“Oh, the Summit right before the Winter Solstice. But… Max is not a Councilor. How is he even allowed to attend it?”
“Karl and Max are both advisers of the representative of the wolf-shifter faction, Councilor Voinom. If anything happens to him, a member of Clan Blackmane must take his place.”
“Why? Doesn’t this… Voinom guy have any heirs? I don’t know much about the wolf clans, but it still doesn’t make sense to me. If Voinom is the werewolf Councilor, then he must be the most influential Alpha in the world, right?”
“Yes. In Europe and the world. He’s got five packs under his command. All five Alphas are his own sons, granted that they all come from different mothers. But Councilor Voinom doesn’t trust any of them when it comes to the peace treaty.”
“Wow! Why not?”
“Long story,” Christine sighed and smiled. Avelyn understood she wasn’t going to get more information on this. Why? She couldn’t know. It wasn’t like Clan Voinom mattered to her in any way. Besides, the discussion had strayed a lot, and she had to find a way to direct it to what interested her.
“I’m sorry,” Avelyn took a sip of water and pushed the tray away, not even touching the cheesecake.
“Goodness, why?”
“For asking so many questions. It’s just that… I feel trapped in here. I have moments when I almost suffer from claustrophobia. I was trapped at Alma Venus, and now here. I mean, for the last seven days I’ve been reading a lot of things on the Internet: articles, news, reports I’ve never had access to at Alma Venus. I realized how much the boarding schools keep the brides in the dark.” She rose from the sofa, and started pacing the room, arms folded over her chest to prevent herself from gesturing in despair. “It’s insane, you know? Alma Venus is like… like this closed, dystopian society in which the students are fed only the pieces of information the headmistress deems appropriate. I see now that we had no real contact with the outside world.” She sat down next to Christine. “Do you think this is fair? What happens to us, shifter brides, the way we are treated and educated? The way we are kept in the dark and then thrown out in the real world and expected to manage?”
Christine remained silent. Her heart ached when she saw the sadness and anger in Avelyn’s eyes, but she had to be careful because an inappropriate reaction could have made things worse.
“Since I’ve come to the Schloss things haven’t changed much, you know? Sure, I now have access to all the information the Internet, the newspapers, and the television have to offer, but I’m left out of anything that has to do with Max, everything that is happening in his world. Your world,” she hesitated. “My… world.”
The old woman took both her hands into her own. “Avelyn…”
“I get it. None of you trusts me because I tried to run away the moment I found out he had bought me. It’s just that… it’s… it’s hard.” A tear made its way down Avelyn’s cheek, and she wiped it before it reached her chin.
Christine took her into her arms and rubbed her back gently. “I know, Avelyn, I know. You must be patient. Things will get better, you’ll see, and then Max will never hide anything from you again.”
“Everything is happening so fast. I need time to adapt, time to know the Schloss and the wolves. Time to know him. And being trapped in this room, looking out the window every day and watching everyone else simply living and enjoying their freedom… it’s driving me insane.” She sobbed silently, her shoulders trembling under the pressure she was struggling to keep bottled up in her chest.
“I know, child, I know.” Christine placed her dry, calloused palms on Avelyn’s shoulders, and pushed her gently, keeping her at arm’s length. She looked into her deep, teary eyes. “Max knows that you need time. Even though he might not tell you, he knows what you’re going through. Every time he leaves and turns the key in the lock, the metallic click tears his heart apart.”
Avelyn made a great, almost painful, effort to control herself and not roll her eyes. “Yeah, sure… I bet he’s bleeding right now.”
“But you’re not trapped. You’re free, you just don’t see it yet.”
“How does that even make sense?” The thought ringed so loud and angry in her mind, that she hoped Christine’s wolf senses didn’t detect it through some kind of wolfish magic.
“What kind of freedom involves not being allowed to leave the room?” she asked out loud.
“Don’t hate him for this. It might not be the best decision he’s ever made, but he’s afraid you’ll leave him.”
Avelyn swallowed heavily. “I won’t.”
“Then, do your best to let him know. Gain his trust. Offer him something that will show him how much you love him. Something that will bind you two forever.”
“I… I’m not ready. This whole thing scares me so much. It’s overwhelming.” Words failed her. Something that would bind them forever. Avelyn knew what that was because it was exactly w
hat she wanted to avoid. After what Christine said, there was no way she could bring up the issue that had kept her awake last night. A baby would bind them forever. That’s why she needed something to prevent that from happening, and her only hope was Christine. At least, that was what she had thought during her long hours of insomnia. Clearly, it was no longer a solution. “I’m sorry,” she put some distance between her and Christine, moving towards the edge of the bed. She wiped her tears and reached for the box of tissues on the nightstand.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. Max will wait, you’ll see.”
“Sure, he’ll wait for me to rot in here,” she thought. “Because I’d rather rot than let him have his way with me and risk getting pregnant.” She blew her nose, then turned to Christine and gave her a weak smile.
“Thank you, I’m feeling better now.”
“This means you’re going to eat the cheesecake, after all?”
“What?” Avelyn looked at the table, having had forgotten about dessert. “Oh, yes. Please leave it, I’ll eat it later.”