Page 12 of The Wolf

Brine cocked his head and studied the captain. The man was surprisingly well-spoken for a pirate. He eyed the man’s finely tailored clothes. It was clear he had money and prestige. Once upon a time, only rogues, bandits, and criminals became pirates, but ever since King Destin had been overthrown and replaced with his gentle daughter, the king’s previous, staunchest supporters, who benefited from his corruption and theft of the lower classes, had been subject to increasing scrutiny and punishment. Many had been exiled; more had been imprisoned, and others executed.

And so it was that many wealthy merchants and, in some cases, lords and dukes thrown off their estates, had turned to piracy in order to maintain their wealth and the life they were accustomed to living.

Men like the captain who left their families behind and fled to the seas asmerchants.That’s what they liked to call themselves—the highborn turncoats of Heimserya—but they were pirates through and through. None of their business dealings were legitimate or honest.

Which was why Brine and Chesh were dealing with the sleazy captain.

“We might be inclined to sell these to you,” the captain continued, fixing Brine with a calculating eye. Around the captain, his men subtly folded into a position Brine knew well—shoulder to shoulder, hands inching toward their weapons. This wasn’t a negotiation. It was a mutiny. They were spoiling for a fight. “For the right incentives.”

Brine rolled his neck from side to side. Whatever the captain’s terms were they would not be something either Chesh or Brine could accept. The gems they’d been assigned to procure were unique stones—diamonds from Betraz. They’d already agreed on a price and Brine wasn’t paying a cent more. It was already highway robbery.

“What do you want, old friend?” Chesh asked with a feline grin. “We’ve given you all that we agreed upon.”

“Not quite,” the captain said with a smirk. “We don’t want your gold. There is something else you can acquire for us. We want the female Hound.” Brine’s ears began to ring. “We know you have a connection to her, and there are many who’d pay a fortune to get their hands on the queen’s little bitch. Give us Tempest Madrid and the diamonds are all yours.”

Red descended over Brine’s vision. He wasn’t sure if he or Chesh attacked first.

Pandemonium broke out as Brine tossed a pirate against the wall. His body shook as he locked eyes on the captain, who’d paled to a pasty white. No one went after Brine’s pack.

No one.

Vaguely, he noticed Chesh snatch up the bag of diamonds in question and tuck them away in the fray.

“Kill them!” the captain shouted as he scrambled for the stairs.

Oh no. He wasn’t getting away that easy.

Brine cast a glance at Chesh, who smiled like a loon. They were outnumbered, but they were always outnumbered on these missions, always one step from death. They’d grown accustomed to it. Death was almost a friend these days.

“You want to play with the kitty?” Chesh crooned as three pirates barreled his way. “Then let’s play. Just be warned, my claws are sharp.” Chesh hardly ever shifted. Though his lithe, large, feline body was an asset, he enjoyed the challenge of fighting like a regular human.

Brine didn’t have the same quirks. He didn’t waste another moment and shifted, feeling his muscles and bones warm, expand, and shift.

Vicious delight filled him as the scent of fear grew stronger in the bowels of the ship. His shifted state could make a grown man pee himself. Pirates scrambled back and fled in all directions. His ears flattened as the captain ran up the stairs. Brine snarled and dodged to the right as a brave pirate took a swipe at him. He darted forward and bit the man on the arm. The pirate screamed and dropped his sword.

One down. Many to go.

Between Brine’s teeth, claws, and sheer size, supplemented with some deft swordwork from Chesh defending his flank, it wasn’t hard to clear the room. They hacked and snarled and jabbed and tore their way out of the belly of the ship leaving terrified, broken pirates in their wake.

Brine bound up the stairs and launched himself onto the open deck.

The air was filled with screams and the tang of iron.

His heart raced, his blood rushing through his veins in almost an intoxicating way. This was what he loved, moments when he was protecting his pack.

Fighting had always made Brine feel truly alive. But lately the thrill of the fight felt hollow, and he couldn’t pinpoint why.

Chesh cackled as he lit the nearest sail on fire. He wiggled his brows at Brine as it lit up like a gigantic candle. “Time to go. I rigged some of their black powder to blow.”

That was all he needed to hear.

He followed Chesh off the ship and onto the pier as the first explosion went off. His ears rang but he kept running, keeping pace at Chesh’s side. The feline took too many risks with his own life. But while the cat made Brine want to wring his neck most days, Chesh was as loyal as they came. That wasn’t very common.

They reached the end of the pier and ducked into a shanty, where they’d stashed some of their supplies. Brine calmed his mind and waited for the shift to take place. Once back in his human form, he stood and walked naked to the broken window to watch the pirate ship sink in full view.

“You have the diamonds?” he asked gruffly.

Chesh handed him a bundle of clothes and then opened his jacket, revealing the velvet bag carrying the diamonds. “I do indeed. How could you doubt me?”

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