Henry's POV

Henry still couldn't believe that Lizbeth was standing in his room. He never thought he would see her again or yet speak to her after their last phone call.

He'd spent so many nights restraining the urge to pick up the phone and apologise, just wanting to hear her voice one more time. It didn't matter if she was mated to his enemy, she was still his best friend.

She was as beautiful as he remembered, looking like a princess with her glittering blue gown fitting snug on her body. He couldn't understand how Aiden could let her leave Norhaven, let alone cheat on her, she was his one true mate, blessed by the moon goddess.

It appeared that meant nothing to him. Henry's reigns in his surfacing anger, he didn't need to upset her further. She had become more relax since entering his room, looking around with a faint smile resting on her lips.

He wished she could stay here with him but his fathers intentions played on the edge of his mind.

His previous actions had shown how ruthless he was in his pursuit of destroying the Norhaven pack and Henry didn't want to give him the opportunity to use Lizbeth. The words he used to reprimand him when Henry didn't alert him to Lizbeths arrival had only sent more alarm bells ringing .

Henry still couldn't forget the time he was forced to ask Lizbeth for information on the Norhaven pack. He still hadn't forgiven himself for placing her in that position or the strain it had placed on their relationship.

It only emphasized the importance of protecting her whilst she was here. There would be a lot of people in this pack who would happily murder her despite any consequences. The wounds that Everdale had caused were still raw amongst many members of the pack, the trauma and need for vengeance was inter-generational, continuously being passed down.

Lizbeth had no clue how dangerous it was for her to come here. Even if Aiden didn't love her, he couldn't comprehend how he was stupid enough to let his mate, his one weakness enter into his enemy's pack.

He hated thinking of Lizbeth as a weakness but she was still so incredibly naive when it came to the werewolf world.

No wolf in there right mind would enter willingly into the enemy pack unless they had a death wish.

Pulling himself from his thought, he feels Lizzie's gaze on him.

"You still kept it" Lizbeth says in disbelief, holding up the pine cone that sat on his desk.

It was one of his fondest memories, autumn had finally graced Everdale when he and Lizbeth had gone for a stroll in the forest. This had been back when he was still hoping that she was his mate.   They'd spent the afternoon enjoying the suns warmth whilst competing to see who could find the most symmetrical pine cone.

"Of course" Henry responds. "I would never throw out something you gave me"

Henry watches as her cheeks form a pink tinge.

"Henry I'm-"

"Please don't Lizbeth, I know exactly what you're going to say. We already discussed this outside, it wasn't your fault"

"But" she says, stubbornly.

"We'll talk after you have a shower, here take this"

Lizbeth only nods, it appeared that the exhaustion was beginning to weigh on her.

Henry turns pulling his drawers open and passing Lizbeth a clean baggy t-shirt.

"There's fresh towels in there"  Henry gestures to his ensuite.

"Thank you" she smiles at him but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Please take as much time as you need"

She nods before closing the door.

As the water turns on, Henry begins to assess the sleeping situation. The bed was massive but he didn't know if Lizbeth would feel comfortable sleeping in it.

They used to have sleepovers all the time but Henry knew this time it would be more complicated.

Something vibrates on his desk, distracting him from his thoughts. Henry walks over to find Lizbeth's phone vibrating almost frantically as if the caller on the other end was begging her to pick up.

Henry didn't need to turn the phone over to look at who was calling. Aiden's name with a love heart was on her screen, he wanted to be sick.

Nausea always swelled in the pit of his stomach whenever he remembered that Aiden was mated to his best friend. The call finally stops as Aiden is sent to the 'please leave a message after the beep'. He relishes the moment of silence before the phone begins vibrating again.

Henry glances towards the bathroom, the shower was still running and after everything Lizbeth had experienced in the past few hours, Henry had the feeling that Aiden wouldn't rest until she called him back.

Saving her the hassle of talking to him, Henry swipes to answer the phone without giving it another thought.

"Elizabeth" Aiden sounds relieved and it takes all of Henry's strength to not crumble the phone in his hand.

"Elizabeth, I'm so sorry, it's not how it looks" Aiden rambles whilst Henry keeps silent

"Please turn the car around, it's not safe in Everdale"

"She's safer with me than she ever was with you" Henry snarls

There's a pause in the conversation and for a moment Henry thinks he's hung up the phone.

"Where is she" Aiden says darkly

Henry smirks, for once he had the upper-hand. "She's safe"

"Safe" Aiden laughs without humor. "What you're doing is an act of war"

"She came here willingly remember, to escape you" The shattering of glass sent a smile to his face, his words had found their mark perfectly.

"I don't know why the moon goddess continues to let you live you out your miserable existence, to cheat on your mate is unforgivable"

"I didn't cheat on her" Aiden said lividly

Henry could feel his anger through the phone, he couldn't believe how easy it was to rattle him. In fairness, he couldn't deny Aiden's restraint at remaining in Norhaven whilst his mate was in another pack.

Henry didn't know what would happen if the situations were reversed, but he knew that would never happen to him. His mate would fall utterly in love with him.

He just wished that person would be Lizbeth.

"I was trying to resuscitate one of our pack members"  Aiden's voice draws him back to the conversation. "She was my previous girlfriend and from the angle that Elizabeth was looking it seemed as if I was kissing her"

"And why were you trying to resuscitate her" Henry asks, not believing Aiden for a moment.

"There was a rogue attack and she was taken captive. They assumed she was my mate, she was wearing my jacket" Aiden pauses for a moment and Henry takes a moment to thank the moon goddess that the rogues had confused this girl for Aiden's mate. His whole world would stop if he found out that Lizbeth died at the hands of rogues.

"They poisoned her" Aiden whispers as if he himself was still processing the information. "By the time I got to her it was too late, her fingertips were already turning blue"

"What poison" Henry questions, hoping Aiden would give him more information. He knew there was a chance that Aiden could be lying, he had nothing left to lose with his mate in enemy territory, but his gut told him that he was telling the truth.

"Our pack doctor hadn't seen it before, it appeared to draw the oxygen out from the cells, suffocating the victim before it has a chance to seek help"

There's silence for a moment as Henry processes the information. He would need to alert his Father and the pack warriors to this information. They would probably take it lightly as it came from enemy territory but Henry had noticed how brazen the rogues had been lately.

It terrified him that they could create something like this.

"I need Elizabeth back with me" Aiden demanded after the moment of silence

"Why, you don't deserve her, you never did"

"I know, I don't deserve her" Aiden said surprising Henry that he had to look at the phone to double check that he was still talking to Aiden.

"But I will spend the rest of my life making it up to her. Watching her leave me today was the worst feeling I have ever experienced in my entire life. I was about to cross the border before my Father stopped me, forcing me to stay in Norhaven"

"It would've caused  a war"

"And she would've been worth it. She is everything to me

Henry had never heard Aiden speak like this before, not that they had many conversations. He thinks for a moment before he decides to tell Aiden the truth.

"I promise she'll return by Sunday night. I never thought I would say this but you're right, it's not safe for her here"

"She should return home immediately" Aiden argues but Henry ignores him.

"She'll spend the weekend with me before I send her home. If it was my choice she would stay with me forever" Aiden growls but Henry ignores him "But I don't trust my Father's intention"

"What do you mean" Aiden asks, worry creeping into his voice

"Let's just say that not everything I say or do is through my own control"

There's a pause on the other end of the line before Aiden responds with "Understood"

"If she is not back by Sunday midnight, I will be declaring war" Aiden states

"Understood" Henry answers before hanging up the phone.