"No matter what you think of me or do to me, I just want you to know that I didn't do anything to hurt him. I have no idea why he's in so much pain. And if by any chance he's in pain because of me then I didn't mean for that to happen. I'm sorry..." Victoria says, looking at me. It's obvious from her countenance that she's desperately waiting for me to say something but I have nothing more to say to her. I am so angry with her right now.
I understood when she said she would rather be Thor's concubine than be the despicable Rogue King's mate. I mean, it's in all creatures' nature to want to do what's best for ourselves, right? I'm not blaming her for that. Where I draw the line is how she put Thor's life and the whole pack in danger because she wants the best for herself.
When I say she put Thor's life in danger, I didn't mean because of the agonizing pain he's currently going through. No! That pain isn't her fault. I suspect the pain is Thor's punishment for cheating on his mate. I'm not hundred percent sure though but I'm going to find out the truth soon when Ella returns with my phone
She got mated to The Rogue King who I could tell is a pure-blooded Alpha from his deep red eyes. Unless rejection occurs between an Alpha and his mate, every shifter knows as a rule that Alphas don't sleep with each other's mate. It is disrespectful and a slap to the affected Alpha's face.
If such happens, the wronged Alpha can seek retribution in any way that he deems fit. Victoria knew this. She knew war could be declared on the pack by the Rogue King yet she decided to involve Thor in her shenanigans without his knowledge.
"What is going to happen to me now?" She finally asks, sounding like she already resigned herself to fate.
"It is not my call. It's up to the Alpha himself..." I reply, pointing with my chin towards Thor. "And as you can see he's not in the right frame of mind to have that conversation with you right now. That means you'll stay in the mansion until whenever he's able to talk to you."
She nods
"Am I now a prisoner?" She asks, looking despondent.
"It depends on how you see it," I reply, turning my attention to Bear and Ivar who have finished relaying my messages through the link.
"Bear, get a room in the mansion for Miss Hampton here and put a guard at the door."
She chuckles dryly
"I guess I'm a prisoner then."
"You should be thankful I'm not throwing your ass in the dungeon. Maybe then you'll know what it means to be a prisoner" I reply, nodding toward Bear to take her away.
After they leave, I turn to Ivar who has a questioning look on his face. I know they want to know what happened to Thor and why Victoria was inside his room at that time of the night which I also know I should tell them but it's not the time for discussion.
"Not right now Ivar, later," I tell him and he nods in understanding.
"Let's get him to the bed first," I say again and we both help Thor to his feet, before helping him to walk to the bed.
While we wait for Ella to return with my phone, I begin to think about Thor's words...
'The beautiful girl with hair the color of golden wheat field.' He said.
This is not the first time I've heard that description from him. The first time I heard him say that was the day we were returning to America and he had a dream about his mate kissing another man. That day he described to me what his mate looked like. And he still reminded me of that same description when he met Ash and instead of blond hair, she has black hair with blond roots.
Even though he doesn't remember her anymore because of what Miranda did and how he also locked that important part of his memory that he thought was driving him feral away. His description makes me believe he's speaking about Ash. Right now, I think the only solution for his pain is to talk to Ash so she can appeal to Sif her wolf since he said in his incoherent words that their wailing hurts him.
The door opens and Henrik enters but still no Ella...
"What the hell's keeping her?" I growl impatiently towards Ivar
"She doesn't have your phone. She went with Timothy to search for it inside your car and..."
"Then she should have just said so. It's been two weeks, the battery would have been flat by now anyway. I think she has the number of the person I want to call, I will use her phone to call him. Communicate with her through your link and tell her to just come with her own phone if she has Neal's number"
Ivar's eyes glaze and return to normal a few seconds later.
"No, she doesn't have Neal's number. She said not to worry that she already found your phone and she's charging it with a power bank as she approaches."
"Great!" I say with relief
"What's happening to him and who is Neal?... Why is he chanting 'Mate! Our mates!'? Henrik asks, his brows furrow with concern.
I look at Thor who is groaning and writhing in pain on the bed and I see his eyes are back to being sightless. I know he can't hear me then so I start to tell them about Victoria and everything I know and suspect could be the cause of Thor's pain. I am still talking when Ella and Timothy walk in with my phone which has already been powered on.
"Oh, goddess! What is it again this time?" Ella exclaims as she gives me the phone. She rushes towards Thor, her eyes immediately brimming with tears.
"What happened? Why does he have blood all over his shirt? Why..."
"Ella, I'll fill you guys in later. For now please be quiet. I need to speak with, Ash"
"Ash? What has Ash got to do with..."
"That's enough already!..." Ivar interrupts her firmly. "You heard Beta, he will tell us what happened later. For now, please just stop crying and allow him to call who he wants to call. Please?" Even though he was firm with her at first, his voice turned soft at the end of his sentence. He doesn't want to upset her more than she already is.
Ella is a fierce warrior, yet can cry buckets when in emotional situations. I don't understand how someone can be so fierce yet very emotional at the same time.
I call Neal and he answers on the first ring to my surprise.
"It's midnight Neal, don't you ever sleep?" I start on a lighter note. I don't want to come across as bossy this time since it's been two weeks since I last checked on Ash.
He laughs. It's good to hear him laugh. He was afraid of me before. I don't want the sort of strained relationship between us while Ash is still there.
"It's good to hear from you too Beta. We heard what happened to you and I'm glad you're okay."
"Oh... Thank you, Neal" I say, genuinely grateful that he cares about my well-being.
"Yes sir... Oh goddess, Am I glad to hear from you today? I just arrived back at the Yard myself. I'm not on duty tonight. I was called back. My mate, Doctor Millicent, do you remember her?
"Yeah, yeah, Neal, go straight to the point, please"
"Well, she has been the one caring for the Luna all this while that you've been sick. Anyways, I was already in bed when she called to inform me that the Luna suddenly woke up crying. To cut a long story short, the psych ward is currently in a mess, it's as if a cyclone just went through the place. We've been trying to calm her down to no avail.
We don't know what suddenly happened to her. My mate always tells me how fun it is to be with her but that changed the moment she learned about her pregnancy. She has been moody and depressed kind of and..."
Neal stops talking when a female voice that I guess belongs to Millicent interrupts him. I hear her clearly exclaim from the other end of the phone ...
"Oh, goddess! Neal! Come quick! She got a scalpel. She's threatening to cut herself in the jugular with it!"