Page 47 of Their Cursed Wolves

To my relief, I can read it on his face. I’m right. Okay, this is something we can work with.

I press on. “Since you seem to know so much about us and our plans, you also know that you could have just waited until we reached your lands and attacked us. You didn’t wait until then, because you actually need us to succeed… which is why you came here to try to join us.”

Maybe. Maybe not. But that’s what my gut is saying. He’s here at the castle to find a way to work with us, so his people are safe too. If he wanted war, he could have had one in a smarter way than walking right into enemy territory.

He studies me, his grin returning slowly. “So you’re smart and beautiful?” he asks, taking a step closer to me.

Prince Drogo lunges towards him and makes contact this time, grabbing him by the shirt. Only, the movement leaves me trapped between the two angry men, which is probably the worst place I could be.

“Enough, Prince Drogo, this isn’t helping anything,” I say, feeling frustrated.

When Prince Drogo glances down at me and realizes his actions have left me pressed between him and the bear, he gets a strange look on his face. Instantly, he takes a step back, pulling me along with him and away from Prince Darkheart. I turn in his arms to glance back at the bear, while he keeps one hand on my lower back, keeping me firmly against him.

What is it with these shifters?

The bear crosses his arms over his chest, looking annoyed for the first time. “We may be willing to help you on your quest, but only if we become part of the alliance.”

When Prince Drogo starts talking, he’s calmer, but there’s an undercurrent of danger in his voice. “There will never be an alliance between us and the bears. And we damn sure aren’t sharing our bride. What else do you want?”

It’s not that I want the alliance, but I also don’t understand why Prince Drogo is so angry about it. He doesn’t care about me, or our marriage. It seems like a simple thing to give to the bears to get access to the mountain.

I shake my head and wait for the bear shifter to respond.

Prince Darkheart’s gaze moves to me and heats. “I want nothing else. I will have my alliance and my bride, or there’s no deal. You will not live long enough to step foot on my mountain. Take it or leave it.”

His ultimatum hits me like a punch in the gut. So, he’s not after something else. He really wants that? Me? No, he wants the alliance, like the other men. I’m just a means to that alliance.

My stomach flips. I can’t do this again. With the three wolves, we have our weird system established. Throwing someone else in, a bear shifter, is too much.

“That’s not going to happen. Ask for something else,” Prince Rinan says, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“No,” Prince Darkheart says, a tick in his jaw.

“We have far more wealth, far more weapons…” Prince Arlys begins.

“I want the girl and the alliance. I’ll negotiate for nothing else.”

“Then you’ll be disappointed,” Prince Drogo says, arm tightening around my back, “because it’s never going to happen.”

“Prince Drogo…” Prince Arlys says softly.

The other man looks back at him in confusion. “You can’t possibly be considering this…”

Prince Arlys seems to choose his words with care. “We have to discuss this offer with my father.”

Offer? Some logical part of me knows they need to think about it given what’s at stake, and that what I want isn’t even a part of their decision, but I wish it was. I wish what I wanted mattered.

“You mean with your father and your bride, right?” I ask, a little anger seeping into my words.

Prince Arlys flinches. “Of course.”

Then Prince Drogo adds, “Although since you married us, you’re no longer the property of your mother. We decide what happens to you.”

“How romantic,” I tell him dryly, even if, in a technical sense, he’s right.

Being a pawn in a game is never fun.

TWENTY

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