The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (99 page)

“Observing me now?” he asked, smirking. She felt her cheeks grow hot from being caught. “Ah, here come your friends,” he continued, the word
friends
coming out dripping with contempt. Elisa turned to see Wolf and Moose walking slowly toward them.
Where were Aiden and Lily?
She wondered. Elisa had a newfound love for the girl, after saving not just her life, but from being in the middle of a tug-a-war between Markus and Wolf.

“Evening,” Wolf greeted formally, nodding his head at Markus. “How’s the arm?”

She shrugged to say it was nothing, but the movement itself made flinch against sudden pain. “Fine,” she lied, her voice strained. Moose chuckled, but neither boy called her out on it. “How do you like Nysa so far, Moose?”

“I think I’ll like it better when we get outta here and hit the taverns,” he replied, cheerfully slapping Wolf on the shoulder. Jealousy filled Elisa, surprising her.

“Are you boys leaving so soon?” she asked, trying her best to keep her voice light. Her eyes bore into Wolf, but he didn’t seem to notice as he looked around the room lazily.

“Not yet,” he answered absently.

“Going to go find some woman?” she pushed, her voice mocking. Wolf turned to face her with raised eyebrows.

“If we’re lucky,” Moose chuckled, unaware of Elisa’s foul mood. Wolf wasn’t though, and he was staring at her, confused. She almost thought she saw a hint of pleasure in his eyes.
Oh, so he thinks this is a game
, she thought furiously. Smiling stiffly, she hooked her good arm through Markus’s, pulling herself closer to him.

“Well, best of luck then,” she said, looking pointedly at Wolf. The corners of his mouth twitched, but he did a good job of keeping his expression passive.

“Markus! There you are!” a lady cried, interrupting Elisa and Wolf’s silent war. All four of them turned to see an elderly woman approach, wearing more jewels than everyone else in the room combined. Elisa wondered how the woman even found the strength to walk with all that weight on her. Markus smiled politely at the woman, kissing her on both cheeks.

“This must be your new bride-to-be,” she gushed, turning to Elisa, who smiled shyly at her.

“You are correct,” Markus replied, clearly amused at the woman’s exuberance. “Elisa, this is my Aunt Simone. Aunt, this is Elisa.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Elisa greeted.

“Look at how beautiful she is, Markus! Isn’t she just a sight, boys?” All three of them nodded and murmured their agreement. Elisa shot Moose and Wolf a narrowed look. “Oh dear, and look at her poor arm. I heard you were injured by one of those savages from the North.”

“Now Aunt, you know we are allies with them,” Markus said, his tone mildly reprimanding. His Aunt simply brushed him off with a wave of her hand.

“Well at least she is safe now,” she continued, as if he hadn’t spoken. “Soon you will be adding new little ones to this large palace. I can’t wait to see children running about again.”
Oh Gods
, Elisa thought,
I might literally die of embarrassment
. She thought she saw the two boys struggling to keep from laughing out of the corner of her eye.

“We can’t wait either,” Markus agreed. Elisa looked at him in shock.
We can’t?
Since when?
She thought frantically. “Now that she is here to stay, she won’t be put in any more dangerous situations, so we’ll focus on a family right away,” he continued.

“I’m so happy to hear she is done with that awful army,” his Aunt replied. “Such a horrible thing for a girl.” Elisa felt dizzy. It was like she wasn’t standing
right
there. Slowly her eyes sought Wolf’s. He no longer looked like he was about to laugh. On the contrary, he looked about ready to strangle the old lady.

“I couldn’t agree with you more, Aunt. Shall we go see Uncle?” His Aunt agreed, and Markus took her arm in hers, telling Elisa he’d meet her at the head table. He didn’t see the fire burning in her eyes. That, or he was just choosing to ignore it.

A low whistle sounded behind her. She turned to see both boys looking at her wearily. “What?” she snapped.

“Nothing,” they replied together. Her eyes started to burn.

“Just ignore him, Elisa,” Wolf said, keeping his voice light. “No one can force you to do anything. You’re a soldier just like the rest of us; he can’t take that away from you.”

“Plus, I bet you’ll look really good fat,” Moose piped in. He let out a grunt as Wolf’s elbow connected with his gut. The burning got worse. She had to get out of there. Excusing herself, she raced across the polished floors to the opened doors that led out to the gardens. Someone called out to her, but she barely heard them as she raced to her favourite hidden bench in the palace gardens. The night air felt crisp on her face. It wasn’t cold, it was comfortable, and helped cool the heat on her cheeks. By the time she reached her private spot, the tears were flowing freely down her cheeks. She collapsed ungracefully onto the stone bench, covering her face with her hands.

What had she gotten herself into? She had hardly known Markus when she agreed to be his wife. Not once had she stopped to ask him if he wanted children right away, or even how many! He knew how important being in the army was to her, and yet he had no problem taking it away. Had he ever had the intention to let her continue to be the way she was? Or was she just some new pet he could dress up and show off to his court? She let out a frustrated growl.
Wolf would never expect me to change
, she said inwardly.

The thought hit her like someone had just punched her in the stomach. Gods, she was right. Wolf would probably be so damn proud of her and her talents. He’d probably want them to be
that
couple. The one who everyone looked up to because they were both part of the King’s Army, and were two of the best. They were equals in his eyes, even though he pretended otherwise.
Equals.
Did Markus think of her as
his
equal? Elisa knew the answer immediately – no, no he didn’t. He probably saw her as just some young girl from the Capital, while he was this older, wiser leader of the south. She was just another pretty face.

New tears threatened to fall. To Markus she was just some prize, but to Wolf she was a treasure. One that he would keep and take care of. An aching pain started in her chest. She rubbed absently at it while she stared up into the sky. What was wrong with her? She felt horrible, and yet something was happening in the pit of her stomach. It was like part of her wanted to cry, while another part wanted to laugh out loud in delight. Was she going mad? No, she doubted it. She was too young for that sort of thing. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on the feelings swirling around inside her. Why was she sad? Well that was easy, because Markus had a life planned out for them that she didn’t want. There was also the fact that he didn’t seem to
care
that she didn’t want it. He thinks he’ll be making all the decisions for the two of them. That, and she hadn’t really felt a spark between them throughout the whole time they’d been together. While they slept in the same bed, she had no urges to cuddle up to him or ignite any passion.

Then why did she feel like laughing? It felt like the reason was so obvious, but she was just blinding herself to it.
Crap,
she thought, wanting to seriously kick herself. She knew
exactly
what it was. “Fine, I admit it,” she said out loud, to the night sky. “It’s Wolf. There, I’ve said it. Are you happy now?” The sounds of bugs and the distant music from the party were her only reply. “Yes he is the most stubborn, obnoxious, self-centered, egotistical arse I’ve ever met, but it’s him, it always has been. I – ” She stopped and took a deep breath. “I love him. Crap!
I love him!
And I know he loves me, despite everything we’ve ever said or done to each other.” She was pacing now.

What was she going to do? How was she supposed to get out of her engagement with Markus now? Oh, and Wolf, she thought with a loud groan. He would never let her live this down. She’d have to go crawling back to him after pushing him away again and again. He was going to gloat like there was no tomorrow. Did she care? Not really, she decided. Not if it meant he’d have her, and they could finally be together.

Someone cleared their throat loudly behind her, making Elisa whirl around, cheeks burning. Markus stood in the path, watching her wearily. “M-Markus,” she gasped.

He smiled, and she noticed it was much sadder than normal. “Sorry to – interrupt,” he replied. “I happened to see you leave, so I followed to make sure everything was alright.” How much had he heard? She wondered, twisting her hands together frantically. “I heard enough,” he replied. Had she said that out loud? “I can read it on your face,” he answered again, as if he had some magical power. With a heavy sigh, he walked towards her and sat down on the bench. Looking up at her, he patted the spot beside him. She sat, looking down at her twisted fingers.

“Do you hate me now?” she asked, bracing herself for his anger. Instead he answered in a tired sounding voice.

“Of course I don’t hate you, Elisa. I guess I knew this might happen, if I’m being honest. The truth is, I need a wife that will lead my court, and our court here is nothing like the Capital. They don’t revere your skills like your people do. Here, they would have only looked to you to see what kind of gowns you were wearing, and how you styled your hair. I’m afraid things are just too different in Nysa for you.”

That was definitely the truth, she thought, cringing at the picture he painted. Would she have honestly been so – useless? “I’m so sorry,” she said to him.

“Don’t apologize,” he said, taking one of her hands gently into his. “I could always see what was between you and Wolf. I guess I just convinced myself I could replace it. I know now I can’t. Perhaps we rushed into this.” He seemed to lose himself in a thought. They sat there in an awkward silence for a moment, before he abruptly stood, dropping her hand back onto her lap. “I understand the choice you’ve made, and care enough about you to let you walk away from us,” he said, crouching down in front of her. “I hope this is the right decision for you. I know men like Wolf. They only care about themselves, and as hard as it is for me to see you willingly give your heart to him, I feel like maybe it’s what you need to do.”

Elisa sat in shock. This was not what she had expected him to say. “I don’t understand what you mean,” she replied, her voice gruff.

Markus sighed, looking down as he reached for one of her hands again. She felt mildly uncomfortable. “I’m just warning you. Be careful. Guys like Wolf always want what they can’t have. When they finally get them, well…I just don’t want anything to hurt you. I’ll always be here for you if you need me.” She wanted to protest instantly and defend Wolf. He wasn’t anything like Markus was implying, but before she could speak he stood up again. “Well, I had better go back before they notice I’m gone. Don’t worry about announcing anything. I’ll make sure everyone knows our arrangement is called off.”

“Thank you,” she said, quietly. Could she feel any worse? She wondered how he could be so calm about all this.

Elisa turned to look at him as he reached the small path. “You better get back too if you want to inform the man you love that you do, in fact, love him,” he said, over his shoulder. Then he was gone, and she was left staring at the ground, frozen to her spot. Goose bumps rose on her arms, and she suddenly felt incredibly scared. She had to tell Wolf she loved him. Could she do it? The memory of Moose talking about leaving the party to find women was what made her stand up quickly. Yes, she could definitely do it, and she would, before he did anything stupid. Marching back through the gardens with purpose, Elisa straightened her back and drew up as much courage as possible. This was not going to be easy for her. The last time she had went to him he had turned her away. She just hoped this time would be different.

* * *

Wolf stood with Aiden and Moose, the three of them watching as Logan clumsily tried to dance with Lily. All three cringed at the same time.

“Did he just step on her toes again?” Moose asked, his voice pained from watching the two.

“Yup,” Aiden replied, shaking his head.

“That girl is going to be toeless by the end of this, I hope you know that,” Moose added.

“Ah, she’ll be fine,” Aiden replied.

“How much has he had to drink?” Wolf asked, watching as his best friend stumble, yet again. He was also knocking into other dancers, who didn’t look too pleased. They’d have to leave sooner than he planned, Wolf realized. This crowd was way too rich for Logan’s antics.

“Too much, I’d say,” his brother answered. “Time to go?”

“Probably.” Wolf let his eyes glance over to the garden doors again, for about the millionth time since Elisa had left. Where was she? He knew she had been upset, but hadn’t wanted to follow to make sure she was okay. He’d only end up making her more angry, because she hated looking weak in front of him. Or any of them, he corrected. Plus, he had seen Markus leave not long after, and didn’t want to interrupt whatever the two of them were doing. He hoped they were fighting, but the possibility of something else made him feel sick. “We should definitely leave,” he decided, suddenly feeling a desperate urge to get completely and utterly drunk.

“I’ll go save Lily,” Aiden said, moving towards the dancers.

“Are you going to stay here?” Moose asked.

“Yeah, most likely.” Aiden answered, walking over to them as they stopped to listen to whatever he was saying. Then the three came back, and Logan was literally bouncing with energy.

“We’re leaving?” he asked, excitedly.

“Yes, but only if you calm down,” Wolf answered, trying to keep himself from laughing. It was rare that
he
was the responsible one when the two of them went out, but right now he didn’t seem to have it in him to feel as happy as Logan did. “I don’t want to get into any fights tonight.”

Logan suddenly stopped bouncing from one foot to the other. “Where’s the fun in that?” he asked, completely serious.