My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 116

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Irina

Torin started pacing the length of the room, his heavy boots thudding hard against the floorboards. He pointed a shaking, accusatory finger at me. "And you! You're supposed to have control over her. That was the entire point of you coming here. Aldric sent you to ensure she was playing her part, and she is running wild!"

I didn't flinch at the raised voice. I just stared at him, feeling a wave of absolute, freezing disdain wash over me. He looked so pathetic when he panicked. He looked incredibly small.

"Are you going to go to Aldric yourself?" I asked. My voice dropped into a dangerous, quiet register.

Torin stopped pacing. He stared at me, his chest heaving. "What?"

I kept my eyes locked on his, keeping my face a completely unreadable mask. "Are you going to ride back south, walk into the throne room, and inform the King about how you've been fucking his wife? Because if you want to play the authority card, Torin, if you want to run back to my husband and complain about my lack of control over my daughter, we can start right there. Go ahead. Tell Aldric how weak I am."

Torin’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"That is exactly what I thought," I said softly. I let out a short, cold breath. "So tell me, why did you go ahead and provoke her in the first place? You knew exactly what you were doing. Why push her?"

Torin’s face flushed an even darker, angrier red. The calm superiority in my tone was suffocating him, and I genuinely enjoyed watching him choke on it.

"Is that what you have to say to me?" he demanded, taking a heavy step toward the bed. "She is feral, Irina! This entire arrangement is a complete waste of time. Do you see how Fenris looks at us? He doesn't give a single damn about this alliance. He threatened me. He told me if I showed my face at the feast tonight, he would let his wolves tear me apart on the floor of the Great Hall. He ordered us to leave the second the Blood Vows are over tomorrow."

Torin dragged his hands roughly over his face, his composure completely fracturing. He looked like a man who realized he was trapped in a cage with a predator he mistakenly thought was tame.

"If Aldric is sitting in Valdris right now, thinking Sera is going to capture that barbarian's mind, he is a fool," Torin sneered, his voice dropping into a bitter rasp. "If he thinks she is going to tame him and present the Butcher of the North to Aldric for his own use, he needs to think again." Torin let out a harsh, wet laugh. "Sera is gone, Irina. The girl you raised is gone."