"If we tell my pack just how big the problem is, and how it would affect them if the conflict spills over, I don't see why Ryel would refuse us. After all, he was the one who was so eager to send me over here to sleep with you in order to protect his precious family. Like a little whore."
Theo frowned and wrapped his hand in Lily's. "You're not a whore. How could you say that?"
"I'm sorry." She sighed, frustrated. "It's just that my pack hasn't always been the most welcoming or kind to me. That's part of why I ended up agreeing to marry you in the first place, and I ... well, that's not the point. The point is, Ryel owes me, and I think he'll see reason if you have the chance to explain everything to him."
Not for the first time, Theo wished Lily wasn't so guarded about her truth, of her past and experiences. He had tried to share so much of himself with her, and though she gave him her loyalty in return, and her body, it seemed as though he was still a long way from earning her heart. Theo could feel a part of him receding from her at that thought, of the realization that he'd been far too quick to develop any feelings for her.
Of the realization that he truly knew so little about her.
"It sounds like a long shot, but it is, after all, why I sought out the alliance with your pack in the first place," Theo admitted, "although I wasn't expecting to need their help so soon."
"Then it's settled." Lily peeled herself from his arms and stood on wobbly legs. "Once everything is handled here, we'll go to Kaldron to speak with my alpha."
She sauntered toward the office door, and Theo stared warily after her. "Where are you going?"
She stopped at the doorframe and looked back at him. "I don't know about you, but after that round, I'm feeling pretty beat, so you'll find me passed the fuck out in bed, I hope."
With a merry laugh, she disappeared into the bedroom, leaving Theo naked on his desk, all his paperwork strewn about the floor. After she'd gone, leaving his mind racing with more questions and answers, he, too, found his feet. But instead of following her, he began to pick up everything he'd tossed to the ground.
He'd already allowed Lily to distract him too much, and in the process, he worried he'd lost a part of himself to her that he might not get back.
Chapter 9 - Lily
Lily hadn't thought it would be possible for Theo to grow more distant from her, but despite her efforts, it was as though he had become mist falling through her fingers no matter how hard she tried to close her fists around him. Just when she thought she was starting to understand the man, he went and became something else entirely.
Though they'd made love twice in just two short days of knowing each other, the first time out of necessity, and the second time out of pure want and need, Theo hadn't touched her since. She'd tried to tempt him. Perhaps she should have felt embarrassed by the wanton lust she experienced for the prince, and the extent to which she'd been willing to go to just for the hope of glimpsing the kind heart beneath his mask.
But he didn't budge or break. He'd become stone.
After four days of Theo speaking with his advisors, of coming up with plans that Lily was excluded from, at last, he came to her to act on their intentions to go to Kaldron together and speak with Ryel, the alpha of the Kaldron pack. Shortly after gathering themselves in the small, wooden goblin cart, Lily had tried to talk to Theo, but he dismissed her outright, stating that he was too occupied with his planning to chat or entertain her.
She'd simmered with silent fury at the notion of needing to beentertained. Lily wasn't a child or a dog, she was his wife. Just days ago they had declared each other partners against the rebellion, and it was as though he'd forgotten already.
They were in close quarters, only an arm's length apart, and yet it felt as though an ocean spanned between them.
Where had she gone wrong?
She thought back to the last time they made love, of Theo's surprising and forceful whispers of planting his seed in her. Of having her bear his children. Lily looked to the cart's window, out to the trees beyond, when her cheeks flushed with warmth at the memory. Not that Theo was looking at her, or would notice her embarrassment.
Theo's words had only made her want him more, to break through his defenses and draw out that sweet, gentle side of him. But she'd turned him down out of fear and confusion, and she realized now thatshewas the cause of his distance. He'd revealed so much of himself that day at his mother's grave, of the life he'd lived and suffered through, and still, somewhere deep in his heart, he craved a future. A family.
And Lily hadn't been able to give him any of her. Not a glimpse of her past, her present, or her dreams. She hadn't even told him about the deaths of her parents, tried to tell him that she understood, at least to some degree, the loss he'd experienced.
It wasn't Theo who'd built the chasm between them. It had been her.
Now, she realized, she would have to be the one to find a way to rebuild the bridge she'd unknowingly knocked over.
With a sigh, Lily let her mind wander as they rode along in silence, slowly losing herself in thought and daydreams of what might come next. She didn't know how long she had been dozing when she felt a hand on her shoulder, shaking her awake. It was Theo, and his features were soft with concern as he looked at her. One look, and already Lily's heart was melting. There was the man she'd been longing for, his firm jaw and blue eyes that haunted her day and night, and a glimpse into the warm depths beneath the ice.
"Are you alright?" he asked gently. "You seemed like you were having a bad dream."
Stirring from her slumber, Lily sat up straighter and rubbed the sleep from her eyes before letting out a long yawn. As she looked at Theo's earnest expression, she wondered if his walls were crumbling down and he just didn't want to admit it yet. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on her part. Either way, it didn't matter. She would get through this with him in whatever way she could—even if he continued to ignore her efforts and tried to push her away.
"Yes," she replied with a smile. "I'm perfectly fine." And for once, she actually meant it.
He gave her a tentative smile in return. "Excellent, because we've just arrived outside of Kaldron. We can't bring the cart any closer than this. Will you lead the way?"
They climbed out of the cart, and Lily assessed the trees around them. The earth was iced over with frost, ferns and plants captured in a thin layer of chill that would disperse as the sun rose. Pines towered above them in all directions, not unlike those surrounding the goblin fortress and settlement farther north. But these trees smelled of home, and a longing to see the old houses of her hometown surged when she realized where they were.