Page 135 of Oath of Revenge

Scarlet snorted. “The gods were smart then, if they kept me from raising your daughter. I’m not so sure about being a mother.”

Wulfric paused. “If we’re mates, you’re practically her stepmother already.”

Scarlet whirled out of his arms, her hands going wide. “I can’t be the evil queen’s stepmother!”

Wulfric’s hands fisted, and he snatched the cloth from the vanity. Angrily, he wiped his face and ground out, “For the last time, she’s not an evil queen. She’s just misunderstood.”

Scarlet slammed her hands on her hips. “Don’t underestimate her, wolfie. I don’t remember all of that day, but I do remember the flying flesh and bones when the bed exploded and the Robin died.”

He prowled to the window and stared into the night. His chest ached with pent up emotions, and his head was beginning to pound with the effort to process so much information. “So that really happened?”

Scarlet nodded, and walked toward him, leaning on the damask covered wall to face him. “Yes,” she said softly. “It was awful. I still have nightmares about it.”

He scrubbed hard on his jaw, wincing as he reopened a barely scabbing scratch. “When I left, she was barely fifteen. She was mature for her age, probably from reading so much in her spare time, and I was afraid of leaving such an innocent girl in charge of the tavern. But she’d been tossing out drunks for years. I thought she’d be able to handle it.”

Reaching down for the cloth, he blotted his face and shook his head. He was a fool. He never should’ve put her in that position. But when the draft came, he had no other option. The weight of responsibility sat heavy on his shoulders as he tried to wipe away the guilt and shame that threatened to consume him.

“So you never thought she’d so coldly kill someone by wrapping them in blankets and wringing them like a wet dish towel?” Scarlet asked, her brow arched and tone wry.

Wulfric dropped the small cloth onto the floor as if burned. “She was emotional and over-wrought. Let’s say, for example, someone killed your grandma right in front of you like the Robin did to the king. How would you react?”

Scarlet fingered the sheath for her dagger as her eyes flashed. “Don’t you talk to me like that, wolfie. You’re not going to goad me into—“

He raked a hand through the dried blood stiffening his hair. “Into what? Seeing her as human? Seeing that she can make mistakes like any of us? You heard her. She’s been working to fix the curse all this time.”

Scarlet pointed a finger at him and stepped closer. “And you heard her too. The servants that were left here all died. Don’t be fooled, Wulfric. It doesn’t matter if she’s your daughter or not. Be cautious.”

He reared back as if slapped. She was his daughter, and it didn’t matter to her? Gods, she was so cold-hearted. His stomach twisted.

“Oh because keeping people at arm’s length has served you so well thus far, has it.” It wasn’t a question. His jaw clenched as he side-stepped her and prowled to the heavy oak bed frame. He wanted to shred it, tear anything apart.

No mattress remained. Whatever servants had been here had cleaned the room as best they could.

“Hey, I do what I have to to survive.”

He spun on his heels, his hands wide. “No, you do what you must to protect yourself. But if you don’t learn to trust people, especially those who love you, then you’re no better than Brody or Gastone or any of the other selfish bastards who—“

She gasped, and her daggers flashed. “Don’t you dare call me selfish. I’m the one who woke up alone earlier. Where were you? You left me outside the castle walls.”

The air rushed out of his lungs, and he held his head in his hands as he groaned. His chest tightened and his claws retracted.

“Fuck, that’s all I’m good for, isn’t it? I’m a leaver. I left you alone outside while I found a safe spot for the horses. I left Trix—no, Bella—at the tavern while I went to war and became a Growler.”

Silence met his harsh words, but he just panted and pressed the heel of his palms to his eyes. He turned away from her, his shoulders hunched.

“It’s all my fault,” he said softly. “If I hadn’t left, she would’ve been safe and would’ve grown into a different woman. If I hadn’t put the energy into the world by saying she was dead, maybe she wouldn’t be a spirit now.”

“What, like you could’ve protected her from a mad wizard?”

He dropped his hands and cried out, his heart breaking. “Yes! I’m her father. It’s my job to protect her, and I failed. If I’d been here, maybe I could’ve kept her safe.”

Thunk.

He looked up. A dagger quivered in the wooden bedpost, and Scarlet stalked toward it as she talked. “Damn it, Wulfric, you can’t keep everyone safe. It’s not your job. We have to be allowed to make our own decisions. That’s just part of life. Learning from our mistakes and growing into better people. What happened to Bella, what she did… it’s not your fault.”

He breathed deeply, his chest rattling. “Don’t be dense, of course it is.”

She yanked the dagger out and held it up, tip pointed at him, her green gold eyes glittering in the soft light of dusk. “What happens if I choose not to live with the Growlers, huh? What if I keep being a Hunter and you go back to your tribe? What if I choose to live apart?”

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