Destined for Vengeance ✔️

Chapter 22

"Can I have a word when you're done?" Ellis asked.

Jade looked up. She was sitting at the breakfast table, a half-eaten piece of buttered toast lying on the plate in front of her. Food was the last thing on her mind, but if she didn't eat, there was a chance she might faint at some point during the day, and that would be wholly inconvenient.

"Alright," she said, taking another bite from the toast. Her stomach churned. Fainting be darned – if she kept eating, she was going to throw up. She drained the last of her tea and got up. "I'm done. You do realise I already know what you wish to discuss, and as much as I appreciate you trying to plead the prince's case, I must warn you it might not get you the results you're hoping for." She glanced at Ryleigh, who was sitting beside her, bend over a cup of steaming tea, propping up her head with a hand. The entire conversation seemed to go straight past her.

"You alright?" she asked, prodding Ryleigh's shoulder.

She stirred, her eyes flitting around before focusing on Jade and Ellis. "O. Yes. Fine." She waved towards the door. "Go. Let Ellis try to convince you to meet the prince. Should be fun."

Jade shrugged. "Alright then. Lead the way, Alpha."

Ellis gestured towards the door, letting her pass into the hallway before him. "Let's go into my office. We can talk more privately there."

"So serious."

"Aaron is one of my closest friends. I take his wellbeing, and fate, very seriously. Please, make yourself comfortable." He slipped around her and opened the door to his office, waving her inside.

Besides the desk, and the two chairs around it, there was a sofa and two comfortable chairs in the room as well. Jade settled on one of the chairs, crossing one leg over the other and letting her dangling foot twitch. "I know you want me to meet him today, but you should know I have not made up my mind."

Ellis closed the door and took a seat opposite her. He leant forward, clasping his hands between his knees. "I understand. I imagine this is a lot for you to consider, especially since you had no memory of meeting Aaron until recently."

"Yes, you could say that." She probed her tongue into her cheek. "How was he? When he returned yesterday? I tried getting the information out of Ryleigh, but she wasn't exactly forthcoming."

"Well, he was rather stunned by your action with the birds. I explained to him who you are, and then he understood."

"He must not have liked hearing that his mate is a Shadow Walker."

"If he cared at all, he didn't show it. I have known Aaron all my life, so I can say with some authority that he only cares about meeting you. I still remember when he came to me four years ago, telling me he had met his mate and she had escaped him. He was devastated."

"Even though I was a criminal breaking into his garden? Even though Ryleigh wanted to kill him, and knocked him out?"

"Yes. He's always been excited to meet his mate. He was even more impatient than I was – and you know how much I love fate."

Jade chuckled. "That I do. I just don't know, Ellis. It is more complicated than whether or not I want to meet him. I have to consider my pack, and his rank. His father massacred my family. I cannot pretend that didn't happen, nor do I want to."

"I understand that, and I'm sure he does too. But meeting him does not mean you agree to mating him, or to anything else. Meeting him just means you meet him."

"Do you think he shares that view? Because from what Ryleigh has told me, he is rather intense and demanding. What if I decide I do not wish to further our bond, and he will not allow that as my answer?"