I woke to the sound of voices outside my door in the healing ward. My nose still throbbed where I had bitten Emily yesterday, but the satisfaction was worth the lingering copper taste in my mouth. The bandages around my ribs pulled tight when I shifted on the narrow bed, reminding me of why I was here in the first place.
The door opened before I could pretend to be asleep.
Ethan walked in, and something in my chest tightened. He looked terrible. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, and his usual confident stride seemed hesitant. I hadn't seen him in days, not since the Alpha King's warriors had been posted outside my room with orders to keep everyone out.
"Aurora." His voice cracked on my name.
"You shouldn't be here," I said quietly. My wolf stirred inside me, confused by the mix of old familiarity and new distance between us.
"I needed to see you." He moved closer, stopping at the foot of my bed. "I've been trying every day. The warriors wouldn't let me past."
"Jack gave them orders."
"Jack." The way Ethan said the Alpha King's name made my stomach twist. "So it's Jack now?"
I didn't answer. What could I say? That the Alpha King had claimed my son as his heir? That he had somehow woven himself into my life in ways I still couldn't untangle? That despite everything, despite the marks his hands had left on my throat, I couldn't stop thinking about him?
"Are you okay?" Ethan asked. "Really okay?"
"My ribs are healing. The bruises are fading." I kept my voice flat, clinical. "The healers say I'll be fine."
"That's not what I meant."
"I know what you meant." I looked away from him, focusing on the pale stone walls of the healing ward. "But that's the only answer I have right now."
Silence stretched between us. Outside, I could hear the warriors shifting, probably wondering how long to let this visit last.
"Daisy wants to know when you're coming back to work," Ethan said finally.
I almost laughed. Of course she did. "Tell her I'll return when I can actually breathe without pain."
"She misses you."
"Ethan." I met his eyes again. "Don't."
He opened his mouth, closed it, then nodded. "Okay. I just wanted to make sure you were alive."
"I'm alive."
"Good." He backed toward the door, his expression conflicted. "Take care of yourself, Ari."
The door closed behind him, and I was alone again with my thoughts and my wolf's restless pacing. I didn't have long to dwell on it. The door opened again minutes later, and this time the Alpha King filled the doorway.
Jack's presence sucked the air from the room. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair that fell across his forehead and eyes that saw too much. The royal mark on his neck seemed to glow in the dim light, a reminder of the power that ran through his veins.
"Who was that?" His voice was deceptively calm.
"A friend."
"Your warrior friend told me he introduced himself as your ex."
Of course they had reported every word to him. "His name is Ethan."
"I know his name." Jack moved closer, each step deliberate. "What I want to know is what he was to you."
"I don't remember asking about Tayo Dante when she paraded herself in here this morning, claiming to be your fiancée." The words came out sharper than I intended, but I didn't take them back.
Jack stopped mid-step. Something flickered across his face, surprise maybe, or annoyance. "Tayo is not my fiancée."
"That's not my concern."
"Isn't it?" He studied me with those intense eyes. "You seem bothered."
"I seem exhausted," I corrected. "There's a difference."
He was quiet for a moment, then changed tactics. "I'm having you discharged today."
My wolf perked up at that. Freedom. "Finally."
"You'll be moved to the palace. I've already arranged for the royal healers to attend to you there. Cody is asking about you constantly, and I think being near him will help your recovery."
"No."
Jack's eyebrows rose. "No?"
"I'm not going to your palace." I pushed myself up straighter, ignoring the pain that shot through my side. "I have my own place in the lower district. I'll heal there."
"That hovel?" His lip curled. "You can barely call it a dwelling. The conditions there are hardly suitable for recovery."
"That hovel is where Cody and I lived before you took him." My voice hardened. "It's my home."
"It's a slum."
"It's mine."
"You're being unreasonable."
"And you're being controlling." I glared at him. "I don't need you hovering over me, Alpha King. I don't need your warriors watching my every move. I just need to go home and heal in peace."
"I'm trying to help you."
"By imprisoning me in your palace instead of this ward?" I laughed, but it hurt my ribs. "What's the difference?"
Jack's jaw tightened. "The difference is that I can ensure your safety there. Your stepmother came here yesterday, didn't she? Tried to force you into that marriage with the Blackwood son?"
My hand instinctively went to my nose, remembering the satisfaction of my teeth sinking into Emily's flesh. "I handled it."
"By biting her." There was almost admiration in his tone. "My warrior said she screamed loud enough to wake the dead."
"She deserved it."
"I don't disagree." He moved closer again, and this time I didn't have the energy to maintain the distance between us. "But next time she might bring reinforcements. Or your stepfather. Or worse, they might try to take you by force. At the palace, you'd be protected."
"I don't want your protection."
"Too bad. You have it anyway."
The arrogance in his voice made my blood boil. "You don't own me."
"I never said I did."
"Then stop acting like it." I shoved the blanket off my legs, ready to get up and walk out of this ward myself if I had to. "Stop posting warriors at my door. Stop making decisions about where I'll live and who I'll see. Stop treating me like I'm some fragile thing that needs to be locked away for safekeeping."
"I'm not—"
"You are." I cut him off, my voice rising despite the pain it caused. "And I'm done with it. Do you hear me? I'm done."
Jack's eyes flashed with something dangerous. His alpha aura pressed against me, heavy and suffocating. "Don't raise your voice at me, Aurora. I don't tolerate disrespect."
"Or what?" The words burst out before I could stop them. "You'll strangle me again? Choke me properly this time instead of leaving me half alive?"
The color drained from his face.
"That's your specialty, isn't it?" I continued, something reckless and broken driving me forward. "So go ahead, Alpha King. Finish what you started."