. "I've been watching you since I rejected you. I saw you shift into a wolf when you left that cur's cabin." He shook his head. "I can't believe you actually thought I would let you leave the island."

I was reminded of what Edgar had said in the library: " That boy was in love with you, you know. Probably still is. " Again, I was filled with revulsion. If this was his version of love, I wanted even less to do with it.

"You can't make me do anything, Connor. You have no command over me."

As I finished speaking, we left the alpha wing and entered the main hall. Before Connor could get too mad or do something awful like hit me, we came upon a small group of people waiting for us. Two guards and one woman. Selene.