Page 119 of Wanted

“I’m not,” he stated. He knelt down in front of me, joining my lips with his. His hand wrapped around the back of my neck, and he drew me closer to him.

Against my lips, he whispered, “We can find our favorite place together.”

“Yes.”

WESTON

After another sleepless night, I lay in bed, absently tracing lines on Mandy’s shoulders while she slept. She didn’t shift during the night, stuck in one position to avoid any unnecessary pain. I didn’t do much either. Either I stared at her, stunned at the fact that she was with me again, or I glared at the ceiling.

I was back in the house I’d grown up in.

Valentina occupied the room next door, which had originally been held available for guests. Since she avoided her shared bedroom with Aris like the plague, she stayed next to us. We only heard from her when she was hungry. My sister-in-law didn’t want to see anyone unless there was news concerning her husband.

There wasn’t any news. Days had passed, and we were impatiently waiting for him to be released to his room so that we could visit him.

I meant what I’d told Mandy. I was prepared to leave my home for her. This life wasn’t for me anymore if my object… My future wife didn’t want any part in it.

Being back in myhome, I felt out of touch with it. Things changed when I left this place. The housekeepers were gone. The kitchen was empty. My brother became a victim of an assassination attempt that landed him in the hospital.

Valentina wasn’t herself. She didn’t leave her room, and she behaved more sourly than ever before. We never connected, but now, bitterness coated our every exchange. Mandy got to her in the beginning, but as the days passed, Valentina withdrew into herself.

The only good news we received were updates on the baby. She was growing wonderfully.

I promised Mandy that we’d leave, and we would once Aris woke up. He had to wake up. It was out of the question that he would return to us.

“I can feel your stare,” Mandy mumbled, rubbing her eyes. Her little yawn was strangely attractive to me. “Good morning. Any news on Aris?”

“Nothing.”

She groaned in response. “I hate that.”

“Listen.” I cleared my throat. “I received a message from Travis earlier. He said our parents want to have dinner at the palace with us.”

She gagged on air, taking her time to respond. “Who?”

“Aram and Spencer want to have dinner with Kamila and me.” I added, “But I want you to join us.”

“If I haven’t been invited, I’d rather stay here with Valentina,” she responded. I could taste the hostility in the air. It wasn’t directed at me, but she was my responsibility now, not officially but soon. I didn’t want to give her father room to bully her some more. Even if he wasn’t her biological father.

Thank fuck for that.

♥♠♥

I’d only been gone for a month, but the palace had changed. More guards were roaming the halls, but fewer Katantia emblems greeted me. Resentment was in the air. My sister and I were walking into the lion’s den.

“They didn’t want me to come, but I told Fylox and Alex that you’d be there for me if something happened,” Kamila said. Her shaking arms weren’t a new addition to her existence. I’d been around my sister, and I knew that she had these tremors quite often when anxious. She also had the occasional seizure, and I sure hoped that she wouldn’t suffer one in the presence of the older Wraith men. It would make for an awkward conversation.

Today, the palace smelled like expensive cigars. Kamila and I flared our nostrils at the strange scent. Our father didn’t smoke.

We called for the elevator. The wait was tedious. The staff knew not to stare at us, but the new guards hadn’t been taught manners yet. They studied us, and I scowled at them. Dressed in three-piece suits with white shirts and brown leather shoes, they paroled our home.

I scoffed at the thought. The palace hadn’t been my home in ages.

Travis had mentioned that dinner wouldn’t take place in the official dining rooms. Since we were only four people, the staff had prepared one of the meeting rooms on the king’s floor. The empty elevator granted my sister and me an awkward silence.

Glancing at my watch, I saw that we were right on time. Not that I wanted to be respectful, but… Aram and Spencer were unpredictable. They wanted to meet with us over dinner for what exactly? There was nothing to discuss. They knew that we were up to something.

The elevator came to an abrupt stop. “Fuck.”