Page 164 of Wolfkissed
“You,” I seethe. “You locked me up.”
“It was the only way to keep you inside the room,” he says calmly, obviously unperturbed, as if that’s the most natural thing in the world. “I trust you have spent your time productively.”
“You’re not serious,” I breathe.
“Oh, I am serious. I want to see what my future wife can craft. I was told your embroidery skills are good.”
“You want me to be a… a slave!”
His pleasant expression vanishes. “What’s the matter with you? I’m your husband-to-be. I have every right to direct and correct your behavior. Or did you think any other lord would treat you differently?”
“But…”
“This is a marriage of convenience, woman. I don’t know what you thought it would be like, and I don’t know how you were raised, but these liberties you take won’t fly here. I have done my best. Overlooked the fact that you came in the company of a man, that your family has obviously disowned you and lied about your death. Your estates are good, but don’t think for a moment I couldn’t do better. I am honoring an old agreement.”
“Bullshit. My estates were what you wanted from the start. The only thing that ever mattered to you.”
“What difference does it make?”
He’s right. What difference does it make? I don’t love him. He’s not the one I love.
“You will get what you want out of this, too,” he says after a moment.
“Like what? Being confined inside the manor? Forced to live behind closed doors?”
“What’s wrong with closed doors?” He lifts his hands. “I was given to understand that you spent most of your life locked up in your room. Now you want, what, to wander the wilderness like an animal?”
“The wilderness is beautiful,” I whisper.
“You’re crazy.” He scowls at me. “I didn’t ask for a crazy wife.”
“And I didn’t ask for you! I’m not a product for you to order and customize. I am who I am and always have been. Now was your chance to get to know me, and you dismissed it.”
In two strides, he’s right in front of me. He grabs my wrist and slams me back against the wall. “That’s enough!”
I struggle to free myself and fail. He’s stronger than me. Most men are. Yet, Valen is ten times stronger and never made me feel afraid.
This is bad and going downhill fast.
The girl I was a few weeks back would have blamed herself. But not anymore. This isn’t on me, and it’s unbearable to think I’m still here when I know there is happiness out in the world.
ThatValenis out there.
“Why do you want my estates so much?” I grind out. “What’s so important about them?”
“Nothing.” He finally releases me and straightens his vest.
“Don’t lie to me. You made this deal long ago. Why would you want my land so badly?”
“Minerals,” he says after a long moment, going to glance out the window. “An old mine. I’ve had it evaluated and realizedits veins of nightgold are mostly untapped. Plus, the farms and orchards, of course. It’s a good investment.”
Investment. That’s all I am to him.
“Now behave, and I’ll have no reason to lock you up. Obey me, be quiet and pleasant, and everything will be all right.”
My door unlocked, I hurry down the stairs. The sense of suffocation I felt locked up in my room persists. How dare he imprison me like that? Shove me and admonish me?
I’m filled with helpless rage, and it’s nothing new. I’ve felt it all my life. I’ve always strived to be a lady. The freedom Valen has shown me is an illusion. Being a lady is to be a prisoner of society. To live in a cage. I never even noticed the bars before, but now… Now they are all I can see.
