Chapter 491-He Always Wins

Chapter 491: 491-He Always Wins

Verity:

After everything that had happened, after all the fear he’d managed to stir up inside me, one breath of his scent was enough to send my mind somewhere entirely different.

A strange sense of comfort washed over me, so overwhelming that, for a moment, I desperately wanted him to stay exactly where he was.

I didn’t want him to pull away.

But he did.

He gently adjusted the pillow beneath my head before straightening up and stepping back.

"Get some sleep, love. It’ll be a while before the drug is completely out of your system," he remarked, his gaze wandering around the room.

"Until then, I’ll go and check all the evidence," he added in a low, almost unsettling whisper.

And just like that, all the comfort I’d felt moments ago gave way to confusion.

Did this man actually care about me, or was he only pretending?

Despite my reluctance, I eventually had to close my eyes and get some sleep, even though I knew Ragnar was roaming around the house like an investigator, checking every little corner.

I had no idea how much time had passed before my eyes finally fluttered open.

A dull ache still lingered throughout my body from lying on one side for so long, leaving that entire side almost completely numb.

I stretched beneath the blanket, enjoying its comforting warmth, until the memories of everything that had happened before I passed out came rushing back.

I immediately sat upright in bed.

It was dark now.

I had arrived at the cabin around seven in the evening, and everything had happened shortly afterward, before I lost consciousness.

The steady ticking of the clock was the only sound inside the room, but I had no idea what time it was.

The curtains were drawn, blocking any light from outside, so for all I knew, it could already be morning.

Yet the crickets chirping beyond the cabin made me suspect it was still nighttime.

"You had a good sleep, didn’t you?"

A voice emerged from one of the corners of the room, and I immediately clutched the blanket against my chest.

A moment later, I heard the click of a lamp switch, and a warm glow illuminated the corner.

Ragnar was sitting comfortably in a large armchair angled toward the corner of the room, one leg loosely crossed over the other and both arms resting along the armrests as he watched me.

I didn’t answer him. Instead, I pushed the blanket aside and dragged myself toward the edge of the bed, determined to get up.

But the moment I stood, a wave of dizziness swept over me, forcing me to sit back down.

"The wolfsbane hasn’t entirely left your system yet," he remarked, bending one arm to rub two fingers beneath his chin before lowering his hand again.

I remained perched on the edge of the mattress, my legs dangling over the side and my fingers curling tightly around its edge.

"Are you going to get me arrested now?" I asked without lifting my gaze from the floor.

"After I’ve publicly exposed your tricks and deception?" he questioned.

I slowly raised my head to meet his eyes.

"You do realize that plotting against an Alpha King, let alone three of them, is enough to have you branded a traitor to the pack?"

His voice remained unnervingly calm, and that was what frightened me most about Ragnar.

Whenever he became too comfortable, he seemed to retreat behind an impenetrable shell, making it impossible to decipher what was going on in his mind.

"I’m just surprised you managed to keep this up for so long," he continued, uncrossing his legs and shifting his lower body into a more comfortable position.

He stretched his legs out in front of him, never taking his eyes off me.

"You came here with the intention of murdering someone."

At that, he let out a quiet chuckle.

He had probably gone through the bag I’d brought with me as well.

"Just when I think you can’t surprise me anymore, Miss Verity," he commented.

Then he planted both hands firmly on the armrests and pushed himself to his feet, rising to his full height.

He pulled a cigar and a lighter from his pocket and proceeded to light it.

"Go freshen up and get changed. I don’t think we’ll be leaving here soon," he remarked after taking another drag of his cigar, making his way toward the bedroom door.

My gaze drifted to a hanger on the side of the room, where I noticed a dress hanging.

Of course, it wasn’t mine.

Oswin had packed only a set of lingerie in the bag he’d brought for me, while the one I’d carried contained nothing but weapons and all kinds of cleaning supplies to dispose of the body and get rid of any evidence.

I got to my feet, grabbed the brown dress, and headed into the bathroom for a shower, hoping it would help clear the lingering fog from my head.

Everything that had been discussed was far too important for me to ignore, and I knew I had to handle the situation very carefully.

Still, I wasn’t sure how much longer I could fool Alpha King Ragnar, especially when he seemed thoroughly irritated by the whole ordeal.

And why wouldn’t he be? After all, I’d been playing games with his brothers right under his nose.

Once I’d finished dressing, I stepped out of the bathroom with my hair still damp and made my way toward the living room.

But before leaving the bedroom, I glanced at the clock on the wall.

It was two in the morning.

When I stepped into the living room, I was shocked by what I saw, although it didn’t take me long to figure out what had happened.

Oswin was nowhere to be found, and the couch cushions, soaked with his blood, had been removed and piled in one corner of the room.

Ragnar emerged from the kitchen carrying food that appeared to have been delivered to the cabin.

With a cigar tucked between his lips, he began arranging the food containers on the table before straightening his back, taking another drag, and scratching the back of his neck.

"Have a seat, Miss Verity," he instructed, finally turning his attention toward me and gesturing at the couch with the cigar between his fingers.

"What did you do with Oswin?" I questioned.

It wasn’t as though I cared about him, but I needed to ease Ragnar into a conversation.

"You don’t want to know," he replied, keeping his gaze fixed on me as he waited for me to sit down.

I reluctantly lowered myself onto the couch, my eyes drifting toward the door.

I could make a run for it, but where would I go? And what good would running do me anyway?