Magnus stared down at Willow, his expression was completely unreadable as she sat there frozen, with tears still wet on her cheeks.
She waited for him to say or do something, but he just stood there, looking at her like he was trying to figure out what to do with the crying slave he had found in the alcove.
Then, without a word, he turned and started walking away.
Willow watched him go and felt a mixture of relief and confusion. She had expected him to say something cruel or report her to someone for sitting down when she should be working.
She wiped her face with her dirty sleeve, trying to calm her breathing while she watched his broad back move further away from her.
He was tall like Dorian, but where the Alpha King was all sharp angles and harsh lines, Magnus had a more approachable build even though he was clearly strong and powerful.
She was about to let out a deep breath when Magnus suddenly stopped walking. He stood there for a moment with his back to her and she could see his shoulders rise and fall as he let out a long sigh.
Then he turned around and started walking back toward her. Willow felt her whole body tremble instantly. She had no idea what he wanted or what he was going to do.
As he got closer, she could see his face more clearly in the fading evening light and noticed his sandy brown hair that fell slightly over his forehead.
The way his jaw clenched and unclenched like he was having an internal debate with himself. His blue eyes were focused on her and she could feel the difference in their power levels pressing down on her like a physical weight that made it hard to breathe.
Her mind raced with all the possibilities of what he might want from her, and none of them were good.
Maybe he was going to punish her for sitting down when she should be working or maybe he was going to mock her for crying like a weak little omega.
Maybe he was going to do something worse because everyone in her life seemed to take pleasure in making her suffer.
Her father was gone and Isadora and Savannah had tortured her for years and now even her own mate wanted nothing to do with her except to use her body for an heir.
Magnus stopped a few feet away from her and she pressed herself back against the stone wall behind the bench as if she could disappear into it if she tried hard enough.
Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure he could hear it and her hands were shaking as she gripped the edge of the bench.
"Are you okay?" He suddenly asked, his voice softer than she expected it to be.
Willow was so stunned that for a moment she couldn't speak at all. She just stared up at him with her mouth slightly open.
Of all the things she had expected him to say or do, asking if she was okay wasn't even on the list.
She blinked several times, trying to process what was happening. It didn't make sense that the Beta who had agreed with Dorian that she was worthless would care if she was okay or not.
The surprise slowly morphed into anger as she remembered exactly what he had said about her to Dorian. How he had suggested using her for an heir and then throwing her away like she was nothing more than a breeding machine.
Her voice shook when she finally found it, but she couldn't stop the words from tumbling out even though she knew she should keep quiet. He could hurt her easily if he wanted to.
"I heard you," Her voice was trembling but she kept going anyway. "I heard what you said to him about me. How I'm just a slave and not worthy of being his Luna. How he should just use me and throw me away when he's done."
She watched Magnus' face slowly change as she spoke. She saw something that looked like guilt flash across his features.
His blue eyes widened slightly and he took a small step back like her words had physically pushed him away from her.
"That was cruel and mean. You don't even know me, but you decided I was worthless just because of my status," Willow continued even though her whole body was shaking with fear and anger.
"You gave him permission to treat me like I'm nothing and now he threatens to take my child away if I try to leave, and it's partly your fault for encouraging him!"
Her eyes were wide now, her hands clenched into fists as she breathed heavily.
Magnus looked down at the ground, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand while his other hand clenched and unclenched at his side.
When he looked back up at her, his expression was completely different from before. She could see genuine remorse in his eyes which confused her even more because she hadn't expected him to care about her feelings at all.
"I'm sorry," He said gently and the words were so unexpected that Willow felt like the ground had shifted under her feet.
"You're right. What I said was wrong. I shouldn't have encouraged him to treat you that way regardless of your status."
Willow stared at him and had absolutely no idea what to do or say. Nobody had ever apologized to her before, except for Sierra sometimes when Savannah wasn't around to hear it.
She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out because her brain couldn't process this turn of events.
The Beta of the Shadowfang pack was apologizing to her and he actually looked like he meant it.
It made no sense in the world she had learned to navigate where powerful people never admitted they were wrong especially not to someone like her.
The silence stretched between them and grew more awkward with each passing second until Willow couldn't stand it anymore.
She pushed herself up from the bench on shaking legs and brushed past him without saying a word because she didn't know what else to do.
Her mind was spinning and her emotions were all tangled up together and. She needed to get away from him before she said or did something she would regret later.
She could feel his eyes on her back as she walked away, but she didn't turn around and kept moving even though she had no idea where she was going.