ROTTEN LOVE - Chapter 38: Chapter 38

Maddox
Tic...Tic...Tic
The clock for the past hour has been constant. Its hands make steady precise movements every second, yet time seems slow. More than slow, as if it has stopped altogether.
The dinner approaches. I have waited all day, all two weeks for this moment. Now, that it's minutes from seeing them, from seeing her, time has stopped completely.
The clock mocks me, at my burning need for it to finally place its hands at 7.
Soft chestnut waves come to mind. The strands of hair are a mess yet perfectly in sync with each other.
Green eyes plague my mind. Its beauty is captivating. Perfect emeralds that shine. They have kept a glow throughout the years illuminating my life.
Then, there's the warm olive skin. Quite a contrast to the ice underneath my pale hue. When she's next to me, my skin appears to darken. But, it's an illusion. The reality is that she simply makes me feel alive.
The amusement she causes creates red undertones. Then, when she is off without a guard, breaking the rules with her charge, a feeling so sick consumes me that I pick up earthy undertones.
Helena has constantly been on my mind since I've been here.
Lies.
There has not been a day her presence isn't constantly on my mind.
Maybe, it started the day I tasted her all those years back when I lost my composure. I regretted not taking my shot then.
No.
It was sooner than that. Perhaps, since we were hurdled in the closet as kids and I saw how shaken she was at the realization of her mother's impending death. I covered her ears and guided her eyes to me.
She latched onto me like a beacon. I saw it in her eyes. She had found her light, her guidance and I never wanted to jeopardize her security.
I played the part of master, protector, and friend for her sake. But I will go for the real role I want, her love.
Even if I dam us, or bring darkness into her world, I am a monster of the night. I live in darkness, relish in it. I won't let her get lost.
I hear footsteps closing in. I get up and roll my shoulders to loosen the tension.
I am wrong. It's two pairs of footsteps.
They cease as they take me in. The annoying one speaks first, his hazel eyes raking my body in judgment. "In those rags, you look like a true pureblood. Shame you don't act as one."
A chuckle escapes my lips but there is no humor in it. Charles gets under my skin and if it wasn't for everyone's wellbeing, he would have been dead.
"Now. Now. Charles. We promised to be friends. After all, we both know my lineage isn't in question. Why else have the lines been begging for my sister's and I's participation? What's the matter? Even with limited options, they refuse to fuck you."
Charles moves his hand through his blond hair. It's so easy to get under his skin. It's no secret that his family has decided to pair off his little brother before him.
To my sister nonetheless.
Why the Ambrose line decided to skip the future leader of the clan is unknown but it bothers him that people think it's because of incompetence.
He gets closer to me. His body lining up with mine. I don't retreat from his form. "You will regret that. I promise."
A pair of hands come between us parting us apart. The more tolerable one speaks, "The night is barely about to start and we need to behave. You know what's at stake. Right?" Emmett directs the question to me.
I keep my stare down with Charles in silence for another minute before looking at Emmett shaking my head, "Right."
I haven't forgotten why I am here. Why Jason has been kept alive? Why his she-wolf remains with life?
They are my punishment for my audacity to try and intermix species. Needless to say, the vamps didn't take lightly my proposition to unify Zain and Marisa.
The Ambrose line felt disrespected for daring to cancel the engagement that had been promised between our lines. Action had to be taken and here we are.
The punishment is meant to continue that's what this dinner is for. Helena and Marisa will be joining us.
I knew they wouldn't resist the invitation at the prospect of saving Jason and me. The Ambrose head has made it very clear that my behavior is the deciding factor of whether we all leave unscathed.
They need Marisa and me alive. They won't kill us, but they have Jason wrapped around their fingers with that wolf. He broke the bonds.
I don't know how the other lines knew of the spell to break it but they did. Jason refused at first but after his little wolf got the brunt of their rage, he complied.
He is a victim of the mate bond as is Helena with Zain. It sets me on fire to think that they are enslaved by some supernatural force that dictates their actions in the name of love.
Why should those wolves have their love? They have not earned it.
One thing made clear, however, was that if Helena meets their conditions, conditions not shared with me, then I can be assured that both will leave with me and Marisa. My job is to help her make the correct decision.
Whatever that is exactly I am unaware yet. But they insist that I will know.
I agreed to behave these weeks because of that. I insisted on better living conditions for Jason and Maddie. They were granted.
They really think I hold an influence on Helena. Once, I would agree. Now, I am unaware.
Questions plague me.
Has she bedded the wolf yet? I won't hold much influence if so.
The thought grates me from the inside. I grind my teeth. Thinking of Helena with anyone other than me is disturbing.
"It's time," Emmett pats my shoulder to move forward. We walk the hallways, meeting Jason and Maddie at a junction.
His eyes study me. He looks good in the tailored suit provided by the Ambroses. Maddie is also a vision but her disdainful face for me keeps me from appreciating her beauty.
She hates me. She hates all of us. I don't blame her after the beatdown she got at Jason's first refusal. She doesn't blame him but he blames himself.
No. She condemns me for this whole situation. Jason winces at her scowl and shrugs his shoulder innocently.
He loves her hatred. The fire under her. At home, Jason is quite a ladies' man, a player of sorts. Nice to see that some female finally has his balls in check.
Charles and Emmett continue walking. I follow suit. Accepting a familiar position, Jason is at my rear with his little mate.
We exit the compound and drive to a grand complex. A ballroom of sorts.
The room is fixed intimately. The lights are dimmed and the room is illuminated mostly from candles all across the room. A large table at the center of the room is adorned with the finest of silver wear and countless flowers. A grandiose chandelier hovers over the elongated table.
I look around the room to the clan heads and their heirs already seated on the table.
To no surprise, Arthur Ambrose, the patriarch of the line, sits at the head of the table. He points toward the empty seats to his left.
Charles and Emmett stride confidently to their father before bowing to the others and sitting. I do the same. Jason and Maddie simply slump on their chairs.
I try not to smile at their disrespect. Jason has never been able to join me in these types of gatherings so he is unaware of how quite rude he is being to these uptight heads. We sit in silence for a few minutes until it's broken.
"Ah, our guests have arrived," Arthur announces with a smile that does not meet his eyes. His eyes narrowed on the entrance.
I snap my gaze at the person who has been on my mind nonstop. My eyes ravished her.
Her beautiful body was accentuated by a silk green dress. They make her eyes shine brighter. Almost as if I called her with thought, her eyes scanned the room.
She searches for her beacon. She searches for me. A smirk forms in satisfaction as they finally land on me.
I see her eyes quiver then I see her shoulders move up at the release of a long breath.
Relief.
I see it in her eyes. She quickly glances at the side and she finally graces us with a smile. She sees Jason, her twin.
I can't imagine the worry she must have been feeling. I can, actually, giving me a sense of true contentment at her ease. Her gaze comes back to me. I stand on impulse.
I walk toward the entrance where she stands. Her eyes track my every movement. I see her feet shuffle and the slight indentation on her lips. The first sign of nerves when it comes to her.
I stop myself inches from her. She looks up at me through those long lashes. I feel an itch forming. There's a thirst coming forward.
And as I address her, picking up on the increased speed of her heart, the want reaches its peak. Her eyes focus on deciphering the situation.
She might think that I am losing control but it's quite the opposite. My head is intact. It's her that sparks the need. My eyes simply show it, blood lust red.
She unconsciously walks forward, throwing caution to the wind with me like always. When her warm hand is about to make contact, she gets tugged back harshly, giving me a new sense of awareness.
As Zain moves closer and lays his hand possessively on her waist, my eyes zero in on her changed demeanor.
His voice turns my insides hot with furry, "Careful Malfatto. My mate. My hand. Don't touch her."
At that moment, I give a wicked smirk. I plan to do more than touch.