Page 78 of Settle Down, Princess

“So I must challenge him?” I asked. “How?”

She chuckled as her friends clustered closer.

“The woman sets the tone,” one said.

“Perform a little dance that will blow his mind and have his wick stiffening,” said another.

“Get him dancing to your tune,” Fern added with a nod. “That’s how it works here, what my brother has forgotten. Women decide whether to accept a bond, not the males. And if he needs a reminder…”

But I didn’t see Creed right now. Jorahs arms crossed his chest, his eyebrow cocking in pure insolence as he regarded me steadily. Gods, I was sure I knew how this worked now. The music picked up again as my hands went to my hips, my body jerking in one direction then another, marking the beat of the drum, but it was the way that arrogance faded, replaced by something far hungrier, that spurred me on.

I strode forward, my legs following the curling trill of the penny whistle, but right as he went to meet me, I spun around and stalked away. My hips twitched, an exaggerated version of a woman’s swaying walk, and by the shouts of the crowd, Jorah followed my every movement. Before I could get far, a hand slapped down on my arm.

I was spun around again just as he had done so often tonight, but it felt different this time. The crowd was a roaring, laughing blur as I was brought decisively back into his orbit. Right when he thought he had me in hand, I twisted free of his grip. For a second, I just sucked in a breath, my chest heaving as the need to run rode me, but the deepest part of me would never allow me to turn tail like that. I danced back as my eyes narrowed, clearly showing that I would neither play along nor be let myself be led. Good natured abuse and catcalls landed on Jorah’s shoulders, which he bore with a smile. He shrugged and then held out a hand, making clear that he was offering now, not trying to take.

It wasn’t hard to see another in his place. No make that four others. To see blue eyes or amber, hazel or green, staring into mine as the offer was made. But they hadn’t asked, hadn’t offered, and that was likely the larger part of why I accepted Jorah’s hand now. The crowd cheered as my palm slapped against his, his fingers closing around mine like a steel trap as he brought me closer.

Because I’d made the decision about where I wanted to be, the press of his body, the sway of it against mine, was a good thing rather than an imposition. This time when we moved, we did so together. Was it still a challenge? If it was, I wondered who had won and who had lost. I didn’t know, nor did I care. In Jorah’s arms I was comfortable, relaxed even… I let out a sigh that seemed to come from the very depths of my soul right before he sent me spinning out again, though not too far. I had his hand to cling to as I felt the dizzying sensation of the whole world swirling around me, but he was there anchoring me.

Finally, he spun me back and the crowd roared as my hands slapped down on his leather breastplate, but it was all just background noise as I stared into Jorah’s eyes. Those hazel depths looked as if they possessed a world of mischief, and part of me wanted to find out why. The fiddler seemed to think whatever challenge I’d posed was resolved and called for others to step forward as Jorah pulled me with him out of the crowd.

“That was great fun,” he said, not letting go of me for a second. “But Mother Marian made clear to all of us that we mustn’t allow you to tire yourself out.”

“Too late,” I gasped, feeling the throb in my head for the first time.

“Well, then I’ll need to escort you home, if that’s all right with you?”

Choices, more choices, each one far more seductive than anything else he could’ve told me.

“I’d appreciate that, Master Jorah,” I said, placing my hand on his muscular forearm.

Chapter 45

Creed

“The woman chooses.”

I heard my own words echoing around in my head, mocking me with every iteration as I stood on the outskirts of the dining hall. Because their content remained true, the elders had worked hard to make that clear. A female wolf shifter could fight like the devil himself—the tales of them protecting their children from invaders were legendary—but even one of our females could be overcome by a group of determined males. So the importance of consent was impressed on us boys from when we were young.

And what happened to all those worthy lessons once I met my mate?

The sense of guilt and shame wracking me at what I had done was what kept me pinned to the spot, but all that control shattered when I saw that bastard, Jorah, lay hands on my mate. The wolf lunged forward, fangs bared, dying to burst free. Fur prickled across my skin as a low growl trickled from my chest. I had just told Silas that we needed to prove ourselves worthy of Jessalyn, yet there was I, snarling like a dog on a leash.

“Now you’re seeing things right.” Roan shot me a look. “Who’s that big fucker, and why the hell is he touching our girl?”

“Jorah…” was all I managed to force out.

“More like Worm Food.” Silas gripped the hilts of his knives tight. “Roan, you circle around and distract the bastard. I’ll slip in behind and—”

“Do what?” Arik wasn’t sounding like our brother right now. Those were the crisp clipped tones of the commander. “What will you do, Silas? Kill a wolf shifter on pack land, starting a goddamn war between humans and shifterkind?” His words were a slap to the face, helping me see sense, and then he turned back to stare at the other two. “And in front of at least a hundred different witnesses.” He crossed his arms as he watched that prick draw our girl closer. “If we’ve learned anything, it’s not to get caught doing what we must.”

“So we draw him out and away from Jessalyn?” Silas’ tone changed with each word as he warmed to the topic. “Down one of the laneways and then I can—”

His words washed over me, making less and less sense as the wolf pushed at me. Jorah was getting closer and closer to Jessalyn, and his body was swaying into hers. His hands rose, and I knew why. Because he wanted to run them down her curves, learn the geography of her body, then claim it for his own. And rather than flinch away or spit with anger, Jessalyn turned towards him and smiled.

This was the way it was supposed to have been with me. I was moving, hearing people’s shouts but unable to respond to them. The wolf was savage, with me, with Jorah, wanting to bite everyone and everything as he paced back and forth, and all I could do was storm forward. It wouldn’t help. That thought maddened the wolf because he couldn’t accept that there was no way we could be with our mate. Mine, that’s what he insisted, over and over. Mine, mine—

My legs slammed into a chair, and the high-pitched skid of it across the floor was like a red rag to a bull. As my hands clasped the back of it, Jorah’s went to Jessalyn’s shoulders in the dance. As I heard the wood creak, he turned her towards him and away from me, and that made it worse. She smiled up at him in a way I’d never seen her look at me, and that meant the end of the chair. I sent it hurtling through the air. When it crashed to the ground, it shattered to pieces, just as my heart did the same.

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