Page 71 of With Fangs and Claws (The Wolf Queen 1)

Our number had thinned by then. The soldiers and their wives had returned to the barracks here. Pepin and Nordred were going to rest at an inn until we could establish a place for them at the palace. And us? I stared at the hulking grey granite building that thrust up high into the sky, the tallest point in the entire city.

“Built to be closest to the gods,” Axe said with a snort, then shook his head. “How do we do this, brother?”

“There’s no way we can rely on the element of surprise. Mother’s spies in Bayard will have reported back to her by now,” Dane said. “Father will have received our messages, so a full-frontal assault it is.”

“With no weapons,” Weyland said bitterly. “No ability to stage an honest attack. No strategy. No–”

“We have each other,” Dane said, taking one long, shuddering breath, then another. “It sounds awfully simple, but honestly, it's all we’ve ever had and all we’re ever likely to get, so let's treasure that while we can. Some men never find their pack, others do, but never their mates. We have both.”

Gael’s hand reached out, taking mine without looking, his eyes trained on the castle.

“You can hold my hand too, lass,” Axe said. “I hate the fucking place almost as much as Gael.”

I snorted but took his hand, feeling the slow pulse of warmth that came from each of them as I did.

“Once more unto the breach,” I said, reciting a line from a famous Granian play.

“Let’s do this,” Dane agreed with a nod.

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