Chapter 12 Ch 12

"Probably the first cheeseburger to be cooked for the last few weeks," Lee said, forcing a smile. "So eat up."

I accepted the cheesed patty. "Thank you."

As appetizing as it looked, it was difficult for me to have an appetite. I took a bite anyway. Everything in me felt heavy.

A knock at the door made both of our necks snap up. I glanced at Lee. We knew either who it had to be or who it was about. The fury and hurt I felt still simmered deep in my bones. Basileus had lashed out at me for wanting freedom and had not only physically hurt me, but forced some damn bond on me that I never wanted.

Sighing, Lee stood up from the bed and moved to the door. Tandan stepped inside as I tensed for the worst.

"He's back," he told me, "but he refuses to come in. He wants to talk to you outside. In private."

I huffed but got up. It was ridiculous that I had to play by his rules when he was the one who did this to me. The only reason I didn't put up a fight was that I knew this was the only way to get shit done. If I wanted this to someday swing in my favor, I had to play his game. His stupid, pig-headed game.

Tandan and Lee led the way down to the lobby. A few lingering wolves noticed us and dispersed. We always drew attention anywhere we went. I honestly didn't know how they got used to it.

"Can you go check on Angelica?" Lee asked Tandan. "I'll walk her the rest of the way."

His eyes flickered to me before he nodded.

"How is she?" I asked while we walked outside. "Is Angelica alright?"

Night had descended and I felt the warmth of a fading summer on my exposed arms. Within weeks I would need a light sweater to go outdoors.

"She's been struggling," Lee answered. "She's done a lot for Basileus. We couldn't have made it this far without her. No one would be able to understand him otherwise. But everything weakens her. She's a powerful oracle, but she's also getting older and doesn't look after herself enough."

"Does she have any family? Anyone who cares about her?"

A solemn nod was directed at me. "Her daughter and two grandchildren. If it makes you feel any better, she hasn't seen them in months. I haven't seen my family in nearly just as long. None of us close to Basileus have."

"At least you know yours are alive," I mumbled.

"Her family is human, too. Just like yours."

"Don't they get a pass or something since she works for Basileus?"

"No. Orders are orders. Basileus isn't a partial person."

Damn. Could he be so evil as to not even protect the family of his closest friends? I found my mood darkening as we approached the street beside the hotel. A plump crescent of the moon hung in the sky. It felt foreboding. Maybe it was just my sour attitude. I wanted to end Basileus all over again.

His shady mass walked out from behind the building. He was on all fours, the thickness of his dark coat accentuating his enormous shadow. Street lamps lit the roads distantly, yet the iridescent blue glow of his eyes out-shined all of them. Including the moon. They looked like a life source in themselves.

I shivered.

"There's nothing I can say to make this better," Lee said suddenly, reminding me of her presence. "When you come back, I hope that will have changed. I want to help you, Anna. He is the one you have to deal with first, though, and I know that's a lot. Figure out a way to pierce him. Get inside his heart, because that's the only way to control a beast." She touched my shoulder. "I care about him the only way a woman can care for her best friend. But that doesn't mean I'm blind to the monster he can be. So I'm sorry, but now it's up to you to make him the man he needs to be for you."

Still quaking in the path of her talk, I watched her walk away. I couldn't do what she wanted. My shoulders sagged under the gravity of her task. Pierce his heart? Did he even have one? When I forced myself to look back at him, he still stood in the middle of the road. His eyes never wavered from my form. I clenched my hands to keep myself from shivering again.

Little bitch wanted to talk? Fine.

I pushed my shoulders back and walked towards him. The words I wanted to say assembled in my mind before translating into his language on my tongue. Once I was at a safe but close distance, I stopped. My arms folded defiantly across my chest.

"You fucked up," I told him.

His squarish head bowed for a moment. "I know, Flower."

The depth and gravel in his voice shocked me, literally. My blood turned to molten inside my veins, dense and scorching. I felt the hairs on my arms and neck stand.

"I am sorry for marking you," he continued, lifting his glowing eyes again. "I cannot explain what came over me."

"I can't explain it either, but you have to get that shit under control. You hurt me. By some miracle, my neck doesn't hurt anymore. That doesn't mean I'm any less pissed."

Basileus took a step towards me and then another until he was just inches away. Our eyes were almost level because he was on all-fours. I felt frozen by the electricity in his gaze.

Dipping his head, he lowered his front end towards the ground. It took me a long ass second to realize he was bowing. To me.

"What-what are you doing?" I asked. I should've asked why my heart was racing or why I was suddenly struggling to breathe properly.

"I am asking for your forgiveness."

My hands trembled as I squeezed them together, unnerved and uncertain. "So you bow?"

"It's the only way I can demonstrate to you how I will never use my strength to bring you harm again," he spoke. "Bowing in wolf culture is a sign of submission. I submit my strength to yours, Anna Barnhart."

I swallowed and took a deep breath. To think I came here prepared to physically or verbally batter him into remorse while he was giving up without even a fight.

"Stand up," I ordered, finding a strand of courage deep inside me. "I don't want your submission."

He finally brought his head back up to penetrate my gaze with his. "Am I forgiven then?"

"I didn't . . . I don't . . ." I pushed my face into my clammy palms. "You can't just bow and say you're sorry and expect me to just get over this. You bit me! Also, you won't let me go anywhere without you. That makes me a prisoner and I don't think a king can ask a prisoner for damn forgiveness."

He thought about my words and then stepped back. Without warning, he rose up onto his hind legs. I bent my neck to look him in the face.

"I am more than a king to you and you are more than a prisoner to me," he said. His hand reached out to touch my waist and tingles exploded through my skin cells at the contact. Basileus drew me against his furry abdomen rippling with muscle. "A king cannot ask a prisoner for forgiveness, but a mate can. You're my equal, my human, and I regret ever making you feel any other way. I only ask that you forgive me and understand that I am not—I am not human. It's difficult for me to process emotion as you do."

I felt like moaning out from the static in our touching bodies and the emotion in his voice. Why was I feeling like this? How could I be so unexpectedly aroused? He took my future. He changed everything that was supposed to happen in my life, and I was weak for feeling anything but hatred for him. Yet here I was. There wasn't a damn thing I would've denied him right then—even as much as I loathed him.

"Yes," I whispered. "I-I forgive you."