Broken (The Captive #5.5)(37)

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The marriage contracts were still in the process of being drawn up when Atticus was finally able to take his leave of the others. He made his way down the stairs and into the great hall. His gaze slid over the empty table and chairs before he made his way to the front door and opened it on the clear night.

He wanted to go to Genny, to find her and hold her again. To drown out the events of this night with her. He didn't know how he was going to get out of this mess let alone explain it all to her. It was all happening too fast; his life had been taken from his hands and thrust into another's. He was supposed to become the most powerful vampire in the world one day yet he had no control over anything happening to him.

His jaw clenched as he leaned against the doorframe and studied the stars appearing in the sky. He at least understood now why his father was still in England, why they hadn't left as soon as The Council meeting had ended. There had been a marriage pact to try and arrange, and Silas was an Englishman that had always preferred to stay on his native soil.

"It's finally stopped raining."

He'd heard her approaching but he'd hoped she would go her own way and leave him be. "For tonight."

He caught the subtle scent of lilacs when she stepped closer to him. Her hands were folded before her as she tilted her head back to look at the stars. He gazed at her striking profile before turning to look at the night again. "Is this marriage something that you want?" he inquired.

"It will be a fine match," she murmured. It was the response she was supposed to give, the response she had been bred to give and the one that he should have expected. Instead, he found that it irritated the hell out of him.

"But is it what you want?"

Her delicate forehead furrowed as she looked at him. "Milord?"

"Will this make you happy?"

"Of course milord."

His hands fisted, it took all he had not to demand for her to answer his question honestly. There was no other answer for her though. All he was asking for was the truth but throughout her entire life it had been pounded into her that one day she would wed the vampire she was told to wed; she would fulfill her duties and produce an heir.

"Are you not pleased with the match?" she inquired nervously.

He turned away from her to stare at the stars again. A part of him was tempted to tell her, no this wasn't what he wanted at all, but like her, his upbringing reared its head. "It's a fine match."

Her smile grew as she tilted her head to the side to study him. "We will produce a strong son."

It took all he had not to shudder at the words. "We will," he said instead.

The breeze picked up, a deer crept to the edge of the wood line a few hundred feet away. Sensing their presence it lifted its head and sniffed at the air before bolting into the woods. The wind blew the hair back from her face. He turned away from the sight of the vein running through her neck.

His skin prickled with revulsion when she rested her hand upon his arm. "Would you like to go for a walk milord?"

He shook his head and shifted so that her hand fell away from his arm. Confusion marred her face as she tilted her head to study him. "Are you not pleased with me?"

He felt like a hideous ass. This wasn't her fault, she had as much say over her life as he had over his and he was treating her like she was a pariah. If he wasn't careful his treatment of her could also end up in a battle. She may be a pawn in her father's quest for power but Silas wouldn't stand idly by and watch her be mistreated.

"You're an exceptionally beautiful woman Anna," he answered honestly.

Her smile revealed her perfectly white teeth as color crept into her cheeks once more. "Thank you milord."

"Please, call me Atticus."

She rested her hand on his arm again and flirtatiously batted her lashes at him. Maybe they could conceive an heir within the first month and then go their separate ways. It was about as appealing a prospect to him as not being able to consume blood for a year, maybe even less so. He thought that consummating their marriage was something he might be able to get through if he knew there was freedom from this union on the other side. It was the amount of time it might take to produce an heir that worried him. A girl would be able to take his place on The Council if something were to happen to him, but it would be expected of him to produce a son in order to carry on his family name before he could separate from her.

He pulled away from her when she began to run her fingers up and down his arm. He couldn't even stand her touch, how was he supposed to create a child with her? He'd always known that this would one day come but that was before Genny became a part of his life. This life, which had never really been his own to begin with, was now completely consumed by a woman he couldn't have.





CHAPTER 13


Genny said goodbye to Camille outside of the orphanage and made her way into the woods. After the events of yesterday she had prepared herself for the fact that Atticus had probably been called away somewhere and wouldn't be in the woods today. What had happened last night with Felix and Marie had been a stark reminder of the fact that there was rarely anything good in her life.

She winced as she slipped on the hill, her broken rib had healed during the night but it was still a little tender. Resting her hand on a tree, she paused to steady herself before continuing down the hill toward the clearing. She knew even before she arrived at the clearing that he wasn't there. That wasn't overly unusual though, sometimes he didn't join her until later in the afternoon.