Chapter 85

Atwood

While the pain of Ruby not trusting me is terrible, the pain that I feel for not being open with her hurts even more. I know that I should have talked to her about all of this ages ago. I should’ve been open and up front with everything from the start, so that we could work together to figure this out… But I was afraid that if she knew about the curse, she wouldn’t want to mark me.

It seems, however, that her love for me is far greater than I imagined, because she marked me even when she knew about the curse. And by herself, with no help from me, she learned far more about it than I ever did.

I can’t even be angry that she went against my wishes and went into Vivian’s room, because I am simply so impressed by my mate’s incredible intelligence and ability to persevere. I know now that I need to follow Vivian’s instructions from the time that I spent in the void, because she was right. I do need to trust Ruby, and no one else.

Someone killed my Vivian, and if I don’t act fast, they’ll kill my Ruby, too.

When we arrive at the shop, I tell Ruby to wait in the car while I go inside to talk to the herbalist. The sign indicates that it’s closed but the soft light emanating from the back indicates otherwise.

With a frown, I push on the door and open it, stepping inside.

“Oh! Sorry, we’re closed!” the woman calls from behind the counter. She’s sitting behind the counter with her head bent over a ledger. I simply stand there for a few moments while I wait for her to look up. When she doesn’t, I clear my throat.

The red-haired woman jerks her head up to look at me. Her eyes widen as recognition crosses her face.

“Lycan Atwood!” she says, hopping down off her stool and smoothing down her skirt. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I believe you had an incident here earlier today,” I say, running my finger along a fern frond as I slowly approach the counter. “As King, I hope you know that I take great interest in such things that occur within the bounds of my kingdom, Miss…?”

“Uh, Rosemary, sir,” she says, curtsying slightly. “Rosemary Thorne.”

“That’s a lovely name,” I say with a smile. She blushes a bit. I feel confident now that she’ll tell me just about anything I want to hear, and if she doesn’t say it out loud, her body language will give it all away.

“Well, Rosemary,” I say, “the two girls at the police station claim that they found a supply of forbidden plants in your basement. I’m sure that’s completely ridiculous, but would you mind if I take a quick look?”

Rosemary’s face turns even more red as she stammers to come up with a response. “Uh, of course,” she says, her hands shaking as she fishes a key out of her pocket and scurries over to the door at the back of the shop. “It’s this way.”

She leads me through the door and down the stairs to the basement.

“It’s all here,” she says, flicking on the overhead light. “Ficus, bonsai, lavender… Oh, and over here, I’ve just started propagating this Lamb’s-Ear. Feel how soft the leaves are!”

I simply nod in response as I walk around the room, using my sense of smell to envision the path that Ruby took through here. Her scent has lingered more than she realizes, for me at least. As her mate, I could pick up her scent for hours, days even, after she’s been somewhere.

My nose leads me to the table at the back of the shop. My suspicions are only confirmed when Rosemary begins babbling about another plant as a weak attempt at getting me away from the table. I simply ignore her and yank the table away from the wall.

“Sir, I think you’ll find that there’s absolutely nothing of interest over there!” Rosemary says, running over to me with nervous sweat coating her forehead. “It’s just my work table, please-”

Her voice falters as I push on the door to reveal the hidden room within.

Just as I suspected, it’s the toxic ashroot. Ruby was indeed telling the truth.

“I’ll give you thirty seconds to explain yourself before I escort you to the police station and have your shop shut down,” I say, turning toward her. Just looking at her makes anger bubble up inside of me and I can barely control it. Imagining the poison from those plants being fed to Vivian, and now possibly Ruby, makes me want to wring her neck.

The herbalist falls to her knees, clasping her hands together and crying. “Please!” she wails miserably. “I only had a few of the plants years ago, for research! I was writing a book on deadly plants and simply wanted to study their growth cycles. I swear it was never meant to hurt anyone!”

“Then how do you explain the death of the first Luna?” I growl.

Rosemary whimpers. “There was a woman,” she says in between sobs. “She came in years ago, offering a large sum of money in exchange for my services. I had just had my son. My husband died. I couldn’t afford to live!”

A woman? “Who was this woman?” I ask. “What did she look like?”

Rosemary blubbers some more and wipes her runny nose with the back of her hand. “I don’t know her name,” she says. “She was thin and tall, with gray hair. She appeared to be wearing a servant’s uniform.”

My heart leaps up into my throat as I realize who the herbalist is referring to, but I don’t want to believe it. Alice? Alice would never do anything to harm me, or Vivian. She’s always been loyal to the crown. Loyal to… My mother.

“When was the last time you saw this woman?” I demand.

“She came here four years ago,” she answers, “and bought several ounces of the toxic ashroot. Enough for a lethal dose. I haven't seen her since then, until… Until two weeks ago.”

With a solemn nod, I hold out my hand and help Rosemary stand up. I know that she’s telling the truth. I can feel it.

“Here,” I say, fishing my checkbook and a pen out of my pocket and writing her a check. “Ten thousand dollars for now, then three thousand every month until your son finishes school. In exchange, I want you to destroy all of the forbidden plants and promise to gather whatever information you can if the woman comes back. Do you understand me?”

Rosemary nods, shakily taking the check from my outstretched hand. “Th-Thank you, sir,” she whimpers. “I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

“Repay me by following through with your promise,” I respond.

When I get back in the car, Ruby is waiting with bated breath.

“What did she sa-”

I kiss her passionately before she has the chance to finish, thrusting my tongue into her mouth with a force that surprises even me. Eventually she relaxes into my kiss once the shock wears off, her face bright red when I pull away.

“You were right,” I say, holding her face with both hands. “I’ll never doubt you again.”