Chapter 24: Chapter 24

~ NYSSA

I wished the ground would open up and fucking swallow me.

How was it possible that I always managed to get into the most embarrassing situations? In the span of one month, I’d been rejected by my mate, abandoned by another, and still managed to get into this messed up situation.

“What’s going on?” Aria asked as she walked into the room.

Her brows were knitted down in annoyance, her hands shoved into the pockets of her jeans. She was wearing that same blue jacket she wore to the pack.

“Show her your hands,” the doctor urged me but I refused.

I turned to Aria. “It’s not a big deal. I’m sorry that she bothered you. Please just let I go.”

Aria raised a brow. “Now I want to see it even more.”

When I didn’t move at first, Aria grabbed my arms. Her grip was firm but not tight enough to hurt. She tugged them out from where I hid them behind my back and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the dark bruise that marred my skin.

“This is… how did it happen?” she asked, looking between my face and my wrists.

“Please, drop it,” I pleaded, my voice a soft whisper.

Something flashed in her eyes, but it was gone before I could analyze it. She stared at me for a long minute, and her gaze was so piercing I could’ve sworn that I felt it all the way down to my toes.

She turned to the doctor. “Leave us for a minute.”

The doctor didn’t hesitate. She murmured something under her breath about justice being served. The door shut behind her, leaving Aria and I in terse silence. I took the opportunity to tug my hand out of my grip and thankfully, she let me.

She just stood in the center of the room, watching me with a weird look that I couldn’t decipher and it unsettled me.

“When did you see him?” she asked finally.

I knew who she was talking about, but I decided to play dumb. “Who?”

She laughed humorlessly. “Everyone may not know who you are to Rowan, but they know that you’re his guest and no one would dare lay a hand on you. The only person who could’ve come close enough to do that is Rowan himself. When did it happen?”

At first, I didn’t respond.

I watched her face for any sign of displeasure, or anything that would let me know if she planned to threaten me into silence but there was only disappointment and resignation.

“Last night,” I answered softly. “I went out because I couldn’t sleep. I came across this area that seemed abandoned. There was an easel there-”

“Ah!” she declared with a sigh. “That explains it. He never thinks well when her stuff is involved.”

I hated the way the word her

stood out to me.

I should have known it involved another female. After all, what else would make a man lose his temper like that?

I had a lot of questions; like who the woman was, and what her role was in his life. Was she a past lover? Was she a friend?

The more questions I had, the more disgusted I felt with myself. This man had shown little to no interest in me and yet, here I was getting jealous over another woman that I didn’t even know.

“It’s fine,” I managed out, forcing all thoughts of Rowan and the mystery woman out of my mind. “He already apologized and I’m not going to tell anyone. Who would believe me anyways?”

“Don’t do that,” she chided. “Don’t try to downplay it. What he did was horrible. He should never have grabbed you and apologizing doesn’t fix it. I am sorry about this. I’ll tell the doctor it’s been handled. She’ll give you something for the bruising.”

I said nothing, because the truth was, there was nothing to say.

Her apology wouldn’t change the fact that I’d been hurt, it also wouldn’t miraculously punish him. He’s the king, and kings don’t get punished for things like this.

“Breakfast will be ready in half an hour,” she continued. “I’d like it if you joined-”

“I’d like to stay in here and rest, thank you.”

She looked like she wanted to say more, but at the last minute, she decided against it and turned away, respecting my wishes.

The doctor came in after she’d left and gave me an ointment just like Aria had promised. It was cold and it soothed the aching feeling on my wrist.

Once she left, a maid arrived with a plate of food for me. I didn’t touch it immediately. I tried to ignore it but after a while, my stomach grumbled loudly and I knew that a hunger strike was not the way to go.

I paced inside the room, trying to busy myself but within an hour, I was bored. I’d never been the kind of person to stay indoors for too long.

Growing up, I did so many sports and I was at every birthday party or event. My mother used to say that I was the most social butterfly she’d ever seen and unfortunately, it hadn’t changed but I worried about leaving for fear of entering another placer I wasn’t supposed to.

“Why not go outside?” my wolf asked. “Surely you can’t go wrong by being outside.”

It took another hour for me to be convinced by her.

This time, I asked a maid to direct me outside and she was more than happy to lead me.

I was impressed as she weaved through the halls with expert precision. It’d take me years to learn the layout, not that I was planning on being here for years.

The palace was fucking massive, and by the time I stepped out, I took in the large building again in shock. I hadn’t really gotten the time to appreciate it the last time I was here.

I walked around the palace, staying inside the gates and trying to keep my head low and avoid being spotted or called out.

I deliberately wore a shade of grey similar to the ones that the maids wore in hopes that I’d blend in and so far it seemed to be working.

I took in the guards who patrolled and the chattering maids as they went about their day. It was like a well oiled machine and everyone knew what they had to do.

Just as I was going to give up and go inside, I smelled something that made me pause. I went still, altering my path immediately and following the smell through a narrow pathway until I came to a large garden.

There were flowers everywhere and some fruit trees as well. It was well groomed, better than anything I could have ever done on my own.

I followed the smell of the carnations, stopping in front of the beautiful pink flowers. I blinked back tears as reached out to touch a soft petal.

They were my mother’s favorite. I’d never had the heart to plant them after she died.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

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