Page 2

CHAPTER TWO

A Week Later

TITAN

T itan strode down the stairs to the basement holding a tray of food.

With each step, he moved closer to the door that held his mate, the more conflicted he became.

Before he'd met her, it had been simple.

Gather the rogues. Plan an attack. Take the throne.

However, things had become infinitely more complicated.

Mine. Not theirs. Mine.

Titan fought his wolf with everything he had. His wolf had done this. Had ruined everything. It was because of his wolf that River rejected and hated him. He wouldn't let that happen again.

Titan approached the door, and the rogue outside bowed.

"Austin."

"Highness."

"Has she asked for anything?"

Austin shook his head. "She hasn't made a sound."

Titan sighed and nodded. It had been the same answer from every rogue who had stood guard over the last week. Titan wasn't sure how much longer he could take the silence.

Austin handed him the key to the door.

Titan balanced the tray in one hand and unlocked the door with the other. He pushed the door inward and waited.

She curled up on the floor in the same place she had been every time he'd come to check on her in the last seven days. If he hadn't heard her heart beating, he would have thought she was dead.

His wolf growled and sniffed the air, even though River's scent had been muted by the blockers he supplied in her water. No change.

Titan crossed to the table in the corner and set the tray down.

He waited. Her breathing was even but not deep. She was awake and aware of his presence.

Her refusal to acknowledge him had his wolf growling louder.

Shut it.

Titan swallowed and drew in a breath, forcing himself to relax.

The room swam with the scents of unwashed clothing and stale air.

At least the scents of the twins were mostly faded from her, leaving her scent of cherries and vanilla behind.

That was a relief. It had been obvious she'd been with both of them before he'd taken her, and that alone had him wanting to kill his half-brothers.

But he'd promised her he wouldn't, so he hadn't.

He still wasn't sure if the rogues had though.

After five minutes, he crouched down next to her. "I assure you the bed is more than comfortable, but if it isn't to your liking, tell me what you want and I'll buy a different one."

She kept her eyes shut, but her heartbeat kicked up.

He reached out to brush her hair from her eyes. "River-"

She caught his hand and shoved it away without looking at him.

His wolf snarled.

"You haven't eaten."

Silence.

He fought to keep his voice even. "Surely you would be more comfortable if you showered and put on some clean clothes."

"I would be more comfortable at home with my mates." They were the first words she'd spoken since being taken, and they slapped him so hard he almost fell over.

"You are home. I am your mate."

Her eyes flew open, and she bared her teeth. "I will never, ever, be your mate."

"You already are."

"You took from me what was never yours to take. That doesn't make me your mate."

"And I have apologized for that. It was-" What? Weakness? Desperation? Desire that had made him do what he did? How could he tell her that?

She eyed him intently.

He stood. "You should shower and eat. I have a surprise for you."

He turned and walked toward the door.

"I don't want a surprise."

His anger rose, and he swiped a vase of flowers from a dresser to the floor. "Why? Why can't you give me a chance?"

She leapt to her feet and rushed him. "Why didn't you give me one? A chance to find out for myself if you were to be my mate."

Her fierceness enflamed him. He wanted to touch her. To feel that passion for himself. He almost couldn't bear the fact that Ares and Apollo had felt what should have been his.

She stared at him. He opened and closed his mouth. His gut clenched.

His wolf growled and paced.

"I… wish more than anything I had," he whispered before he could stop himself.

His wolf growled. Weak.

Her gaze flickered with something he couldn't read, and his chest tightened. It was the same look she'd given him right before she'd rejected him, and again right after she'd kissed him to save Ares and Apollo.

He reached for her, but her palm slammed into him.

"Don't touch me." Her eyes went Omega golden but only for a second, probably because of the suppressant he was feeding her.

When she did that, it was the only time his wolf backed down. Truly backed down. He couldn't explain what happened to him when she looked at him like that, except to say that he wanted to comply. Wanted to give in to her. Wanted to please her.

"I have a surprise. I'll be back in a few hours. Shower. Eat."

"Is the surprise a police escort home?"

Titan's gut squeezed. "No."

"Is it a cellphone so I can call my mates to bring me home?"

Titan growled, and his wolf snarled. "This is your home."

"No," she said. "It's your home. It'll never be my home."

"Well then, if you are so set on going back, when I take the throne, we'll move back."

Her upper lip curled, and the fire in her eyes made a shiver run through him.

"Take the throne, don't take the throne, I don't care. All I care about is getting back to my family."

Titan clenched his fists as a string of curse words flew through his mind. He wanted to make her submit. Force her to her knees and have her obey him. But he couldn't, not with River. She would never do that. He needed to show her that their connection was real, not force her into it.

Without a word, Titan strode from the room.

He leaned on it and gulped down a breath. He'd never known pain like he had since finding and then being rejected by River. And every word she spoke was a further rejection. He wasn't sure how much more he could take.

Watching from afar for four and a half agonizing years. Seeing but never touching. Never tasting. Never having her with him. It had been what had started his desire to gather the rogues. To unite them under his rule. To have something to offer her. To give her. To make her want to stay.

Then Ares had found her, and Titan's heart had shattered all over again. She'd shown Ares her work. Had gone with him to his hotel. Had smiled and dressed up to go to the Opera with him.

Things she should have done with him. Not Ares. Him.

And then Apollo…

"How did it go?"

Titan's head whipped up. Vanessa watched him from the stairwell.

Titan growled and locked River's door before he strode up the stairs past her.

"What do you want?"

She shrugged. "Honestly? I want to know what it is about her that has all you Wolvenguard boys so happy and mushy. She doesn't seem to be anything special. If anything, I think she's rather-"

Titan pinned Vanessa to the wall by the throat.

His wolf sneered, and Titan's nails lengthened.

"If you want to keep breathing, I suggest you not finish that sentence."

Fear flashed in Vanessa's eyes, and then she smiled. "I simply meant to suggest that you seem to deserve a mate… better suited to your needs and status."

She went to touch him, but he swatted her hand away.

"She is everything I want as well as need, and as such, she is very much of my status. I am the first-born son of the Lycan king, and she is an Omega. Together we were meant to rule."

"She doesn't want you."

"Not yet. But given time, she will forget about Ares and Apollo and the bond that I began will supersede anything she feels for them."

"She rejected you-"

"I will make her accept me. Now tell me, why did you come to find me? I told you to stay out of this area. Surely it can't be because of petty jealousy alone. You can't be that stupid."

Something crossed her face that told him it was jealousy that had sent her.

She rolled her eyes. "I came to tell you that the last of the rogues has returned."

"Last?"

"Yes. He says the others are… not likely to come back."

Titan growled. "Where is he?"

* * *

RIVER

River waited until the door shut and then sagged against the footboard of the bed and clutched her stomach. The food Titan brought made it roil for the millionth time. Man, sometimes she hated her shifter's super sense of smell. And being pregnant has made them even more acute.

He wanted her to eat. She scoffed. Hell, she wanted her to eat, but her body had other ideas.

It had been having those other ideas the entire week.

Luckily, Titan hadn't spent more than a few minutes with her at a time, so he'd only noticed that she hadn't eaten much. Not that she wasn't eating at all.

She'd taken small pieces of the food and flushed them down the toilet every day.

She drank the ice water he brought, but even water was something her body had decided it no longer liked.

Not that she could blame it. She had hated drinking water before getting pregnant.

Still, she at least had to stay hydrated at the very least. She had wondered if she'd become dehydrated, if he would take her to a real hospital, but she doubted it.

He probably had someone he'd call to give her an IV. She didn't want to take the chance.

She pressed her hand to her belly. A slight bulge in the front and an inch or so of widening in her waist were the only signs- aside from the constant vomiting, of course.