Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
“Beasts used to roam this wood,” Dante went on. “They were created by harvesting pain and suffering from the people in the demon dungeons. I had personal experience with that. This one time . . .”
Chapter 6
Aurelia
Ididn’t need to be told to keep my hands together now. I twisted my fingers in nervousness as I spied a village along the edge of the wood. Dante had been doing a great job of keeping my mind off what I was about to do, but now the reality of the situation was sinking in. It was just about time to prove whether Granny had been lying to me all my life, keeping me separate and alone as a means to control me.
I couldn’t imagine anyone heinous enough to do something like that. Try as I might, I simply could not believe anyone could be so cruel.
The moment of truth was upon me.
Weston stopped just outside the tree line, and everyone else with him. Wolves emerged from the shadows around us, one shifting into a robust lady with nipple piercings and buzzed, dyed-red hair.
Weston pulled his long leg from across his horse and jumped down.
“Beta, welcome home,” she said, offering a bow.
I furrowed my brow at the title she used.
“The king and queen are the alphas within the kingdom,” Dante whispered to me, having noticed. “Weston and Micah, the dragon commander, use the title of beta.”
I understood the logic, but still thought it was a little confusing.
“Captain.” Weston glanced at Dante, who walked me up the line, before turning to speak to the woman who’d greeted him. “We’ll need a quick stop here before we head to the castle. Send word to the king and queen. I would like to request an audience with them as soon as I arrive.”
“Yes, sir.” She bowed again, sparing a glance at me before stepping away.
No emotion played across her face, her expression a stone mask, but her eyes didn’t lie. She clearly knew who I was and had a strong distaste for the very air I breathed.
A cold shiver washed through me at the thought of standing in front of the dragon royalty. Animal or no, nothing would be able to save me from their judgment. So much of my life had been spent surviving, and now it could all end tomorrow.
My legs felt wooden, and I scarcely dared to breathe as we neared Weston.
“Hadriel,” he called out as he watched me approach. His expression was as closed down as his captain’s, his eyes hard. He gave nothing away.
I took a steadying breath as Hadriel hurried to my side. Dante stepped back.
It was to me Weston spoke. “Hadriel will ensure you are seen by the village head, who is basically the village alpha. His power level is about three-quarters of Granny’s. The village head will not know why you’re being seen, just that he has to comply with the court. You will need to give him directions. After he answers your questions—”
Weston gritted his teeth, his expression turning frustrated. Something moved behind his eyes, and a heat like lava burned down my sternum. Something must’ve been happening with his wolf.
“He may pull out your wolf, if you’d like,” he finally gritted out. I could tell it cost him dearly to do so.
His eyes zipped back and forth between mine. Electricity crackled between us.
My stomach dropped out, and it suddenly felt like I was free-falling. The lava burned down a little faster, the heat starting to spread through me. Weston’s wolf clearly wanted to be the one to end my suppression. He—or they—didn’t want to leave it in the hands of another.
But I needed a stranger, someone with the same amount of magic as Granny or less, to give me the answers I needed. I needed to put this to bed, and Weston was too powerful for this need.
I nodded, stepped back, and straightened my spine.
“I’m ready,” I said, the wobble in my voice barely contained.
Weston’s burning gaze shifted to Hadriel, whose back bowed immediately under the alpha’s command.
“Watch her,” Weston said. “Straight in, and straight back out.”
“Yes, sir.”
My body shook as we crossed the tree line, walking slowly but still faster than I would’ve liked. This felt like my death march, my doom waiting just up ahead. It occurred to me that I might experience a few of these such walks in the next day or two, waiting for one slice of bad news after the other.
“Having an animal will be a dream come true,” I remembered, licking my lips.
Dried grasses hugged the lane toward a village up ahead. A lone tree grew off to the right, the trunk slightly curved and the branches reaching out over a little tuft of green. It would be a nice place to draw, or just pass the time.
“Of course it will,” Hadriel said, patting my arm. “Just remember, no shifting. You need instruction and guidance for that. It’s very dangerous the first time. I bet you can’t wait to heal quickly, though. I’d forgotten how long non-suppression healing takes. Ugh, ages. What a fucking nuisance, huh? Soon that’ll be behind you.”