#3 By the Light of the Silver Moon

Chapter 9: Fox

I was giddy with excitement when Marigold let me sit in the back of the car with her. Just being close to her made me feel warm and content. I knew she was still on the fence about coming back to the packhouse with us, but I was confident that I could win her over.

“Where are we going?” Marigold asked in her sweet voice.

“There’s a hotel by the airport. I got us two rooms there.” I explained. She nodded, biting on her bottom lip nervously.

“How was everything while I was gone?” I asked.

“It was okay.” Marigold shrugged. Stone eyed me in the rearview mirror and I could tell that something had happened. I decided not to press it.

“When we get to the hotel, I’d like to talk to you about what happened while I was in your realm.” I said.

“Okay.” Maigold replied and went back to staring out the car window. We sat in silence the rest of the way to the hotel.

Once we checked into the hotel, Stone excused himself to our room while I followed Marigold into hers. I wasn’t sure if she was comfortable being alone in a hotel room with me, but she didn’t seem bothered. After what she did back at the castle with Alpha Torrin, I wasn’t surprised. My girl could certainly handle herself.

Marigold sat on the edge of the large bed and I sat at one of the chairs in the corner of the room, itching to be closer to her.

“What sort of deal did you make with my father?” Marigold asked. I could tell she was eager to hear the terms and see what kind of mess I made for myself. I told her everything that happened,

“One thing I wasn’t sure about and I hope I didn’t overstep, but he made me promise to keep you out of the Fae realm.” I concluded, bracing myself for her reaction. Her face remained cold,

“Did you tell him we were mates?” She asked like she already knew the answer.

“I did. It was the only way to convince him to alter his deal with Torrin.” I said.

“It’s the only thing he cared about.” Marigold grumbled.

“What?” I was confused.

“My father didn’t need Alpha Torrin’s pack anymore than he needs yours. He has alliances with werewolves all over the word. The main reason he had any sort of relationship with Torrin at all was to keep me out of the fae realm," Marigold sighed before continuing with her tale,

"My father shipped me off from werewolf pack to werewolf pack in hopes that one day he would find an Alpha stupid enough to claim me and keep me out of the fae realm forever. The only thing my father needed from you was your word that you would keep me from the realm. He knew I would never go against that.” Marigold’s expression was hard, almost like she was trying not to show too many emotions.

“I don’t understand….why doesn’t he want you home?” It was taking everything inside me to stay on this chair and not lunge across the room to comfort my mate.

“That doesn’t matter. The point is, you can’t break a deal with my father or it’ll kill you, and he knows that I would never put you in that position. I could never be the reason you get hurt,” She mumbled the last few words and I felt a ping of pride in my chest at the thought of my mate not wanting me to get hurt,

“You gave him the perfect deal. He had no guarantees that I would care enough about a random Alpha to not sneak off and back to the fae realm, which is why he allowed them to control me and my magic. But, with you, it's different. He gave me my freedom because he’s toying with me. He knows I have my powers but I can’t do anything with them.” Marigold looked like she wanted to punch something, and I wasn’t entirely sure I was safe from her fury.

“I’m sorry, Marigold, I just wanted to give you back your freedom.” Suddenly her eyes met mine and they softened.

“Oh, I know. I’m not mad at you. I should thank you, really. I’m sorry I’m taking my anger out on you. It’s my father who is at the source of it.” Marigold frowned,

“He’s been tormenting me my entire life.” She added under her breath.

“Maybe I can do something about it? I could help.” I urged her to trust me.

“You’ve done enough, honestly.” She tried to smile but it didn’t reach her now bright green eyes. I decided to change the direction of the conversation,

“I spoke with your brothers. I think they might miss you.” I said. Marigold chuckled softly to herself,

“My brothers don’t know what to feel unless someone tells them. They’re my father’s puppets.”

“I saw that, actually. But, they did sneak away from their father to speak to me privately about you. They wanted to make sure I had good intentions.” Marigold seemed genuinely surprised by this,

“Sol and Bay are terrified of our father, so they do whatever they have to do to stay on his good side including going along with my banishment. They know it’s not right and they know that Father is hiding the truth from them, but they aren’t brave enough or smart enough to do anything about it. They’re a product of their environment and my father’s psychological torment as much as I am.”

“I don’t know what happened to you or your family, Marigold, but I could tell enough from my visit today to know that your father isn’t winning any awards for dad of the year. I’m so sorry you had to grow up like that.” I struggled to compose my tone, trying not to sound as angry with King Titan as I felt.

“That’s true.” Marigold smirked at my joke.

“I want to ask you to come home with me, to the packhouse. I don’t expect anything from you, Marigold, I just want you to be safe.” I dove into the conversation topic I was most afraid of. Marigold’s face fell and I could tell it scared her, too.

“You don’t want me, Finn.” She mumbled and I broke down. I dropped to my knees in front of her and grabbed her hands in mine,

“Yes, yes I do.” I squeezed her hands tightly and forced her to look at me.

“You don’t even know who I am.” She frowned.

“Maybe not, but I want to.”

“I’m not good. I’m not meant to be anyone's mate or Luna. I’m not a leader. I’m not good enough for you, Finn.” She was rambling now and I gently shushed her.

“You’re more than enough, you’re perfect.” Marigold pushed me away and stood up from the bed, she began to pace the room.

“You want to know why my father doesn’t want me home?” She asked me suddenly. I stood from the floor and watched her, saying nothing.

“It’s because I’m a girl with murderous tendencies.” She stopped her pacing and stared right at me. I was careful not to flinch. I knew there was more to the story.

“My father only wanted sons, he doesn’t respect women; he thinks we’re worthless. When I was born, he beat my mother for failing him. When I was 12, my mother fell pregnant again. She birthed a son but he only lived a few minutes. My father killed my mother on the spot for failing her duties,” Marigold’s face was hard as stone as she explained her childhood to me. She refused to cry, her emotionless facade clearly a coping mechanism,

“I was there. I saw it happen. I went on a rampage and attacked my father. It took a dozen of the King’s guards and my two brothers to stop me. I nearly killed him. My father told everyone that my mother died in childbirth and I went crazy, accusing him of murdering her and threatening to kill him to take the throne. He told my brothers that I wanted to take the throne from them,” The more Marigold talked, the angrier I got,

“Then, he told the kingdom that I was going to be an ambassador for the realm, forging new alliances with the werewolves. The people are oblivious and so are my brothers. They suspect that my father is lying, but they can’t take the risk that I might want their throne.”

“Marigold….I….Am speechless. What your father did is unspeakable.” I really was at a loss for words. I had never heard something so horrendous before in my life. I knew Marigold was strong, but to have survived all of that….she was a miracle.

“He buried my mother in an unmarked grave to dishonor her. When he banished me, I vowed to come back and give her a proper resting place and avenge her death. I want my father dead, and he’s afraid that I’m actually capable of doing it.” Marigold confessed her darkest desires to me and I carefully processed them. I had to be cautious to avoid making her feel judged.

“I think it’s normal to want to honor your mother. I have a lot of influence, I could fight to get her for you.” I told her. I didn’t want to get her hopes up, but I felt confident enough in my pack and myself to achieve this promise. I would do it for her.

“He would never give her up. He wouldn’t risk someone being able to expose her true cause of death. Not to mention, he would never give me something that I wanted.”

“I would fight for you, Marigold, whatever it took.” I assured her. Marigold shook her head sadly,

“I want more than my mother’s body. I want King Titan dead,” Marigold spoke bluntly, making sure I understood that she wasn’t being theatrical,

“I don’t care who takes the throne from him, I don’t want it. It’s not about the crown. I want him to pay for what he did to her.” I felt a sensation inside my chest that I'd never felt before and I realized that it was the mate bond giving me access to Marigold's own pain.

"I don't have all the answers. I don't know what to say to make things better or what I can do. But, I do know that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and make you happy, Marigold. We can figure everything out together." I stepped closer to my mate, begging for her to hear me. Marigold looked at me sadly,

"Even if I wanted to, Finn, I can’t feel anything else but revenge and hate. I don't have room for anything else." Another wave of emotions ravaged me.

"You feel more, I know you do, I know you feel this." I said smoothly, closing the distance between us and grabbing her face in my hands. I needed to touch her, I needed to feel her skin against mine and convince her that our mate bond was enough.

"Hate is a hard thing to overshadow." She muttered but didn't pull away. Her eyes were staring into mine as she leaned into my touch.

"Give me a chance, give us a chance." I could tell that I was breaking through her cool exterior. I just needed her to give in to the mate bond for a second, to feel all the amazing things I was feeling, to fully convince her to come home with me.

Marigold sighed after a moment of blissful silence and stepped out of my grip. I whimpered at the cold, empty space she left in my arms as she walked away.

"I need some time to think." She mumbled but I felt in my heart an emotion I didn't want to name.

"As you wish." I looked at my mate longingly before leaving her room.