Page 16 of With Fangs and Claws (The Wolf Queen 1)

“Many thanks, my—”

“Don’t say prince,” Gael said and there was that old scowl of an expression again. “They’re the princes. I’m—”

“Our brother,” Dane said firmly, staring at the man across the table. Gael just shook his head and stared down at his hands.

“Well, Gael, would you like something to eat?” I asked, feeling like a payment was due for the service. Usually when Father hurt me, I was left to my own devices to heal it, that’s if Linnea didn’t just make it worse. I would slip away to Nordred as quickly as I was able, and he’d help me as best he could.

“I don’t—”

“That’s not what you’re here for,” Dane cut through his brother’s reply. “We didn’t keep you in this room to serve us.”

“So…”

I swallowed then as I felt the eyes of each man in the room on me. That would become a regular thing if I didn’t find a way out of this bloody marriage, though I failed to see where Kris got his confidence from. When the king himself got word of this deal, because Father would have no doubt sent a bird to the capital, then he’d come himself, and in full force, to ensure the marriage took place. There would be nowhere for me and Kris in Grania, nor Strelae, if he was successful. And as they all stared, their blue eyes glowing, I could just see them in wolf form, tracking us down, tearing Kris—

“What am I here for?” I stiffened as I imagined their answer. “I’ll warn you, my father had fairly explicit instructions about what I was not supposed to do in a room full of men, unchaperoned.”

“Did he indeed?” Axe said with a laugh. “Bloody cock blocker.”

“When we take you for the first time,” Weyland said, leaning forward and sinking a finger into a dish of chocolate mousse before dragging it out, laden with the thick dessert, “it won’t be in a dining room, and it won’t be in your father’s keep.” He sucked the glob of sweetness from his fingertip and swallowed it down before grinning at me. “Ironically, it’d make the deal he so wishes to strike all the more permanent if we did sweep these confections out of the way and got to work devouring the real treat in the room.”

“Brother…” Dane grumbled.

“What?” I frowned and scanned the room. “What does that mean? A woman that gives herself to a man outside of marriage is not valued at all. She’ll be branded a whore and left to sell herself until there’s nothing to be sold.”

“Is that the way of things in Grania?” Dane asked. “I knew there was an emphasis on purity but—”

“Never saw the point of that myself,” Axe said. “It hurts a woman the first time, more often than not.” His ever-present grin faded then. “Not something I enjoy.” He glanced at the others, his eyes beginning to twinkle. “Think I’ll let you lot go first.”

My teeth sank into my bottom lip to stop me speaking my mind. They talked about me so openly, about passing me around like a doll to use, as if I had no say in the matter. I couldn’t prevent my brows from jerking down, a stony expression forming.

“Oh no, it looks like I’ve offended the little huntress,” Axe said, resting his forearms on the table. “Never fear, lass. I’ll never say no if you want ol’ Axe first. You might walk a little bowlegged—”

“Gods above, Axe!” Dane snapped but not louder than me.

“What has what I want got to do with it?” I said, my voice deadly quiet. I plonked my own elbows on the table, resting my chin on my hands as I looked the lot of them over. “When have I been consulted in this whole process? When you licked away my blood? When you stole my kill? When you announced to my father that you’d take me as payment? That’s why I’m here, and not in my bed or out doing what I want, because I’m the enticement to get the king the ore he needs. So let’s not mistake this for anything other than what it is.”

I stared down each and every one of them.

“A transaction. So you need not inform me of the process by which you’ll deflower me. It’s quite frankly none of my business. You’ll take what you want, and I’ll be forced to suffer through it, like women have from time immemorial. Now, if you don’t want cake and you don’t want me to serve you, then I think I’ll take my leave—”

I got to my feet and strode to the door, but even that choice was taken from me. An arm went around my waist, and I was dragged over and onto Dane’s lap, his mouth going to my ear.

“I know why you think this. I hate the reasons for it, but it makes sense.” His hand came to rest on my thigh then, making me go so very still. “We haven’t had the opportunity to talk with you about this, not like we would’ve had if you were born in Strelae. That’s what we want now. Time to talk. Let us serve you some of these confections while we have a conversation.”

I didn’t want to. I wanted to flounce off down to my room and take out my rage on my pillow, like I always did, but Nordred had taught me a valuable lesson.

I was much younger, having run down to the stables after some insufferable thing that Linnea had done, and he’d found me weeping up in the barn where all the hay was stored.

“And what’s amiss, milady?”

I’d poured out my heart then, not wanting to, but having to, the burden of the pain too great. Nordred was always a quiet, watchful presence when I came down for riding lessons, but he was never harsh and that was enough for younger me. His hand reached out and gripped mine, giving it a squeeze.

“The first thing to do with an enemy”—I’d jolted at the word being applied to Lady Linnea. No one else dared use that kind of language around her— “is find their weakness. What does her ladyship fear the most?”

“Father,” I blurted out without question.

“And what does she fear about His Grace?”

I stared at him, remembering the beatings he administered, to me as well as her for not being able to control me, her famous icy hauteur broken the moment he laid the strap across her back.

Nordred knew what went on, especially afterwards, when I’d come down crying and aching from the last time I was struck, but back then a plan had crystallised. If Linnea was going to persist in hurting me, I’d strike fear into her with my recklessness. I’d force her into silence about my actions, because the wilder I got, the more Father would whale on her as well as me. I’d force her to back down, to mutter and snipe and bitch about my actions, but she’d keep her bloody hands to herself. And it had worked. So, when I looked around the room, I hatched a similar plan.

They wanted a wife, a woman to share between them and they didn’t care much what I had to say about the matter? Then I needed to get close enough to work out what their weaknesses were. Perhaps Kris could use this information to help me escape this arrangement.

I turned to Dane then, our lips perilously close, his eyes dropping down to inspect mine closely.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” I asked.

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