Page 71 of Fated to the Wolf Billionaire

“As I was saying, this was a horrible event, but surely you can’t hold us responsible for the actions of other visiting?—”

I pulled the coin from my pocket and flipped it in the air. It spun toward him with perfect accuracy, and he snatched it from its arc with the grace of a warrior.

His ruddy cheeks paled as he looked up from the coin in his grip. “Where did you get this?”

“The interior pocket of the lead troll who attacked us. It was inside his leather breastplate.”

“I can assure you I have no idea how he got this, but?—”

“I’d stop right there if I were you, Cysernaphus.” I dropped the hammer I still carried to the stone floor with a discordant clang. “We both know that they didn’t steal that. It’s a royal boon, minted only in the hearts of your dwarven cities for the royal family to promise favors for those who do their dirty work. That one is stamped with the queen mother’s personal imprint, and we both knowexactlywhat that implies. Combined with the fact that my mate sensed that our desserts straight from the royal kitchens had been tampered with? Let’s drop the pretenses.”

He was silent for a beat, and I wasn’t sure if he was going to continue his fruitless denial or admit that his own damn mother had backed him into this position. The desserts had probably been something meant to make us drowsy, easier targets.

If Fiona hadn’t spotted whatever was in them, this night could have ended completely differently.

Because a hired hit by the queen mother of the dwarven people against the high alpha’s diplomatic party who were visiting on official pack business?

It was an all-out cry for war. He couldn’t walk it back without disavowing her, and if he did that, he’d be turning his own flesh and blood over to the wolves—metaphoricallyandliterally speaking—which would almost certainly cause a riot among his people. She would be fair game as a high-value political prisoner with no protection, and he would be reviled for his lack of loyalty and weakness.

From all fronts, it was political suicide.

He clenched his fist around the coin as if he wished he could crush it to dust. But it was dwarven forged, and nothing short of molten lava could destroy it.

“What do you want?”

“Besides going back to the point where someone under my protection was nearly killed, my pregnant pack mate was taken hostage, and we were all attacked under your mother’s orders while under diplomatic immunity?”

He grunted his annoyance, not breaking my gaze.

“I want you to honor the chit.”

His eyes narrowed, and I could practicallyseehis fury in the deep lines etched between his eyes as he scowled at me. “Think carefully about what you’re about to say next.”

“We came here on our high alpha’s orders with a simple request. Give us a fair deal to return that which was stolen from our pack in the first place. It rightfully belongs to us, and as the legal holders of that royal boon, I nowdemandthat you honor the high alpha’s request. We will have the omega stone from your possession for a fair trade, or we will let it be widely known that the dwarven royal family no longer honors their boons, their word is no good, and neither is their diplomatic protection.”

I could hear his back teeth grinding together, but I didn’t give a fuck if he was pissed off. I had him over a barrel, and we both knew it.

He slammed the coin down on the side table next to me with a flattened palm. “Fine. You’ll get your stone. But you’re not going to like the price.”

THIRTY-FIVE

Fiona

We were all still reeling from Reed’s revelations and the king’s response when a doctor pushed through the door, blood smears marring her previously white, pressed tunic.

“Pack mates of Elodie?” she asked, and we all nodded.

“She’s alive.” The doctor’s gaze settled on me, and she smiled slightly. “That was a close one, and if you hadn’t applied pressure so quickly, I don’t think even her wolf healing abilities would have saved her. We’ve given her a transfusion and several bags of fluids, as well as disinfecting and sealing the wound with an alginate adhesive dressing in lieu of stitches, because we believe she’ll heal quickly. The troll saliva poses a bit of a risk because of the anticoagulant, but, once she’s awake, if she wants a vitamin K shot to speed her natural healing processes along, we can provide that as well.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Leigh said, stepping forward to wrap the woman in a hug, bloody tunic and all. “Do you know how much longer she’ll be out or how soon she might be able to travel?”

“Ah, I’m afraid I might have given you a bit of false cheer. We’ve given her what she needs for her body to begin to rebuild, but even for a wolf, this was a grave injury. She’s going to be down for several weeks, and that’s assuming no complications from the troll saliva.”

Weeks? We were going to be stuck underground, surrounded by dwarves who didn’t want us here, forweeks? My chest went tight, and I suddenly wanted to sit down.

“You think she’ll need to stay here the entire time?” Gael asked, and I was very glad they were clearheaded enough to ask the important questions. After “She’s alive,” my rational brain had pretty much checked out.

Never in my life had I been so terrified, and that included the night I’d been chased by wolves and found out all this was real, right under humanity’s nose. When I’d woken up after my magic had lashed out and then hurt Reed, he was already stabilized and in a bed next to me, so I’d missed out on this part—the waiting, the worry.

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