Page 38 of Wolf Marked

“Unfortunately Claus was able to get a strike in again,” Erec said.

Filip’s mouth tugged down in a puzzled grimace. “Again? What do you mean?”

“Claus is Jerrick’s hound. He was the one who knocked me out during the raid of Mikel’s camp. The reason I was buried in the snow.” Erec ground his teeth as his rage resurfaced. He should have been the one in Boden’s tent questioning Claus. The bastard owed him answers.

“Oh.” Filip was quiet for a long moment. “Then you should come with me.”

Erec paused, unsure what he meant. “Er—”

“I was going to visit my father’s tent after finding you. Be a part of the questioning,” Filip said with a shrug. “I think you deserve to be there as well. Especially after what he did to you and Mikel. Would you like to ask some things?”

Erec grinned. “Actually, I think Idohave a fewquestions for him.”

The temperature inside Boden’s tent was sweltering. The heat hung in the air like a hazycloud, making sweat bead on Erec’s forehead and upper lip as soon as he stepped inside the cramped space. He wasn’t sure if it was from the large bonfire just outside or from the five massive men squeezed in the single canvas shelter. Six, including Claus’s half-conscious body, which had been tied to a chair that sat at the center. His chin was tucked to his chest. The new gash across his left brow and swollen eyelid hinted that someone had landed at least one good punch on him already.

Kalle and Bec stood behind Claus, shoulder to shoulder, with their hands cupped behind their backs. Bec’s bald head gleamed with perspiration. Although his expression remained stern, unreadable, there was a pleased smirk twisting Kalle’s lips. He must have been the one to knock Claus—payback for having to listen to hours of his blabbering.

Boden hovered over all three, unaware Erec and Filip had entered. As he moved closer to the chair, the top of Boden’s head skimmed the tent’s ceiling. “Now.” His voice boomed. Boden clutched the handle of his broadax so tight, his knuckles were white. “Stop with the games! Tell me what Jerrick is planning. What’s his next move?”

Claus’s chin lifted, his eyes wide with panic. The skin of his face was pale from the loss of blood, almost translucent. He sputtered a cough, causing the middle of his bottom lip to split open.

“I’m losing my patience!” Boden bellowed, raising his weapon. The sharpened stone caught the candlelight and gleamed ominously.

Claus eyed the axe and trembled. “All right!” His voice was barely audible, a raspy whisper full of fear. “I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you!” He took his time swallowing and finding a good position in the wooden chair. When he opened his mouth, only a strained gurgle came out. Erec couldn’t decipher any words from it.

Claus swallowed again, and Boden leaned in.

Then, Claus tilted his head up, closer to Boden’s ear. “You’re. Going. To. Die.” He spit at Boden’s face, but thankfully, the wad of blood and saliva narrowly missed his cheek. Red-stained teeth flashed as Claus threw his head back and burst into a fit of high-pitched laughter.

Boden roared, whipping his axe behind him, ready to deliver a final blow. “You foul little—”

Filip rushed forward and held up his hands to stop his father. “Father, don’t! We need him alive.”

“Don’t you see? Claus wants us to kill him,” Erec added, his pulse racing. “Then wecan’t get any of the information we want.”

Boden froze. His gaze jumped between Erec and Filip, seeing them for the first time since they had entered the tent. “What is he doing in here?” he barked at his son. His red face gained even more color.

Filip, though, kept his tone calm, even when Boden’s alpha spirit lashed out, swirling around the confined space like a tornado. “I brought him. Erec’s my guest.”

Erec could sense Filip’s own alpha wolf receding, becoming only a flicker compared to Boden’s storm.

“This is my private quarters,” Boden growled. His muscles bulged under his chainmail as he glared at Erec. “Get out.”

Erec was about to protest, but Filip’s sharp, “No,” kept him from speaking. Filip pulled his shoulders back, and his wolf reared up again, meeting Boden’s head-to-head. The energy in the room intensified, making it hard for Erec to breathe. The air crackled and sparked around them. Claus’s maniacal laughter echoed in his eardrums, drowning all outside sounds.

Kalle and Bec shifted uncomfortably on their feet. Erec’s skin crawled as power bounced between father and son.

Despite the change in the atmosphere, Filip’s face remained smooth, his demeanor composed. “He stays,” he said.

Boden’s shoulders dropped, and at the same time, his alpha wolf retreated. Immediately, a rush of relief flooded the tent and washed over Erec, as if someone had opened the tent’s flap, letting in the winter chill.

“He can stay,” Boden snapped.

Erec couldn’t believe Boden the Warrior had backed down a second time. Maybe his sickness was affecting him in more ways than they had seen. He was losing control over his alpha wolf, too.

Claus’s wild gaze shot to Erec, and his cackling ceased. Slowly, his expression twisted into sinister amusement. “Where’s the little lady?” he drawled. “Astrid…I believe that was her name. Where is she?”

Liquid fire pumped through Erec’s veins. If he hadn’t reached Astrid when he had back in the forest, who knows what terrible things Claus would have done to her. Just thinking about it made wrath slam against his temples and his vision blur. “I told you never to say her name,” he pushed through a clenched jaw.

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