A couple days passed, and I refused to see anyone. Ethan hadn’t visited since then. I was thankful he di
dn‘t, because I didn’t know how I could face him. When people came to visit me, I refused to speak. I kne
w deep
down, from their worried eyes, that there was no telling if anything truthful would come from their mouths.
How was I supposed to act like everything was okay when I knew what the truth was? “Rosalie?” Vicky‘s
voice called out as I layed in
bed. I had been refusing to shower or change for any occasion. I heard her moving in through the bedroo
m door, but with my back facing her, she couldn‘t tell if I was asleep or awake. “Please tell me what‘s wro
ng…” she said, and my heart broke hearing how upset and hurt she was. Vicky had become my best frie
nd, and I hated not speaking to her. I hated how things were between us. I turned over and faced her, my
face red and puffy, and my eyes dry from crying all the tears I shed over the situation.
“Did you know?” I asked softly, my voice cracking in my raw throat. Her brow furrowed in
confusion at my question. “Know what?” I sat up to better face her. “Rosalie, you‘re making me very anxi
ous right now… don‘t scare me. What is it?” I could tell she was genuinely confused and terrified. I smile
d bitterly. Vicky, Vicky, should I trust you? “Rosalie…?”
She didn‘t give up. That was Vicky. I looked her in the eyes and decided to take the risk. “….That Ethan i
s going to kill me once I have the baby.” My flat reply was met with a shocked and horrified expression on
Vicky‘s face. “What!?” She exclaimed. “That‘s ridiculous!” “Is it?” I said, and rolled back over on the bed,
turning away from her. “Ethan cares about you, Rosalie! He would never kill you…” Then her voice lower
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇted, and she covered her mouth with her hands. It took her a few seconds to process it, but it had dawned
on her that I wouldn‘t lie.
“How how did you find out…?” Her voice was trembling. It was odd that I was the one who was calm. “I h
eard Talon and Ethan talking in the living room last night. Talon was arguing with Ethan about it, and Etha
n said they were sticking to that plan. Talon knew_”
A sob escaped my throat while trying to explain, Evidently, I wasn‘t as calm as I had thought. “Talon woul
dn‘t…” Vicky said hesitantly. “No… he couldn‘t!” “He never cared about me.”
My statement was ambiguous, but it was directed for both Talon and Ethan. Neither of
them cared. It was just a job. Vicky rushed to me and cradled me in her arms, tears streaming down her
cheeks. “I won‘t let this happen, Rosalie. I‘m going to talk to Talon… this isn‘t going to happen.” “No!” 1 e
xclaimed, pulling away from her and shaking my head. “You can‘t let them know that I know. Please, Vick
y
| I took a breath.
Betrayal of a Protector “If I am to be put to death, I want to look him in his eyes when they kill me, and tel
l him that I knew. I love him, Vicky… and he destroyed me.”
*Talon‘s POV
The conversation with
Ethan hadn‘t gone as I had expected the other night. I had tried several times to make him reconsider, bu
t he was now more adamant
than anything that we were going to go through with the plan. No matter how much he tried to deny that
he cared for Rosalie, I knew he did. And if I could get him to realize that maybe I could save her.
I couldn‘t allow him to kill her. I had to do something. But I was stuck in
a position that was far from ideal. “Talon!” My sister‘s voice screamed from the other side of my door, pull
ing me out of
my own thoughts. Quickly, I opened the door, I saw her fuming face on the other side for a moment befor
e she pushed her way past into my
room. “What‘s wrong?” I asked, feeling confused. “Did something happen? Is Rosalie okay?!” “Like you c
are,” she replied coldly, looking at me with a deadly stare. “Excuse me? I‘ve been worried about her the l
ast couple days
just like you. I just don‘t understand what happened to make her turn for the worse like she did.” Vicky st
ood before me, and looking at her now, I could see that she‘d been crying.
My sister was strong, and never let anyone see her in a disheveled state. So for her to be here looking lik
e this, something terrible must have happened. “Is it true that the plan for Rosalie all along has been to ki
ll her after she has the baby?”
Those words were the last thing I‘d expected to hear out of my sister‘s mouth. The only people who knew
were Ethan and
me I quickly moved toward the door and closed it before anyone else could hear the conversation.
“Who told you that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmher. “So it‘s true, then!” she gasped, covering her mouth. “How could you? She trusted you!” “The situatio
n is more complicated than that.”
“More complicated, Talon?! Rosalie is family to us, and has become one of my best friends. You let us get
“Vicky, you have to calm down, now!” ““Then explain. Because, right now, I can barely stand to be around
Rosalie–
with her history, with that beautiful effect she has to come into his life.” *That doesn‘t make it okay to kill h
do
you think Georgia would feel about this?” * Keep Georgia out of this if you want any chance of changing h
best of Lunas. Ethan is letting a king without a child dictate his future and allowing himself to be forced to
without any of the traits of a good Luna. She will destroy us all,” she urged. “Shut your mouth before some
Betrayal of a Protector choice of words. Deep down, though, I knew what she said was true. “You
need to remember your place, Vicky,” I added. “Or what, Talon? Are you
going to kill me, too?!” I was stunned by her comment and left speechless. She glared challengingly at me
said, “Do me a favor and forget we had this conversation.” Something was nagging at me. I had asked he
“It doesn‘t matter how I found out,” Vicky replied, acting hesitant.
She quickly went to leave, and I grabbed her arm, roughly pulling her back. “I won‘t ask you again! Who th
will make her life worse. If he‘s going to kill her, fine, but let her live her life as she chooses until then. She
to tell him..” “Please, Talon… For once, think about her. You both already
caused her so much pain. Just let her have this… Please don‘t tell him she knows.” Taking a deep breath,
nodded my head, not saying another word. Vicky hesitated for a moment before
quickly turning and walking out of my bedroom. Inner turmoil tore through me, and my
wolf roared inside me. In anger, I picked up the lamp from a nearby table and almost threw it at the wall, ju