Page 73 of With Fangs and Claws (The Wolf Queen 1)

“Son—” the queen began to say.

“I knew that we’d spend weeks, maybe months playing all the stupid fucking games we were sent to engage in,” Axe charged on, “and I didn’t want to. Not when I saw Darcy. I knew she was mine, ours, and I blurted out to the duke our intention to marry her. Look at the deal, make your decisions, but if there’s anything that you don’t like there, that’s on me, not Dane, Weyland or Gael.”

“Gael participated in the negotiations?”

If I thought the queen’s voice was scary before, I had another thing coming. I moved around in Weyland’s clasp, daring to take a look at the king and queen through my lashes. He sprawled in his throne, the queen perched on the blocky square arms of it, his hand in her hair. She was a perilously beautiful woman and the source of Dane’s colouring. Her hair was long and as black as night, her eyes flashing bright blue right now. But for all her beauty, something seemed to curdle inside her as she stared Gael down.

“Is this your doing?” she asked him sharply. Axe had literally just claimed responsibility for this and yet her ire was saved for the member of the pack that was not bound to her by blood. “Did you push for this girl to be part of this agreement? You are always seeking to rise above your station and—”

“Enough!”

The king’s bark created a perfect silence in the throne room.

“I’d like to thank everyone for their presence here today,” the king told the courtiers, “but I fear this issue must be dealt with privately. You are excused.”

He waited until the room had fallen silent before continuing.

“The truth of the matter will be discovered, my dear, never fear,” he told the queen. “But the time for flinging around accusations is not in front of a full court.”

“Of course, my love.” I was shocked at how contrite she sounded. “I was just concerned—”

“I’m familiar with your concerns.” The king evidently tired of this conversation. “Dane, Weyland and Axe, you’re with me.”

“Father, we haven’t even had a chance to wash in two days,” Dane protested. “Can’t we have just a few minutes to settle Darcy into our suite and see to her needs?”

Oh gods, I thought, do not make this about me. I went to step free of Weyland, but his arm wrapped around me tighter.

“The girl will not be staying in your suite,” their mother said crisply. “You say she is your mate, but no formal agreement has been made, nor has she been marked. Gael can see to her.”

“So it's fine for him to keep her in his suite, but not us?” Axe said in a low growl.

“Gael is not a prince,” she replied before turning to the man in question. “Take the girl, see that she has a bath and some food.” She wrinkled her nose then. “You should have a wash yourself. And remove those ridiculous braids.” The woman let out a low chuckle. “It’s not as if you’re about to do battle with the humans for the honour of Strelae.”

“Go, son,” the king told Gael, and I watched him nod in recognition, Weyland’s grip tightening rather than loosening.

“Come to us tonight,” Weyland hissed at Gael. “We’re not staying apart, not now.”

“Of course, brother,” Gael replied before holding out a hand for me.

I didn’t want to walk into this throne room. I didn’t want to meet this king and queen. I didn’t want them to read the agreement Dane had worked so hard to hammer out and I certainly didn’t want the queen’s focus on me, but as we walked out of the room, I felt a curious sense of deflation.

Something inside me, it shifted restlessly. It was something that had sharp fangs and claws that were bared and ready for a fight and it didn’t like that I was walking away from one, but walk I did. Because Gael’s voice was low and quiet, delivering me a little litany to get me out the door.

“Ignore Aurora,” he murmured. “If you react, she wins. She’d love the opportunity to challenge you right now and break your neck in front of her sons, so don’t give her one. Just get out of this room and away from her.”

For a man I barely knew, in this moment I trusted him implicitly. I finally reached out and took his hand in the way I’d felt the need to since we arrived and his fingers squeezed mine as we walked down the stairs, into the rest of the castle.

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