Caden’s jaw set firmly. “It’s not happening. It won’t happen.”
“Yeah, but …”
“It won’t happen! Stop thinking about it!” he yelled, his voice carrying through the empty, cold night as he pulled my head close to his chest. Though there was no warmth coming from his body, it still ignited heat within me. Then, abruptly, Caden was sitting up straight, his attention riveted toward the chateau, a guarded expression on his face. Two seconds later, the baying of wolves confirmed it.
“They’re here.”
And just like that, our time in the sleeping garden under the winter stars was over. In the next moment, my frozen body was enveloped in the warmth of the chateau again.
“You need to go change into something warmer now, Evie. You’re going to end up with pneumonia,” Caden scolded, herding me toward the foyer.
“Come with me,” I whispered, grasping his hand before he could break free.
A smile touched his lips, sparking joy in me. Maybe it wouldn’t matter that Caden thought Julian and I had something after all. “They need me down here … Max? You around?” In seconds, the tip-tapping of those claws announced my werebeast’s presence. Caden gave my icy hand a squeeze and then let it drop. “Max will go with you and then show you the way down to the meeting place, okay?”
“I’m going to meet Lilly?” I asked, surprised.
Caden nodded and I could tell he wasn’t happy with the idea. “Sofie wants you there for some reason. She thinks it’s important.”
“Okay,” I agreed, wanting nothing more than to curl up under my duvet with Caden and erase the worry, doubt, and pain that I had just falsely planted inside him. That would need to come later, though. He turned to walk away. “Caden! Stop!” I rushed forward and threw my arms around him, squeezing him like I might never be able to again, which was entirely possible. His hands slid down to caress the small of my back. “Don’t tell Amelie. Please,” I whispered in his ear. The fewer people involved in my lies, the better. Especially Amelie. Or, more specifically, crazy Amelie. I winced, almost able to feel the ground as she bashed my head against it. Caden pulled away, pausing to look down at me, a sting in his gaze that ripped out my heart.
“We’re all better off with her not knowing,” he finally agreed with a stern nod. Then he disappeared.
At some point during the day, a wardrobe of everything from sweaters and jeans to socks and underwear made its way to my room. I didn’t spend any time thinking about it, grabbing the first warm set of something that didn’t contrast too greatly. Yanking a rose V-neck over my head, I hurried Max out the door and tore down the flight of stairs, hoping to join the others in the meeting place before Lilly made it there. The last thing I wanted to do was make a grand entrance. That’d be like walking into a new classroom after a lecture had begun. Except that the entire classroom was full of vampires and instead of a stern look from the teacher, I could end up with missing limbs …
Max led me through a new wing of the chateau that I had not been in before. Turning a corner, I skidded to a halt to avoid slamming into a small horde of scruffy mountain men. These had to be the wolves! Yeti One and Yeti Two stood guarding a set of solid black doors. What did Sofie say their names were? Kiril and …? Seeing them tickled me with bittersweet familiarity. I knew nothing about them, had never uttered a single word to them, but being near them reminded me of Leo. They offered stiff nods to Max and me but said nothing. I had yet to hear them speak English. I wondered if they could. With a firm push, Yeti One propped a door open for me.
Stick close to me and keep quiet, Max warned.
Swallowing a gulp of air, I scooted by the yetis, ushering Max ahead of me into the room with my hands against his rump. I couldn’t help but be momentarily awestruck by the chosen location of this gathering. With the full height of the chateau looming over me, the massive unfurnished room must have played host to a royal ball or two in its day. Gothic stained-glass windows lined two walls behind a row of archways. An imposing, ornate fireplace filled the end. Not one but four enormous bronze candelabras illuminated the intricate marble floor. I caught the scent of fresh paint, which told me that the room had recently undergone work and yet, as I surveyed its vaulted ceilings, curving in an archway of sculpted plaster, I had to believe the room’s historical characteristics were original.
I quickly lost interest in the architecture, though. In the center of the room sat a ring of twelve chairs, none of them occupied. Six foreign faces loomed around the ring—all smooth as stone, all unreadable, all locked on me. My body had yet to warm from my senseless jaunt outside but my blood turned to ice, shivers skittering through my core. Way worse than being late for class…