Chapter 41: A Price to Pay

(CORRINE)

When Healer Jerry arrives, he’s not alone. Erik looks pissed. “Tell me it’s not true,” he says.

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” I mutter as Jerry studies my wound and gives Maya an admiring look.

“That’s excellent bandaging,” he tells her. Maya smiles at him, clearly pleased.

Erik doesn’t pay attention to them, his eyes on me. “You were ambushed?”

“It must’ve been some angry client,” I begin, but he clicks his tongue. “Don’t be an idiot, Corrine. Your attackers were shifters and highly trained assassins. If Locke hadn’t shown up when he did, I don’t think you would be sitting here talking to me right now. Did you recognize them?”

I frown, thinking back to the events of the night. Suddenly, the whole situation seems odd. “They knew exactly where I would be. Almost as if I had been set up.”

“What do you mean?”

I ignore Erik’s question and look at Maya. “Can you get my tablet from the living room?”

Maya fetches it, and I feel Jerry’s healing energy flood me as I flip through my records.

“Here.” I show Erik my latest consultation. “Two days ago, I received a call from a woman who claimed her brother was spilling secrets to a rival company, and she needed proof of it. She told me the time and place. But she also told me to let her know when I would start my investigation. I wasn’t going to start until next week, but she called me again this morning and told me he would be at a specific location tonight. That’s why I went. But I didn’t manage to find anything. It was a waste of time, and as I was leaving, I realized I was being followed. Two of them were on the rooftop of the building I was standing next to, and the others started coming from all directions.”

“You never met this woman in person?”

I shake my head. “It’s not uncommon to have clients reach out to me through a phone call. Not everybody likes to reveal their face. But this was definitely a setup.”

Erik looks furious. “Locke came to the palace right as Jerry and I were leaving. He told me where to find the bodies of the men who attacked you. The smell of blood was strong there, but somebody had already removed the corpses. Corrine, I believe the intention behind the attack was to kidnap you.”

I’m shocked. “Kidnap me? If this is because of the task force you’re setting up, Erik, I can’t—”

Erik gives me a sharp look. “The information hasn’t been revealed. Your name is going to be confidential. You will only be working with one person, who will act as the liaison between you and the task force. I am protecting your identity, Corrine.” He sighs, deflating and releasing some of the tension in his shoulders. “We’re lucky Locke saw you when he did. Who knows what would’ve happened if he hadn’t come along at the right time?”

Jerry clears his throat. “Okay, I think that’s enough. She needs to rest, and getting her excited isn’t going to help anything. The pain will go away in a couple of hours, Corrine. In the meantime, I want you to sleep and eat. Focus on consuming meat products. They will help you. The injury is quite deep, but your friend managed to do a good job keeping your insides together.”

I wince at his crude depiction. “Can you not?”

He gives me a wry grin. “I’m not exaggerating. You’ve got a good eye, Dr. Sorin. We should talk sometime.”

Never one to miss out on a potential business opportunity, Maya digs into her pocket and brings out a business card, which she hands to him. “Feel free to call me anytime. I’m always available, day and night.”

Jerry beams. “I like your spirit.”

“If you two could flirt elsewhere…?” Erik says. Maya leaves the room first, and Jerry follows. Once we’re alone, Erik turns to face me, his expression serious. “Keeping your identity secret is important for the task force to succeed. It will also help you investigate more easily. The face of the task force is going to be Jerry’s nephew, Cassian. He’s reliable, and he’s someone I trust. No one else knows about the task force, not yet. So, this attack on you had to be purely coincidental. You were probably just a random target.”

My heart sinks. “But why me? I keep a low profile. I—”

“I wish I had an answer for you, Corrine.” Erik sits down on the edge of the bed, facing me. “You’re not going to like this next part, but Locke had a lot more to say to me when he showed up, including threatening to declare war and to pull out of his collaboration with the Human Wolf Kingdom.”

My mouth turns dry. “Because I agreed to be your mate?”

“No, because I didn’t provide adequate protection to you and Finn.”

This surprises me. “He said that? So, he’s not mad about the whole mating thing?”

“Oh, he’s pissed,” Erik replies cheerfully. “He threatened to cut off my balls if I even look at you funny.”

I don’t crack a smile. “I already agreed to be your mate, but are you reconsidering your offer, Erik?”

Erik gives me a lopsided grin. “It’ll take more than that to make me back off. But you should be prepared that Locke isn’t going to give up without a fight. And now that he knows he has a son, it’s going to be even harder. You’d best be prepared.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

He sighs. “You and Locke are fated mates, Corrine, and I can’t afford a war breaking out. However, that doesn’t mean he gets to walk out of here with you. I swear, I’ve never seen him so rattled. The man was all over the place.” He tilts his head and studies me. “You know, you’re the first woman to get him so worked up. Locke is known for being levelheaded and cold. You have him stumbling over his words.”

I look away. “He was just angry.”

Erik doesn’t seem convinced. “I’ve seen him angry, Corrine. This was not it. Are you certain of your decision?”

My head whips back around to meet his eyes. “What do you mean?”

He shrugs. “He is your fated mate. He hasn’t given Ravenna the mating mark. He hasn’t impregnated her. He has never moved on. I do believe he cares for you.”

I press my lips together to hold in my anger. “If I give Locke a chance, Erik, I have no guarantee of what he’ll do to us. Locke cares more about his duty to his kingdom. He and the rest of the North are obsessed with the purity of the royal bloodline. Finn is not a pureblood. They would never tolerate him. And Princess Ravenna is the queen now, isn’t she?

I have no place there. The only reason he would take me back to the North is if he wanted to get rid of me permanently. I’m not going to be a fool.”

“You sure are acting like one, though,” Erik comments. “If he were obsessed with the purity of the bloodline, he would have had a child with Ravenna already. He would have given her the mating mark. You were dead, as far as he knew. There was no point in putting off any of it. No, Corrine. The man wants you.”

“He also wants to use his mating with Ravenna as a bargaining chip with the East.” I hold Erik’s gaze. “Where do you think that will leave me? She will still be the queen. Will he make me his mistress? Will he hide me like a dirty little secret? Because that’s what I’m afraid he’ll do. I understand politics better than you think, Erik. Even if he doesn’t want her, he needs Ravenna as his queen. There is no place for me at that castle, and as long as she is there, there’s always the chance that he will have a child with her. The elders will put that pressure on him. Where will that leave my son?”

Erik’s silence makes me sigh.

“He will never let her go, and I will once again be a substitute. Only this time, my son will pay the price, as well. It doesn’t matter if Locke is my fated mate or not. It doesn’t matter whether he cares for me or not. His priority is his kingdom, not me or my son. And I know enough about royal families to understand that he will throw me to the dogs if he thinks his kingdom will benefit from it. And I know the same of you.”

When Erik looks away, I laugh bitterly.

“See? You can’t refute that. This is why I want no part of wolf society.”

When he leaves minutes later, I lower myself back down on the bed and stare at the ceiling, dry-eyed.

“You can fight this all you like, but you’re still my mate. That’s never going to change.”

Locke’s words make me curl up on my side.

That’s the whole problem, isn’t it? The fates tied me to a man who will always break my heart if it conveniences him and his kingdom.

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