Chapter 54
Ivy POV The night was long and stretched out for what felt like forever. It was grueling, and the pain was
unbearable. However, I never shifted, just wallowed in despair at the rejection of my mate. My bones
ached, and my chest constricted.
By morning, I had woken in the nest I had built. It became obvious I wouldn’t be shifting, I should have
already. Gannon tried to tell me I was fretting for my mate, but it made no sense to me. I had just seen
him the day before, if only briefly. But it was enough for him to rip my heart out. I would have preferred if
he had because that was one of the worst nights I had endured. More so than when he was gone
because I knew he was here, just out of my reach.
Abbie sat with me on the wharf that allowed you to walk out across theke. She had brought me over
here to have breakfast, though I had no appetite and couldn’t bring myself to eat. Although we enjoyed
the morning sun, enjoyed the rays heating my cold skin, I felt cold all over deep into my bones. It was like
I had never known warmth and wouldn’t again. The ache was horrible. Abbie tried to cheer me up. She
told me of everything that happened in the castlest night. Though it mainly fell on deaf ears.
Apparently, she heard the word from one of the guards that more children were found in river beds in
neighboring towns. She also said all night the castle was on edge and that the King had been
insufferable. He even attacked two of the night guards. I stared longingly at the castle, knowing he was
there. So close yet so far. Pulling my gaze from it, Abbie moved closer to the edge of the wharf, and I
gripped her arm. “Abbie!” I hissed as she tossed her legs over the side and into the water.
“Gannon is right there,” she pointed him out, and I let her go with a sigh. I knew he wouldn’t let her d***n,
yet fear still bubbled in me. Abbie dangled her feet over the edge. But I wasn’t daring enough. I couldn’t
even see the bottom of the stillke. Watching her so close to the edge made my nauseous stomach
worse. If she fell in, I would be of no use to her and would d***n myself trying to save her. Abbie was
right, and I knew I was being foolish. Gannon wouldn’t let her d***n if she fell in. He woulde to her
aid if needed.
“I have to head back soon. I have to go into town with rice to grab some supplies,” Abbie told me. My
eyes blurred with more tears at hearing she would have to leave me, but I nodded sadly, knowing it
couldn’t be helped. I was surprised he let here to see me. I would have to go back to my p****n,
stuck in the stables where he ced me.
Abbie worried her lip between her teeth and clutched my fingers gently. “Maybe I could ask if you could
come?” she said hopefully. But I knew it would never be allowed. I never had a chance to answer when I
heard screaming from the castle’s direction. My head whipped toward the direction of the feminine
screams, and I saw Ester thrashing and screaming her head off while two guards dragged her across the
manicuredwns. Abbie stood up, and Gannon turned to look up the hill where the castle was.
“Ha, serves her right,” Abbie chuffed, and I looked at her from where I sat, wondering what happened
that Ester was being escorted out.
“What did she do?” I asked curiously. Abbie turned and looked down at me and gasped before her head
turned to Ester, still thrashing as they led her toward the front of the castle, toward the enormous iron
gates.
“I worry it may upset you, but nothing happened. The King woke up before she could do anything,” Abbie
told me as she looked down at her hands, picking at her nails.
“Before she did what?” I asked, suddenly feeling sick. Especially knowing she had been with Kyson in
the past, though rice said he looked for a recement. One thing I thought aboutst night was if she
would be back to being his servant? The thought sickened me.
“The King woke early this morning in his office to Ester fondling him,” Abbie told me, and I felt like l was
going to be sick at her words. Bile burned my throat, and my heart sank. A whimper left my lips before I
could stop it as I thought of her touching him. Panic bubbled within me, and I felt like I was choking. My
ability to breathe suddenly cut off.
“Hey, hey. Nothing happened, I promise. I heard the guard talking this morning. When he woke, he was
livid and tossed her out. He then banished her from the castle, so I guess they finally found her. He didn’t
do anything with her, Ivy. I promise you,” she said, clutching my face in her hands.
“That’s it. Breathe, Ivy. He didn’t betray you,” Abbie whispered as I tried to stop my panic a****k. She
wiped my tears, and I felt so stupid, so weak. How could a bond have such an effect? I hoped it would
lessen.
“So he didn’t sleep with her?” I asked, letting out a breath finally.
“No, apparently, she ran naked from his office crying like her bum was on fire,” Abbie snickered. Yet l
couldn’t find the humor in her words. The thought of her being near him sent a sharp pain through my
chest and also upset me. However, it was odd because I also felt bad for her. I never found pleasure in
another’s pain, even if it was justified. Abbie was about to say something else when a whistle caught our
attention. Abbie and I looked to the hill, and we saw rice wave to us.
“I gotta go, but I will try to visit youter,” Abbie says, briefly hugging me before rushing off back down
the wharf. I followed, watching as she ran past Gannon and up the hill to rice. Damian, I noticed, was
coming down the small path leading toward the stables. As I reached the stable doors, I waited for him.
“Morning Beta,” I told him, baring my neck to him.
“You don’t do that for me, Ivy. You’re my superior, not the other way around,” Damian told me, and shook
my head.
Têxt ? N?velDrama.Org.
“A superior who is in the stables because her King can’t bear the sight of her,” I tell him, and Gannon
wanders over. Damian looks away and clicks his tongue before he clenches his jaw.
“He will get over it, Ivy; he just needs time,” Damian says with a swift nod. I doubted it.