*Isla*
Back in my room, I sit on the bed and admire the cufflinks I’ve purchased for Maddox… with his own money… while Poppy is off fetching Mrs. Dixon.
I need to figure out what to do with them. I don’t want to leave them lying around, but I’m not sure that locking them up will do any good either, not when there’s someone like Mrs. Dixon around.
I remember something my mom did with my father’s birthday present a few years ago. She had pinched and scraped and waved every penny she could find for months in order to buy him a new baseball glove so that he could play catch with my brothers. Afraid that Dad would find the gift in our small house, she ended up finding a loose floorboard and hiding it in there.
This is a castle, though. Would there be a place in the floor or wall that was loose enough for me to hide them?
Poking around on the floor, I don’t notice anything like I did back at our house where the floor creaks with every step. For a moment, I think back to the house we used to live in, before my brother got so sick. It was such a nice house. I had loved it there, but then, my parents had to start spending all of their money on medical bills, and we had had to move to a small house that had a lot of problems.
Eventually, I get to a spot in the windowsill and realize that it lifts up a bit at the corner. I look inside and see that there’s enough room for me to reach my hand in, which means I can drop the box inside but also will be able to retrieve it later. I place the box inside and put the wood back in place, just as I hear Poppy’s voice in the antechamber.
“It’ll only take a minute, Mrs. Dixon,” she is saying. “And we do have a gift for you.”
As the bedroom door opens, I grab the sweets we bought for the head of the staff so that when she comes in, I can present it to her.
Mrs. Dixon is a plump woman, older than my mom, and short. She barely comes to Poppy’s shoulder. She has a scowl on her face that reminds me of the woman who was in her position before, Mrs. Worchestsiresauce, or whatever her name is.
“I’ll do it this one time,” Mrs. Dixon growls. “But from now on, you’ll have to be more careful!” Then, under her breath, she says something I don’t quite understand, something like, “These young ladies always needing me to pick locks!” I don’t know who else she could be talking about, unless she means both Poppy and me.
“Here you go!” I say, offering her the chocolates. “We got these for you today. I hope you like them.”
She looks at the box and then at me before she takes it and opens it. “Oh, my. These are good!” she says, a huge grin splitting her round face. “All right… but just this once. Next time, it’ll cost you extra, hear?”
“Yes, thank you,” I say. I offer to take the box while she picks the lock, but she puts it back inside of the bag and slings it around her wrist, as if she’s afraid I might try to eat them while she’s not looking.
Mrs. Dixon pulls a bobby pin out of her hair and sticks it into the lock on my armoire. In about two seconds, the lock pops, and the door swings open.
“There we go,” she says. Then, turning to look at Poppy, she says, “Be more careful!”
“Of course,” Poppy says, and I wonder if Poppy told her it was all her fault and not mine.
Mrs. Dixon walks out with her nose in the air, and Poppy pulls the key out of the armoire. “Maybe we should just keep it unlocked from now on. It’s not like anyone is going to come in here and take any of your shoes.”
She has a point. “That’s fine with me.”
Poppy makes sure the door is still unlocked and then puts the key in the top drawer of my dresser. “Now, what would you like to do with the rest of your afternoon?” she asks me with a big smile.
“Uh… I don’t know,” I tell her, but I do really know what I’d like to do. I’m just a little conflicted. “Any word from… the king yet?”
Poppy raises an eyebrow. “No, but he’s out of town on business. Who knows what time he might be back?”
“Well, he said he’d be back soon when he left, so I was thinking it would only take a few hours.” He’d already been gone for several.
She shrugs. “I could go ask Beta Seth, but he’s been so busy running around, trying to handle everything King Maddox usually handles, I think he’s a little overwhelmed. It’s too bad. Beta Seth is so nice….”
The way she says that makes me arch an eyebrow. Does Poppy have a crush on the Beta? I wonder who his fated mate might be. He is old enough to have met her by now.
But then, Poppy should know who hers is as well….
Unless she also hasn’t met her fated mate yet, which is possible. I don’t think she’s that much older than I am.
Poppy doesn’t seem too concerned about Maddox, but I am. I know it’s silly. I’m sure he has plenty of guards with him, the best vehicles, and lots of places he could stop along the way, but I know there is some civil unrest at the moment, centering around his lack of an heir, and I can’t help but wonder if something has happened.
In the pit of my stomach, I have a bad feeling, similar to the one I had a few days before we found out that my brother, Ben, had a rare form of cancer.
“Why don’t we go out to the garden?” Poppy suggests.
I nod, and the two of us go back outside, this time to sit and relax, I hope, but still… I can’t hope but wonder if Maddox is all right.
As we walk, I say a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess. “Please, let Maddox be okay!”
* * *
*Maddox*
Godfried’s head is under the hood of the car, and he is poking around at things, trying to figure out what the problem is. At first, he said we probably just had some bad gas, but that made no sense to me because we had driven all the way to Willow pack with no noticeable problems. Then, on the way home, something happened, and the car made an awful noise. Now, it won’t go at all, and we are a half an hour’s drive from Willow and an hour and a half from home.
“I don’t know,” Godfried says, wiping his hands against one another. “I suppose we’ll have to call a tow truck.”
“A tow truck?” I repeat, looking around. We are in the middle of nowhere. There’s not a lot on the drive from the castle to Willow pack, only a few sparse villages. Right now, we are in the midst of Green pack territory, and I’ve just received word a little while ago that their previous Alpha passed away—due to some accident. His son, Vincent, is assuming responsibilities as Alpha for now.
It wouldn’t be very nice of me to try to bother them at the moment. Besides, my understanding is that Green pack is one of the worst packs when it comes to causing trouble regarding my lack of an heir. They are working closely with some of the packs that have been attacking smaller packs. I have to wonder if Willow pack will be at risk now that they don’t have an Alpha.
I’ll need to get that sorted out right away since Beta Miguel didn’t feel up to it.
Why is my job always so complicated?
Godfried has a cell phone to his ear, but in a moment, I see him walking around with it stretched out. He is looking for a signal.
With a sigh, I think of all of the people I know in Green pack who might be loyal to me. I can’t think of very many, but there is the former Beta, Austin, who was good friends with my dad.
I decide to try the mind-link. “Austin, this is Maddox. Can you hear me?”
I don’t receive an answer, and I wonder if I’m too far away. Normally, the mind-link only works within ten or so miles. Otherwise, it’s too difficult to hear and gets scrambled some.
I keep trying for several minutes, but when he never responds, it’s pretty clear to me he simply can’t receive the message.
“What should we do?” Helena asks. “I can shift and run to the closest village for help.”
“That’s a decent idea,” I tell her. “But we’re sort of in hostile territory.”
“Maybe I don’t tell them who the help is for?” she suggests.
I chuckle. “They’re even less likely to help a stranger than the king they should feel obligated to support. Maybe I should take a look at the engine.”
“You?” Godfried asks, his eyes wide. “No offense, Your Majesty, but if I couldn’t figure it out, how would you be able to? I’ve been your driver for years.”
“You’re my driver, Godfried,” I remind him, “not my mechanic. I know a thing or two about cars.”
I walk over to the car and take a look inside of the hood. I don’t immediately see anything out of sorts, but then, upon closer inspection, I do see the problem. “We’ve thrown a belt,” I tell him.
“What?” Godfried comes up behind me and looks over my shoulder. “Where?”
“There.” I point to the belt in question. It’ 's hanging loose, obviously the problem.
“Well, I’ll be,” Godfried says.
I reach out and touch it, seeing if I can work it back into place, but we will need tools for that. “Do you have a toolbox in the trunk?” I ask him.
“Yeah, I do,” he tells me. “I’ll get it.”
I have no idea if I can fix this or not, but I have to try. I told Isla I’d be back soon, and I hate the fact that she might be worried about me.
I pull my hands away and take a glance down at them. They are covered in black grease. Well, I’m bound to get dirty if I’m going to be tinkering around with an engine, I suppose….
Godfried brings the toolbox, and the two of us get to work, seeing if we can fix the car. It’s already well past noon, and I’d expected to be back by now. I think of Isla. If I can’t get this car started soon, I’ll have to shift and run back to the castle. It’ll take hours for me to run there, but I’ll do it because I want to make sure she’s safe.
I have a bad feeling in my stomach that something is going on, and I have no idea what it might be… but it’s unsettling.
And I don’t think it’s directly related to the fact that we’re in the middle of Green pack where I am less than popular.
No, I think it revolves around Isla, and it makes me scared. Visions of Zabrina standing in the hallway covered with blood make my stomach turn, and I work faster on the car.
Thank goodness Isla has Private Parker and Private Wylie to keep her safe while I’m gone!