Chapter 94
~ HENRY
The guards tossed me unceremoniously outside the palace courtyard.
Curses spewed from my lips but they ignored me, drawing the gates closed as they returned to their various posts.
A bitter pit swirled inside of me, coating the back of my throat with a bitter taste I’d come to familiarize with rage.
I should have known that Rowan would do some bullshit like that, he always liked to throw around his weight. I should have accounted for the possibility that he would do something stupid in front of Nyssa to try and prove that he was the stronger man.
With a huff, I pulled myself to my feet.
I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw that my phone wasn’t damaged and dialed Ian. He was my only companion on this trip, and it was more for the sole purpose that I did not want to drive the whole damn way.
We were separated upon arrival at the palace. He was taken to some hotel while I was brought straight to see Nyssa.
He didn’t ask questions when I asked him to pick me up, he just ae arrived in half an hour and said nothing as he drove through the streets.
I watched the people in the streets, the lycans whistling and speaking to themselves, unbeknownst to them that their King was currently holding my mate under his spell. He was charismatic, that much I knew, and I’d be damned if I let him get away with poisoning her mind.
“Are we returning back to the pack, Alpha?” Ian asked but I shook my head.
“Not yet, I have something else I need to do p>
He pursed his lips. “If I may, Alpha. The council called today. They think it is prudent if p>
“Did I ask what the council thinks?” I snapped and he immediately fell silent. “Good. Did you bring that box p>
“I did. I put it in your room at the inn p>
My lips curled into a smirk. “Perfect p>
The ’inn’ in question was a two-storied building with white walls and plants growing along the sides of it. The inside smelled like caramel and the rooms were smaller than my study, but I gritted my teeth and kept my complaints to myself.
If my plan were to succeed, I’d be out of here by tomorrow.
Just as Ian said, the box sat neatly by the side of the bed. I’d carried it as a last resort, hoping I wouldn’t need it but now… I was glad I did.
It had been in my possession for two years but I never got the chance to use it. I told myself it would only be used in an emergency and this was one. He’d brainwashed my mate and I had to get her back.
I pulled the key out of my pocket and unlocked it, revealing one large leather bound book. The cover was worn from age and the pages were almost falling out.
I had taken it the last time I visited the palace two years ago. It’s funny I took it that day because mere moments after, Aria confronted me with a picture of Nyssa.
The book was just sitting there on the shelf in Rowan’s study like Aria had told me it would be. She’d mentioned it in passing but it stuck in my head… a journal detailing Rowan’s deepest secrets and regrets.
I never wanted to blackmail him. To be honest, I actually liked his friendship. I’d only kept it as a contingency plan in case my relationship with Aria didn’t work out, and it was a good thing I did.
I flipped open the pages, finally going through the entries.
There were only four entries, but each one was detailed over a multitude of pages.
The entries weren’t dated, but the first one spoke of a murder that he committed. He never mentioned how old he was, but it read like the writing of a teenager.
I flipped past the pages. I needed something good, something that would shock Nyssa to the core and scare her into leaving.
“There is nothing here,” my wolf hissed. “It is just stupid journaling p>
“There has to be. Aria said so p>
He rolled his eyes. “Aria could have been lying or she could have been wrong. So far, all he has spoken about is killing a man as a child. He killed that rogue in front of her. This will not sway her p>
I knew he was right and that infuriated me more.
I began skimming through the pages, searching for something… anything when my eyes landed on something that gave me pause.
There was a child.
I immediately flipped back to the beginning of the entry and began to read.
The more I read, the more shock consumed me. My lips curled up into a smile as I realized that this was the kind of story that would shock Nyssa to the core.
He wrote about stalking a family that he believed to be involved in something shady. He wrote about how he stalked and killed them, but something about the murder sounded familiar.
He had cornered them in the woods, and interrogated them, but when he received no answer, he snapped the wife’s neck. He tortured the male after, going into detail about how he sliced his tongue out before finally leaving him bleeding on the forest floor.
It was only when I read the next line that it clicked.
I only went to check if they had left proof of their wrongdoings. I did not expect to find a child in the house.
She was curled up in her bed, her brown hair braided over her shoulder. A picture of the couple I killed sat by her dresser.
I do not regret killing them, but I made a girl an orphan. There is a girl who will grow up lonely because of my actions.
I found her name. Aria told me not to, she said it was pointless, but I checked anyway… she deserves to be remembered.
Nyssa.