Page 110 of With Fangs and Claws (The Wolf Queen 1)

“I’m not sure you understand how it is for us. I was drawn to you like a bee is to honey, seeking something sweet, back in Grania. I adjusted quickly to the realisation that you were our mate because I was entranced by the idea of a feisty Granian huntress, and then I found the reality.”

His thumb brushed along the tops of my cheekbones.

“When I saw you in Wildeford. When I saw you tracking those children, there was something far beyond my initial estimation. This was a wild girl, a savage girl, ready to tear the world down to protect those children, and I didn’t realise how much I needed that in a mate. No one cares for a fucking thing in this hellhole but themselves. But you…? You’ll be queen, Darcy, the queen we’ve been waiting for, the one we need, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get you on that throne. That’s given me the kind of purpose I’ve been looking for my whole life. So…” He smiled then at my blank look, because I hadn’t expected to hear a single one of those words when he stopped me, and I was struggling to process them. “Let’s go down to see Pepin and see what her little network has achieved.”

He took my hand and tugged me along after him, and I went. I’d been struggling to sort through all of these different versions of myself and now Weyland had gone and introduced a whole new one for me.

Queen.

The word felt like a depth charge dropped down in my soul, its explosion far-reaching and beyond my ability to comprehend. And as we walked through the town, towards Pepin’s headquarters, I saw, felt, that dream. Of walking along, the ermine cloak tugging at my shoulders as I processed, the crown heavy on my head, and I wondered if Weyland’s view of me was a blessing or a curse.

There was only one way to find out.

“You’re here!” Pepin said, opening a wooden door in what seemed to be a nondescript little house. Inside things looked very different. Nordred looked up from the table where he was sitting, having a robust discussion with many other men. Dane, Gael and Axe were all spread throughout the room, engrossed in similar conversations. “Come and sit down and let me fill you in. Much has changed since we last talked.”

---