fantishu
Chapter 22
Chapter 22
#Chapter 22 – She has betrayed you
When the boys are safely ensconced in their bedroom, happily watching Aladdin at a bit too high of a volume, I storm into the living room.
Victor turns to me. “Evelyn, I –“
I slam into him before he can finish, pushing him off balance and slamming his back into the living room wall. His instincts kick in, immediately turning feral and defensive as he bares his teeth and snarls at me.
I match him growl-for-growl as I press him against the wall, my hands on his chest. “Get rid of her,” I bite out.
“We don’t even know –“
“Get RID of her, Victor,” my voice raises, but I am careful not to shout. I don’t want the boys to hear. “My boys do not lie to me. If they say the kidnappers smelled like Amelia, they did, and they did for a reason.”
Victor swipes his hands up, knocking my arms off of his chest and causing me to stumble forward. He quickly side-steps me, allowing me to fall against the wall so he is standing by my side, our faces very close together.
I can tell that he’s furious, but I don’t know whether it’s at me for being right, or Amelia for betraying him, or a thousand other things.
“We don’t know what happened, Evelyn,” he says, working hard to keep his temper under control. “I will not accuse my mate until I have more evidence of foul play.”
“And I will not,” I say, breathing hard and grabbing Victor by the collar of his shirt, “have my boys put in danger because your little girlfriend is jealous.”
Victor’s quickly changes, anger giving way to surprise. “Jealous? Jealous of what?”
“Of me,” I say waving around at my house, the life I’ve built in it. “Jealous of the boys, of the relationship you have with them, of the time you’re spending with us. Her life is totally different now and she hates it. She’s clearly making moves to turn things back, and my boys are at risk because of it.”
He shakes his head, determined, refusing to see Amelia in this light. Of course, he loves her, she’s his mate and his Luna. He doesn’t understand her the way I do. “She wouldn’t do that, Evelyn. She can’t.”
I shake him by his shirt. “She has betrayed you, Victor. Can’t you see that?” He again swats my hand away, growling softly but listening. “Are you going to let her treat you like a dog?” I step back and cross my arms. “I know I won’t.”
Victor walks towards the door, straightening his shirt. “Let me talk to her,” he says. “I’ll get to the bottom of this. Amelia will fall in line.”
“My boys will not take the brunt of this,” I say, my voice low and threatening. “If she threatens them again, I’ll take her out myself.” I mean every word. NôvelDrama.Org content.
Victor stops at the door, his hand on the knob, and sweeps his eyes over me, taking in my whole form. It is no small thing to threaten an Alpha’s Luna. Almost imperceptibly, he nods, and then walks out the door.
When Victor storms in the door, Amelia is waiting for him in the kitchen, sipping a glass of rose with shaky fingers. In the time that Victor’s been gone she’s changed into her pajamas, a silky set of pink shorts with a matching top.
A double of whiskey is waiting for Victor, chilled in a beautifully cut glass. Victor crosses the kitchen room in two steps, his eyes never leaving Amelia. He grabs the whiskey and hurls it across the room.
Amelia lets out a little cry as Victor lowers over her, staring down into her wide blue eyes. Her whole body starts to shake.
“What happened, Amelia? Why did the kidnappers smell like you?” They’re more demands than questions.
Amelia’s whole body starts to shake. “Victor, I have – I have no idea why –“
“TELL ME, Amelia!” Victor shouts, slamming his hand against the kitchen island. It seems as if the whole house shakes with his rage. She bursts into tears.
“I don’t know, Victor!” she cries, hesitating and then putting her hands on his chest, bringing her body closer to his. “I’m scared! I have no idea why –“
He pushes her away. “Amelia, I swear to god, if you had anything to do with this –“
“I didn’t, Victor!” She pleads, closing the gap between them and wrapping her arms around his waist, placing her head against his chest where his shirt collects her tears. “I’m just as confused as you are! I have no idea what happened, what’s happening!”
Victor softens after a moment, putting a hand on her back as she sobs against him. He grits his teeth, trying to hold on to his rage, but it’s so rare for Amelia to cry like this…
“Amelia,” he says gently. “Those boys are my family.”
She turns her wet face up to him. “They’re going to be my family too,” she whispers, “when we’re married. They hate me now,” she sputters out a little laugh and wipes her face, “and…and I guess I understand that. But they are my boys too, Victor. I love them.”
Her words go straight to his heart. He uses his thumbs to wipe the tears from her soft, beautiful cheeks. “What happened, Amelia?”
“I don’t know,” she insists. “I don’t think the boys are lying, though –“ she shakes her head, confused. “If they say the men smelled like me, then they probably did. But how…”
Victor considers this for a moment, raising his gaze to stare blankly out the window. He hums softly in the back of his throat, thinking. “It’s possible…” he said.
“What?” Amelia murmurs, tucking her head against his chest like a sad and tired child. She begins to stroke his back softly with her hands.
“A setup,” he murmurs, passively responding by wrapping his arms around her and lowering his face to her hair, breathing in her scent. Magnolias and summer sun. “Someone tried to take the boys, to frame you…”
“Really?” she breathes. “But who…who would do that…”
“Even perhaps let the boys escape to frame you. A ploy…a threat…”
“Oh, Victor…” she murmurs, her voice scared. “How could someone…you’re so powerful…”
Victor’s eyes continue to be unfocused as he thinks, considering all the angles of the situation. Amelia peeks up at him through her eyelashes, watching him turn his attention to the other threats in his life, away from her. She smiles and slips her hands beneath Victor’s shirt, which has come untucked from his waistband.
“Victor, I’m so scared…” she whispers, turning her face back to his chest, sliding her hands across the powerful muscles of his back. “If anything happened to them…to me, to us…”
“Nothing’s going to happen,” Victor murmurs, responding to her touch, slipping his own hands down to her waist.
“I’m so grateful for you,” she says softly, turning her face up, bringing her mouth close to his so she whispers her next words onto his lips. “You’re so strong. You can protect us all. I trust you.”
Victor closes the distance between them, kissing her mouth, pressing her against him so that she can feel him wanting her. Amelia kisses him hard, desperately, working her hands through his hair. “Take me upstairs,” she gasps, and wordlessly Victor complies, picking her up and carrying her up the staircase to their bedroom.
Amelia slams the door behind them.
A few hours later, Victor watches Amelia sleep and considers her in the dark. She is truly a beautiful woman, he thinks, reaching out to tug the blanket higher up over her shoulder. But his mind drifts to Evelyn, who he knows is not sleeping so peacefully tonight. If Amelia really was as scared as the rest of them, how could she sleep so peacefully?
Victor rolls over onto his back, staring at the ceiling, considering the events of the evening. It all happened very quickly. He remembers storming into the kitchen, demanding answers – and then what, five minutes later, they’re in bed? Did it even take that long?
She’s as clever as she is beautiful, Victor things, twisting his mouth wryly. He knows that he’s been managed tonight, that Amelia has…ways. Of getting what she wants. But she’s his mate – shouldn’t she know him so well that she can quickly quell his rage? Is there something so wrong with that?
Victor pulls a pillow over his face, sighing into it. God, he wasn’t going to get any sleep with thoughts like this.