Chapter 28

The ride to the baron’s estate had been short, and they had welcomed us inside a nice manor. A footman took our coats and showed us to a lavish room. Sumptuous curtains draped the tall windows surrounding us, and the sofas had gilded wooden frames that exuded wealth. I wondered if the entire house had furniture like the ones we were in the presence of. Multiple paintings were hanging in the room. Most seemed like family portraits. While we waited, I passed the time by looking at them.

The biggest one was a man with dark blond hair, thinning lightly at the top of his head. His dark honey-brown eyes were severe and made me feel like they had scolded me. I surmised that this was Baron Mallard. He didn’t look familiar at all, which slowed down the blood pumping through my veins. I was nervous about meeting anyone that had ties to Osprey. My experiences had been awful.

The same man was in multiple paintings, often accompanied by a small girl. She was stunning, with beautiful blond hair, pink plum lips, and lovely brown doe eyes.

“That’s Beatrice, Baron Mallard’s daughter.” Said Xander as he came behind me, pointing at the painting I was looking at.

“She’s gorgeous.” I took a step forward to take in all her features.

There were some similarities between her and the man I assumed was her father. However, her gaze was softer than the imposing man, who had a hand neatly placed on her shoulder. She looked regal in her pale blue dress and gold necklace. Her hair cascaded down her face in soft waves. I wished my hair was as tame as hers. Mine was naturally wavy, but it was unruly. I permanently looked like I had been in the wind all day, which was why I usually styled it in a braid or a knot to control it.

There was another painting of the girl, but in that one, she looked older, maybe in her late teens. She seemed as graceful as I had envisioned her and even more stunning. It’s a shame that Xander was a shifter, or they would have made a magnificent pair. Not that I was complaining. It thrilled me to be his fated mate, although sometimes I wondered if he would have wished for someone less broken, someone more like Beatrice.

I returned next to Xander on the chair and sat, folding my healing hand over the other.

“Is it normal for him to make his guests wait this long?” I sighed, slumping my shoulders next to the back of the chair. I thought we must have been waiting for well over an hour.

“Yes,” Xander replied through gritted teeth.

Well, that wasn’t very nice of a host to subject this to their guests. I thought it was a relatively poor show of power. Obviously, he wanted to make us feel on edge and understand who was in charge in his domain, but the act completely lacked respect.

After nearly another hour, a small creepy thin man came into the room and sat on the opposing sofa to us. He had crossed his legs and was staring at us, flicking his black, almost pupil-less eyes from Xander to me.

I tried to smile at him, but his face remained cold as stone.

A set of double doors opened on the other side of the room, and the man I saw in the paintings sauntered towards us. He was heavier than in his paintings, but the severe face remained the same.

“Lord Alexander, what a pleasant surprise to have you here!” His voice was nasally and sort of high-pitched.

Xander stood up and went to meet the baron.

“Lord Mallard, thank you for seeing us. I assume you have received word from my father, Duke Kestrel, on the matters for which I am here?” Xander had turned cold, and his eyes looked vicious. I had never seen him acting this way. Was it what he meant when he said I wouldn’t like what he became?

“I am,” he smiled shrewdly, “and who might this charming lady be?”

It was plain to see that he knew perfectly well who I was. He was playing a game with us. I lifted my head high and lightly picked up my dress as I got up. I placed my left hand in his and gracefully curtsied.

“Your lordship, I am Ida Raven, pleased to make your acquaintance.”

My words startled Xander, and he came quickly to my side, grabbing me by my waist and pulling me next to him. Had I turned around, I would have seen an angry red Xander.

“A Raven, so the rumours are true! You almost had me fooled with your demeanour. My boy, you have even poorer judgement than I thought.” He sneered at Xander and let my hand fall as if I disgusted him.

“My judgement is my own, and I do not take kindly to your offence.” Xander gripped the back of my neck and jerked me backward towards the seat I had risen from. I fell hard on it, hard enough that the chair legs scraped the floor with force.

I let out a low shriek and looked at him with confusion. He stood tall over me in a horrible way. I shrank and lowered my head in submission. Faiths, what was happening?

Baron Mallard looked at Xander through hooded eyes and clicked his tongue.

“If this is how you treat your intended, I am most pleased the arrangement didn’t work out with my Beatrice. I had a mind to think you had gone soft over the years. It appears I was mistaken; your heartlessness still precedes you, Lord Alexander.” He smirked my way, pleased with the roughness Xander was showing in my regard. Would the baron’s attitude have been different if he thought I came from a more noble background instead of a commoner?

“Now that I’ve put her back in her place and she knows she is not to speak, shall we resume discussing my investigation in your district?” Xander said impatiently.

I vigorously rubbed my neck where he had grabbed me and tried to still my fast-beating heart. I thought I noticed Xander giving me a concerned look, but I wasn’t sure.

“Of course! To that end, I would like to introduce you to Corbin Hawk. He was sent here on official business on behalf of his majesty—King Osprey. While you will conduct your investigation to find where the rebels hide their goods, he will assist you.” Mallard casually mentioned, pointing to the creepy thin man sitting neatly on the sofa in front of us.

“I work alone. Having him follow me around like a lost puppy will not aid in my search.” Xander spat.

“Nonsense. I know you prefer to work alone, but you will find that Mr. Hawk is not a chatty fellow because he no longer has his tongue. King Osprey thought it best to ensure Corbin would not tell state secrets if captured. He is his best hunter. Besides, you have no choice. The situation in Maple has his majesty on edge. The rebels are taking more and more ground and growing in strength. He has requested that his best Unnatural hunter assist you. I hope this ends with executions. We’ve not had public sentencings in weeks!” He almost said it with a cheerful tone.

His words appalled me. The baron made it sound as if he enjoyed seeing people getting killed.

“Very well, we will begin in the morning.”

Xander came over and lifted me off the chair, holding me firmly by the arm. His grip on me stung the inside of my arm. Mallard had a sick sly grin across his face, making his double chin protrude from his neck. He loved seeing me being roughly handled. I felt like tearing up. I knew that this wasn’t who Xander was, but this side of him made me recoil at his touch. He hissed at me when I tried to move away.

“Marvelous. Mr. Hawk will meet you at my guest house on the morrow. Please use it until you have completed your inspection of the city.”

“Thank you, my lord, but I will move us into a less conspicuous lodging during our stay here. If word got out of my presence and the reason behind it, it may be harder for us to find the rebel’s warehouse and destroy it, much less catch traitors as they will be wary.”

Baron Mallard seemed surprised by Xander’s statement but quickly shook it off. The only thing he seemed to care about was the result.

“Yes, yes, all well and good.” He swatted his chubby hand in the air.

Xander instructed Mr. Hawk to a meeting place and turned to bid Baron Mallard farewell. Once business was concluded, Xander pushed me none too gently towards the exit.

“It was a delightful pleasure meeting you, Miss Raven. I hope you sincerely behave yourself, for your sake. Your future husband is quite the wild and dangerous sort.” He said with laughing eyes.

The baron’s statement echoed through the halls and haunted every step I was taking while I tried to keep up with Xander’s long legs. He plunged me into the carriage and swiftly closed the door, banging the roof to signal our coachman—Gideon, to depart.

I pressed myself into the carriage's corner and avoided looking at Xander. My cheeks were still hot with humiliation, and tears made my eyes misty. When he made to take me in his arms, I slapped him hard across the face. I winced as my bad fingers connected with his cheekbone. The blow had been strong enough to leave him with a red shadow where I had hit him. I cradled my throbbing hand over my chest and glared at him.

“If this is the man you pretend to be when you are out living your double life, then by all means, please refrain from taking me along with you and treating me like a piece of shit under your boot.” I spat at him. “The baron was already making a pretty good job of it.”

My words cut deep, and I saw his face contort woundedly.

“Forgive me! I was afraid he would see right through us, and I thought acting this way with you would take him off my back for refusing his daughter countless times. He would never have allowed me to treat Beatrice this way. I needed you to be believable, and I hated every second of the hurt look you gave me.”

I understood the necessity of it, to a certain extent. But it just wasn’t something I had prepared myself to be subjected to, especially not from my mate.

I stayed silent the entire way to the baron’s guest house, and once inside, I simply followed my feet to my room and locked myself in without saying a word to Xander. I was just glad that we didn’t share a room that night. I needed to cool off and calm my mind.