Page 17 of With Fangs and Claws (The Wolf Queen 1)

Chapter 8

I didn’t move to get up, because as I shifted slightly within Dane’s grip, I felt him stiffen, his breath coming faster. One of the things Linnea had taught me was how much a man was persuaded by his baser instincts and I was keen to engage them now to get as true an answer as I could.

“You must want to know why we were willing to settle for you instead of the rivers of gold our father sent us here to secure,” Weyland said with a rueful smile.

“I do,” I replied, leaning back against Dane’s chest and he took this compliance at face value. His arms went around me, his breath tickling my neck, but he stayed just as we were.

“That’s something we’re going to answer for when we get home,” Axe said, watching me oh so closely. “But I think our father will understand. You’re our mate.”

“What?”

I went to sit up then, having some knowledge of how the wargen lived. They were a primitive, instinctual people who rutted without conscience until they found their fated mates. Then the beasts were as faithful as a hound who’d found its master. But Dane’s arms tightened around me, keeping me exactly where I was until I consciously relaxed again.

Weaknesses, I reminded myself. Them thinking I was their fated mate must be one.

“How can a human—?” I asked.

“We had much the same thought, but at the smell of your blood, we knew,” Weyland said. He grinned then. “The gods must be kind, sending us such a fierce mate. If you hadn’t drawn the knife on Gael, we might never have known.”

He might praise the gods, but I cursed them silently.

“So you know your mate by blood?” I asked. “And your mate is your brother’s mate?”

“My mate is my pack’s mate,” he corrected. “Not all brothers form a pack. Some come from friendships.”

“It’s a bond that forms between two-souled men,” Axe said. “It happens when you’re young.” He looked around at the others. “We always knew it was going to be the four of us.”

“You might’ve,” Gael said, still with a face like a thundercloud.

“You were always a part of us, brother,” Dane said. “It just took you a while to realise.” Gael didn’t seem reconciled to the idea at all, but Dane’s focus shifted to me. His voice was rich and deep, feeling like it vibrated all the way through me as he spoke. “Does that frighten you, the prospect of having four wargen husbands?”

His nose went to my neck then, breathing my scent in.

“No,” I replied and that was honest, because in my mind, this wasn’t going to happen. The idea of Kris somehow getting me out of this arrangement seemed impossible, especially as the king himself would be invested in this marriage but… I couldn’t give up hope. I shrugged at the four of them.

“I wouldn’t know what to do with one, so why would four make a difference? I don’t know why you think you must do this. I’m not wife material, as you saw today. I can be quiet and compliant or whatever it is you expect.” I looked around the room at each of them. “But as soon as your back is turned, I’ll be off doing what I want. Beating me won’t change things.” A chorus of growls at that. “Obviously your father, the king, wanted much more for his ore. Why not forget this ‘mate bond’ thing and return to your father with chests full of gold?”

“You think the fact you’re wilful makes you less attractive to us?” Dane said in a husky tone, and I stiffened, then forced myself to relax. “Spirit is a prized quality in a wargen mate.”

I smothered a frustrated little huff, then came up with another tack.

“So, what should a warg mate be like?” I asked, sure I could come away with a laundry list that I could strive to be the opposite to, but at least three of the men seemed to see right through me.

“She should be fierce and strong,” Dane said. “And taking down a beast like that stag all by yourself qualifies you there.”

“As does tricking me, ending up with your knife at my throat,” Weyland added, and the other men chuckled at that. “You’ll do fine at court, lass.”

“She should have lusty appetites,” Axe said, reaching over for the knife and cutting an outsized slice of Cook’s best cake before slapping it onto a plate and passing it over to me. I took it because I wanted to keep them talking. Well, and because Cook’s cakes weren’t something to pass over. They didn’t seem to see the riches before them, so I picked up a fork and began making a dent in the slab of dessert. Axe watched me eat with a satisfied look. “For food, for the hunt, for all the pleasures of the flesh.”

I paused then, swallowing my current mouthful, the cake having turned to glue in my mouth.

“Some you may need to learn.” Axe’s voice had grown deeper now, huskier. “Do not worry. We will teach you.”

“You can’t talk of mating yet, brother,” Dane chided. His finger made a small circle on the top of my thigh. “Lady Darcy is trying her best, but she feels like she’s about to jump out of her skin every time she remembers where she’s sitting.” My fork froze in the air as his hand went to my neck, a big hand spanning the back of it, then rubbing slowly up and down my spine. “What dhave they told you about mating, lass?”

I set the cake down and turned on Dane’s lap, dislodging his hand before I deployed all the wiles Linnea had taught me. I nestled into the curve of his arm, glancing up but for a moment before looking coyly away. I felt a sense of triumph when I did, though, seeing the prince’s eyes grow heavily lidded in response, just as my governess had said.

“That I will come to my wedding bed after the priest declares us man and wife and surrender myself to my husband.” I felt like I could hear Linnea’s voice inside my head as I spoke. “It is my duty to give all that I have unto you, to serve you in any way I can. We women pledge our mind, body and soul to—”

---