Chapter 149: Rosalie Was About To Turn Twenty -One!
Not long after our conversation about Ethan, he came into the tent My arms tightened up around my baby.
âIs he done eating?â Ethan asked me, standing near the tent door.
I nodded. âYes, but heâs asleep.â
With complete indifference in his voice, he said, âGive him to Georgia.â
âNo,â I said, keeping my voice low. I didnât want to wake the baby, but I was so upset that I was having to give my baby to someone else.
âRosalie, you need to rest,â Ethan said. âAnd that will be easier if heâs not here. Georgia, take the baby.â
I looked at my friend with a pleading look in my eyes, begging her to take my side.
âIâm sorry, Rosalie, but heâs right. You do need your rest. Donât worry about him. Iâll take good care of my nephew while youâre sleeping.â She finished her sentence with a wink, which made me break a smile.
I couldnât argue, so I let her have him, but I patted his head as his aunt pulled him away, carrying his sleeping form out of the tent.
I had to trust Georgia that she was doing what was best for both of us and that sheâd make sure that I saw my child again.
Ethan didnât back out of the tent right away, so I took advantage of the situation and got to my feet. I was still a bit shaky, but I couldnât let him see that.
âI want to leave,â I told him, keeping my tone strong.
Ethan shook his head. âThatâs out of the question.â
I glared at him. âEthan, you must realize that my people will be coming for me. They will fight you at all costs and free me. It wouldnât be good for either of our pack. You may as well let me go.â
He simply shook his head. âNo.â
I wanted to punch him. How dare he try to keep me here?
I reminded him, âIâm not your prisoner! You canât just keep me here against my will!â
âYes, I can. For your safety and until you recover.â
âYou⦠you are just such a tyrant!â
Scanned with CamScanner Chapter 149: Rosalie Was About To Turn Twenty-One!
âWhatever you want to call me is fine.â.
âWhat youâre doing⦠itâs just plain wrong! You have to know that.â I wanted to say more, to tell him that whatever it was he d done to make James hate him, I believed he deserved it. But I held back my cruel wordsâfor now.
âRosalie, do not challenge me,â he warned as he turned away.
âIâll be twentyâone tomorrow!â | yelled.
Yes, I would be turning twentyâone, and it would be my coronation. My people would be looking for me, and I could not let them down!
âI know,â he paused for a second, and then continued to walk toward the exit of the tent, but I wasnât going to let him.
Grabbing his shoulder, I pulled him back around. Of course, I wasnât strong enough to make him move, but he turned because he wanted to face me.
âI need to leave!â | demanded.
He had to understand just how crucial my role was as a leader in the middle of a war.
His red eyes narrowed. âI suppose youâre just in a hurry to get back to my brother, then?â
My mouth fell open, and I stared at him in disbelief. âWhatâs that?â I asked him, wondering where he was going with this.
Did he dare to think he had any claim over me? That he could dictate who I spent my time with? After everything heâd done?
âSorenâthe two of you have found one another again. My guys saw him near the front looking for you.â
I couldnât process the information. Soren was looking for me? Anyway, why did it have anything to do with Ethan?
âItâs none of your business!â I retorted.
âI thought that youâd left the islands because you finally realized that he was the one who was a danger to you and the baby. But then I heard that you were actually spending your time with him again, voluntarily.â He shook his head as if I had done something wrong.
Unable to believe his words, I quickly thought through my options. All of a sudden, I felt resentment towards Ethan. Who did he think he was?! Scolding me for what I did with my own life?!
All I wanted to do was free myself from his grip on me, both emotionally and physically. That, and to strike back at him just as badly as heâd hurt me, if that was even possible.
âThatâs right,â I told him, holding my chin up high. âI have been spending my time with Soren. By choice.â
âAfter everything heâs done to you?â
âYes!â
âAre you losing your mind?!â
âNo, Iâm not! I chose to spend time with him because at least he came to apologize to me. I chose to spend time with him because he at least wanted to make it up to me! And I chose to spend time with him because at least he wasnât trying to boss me around like you!!â
He stepped back and stared at me. He took a few moments, seemingly trying to calm his own temper, then he said in a more leveled tone, âI canât let you go back to him.â
âYou have to!â
âNo, I donât.â
âYou b*sdard, you let me go! You have to!â
âWhy is that?â
âBecause⦠because I love Soren!â
Ethan blanched, his head tipping back as if Iâd struck a physical blow against him. âWhat⦠did you say?â he asked, his words dripping with contempt.
âThatâs right. Soren is my⦠lover,â I lifted my head to look at him. Then I decided that whatever would get me out of here, lâ d say. âI miss him desperately and long to be back in his arms.â
Ethan stepped away and turned his back to me. His fists clenched so hard that I could see them shaking along with both of his arms.
I swallowed hard. Perhaps I had pushed too far.
When he turned back to look at me, his jaw was set, and his eyes were practically smoldering. Like two coals, his irises glowed, narrowing in on me.
I wanted to take a step back as well, to tell him I was lying, that I was just trying to make him angry. But I stood my ground, glaring right back at him.
âI canât f*cking believe you, Rosalie!â he spat. âDo you have any idea what youâre saying? Heâs the one who tricked you and trapped you, and youâre in love with him?â
âSo what?â I shot back, though I knew exactly what he was saying. âYou did the same things to me and yet you are here acting like you didnât do anything wrong!â
âWhat the hill is that supposed to mean?â he asked me, stepping toward me as I retreated a bit. âYou have no f*cking idea what youâre talking about!â
âOh, really? This from the man who was willing to use me to get to Soren while I was carrying your son!â Thereâlâd said it. One of the two horrible betrayals Ethan had committed against me.
I didnât know if Iâd have the strength to speak the other.
âThatâs not what happened!â Ethan countered. âI went to the islands for you, Rosalie! He set that up so that you would think that I was there for him, but that wasnât the case at all. Heâs a sneaky, conniving, b*stard, and if you seriously think that youâ re in love with him, then youâre not the woman I thought you were!â
âWell, youâre definitely not the man I thought you were, now are you?â I asked, my hand jutting out to reference his red eyes. âWhat are you now, exactly, Ethan? A rogue? A wolf without a home? One that no one wants? Some kind of a monster?â
He stepped toward me then, and with the rage building up inside of him, I thought for sure he was going to strike me.
His fist was coiled, and his arm was at the ready. If it had been my father, Derrek, just about any other man Iâd ever known, my nose would be bleeding from such a statement.
But Ethan didnât hit me. He stopped and took a deep breath and then released the tension in his arm.
âYou need to rest, Rosalie,â he said, his voice sounding melancholy, as if he knew that what Iâd just said was true.
I hadnât meant to hurt him, not really. I felt bad, seeing him react that way. I wanted to take it back, but at the same time, I couldnât. Heâd hurt me far more than my words could ever injure him.
âI want to leave,â I reminded him.
Saying nothing, Ethan turned and walked back out of the tent.
I didnât dare try to follow as I knew there were guards standing right outside. I could never get past them.
My throat constricted as tears filled my eyes. I melted down onto the cot, my head in my hands. At that moment, all i wanted was my son and my freedom.
I covered my face with the pillow and let my tears soak the soft linen. I couldnât tell how long I had been crying, until finally, I got up and kneeled on the ground, lifting my face to the heavens.
It was almost midnight and my birthday was coming.
Even though the tent had no windows, and I couldnât even see the moon, I began to pray. I prayed to the Moon Goddess to hear my wishes.
âPlease, Moon Goddess,â I whispered. âHear my cries, just as you heard Ethanâs so many years ago.â
My breath stuttered in my throat. âPlease, restore his matebond and let him find his fated mate. Take away the plea he made to you back when he was younger. Let him find her so that he can have the happiness everyone deservesâand so that he can let me be.â
Thatâs what I wanted, more than anything. I still loved him, and I still wanted him to be happy.
However, I also wanted to be free from him, to finally have the chains heâd placed around my heart broken so I could go on about my life without being held back by the man whoâd done so much to hurt me.
But that wasnât enough. I began to feel the pull of the moon on me, like all shifters did, and I knew my wolf was about to reveal herself. She needed her freedom as well, and there was only one way to ensure that I was never in this situation again.
So I made my second birthday wish to the Moon Goddess.
âPlease, take away my matebond. I donât want to be in love with anyone ever again.â Love wasnât what Iâd thought it was going to be, back when I was younger and daydreamed about falling in love with a handsome, kind man. Love was difficult; love was pain.
When Iâd first fallen in love with Ethan, all I could think about was how badly I wanted to be in his arms.
Every moment in his presence was pure bliss. But at the exact same time I was giving him my heart, he was planning my demise.
If thatâs what love was, I didnât want to have anything to do with it anymore. I couldnât risk my heart to be hurt and broken like that again.
After making the two birthday wishes, exhaustion washed over me, and I sank down onto the cot. If I couldnât have my baby, and I couldnât have my freedom, I may as well sleep. At least in my sleep, no one could control me.
I closed my eyes and reached for the comfort of my dreams, hoping that Ethan would not appear in any of them.
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