NADIA
Maxwell looks away from me, watching the flow of the river. He is doing that thing again.
I have noticed a pattern of behavior that he displays for the few days I have been watching him. I don't know what to make of his behavior but something deep inside me tells me that it was manipulative behavior.
Whenever Maxwell speaks to Asher, his tone is harsh, calculated, precise, and void of emotions but whenever he speaks to me, he tries to show as much emotions as he can. It is as if he is manipulating me by making sure I see the side of him that would move my heart.
The other way I see it is that he is free around me but not when he is around his brother or the others. He only let me see his weaknesses and vulnerability while he put up a harsh front when anyone else was around. That seems like a more reasonable explanation for his actions so I go with it.
"You can't accept the rejection now. Trust me, you will accept it later but not right now. I need your bond to be intact," he stated.
"Why?"
He pauses, unsure if he should tell me or not. The fact that he wasn't sure about it put me off. It is like that first signal that tells me that whatever he plans wouldn't be good for me.
"I just need it."
He isn't looking at me, which only sets my suspicion to the roof. If he is hiding something, that means he knows the consequences would not be good to me.
"I won't do it. If you don't tell me that you don't want me to accept his rejection, then I will accept it."
He groaned in frustration, throwing his hands up in surrender. "Okay, fine. I don't want you to reject him because I need to use you to hurt him enough to get my throne back."
That makes absolutely no sense. Does that mean that he plans on physically hurting me to make sure Asher gets hurt since the mate bond is still there?
As if reading my thoughts, he quickly shakes his head in denial. "No, it's not what you think. I can never hurt you. I would never lay a finger on a female. No matter what happens, I can't hurt a woman. I won't hurt you emotionally too just so I can hurt him."
"What do you mean then? How do you plan to hurt Asher by hurting me?" I cut to the chase.
"If the bond is still there, imagine how much it would hurt both him and his wolf to see us together. Imagine just how much pain he'll be in, whether he tries to deny it or not, seeing us together. I want him to be pained and depressed anytime he sees us both together. If there is anything that is going to be Asher's downfall, it is his uncontrollable anger. If he keeps seeing us both together, he would lose his shit and try to attack me which would prove to people that he isn't a worthy leader. That way, I can get my position back. It would be difficult, yes, and it might take as long as possible but we have to do it. It's our best shot."
His plan seems alright except for one fact— hurting Asher would automatically hurt me too. Since the mate bond is still active, whatever emotions Asher feels, I would most likely feel it too, especially if it is a negative emotion. If I am trying to hurt Asher by making him jealous, I would also be indirectly hurting myself.
"I would have to hurt myself to make you get to your throne?" I asked.
I can tell that he didn't think about the other side of things as realizes that it draws on his face after my words. He understands what I mean.
Maxwell gets on his knees, on a rock, his eyes shining. "I know it's a little too much sacrifice for you to make but I really need it. I know it would hurt you just trust me, it wouldn't be as bad as the pain of accepting the rejection. I am not ready to imprint on you yet. I would do that the moment I get my throne back. If you accept the rejection now, it would be so painful that you might die but if you wait for a while, until I get my position back, you can't reject him and I would immediately imprint on you. That would make up for whatever thing your soul lost and trust me when I say that you would feel little to no pain then. I know it might seem like too much to ask for but trust me on this. All I need you to do is to follow my every instruction. No questions asked. Some might seem crazy, not feasible, stupid, evil…whatever name you might give it. Just trust me, okay? And I promise that you won't regret it."
The sincerity in his eyes is all I need to agree to helping him no matter the cost.
We are going to get back at Asher for what he did to us both. And yes, I now have a small vendetta against Asher for rejecting me and treating me like I am the trashiest werewolf of earth.
I would make him pay and bag on his knees for me.
A question crosses my mind, setting me off and immediately making me back away from the plan.
What if Max finds his mate along the way? What would that make of me? Would he throw me out of the pack after using me to defeat Asher? Would he hate me and cut all ties with me? Would I have to go rogue again?
As much as I love the freedom of rogue life, I don't want to go back to it again. It is way too risky and dangerous. A little lonely too.
I direct my question to him immediately, needing assurance that everything would work for my good even if he finds his mate.
"What do you find your mate? What would happen to me and the plan after?"