Page 57 of Heart of the Wolf
An oppressive cloud pressed down on them, the intensity of it cloying the air and making her want to gag.
“What have you done? Went and became a whore to some heathen,” her father spat. “I was better off thinking you were dead.”
Shocked by his accusations, she froze.
A deafening crack shook the barren trees when the back of his hand connected with her cheek, snapping her head to the side with its force. Stinging heat erupted at the spot where he slapped her. Blood dripped from the tiny gash split open by his ring.
Brielle fought against the sob lodged in her throat that had nothing to do with the physical pain, refusing to show weakness. Delicately, she cupped her cheek, biting back the tears that threatened to spill free, keeping the cool look etched on her face.
Before she had time to react, an ancient power shuddered the rooftops. The force tore at the veil betweenthis world and the next as beams of purple and golden light encased them.
The air crackled with the sound of bending bones and snapping sinew. Thick white fur rippled across Leif’s haunches, already standing on end. Clawed paws dug into the earth, shredding through frost and dirt as a deep, resonant growl hissed through his fanged muzzle.
Screams rippled out from the villagers, some running toward the woods while others sought shelter in their homes.
Amund chuckled, content to watch the scene unfold before him. Fingertips flexed on the hilt of his axe as he scrubbed a hand through his well-groomed beard.
The moment his paws touched the ground, Leif bounded forward.
The man Brielle no longer considered her father was pinned to the hard ground before he had a chance to think about running. Pearlescent fangs glittered in the sun as jaws snapped and bit down on nothing in the air near her father’s face. Genuine fear appeared in the depths of his beady eyes. Tears tracked down her father’s cheeks as he begged for mercy.
He had been handsome once, skin tanned by the sun and waves of nut-colored hair falling over his face.
However, years of overindulgence and greed corrupted him, mixing with the grief of her mother’s death, twisting him into something unrecognizable.
“Oh, God. Please. D… Don’t. I didn’t. Didn’t mean to offend. I wa…was surprised to see my only daughter alive. I grieved her so.”
A rattling breath felt wet in Brielle’s lungs. Even now, he used her to save himself.
It was all a lie.
Copper stained her lips as she rolled them between her teeth, biting back every unkind thing she wanted to say. Each swallow she forced down was rougher than the last, saliva turning to ash in her mouth.
Ears twitching, her wolf turned his muzzle toward her. The cerulean irises swirled into a soft shade of gray, just for her.
An unspoken question passed between them. He was leaving the decision up to her; Leif would spare her father’s life if she wished it.
But what he had done wasn’t worth forgiveness in Leif’s eyes. It was treason. If anyone else had laid a hand on Brielle as her father had, they would already be dead.
Pinpricks tingled across her nape, acutely aware of every stare fixed on her.
For the first time, the burden of being Leif’s wife, the Dróttning, weighed heavily on her. No one could be allowed to treat her like that.
Not anymore.
After spending an entire life letting others treat her as less than, she finally had the strength to stop it.
Usually, Brielle considered mercy to be a merit of character. But not now. Today, mercy would be a weakness, one that she refused to have.
Amund and their people eyed her, curious what choice she would make and what kind of Dróttning she would be.
Quieting her wild heart, she laced her fingers at her waist. She declined to look at her pitiful father, and kept her gaze locked with Leif’s. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she dipped her head in silent permission.
She exhaled a thankful breath when Amund moved to block her view in the split second before Leif attacked.
Blood-curdling screams wailed in the stagnant air as Brielle heard the now familiar sound of flesh being torn from bone.
Her eyes flickered open, but she kept her gaze trained on the ground below her. It didn’t take long before her father’s screams gurgled into nothingness.
