By the Light of the Silver Moon

Chapter 9 Fox

I was giddy with excitement when Marigold let me sit in the back of the car with her. Just being close to her made me feel warm and content. I knew she was still on the fence about coming back to the packhouse with us, but I was confident that I could win her over.

"Where are we going?" Marigold asked in her sweet voice.

"There's a hotel by the airport. I got us two rooms there." I explained. She nodded, biting on her bottom lip nervously.

"How was everything while I was gone?" I asked.

"It was okay." Marigold shrugged. Stone eyed me in the rearview mirror and I could tell that something had happened. I decided not to press it.

"When we get to the hotel, I'd like to talk to you about what happened while I was in your realm." I said.

"Okay." Maigold replied and went back to staring out the car window. We sat in silence the rest of the way to the hotel.

Once we checked into the hotel, Stone excused himself to our room while I followed Marigold into hers. I wasn't sure if she was comfortable being alone in a hotel room with me, but she didn't seem bothered. After what she did back at the castle with Alpha Torrin, I wasn't surprised. My girl could certainly handle herself.

Marigold sat on the edge of the large bed and I sat at one of the chairs in the corner of the room, itching to be closer to her.

"What sort of deal did you make with my father?" Marigold asked. I could tell she was eager to hear the terms and see what kind of mess I made for myself. I told her everything that happened,

"One thing I wasn't sure about and I hope I didn't overstep, but he made me promise to keep you out of the Fae realm." I concluded, bracing myself for her reaction. Her face remained cold,

"Did you tell him we were mates?" She asked like she already knew the answer.

"I did. It was the only way to convince him to alter his deal with Torrin." I said.

"It's the only thing he cared about." Marigold grumbled.

"What?" I was confused.

"My father didn't need Alpha Torrin's pack anymore than he needs yours. He has alliances with werewolves all over the word. The main reason he had any sort of relationship with Torrin at all was to keep me out of the fae realm," Marigold sighed before continuing with her tale,

"My father shipped me off from werewolf pack to werewolf pack in hopes that one day he would find an Alpha stupid enough to claim me and keep me out of the fae realm forever. The only thing my father needed from you was your word that you would keep me from the realm. He knew I would never go against that." Marigold's expression was hard, almost like she was trying not to show too many emotions.

"I don't understand....why doesn't he want you home?" It was taking everything inside me to stay on this chair and not lunge across the room to comfort my mate.

"That doesn't matter. The point is, you can't break a deal with my father or it'll kill you, and he knows that I would never put you in that position. I could never be the reason you get hurt," She mumbled the last few words and I felt a ping of pride in my chest at the thought of my mate not wanting me to get hurt,

"You gave him the perfect deal. He had no guarantees that I would care enough about a random Alpha to not sneak off and back to the fae realm, which is why he allowed them to control me and my magic. But, with you, it's different. He gave me my freedom because he's toying with me. He knows I have my powers but I can't do anything with them." Marigold looked like she wanted to punch something, and I wasn't entirely sure I was safe from her fury.