Page 45 of Their Witch Bride

My heart feels warm and happy as we head out of the room. A friend. A real friend. Is that even possible?

“Besides,” she says, “not even all the packs are alike. We’re all a little different.”

I can barely contain my excitement at the opportunity to learn more about the packs. “How are the wolf packs different?”

She smiles as we walk. “Well, our pack, Pack Talon, is the largest and most powerful of the wolf packs, which is why Prince Rinan and Prince Drogo spend so much time here. We have more to handle, and Prince Arlys is the only child of his generation. Prince Rinan’s pack is Pack Silver. Pack Silver tends to have mostly girls, which is probably obvious given that Prince Rinan has three sisters. But their numbers are so small, it doesn’t help to balance the fact that there are still far more men than women among our kind. Their lands are also the most fertile, and, arguably, the most beautiful. They tend to focus a little less on war and a little more on learning and expanding their cities. Prince Drogo’s pack, Pack Fury, is dominated by men. Women are few and far between, and their focus is on war. They want to destroy the wit– well, the witches, or at least they did, more than any other pack. They send the greatest number of soldiers to the war, and take great pride in doing so.”

I can tell she’s studying me, so I force a smile. “All of that, strangely enough, makes a lot of sense. Prince Rinan seems like someone used to being around women, while Prince Drogo–”

She surprises me by laughing. “Yeah, he’s got some rough edges.”

I laugh too. “I hope I’ll get to see all the pack lands.”

She nods. “I imagine after you’re done– after things are settled, you’ll see all of the wolf shifter territory.”

Some part of me feels like there’s something she’s not telling me, but I push the feeling aside. There’s enough to be scared of here – I can’t start jumping at imagined things I see in the shadows.

“I would love that!” I admit, excited at the prospect.

My mom has never let me travel. I’d grown up in our small town, in my castle, learning nothing of the outside world. Here, I’m a bit afraid of what’s going to happen to me, but there’s also hope that things might be better than back home. Hearing things like this help me to feel that sense of hope more strongly.

“Oh, and lucky you,” she says, smiling, “the king will be joining us for dinner, so you’ll get a chance to meet him!”

Every happy feeling flees. King Talon. Destroyer of witches. Beast among men. Talon the Bloody. Here, today. If the three princes were frightening, I’m sure that’s nothing compared to the deadly King of the Talon pack… and I'm about to dine with him.

SIXTEEN

Tara

The great dining hall is wall-to-wall wood, with the exception of the stone around the fireplaces: one for each wall. It's cozy here, and nothing like I thought it would be. For some reason, I was picturing aggressive dogs racing around fighting over the food the savage shifters threw on the floor, while the shifters drank until they were stumbling about the room.

Instead, it’s not scary, it’s just different. It's all warmth where everything at the coven is cold. It's all wood and natural where my home was just stone. For some reason, I think I like it.

I’ve never been in a room with this many men before though. The long table is literally just full of men, at least two dozen of them. I recognize some of the faces, but there are a few faces I've never seen before too. Prince Arlys, Prince Drogo, and Prince Rinan are seated near the end of the table, all three of them freshly showered and in their finest clothes.

Wow, they look incredible. Fabric was not meant to cling to muscle like that, I’m sure of it, or women everywhere would be too busy running into walls while gaping at the incredible display.

Licking my lips, I try to look away, but I can’t. Prince Arlys looks noble, every inch of him. I’ve never met a fae before, but with his long black hair, brilliant green eyes, and toned body, I would believe him if he said he was one. Prince Rinan combines sweet and sexy like no one I’ve ever seen in my life. When I read stories about far off princes in my books as a girl, I pictured someone like him. Strong, with high cheekbones, perfect blond hair, and dripping with sexual prowess. He’s just plain… yummy.

And then there’s Prince Drogo. He’s hot. There’s no denying it. He has the energy of a wild animal you really want to tame, but not too much.

Stop staring. What’s wrong with you? They don’t even like you.

Before I can take a breath, their gazes move to me, and I stand up a little straighter, my body tightening. Their expressions are impossible to read, and I wonder what they’re thinking. Three remarkably beautiful men married to someone as plain as me. Does seeing me disappoint them? Or do they not care enough to be disappointed?

“Don’t be nervous,” Lady Scarlet whispers beside me, patting my arm.

Every muscle in my body is tense. “Easier said than done.”

This time, she squeezes my arm, and the movement would be reassuring if the three men weren’t still staring at me. Assessing me. Judging me and finding me lacking.

When they look away from me, I release a slow breath. My gaze moves to the end of the table, and, of course, there's the king in all his glory.

Except, he’s not all that glorious.

From the descriptions I've been told, I expected the king to be a giant of a warrior who would exact death upon all of his enemies. He was bigger than life in my imagination, and deadlier than any one being should be. But the man sitting at the head of the table… is not that. He’s the opposite. His face is gaunt, and he's all skin and bones, like he has dwindled away to almost nothingness.

There’s no doubt in my mind that he's sick, deathly ill. I’ve only seen one person as sickly-looking as him before, and he didn’t make it long after he started to waste away like that. Just the sight of the king has my eyes stinging and my pulse racing.

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