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)
“I’m here, Little Wolf. It’s okay.” Weston’s body brushed my heels as he climbed up behind me. He hooked his arms under me to brace on either side of the ladder. “Where you headed?”
“Oh, you know, the usual. Just heading out onto the roof so that I could find some other open window and escape some sort of unknown terror coming with you. Nothing big.”
“I’m afraid to lean against you. Are these . . . burns? Is that a piece of glass?”
I rested my chin on a rung. “They haven’t all worked their way out yet.”
“How— Why—” I felt his sigh against my neck. “Let’s get you down, okay? Let’s not flee some unknown terror by climbing out the window.”
“It’s the king. I don’t know who is more terrified of that guy, me or my wolf, but he is the unknown terror. I can’t get around it. He makes me lose my senses.”
“He’s a very powerful alpha. I think that’s what the problem is. He’s the alpha of a place in which you don’t feel safe. Your wolf—probably you, too—feel the threat of his power, and, knowing you can’t fight it, you run. It’s primal, baby. We’re going to ease all that in a few hours when we shift, okay? We’re going to work through that.”
“I don’t feel that way with the queen.”
“The queen does not view all outsiders as an inherent threat. The king does because of his life during the curse. It’ll wear off, I promise. Let’s get down.”
I let him help me down before he looked me over, his expression pained. “Gods, Aurelia, what have you done?” He pulled out a piece of glass before bending around me to check my backside. His angry eyes belied the frustrated pain coming through the bond, and he shook his head at me. “Stop this. I won’t have you hurting yourself like this.”
“It’s okay. It’s doesn’t hurt, honest.”
His gaze bored into me, intense and penetrating. He would know I spoke the truth because he could feel my lack of pain through the bond. Still, he was not pleased in any way.
He put his fingers under my chin and tipped it up so he could plant a soft kiss to my lips. His soft growl sent shivers through me. “You still smell like me. Good.”
Holding me by the hand, he walked with me along the second-floor balcony landing and to the stairs.
“He’s here,” I warned, embarrassed by my lack of courage.
“Yes. When he heard what state you were in, he wanted to come see for himself. Finley didn’t do you justice.”
“The queen told on me?”
“Yes. Why, who did you expect ratted you out?”
I didn’t say, and he didn’t push. We reached the bottom of the stairs and found the king waiting. He wore a plain black shirt, faded blue jeans, and worn black shoes that had long since lost their shine. His hair was in messy spikes, and a dark shadow dusted his defined jaw. His predatory eyes tracked my movements, and I stopped where I was. Honestly, whatever the reason, it was just fucking madness to get too close to that guy. Madness. He could snap me in half, and he seemed too unpredictable to gauge if or when that might happen.
“Aurelia,” the king said, his hands behind his back. “I’m Nyfain. My mate has expressed some concern that you are going to kill yourself before we can do it for you.”
He gave me what appeared to be a genuine half-smile, his eyes glimmering with humor to sell it. He was using Hadriel’s joke. Coming from him, it wasn’t all that funny. Still, I could tell he was trying to put me at ease, a kind thing for a king to do.
I played along. “Nah. I’ve learned how much dragons like violence. I wouldn’t want to rob you of the pleasure.”
His smile increased and he nodded. “Much appreciated. You have glass sticking out of you, like a porcupine.”
“Yeah. It’ll fall out eventually. Don’t worry, I’ll pick it up once it does. I don’t leave it lying around or anything.”
“It’s the truth,” Vemar said from the table where my books were stacked. I hadn’t noticed him heading that way, but I’d still been on the ladder, trying desperately to climb out a window. “Very considerate, this crazy wolf. Very considerate.”
“And the burns—did you need some salve for those?” Nyfain was scanning my limbs.
“Oh no, it’s fine. I heal really fast now. Except for this whole need-to-climb-out-of-windows nonsense, the magic is really great.”
“Yes.” He twisted so he could see Vemar. “Where are your scrapes and bruises?”
“Nothing to see here. She made sure I had armor while she played hero. I’m right as rain.”
Now the king focused on Weston. “You didn’t send someone after her about this?”
“I did. Me. Finley was the first I’d heard of it.”