~NYSSA
I had no idea how to respond to that so I said nothing.
We had the rest of our meal in complete silence.
As soon as I was done eating, I hurried out of the dining room as fast as my legs could carry me. My chest was in knots and it was all because of one man.
It didn't make any sense though. All my life, I'd been told that matings were easy. A person only ever got one mate all their life. Second chance mates were practically unheard of and here I was… an anomaly.
I tossed and turned all night, unable to turn my brain off. I had no idea what this arrangement meant for me but I was equal parts excited and terrified.
Sometime around five, there was heavy banging on my door. I'd just managed to fall asleep so the noise had me jumping in bed.
"Wake up, we leave in twenty minutes!" Henry yelled, his voice cold and detached.
I fought back the urge to say something rude and instead dragged myself out of bed. I knew he'd make us leave soon now that we'd gotten what we came here for.
I packed my bags back and was about to get into the bathroom when he knocked again.
"I'll be out in a minute for fucks sake!" I yelled back.
He grumbled something under his breath before storming off.
I took the shortest shower of my life and got dressed in less than five minutes. By the time I got out of the room, he was tapping his foot anxiously, hands crossed over his chest.
"It's about fucking time. Do you know how you've delayed our journey? We should've been on the road by now."
I bit down on my tongue hard to control myself. "If you had told me last night that we were leaving-"
"When would I have told you? When you were busy frolicking with the king?" he spat.
I scoffed. I should have known that he was acting this way because he was jealous.
Although for the life of me, I couldn't understand why.
He rejected me.
"Get over yourself," I said, waving him off dismissively.
I brushed past him when he suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me close.
"Don't fool yourself into thinking he loves you, Nyssa. He is doing this to get back at me. He is a player."
"What's he going to do? Reject me and get engaged to my former best friend?" I asked, keeping my voice cool and collected. "Let go of me, now!"
"Don't forget that I am your Alpha, Nyssa. You will award me the respect that I am owed."
"I'll give you respect when you've earned it," I spat, ripping my hand out of his grip.
I stormed off before he had the chance to respond and headed for the car.
Henry and the others loaded the car.
While they did, I couldn't help but look around, a part of me hoping that Rowan would show.
As the seconds ticked by and the cars were fully loaded, I realized that I'd been hoping in vain. He never showed up, he never sent any guards or maids.
I hated how disappointment settled low in my belly.
"We're leaving, Nyssa. Get in the damn car."
Henry's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I sighed, sending one last look at the palace before getting into the car.
Just before I got in, I could have sworn I felt someone watching me.
The hair at the back of my neck stood on edge, and an unfamiliar feeling settled in my stomach.
I turned sharply, but was met with cold breeze and an empty hallway.
"Nyssa!"
I ignored the watchful feeling and got in the car.
The drive back to the pack was tense but silent.
Once again, I was forced to sit with Henry in his car but he seemed content with ignoring me and I had no issues with that.
By the time we arrived at the pack, I was ready to go home. I wanted to lock myself in my house so I could properly think about the problem I'd gotten myself into.
The car had barely stopped in front of the pack house when Alisa came running, her hair flapping behind her in the wind. She threw herself into Henry's arms and made a show of kissing him on his lips.
"I missed you so much!" she exclaimed. "My bed has been so empty without you, I can't wait-"
To my surprise, he tugged her arms off him. "I can't right now. I need to summon the council."
I snickered at the shocked and embarrassed expression on her face.
She must've heard me because if looks could kill, I would have been six feet under.
"Can't the meeting wait, Henry?" she asked, dropping her voice into a sultry whisper. "I've really missed you."
He brushed past her like she didn't even exist. "Call the council. We meet now."
Even Alisa couldn't argue with him after that so she left to do as he asked.
Within the next half hour, the entire council was situated in the meeting room.
An intense feeling of déjà vu washed over me because the last time we were here, he was rejecting me in front of everyone.
A few people must have been thinking the same thing I was because they shot me identical looks of pity.
I forced myself to ignore them and straightened my spine.
"Why did you call us here, Alpha?" one of the counsellors asked. "You have been gone for a long time. Did the king agree to help?"
Henry gritted his teeth. "The king will send help, that isn't why I called you here. You are the wisest people in the pack, you know the rules of our kind better than anyone. I need to know if there is any way to break an agreement."
I groaned aloud.
Really?
"What kind of agreement, Alpha?"
"The king agreed to help us if he can have Nyssa every other two weeks. I will not have my Beta away from the pack during such a difficult time. He is trying to destabilize us and I will-"
"For fucks sake, Henry. He didn't ask to have me, I made the deal because he is my mate!"