The Archduke's Songbird-Chapter 55: Another Meeting

"What are you saying?" Jerrick asked.

He didn’t get what her thought process was to say this to him out of nowhere. Is she still thinking I am doing this for Imogen? How can she be this stupid? And how could she say that I owe her nothing? Did she forget the past entirely?

Jessamyn’s eyes brightened as he was listening to her. She ignored the rising pain in her chest. Her thoughts were simple. "You would want a son, for sure. A fruitless woman like me can give you nothing you deserve..." She gritted her teeth as his hold on her arms tightened.

"Fruitless woman? Kindly elaborate on that..." Jerrick’s sharp eyes landed on her.

Jessamyn clutched her chest in pain. But it looked like he wouldn’t let her go unless she explained. "I~" she let out a sharp exhale as his eyebrows twitched. "I was married for three years and couldn’t provide my husband with an heir. You shouldn’t marry me when you have a lot of healthy young women..."

She gritted her teeth unable to bear the pain in her chest and bowed her head to stop looking at him. But she didn’t regret what she said. It was the truth. If he wanted to marry her for Imogen, then there was no need to do that whether she liked Imogen or not.

She desired to alleviate him from any sense of obligation he felt towards her.

They could go their ways from here on out.

No one owed the other anything for them to enter a marriage without love and when both of them were in love with someone else. It could not be a marriage when both of them wish they were with someone else. Even if they had children, what kind of life would the children have?

She hoped he had the maturity to accept it.

His hold on her arms loosened and he pulled her closer to his chest. Her cheek rested on his warm chest and he placed his hand on the top of her head. From there, he slid his hand down to her neck and through her spine.

He looked down and Jessamyn shut her eyes as his warm breath fell on her ears. Her heart raced wondering what he might do. Each passing second felt like an eternity as she heard her booming heartbeat.

She tried to push him back but he held her closer. It was not just her heart pounding; she felt his heartbeat on her too.

He licked her earlobe sending shivers down her spine. "I know how to make you carry my son, Songbird. Don’t you worry about it and do what I say..." His deep voice reverberated in her ear. The chill that spread by the wetness on her ear was warmed up by his deep breath lingering on her ear.

His hand on her back gripped her tightly as if he was claiming her as his own. His embrace was firm, conveying a sense of ownership and possessiveness. It was eerie and frightening.

Jessamyn’s heart shook with fear. The pain was no more but a dark feeling rose from her gut that was unfamiliar to her. The darkness grew like a shadow spreading its evil tentacles around her and smothered her. She felt trapped.

Songbird... Every time he called her that, she felt weird.

"The Jessamyn you knew...Your Songbird is dead. She died the moment you kissed Imogen," she said.

She realized they were already in the castle and jumped from the horse without thinking twice. He didn’t stop her anymore. Without turning to look at him, she ran right to her room and locked the door.

She couldn’t sleep the entire night as a sense of dread lingered in her heart. She wanted to leave but she knew she couldn’t if she wanted Ethan’s safety. She fell asleep only when the sun came up. When she woke up it was noon already.

She sat on the bed, staring at the distance. Lynae brought her food and she finished it. Only when Isadora brought Little Lambert to her room, did she feel a little better.

She told him some stories and the boy listened to her with his eyes wide. He was intrigued by her storytelling.

A bunch of people came to her room, bringing this and that for the wedding preparations. They wanted her opinion. She pretended to care and picked whatever was closer to her. She couldn’t concentrate on anything.

Sun went down and the time for the moon to rule the sky came; her dread rose with the moon. She pretended to be asleep until Isadora fell asleep. Around midnight, she sat on the bed hugging her knees, not knowing what she should do.

Three days passed, with her staying awake in dread. In the mornings, she pretended everything was fine in front of others, and at night, she sat staring blankly. On the third night, she was fed up with everything.

Her eyes ended up at the window. The wolf she saw that night came to her memory. Without thinking twice, she got her coat and jumped out of the window.

The dogs didn’t bark at her and she walked straight through the pathway to the forest. At a particular place, she thought she smelled jasmine but she walked away.

Jasmines don’t survive Roche.

She walked deep into the forest around the place where she met the wolf the previous day. But there were no signs of the wolf. She ended up sitting by a tree, placing the lantern by her side. She watched the tree branches swaying to the tune of the wind, and the filtered moonlight falling on the floor was as gorgeous as a painting.

"We meet again!"

She turned to the side, hearing the cheery voice. As she suspected, it was the white wolf. Her lips curved up unconsciously as if she were meeting an old friend.

"Greetings, High One," she did a bow.

The wolf stopped and stared at her. It was odd to see facial expressions on the face of a wolf, but Jessamyn saw playfulness on the wolf. The impressive aura was still around, and the glowing eyes instilled a reverence in her heart, but the playfulness overcame every other feeling.

"High One?" The wolf asked with a chuckle.

"You talk..." Jessamyn furrowed her brows and observed closely.

"Nice observation," the wolf chuckled and walked closer to her.

"But your mouth doesn’t move..." She observed. "And yet I hear you. How?"

"Her Ladyship should know that wolves don’t have voice boxes as humans do," the wolf said and sat by her side.

Jessamyn couldn’t help but observe the wolf with awe. Even when it was sitting, it was taller than her.

"But you turn into a wolf from a human. Do your human parts get replaced with wolf parts?" she asked. She was intrigued.

The wolf didn’t answer.

"Who are you? Are you Lycaon Wulfhednar?" she asked. She wanted to ask if he was working for the Council but she didn’t. She needed to be careful not to spill any secrets.

The wolf’s glowing yellow eyes ended on her.