Page 108 of With Fangs and Claws (The Wolf Queen 1)

Chapter 43

Did I do as he asked? I think so, because as soon as he left me, I was up and on my feet, practising the steps we’d learned so far in my own little corner, moving, moving until someone stopped me.

“You think you’re some reincarnation of the Maiden.”

My eyes jerked up to see I was ringed by Malia and her friends now, their bodies forming a wall between me and the rest of the room. I glanced over one of their shoulders and saw that Selene noted where I was with a slow nod of her head.

“What?” I asked belatedly.

“Dear gods, can she take two cocks up her arse?” one of the girls said with a toss of her head. “Because honestly, I do not understand the appeal. The outlander is obviously sub-moronic.”

“It’s this ridiculous fated mate thing,” sneered the blonde-haired girl who had sniped at me before. “Somehow the princes are supposed to ignore good breeding and political connections, for what?” Her eyes slid down my form with barely concealed disgust. “You have no place here.”

“The Hunt of the Maidens is for noble-born women to perform, not interlopers,” Malia said, her mouth twisting. “This was my year to hunt and claim Dane—”

“And instead, you’re going to end up empty-handed.” Whatever spell this place cast over me, it felt like it emptied all the different Darcys out and left something else in its place, something that seemed taller, stronger. The women’s mouths fell open at that, as my voice took on an echoey quality, each one feeling the reverberations. “By your own laws, you are not worthy. I beat you soundly before the queen.”

“Because you’re a bloody animal!” Malia shouted, her hand going up but getting nowhere against my reflex grasp. Her wrist felt like twigs in my grip, one I could easily snap without a thought. But I looked over her shoulder and saw Selene, Orsha and Ayla watching me while I did so.

They would step in, if they had to. Just like in a wolf pack, scuffles might take place between the junior members, but they could only go so far before the adults intervened. Their never-ending gaze asked me now which one I was: juvenile or adult?

“If I’m an animal,” I said, smiling, feeling my fangs flash, just like the Maiden’s had in my dream last night, “then you’d best keep your distance.” I thrust her arm backwards, the lot of them stepping away as I got closer. “Animals are unpredictable.”

“You can growl and bare your teeth all you like,” Malia said, holding her hand to her chest. “But you’ll never have the princes. The queen won’t allow it.”

I was struck then by the ridiculousness of this. We were quibbling over men who were perfectly capable of making their own decisions about where they went and that might not be towards me. That would hurt, but I had no control over it and neither did the girls. I smiled then, before I stepped forward, into the mass of women and surprise, surprise, the ladies all moved to let me pass. But as I was enjoying that success a memory struck me. Of Del and Jan, of bloody Wildeford and with that in mind, I looked back at them.

“If you don’t think I’m worthy, take the princes from me,” I said. “If you think the queen will support your marriages, marry them, but you and I both know there’s a bigger hurdle to climb to achieve that goal than intimidating me or getting the queen’s approval. It’s them.”

“He loved me before you came along,” Malia said and right then I felt some empathy for her, because she really believed that. Gods, maybe it was actually true. I didn’t really understand this whole mate thing and maybe I should.

“Then why did it all disappear the moment he tasted my blood?” I asked.

That was a low blow, and I saw her physically shrink from it, but it was a valid question. Just one she wasn’t likely to answer.

“I was beginningto think I was going to need to step in there,” Selene said when I returned to the main group. The other girls with her turned to watch the two of us, looking expectantly at what we were going to do next. They actually wanted to learn this dance, be a part of this ritual and not shame their family. “But you seemed to handle it quite well.”

“The fact that I just don’t care is the key, I think,” I replied.

“But you do about this,” she said. “You’ve picked up the steps fast. Very fast. I’ll get you to help us with the others.”

I nodded and then waited as she went through the next few steps, feeling that same narrowing down of my focus again. Malia and her friends didn’t matter, neither did the rest of the world right now, just this. As the young women wobbled through the steps, I was like Selene and the other Maidens. I corrected gently, assisted and then gave compliments to help bolster fragile confidence, which was half the battle anyway. They had to believe they could do the steps before they could actually do them. But after a while, an itch started up under my skin. I could only help others for so long before my own need to move came over me. I performed the dance steps with them, feeling the strange rhythm now, which was a big part of successfully performing the dance, but that was a difficult concept to teach.

“You’re done for today.”

Selene’s face swam up in front of mine, breaking my concentration and forcing me to stop and stand still for a moment.

“You’re in, just in case you’re interested. I don’t know how you know those steps, but you do.” She frowned slightly then, shaking her head. “We’ve had other Maidens like you here before. Goddess-touched we call them. It’s like the Maiden has put her hand on your head, is moving your body for you.” She stood back, crossing her arms. “I reiterate my concern about you formalising things with your mates. I know that they are filled with the madness a mate bond brings, but being goddess-touched is something bigger again.”

She peered at me through narrowed eyes.

“Don’t you feel it? Doesn’t this feel like the place you were always supposed to be? For most of us, it’s a bloody relief being allowed in here. It’s like coming home.”

I looked around me then, really looking at the training space for the first time. The walls were carved with bas reliefs of feats of old: long windows on the left side giving us a view of the city and the valley beyond. It was empty now, and felt emptier because it was such a large space and we were the only ones in it.

“It depends,” I said, staring out those windows, “on which part of me is in control. One part does feel like this is home.” Then my focus shifted back to the alpha of the Wolf Maidens. “But another part of me feels at home when I’m with them too. I know you said I can’t have both but…” I shrugged.

She shook her head slowly at that, then smiled.

---