Page 72 of With Fangs and Claws (The Wolf Queen 1)

Chapter 30

I didn’t want to be in Snowmere.

We’d arrived late in the second day and gone straight to the king’s castle. It was cavernous, that was my first impression. It was designed to make you feel as small as possible, with its soaring ceilings and vast spaces, and the throne room was no different.

“Princes Dane, Weyland and Axe, Your Majesties,” the steward announced as we stood on the long red carpet that led from the doorway of the room all the way up to the black basalt throne at the end of it. I didn’t dare look at the occupant, keeping my eyes on the ground.

“Master Gael,” the steward continued. My fingers twitched then, wanting to take his hand, but when I shot him a sidelong look, he shook his head ever so slightly, so I curled my hands into fists.

“And Darcy, daughter of the Granian Duke of Elverston.”

That wasn’t my full title, but I wasn’t about to quibble, especially as the man delivered my father’s title as if Father was some unruly child putting on false airs and graces.

“Come forward, my sons,” a deep, masculine voice said, and it was then I heard some of that throaty air of command that we humans called the two-souled’s alpha bark. King Ulfric. It wasn’t directed at me, but when they stepped up, I followed. “You have returned from your dealings with the humans. Now, Dane, tell me what concessions you’ve managed to wring from the usurpers? Not territory, I’m guessing. The bastards are like a dog with a bone with their grip on our land.”

“Father, I wish to present to you Lady Darcy of Elverston,” Dane said when we reached the end of the carpet. Each one of us sank into a deep bow until we were given leave to rise. Then the group parted and Dane held out a hand and I stepped forward and took it.

I didn’t want to be here, and I didn’t want to meet royalty with the dust of the road still on me. I’d pleaded for a chance to clean up and make myself more presentable, but the men had predicted dire consequences if we didn’t present ourselves immediately. I felt every inch the shabby little pigeon as Dane’s introduction was met with silence. One that felt like it was stretching on and on and—

“Why is a Granian lady being presented at our court?”

Her voice, Queen Aurora’s, it was a throbbing contralto that washed over you, her arch question making me wonder why the hell I was there too.

“Mother, Darcy is our true mate.”

I also really didn’t want an audience for this, but I wasn’t going to get much of what I wanted today. There were courtiers arrayed all along the two sides of the throne room. Elegantly-dressed people in confections of leather, lace, silk and velvet, who had watched us pass by with the eyes of predators. But those predators gasped audibly at Dane’s pronouncement.

“The Duke of Elverston was the king’s representative in this deal, wasn’t he?” The king’s voice was still cool, but even I could hear the growing irritation there. “The king didn’t want you coming to the capital itself, not wanting to let wolves into his pretty little henhouse.” A small titter of amusement from the crowd. “So how is it you’ve come to be in possession of his daughter? Am I to expect to find an angry Papa and his king’s army at his back?”

“Of course not, Father. I have the deal here. If you would like—”

“The deal?” The queen’s voice rose in volume. “What has the girl got to do with the deal?”

“My king, my queen, we didn’t expect to meet our true mate, well, ever,” Dane said, and I chanced a look at him then. His voice was sincere, impassioned, something I thought was a rare occurrence here. “We’ve never been drawn to a woman within Strelae.” A small murmur in the crowd in response to that. “Not in the way we were when we met Darcy. It was just like the poets say, like being struck by lightning, like—”

“Tell me, Dane,” the king said, a slight growl in his voice. “What did you sign away for this girl?”

And just like that, the air in the throne room sharpened like the edge on a whetted knife. Blood was in the water and the predators had got the scent in their nose. And me? I was the wounded deer, floundering around in the shallows. I heard Dane clear his throat and then he continued.

“The duke was unfortunately aware of our connection to his daughter and used it to wring greater concessions from us.” His voice was flat, lifeless as he described something that had nearly torn the lot of us apart. “I had intended to stay in Grania for longer, to try and wear him down and bargain for what you asked for, Father, but…” He let a long sigh out. “Things escalated. If the duke hadn’t drugged his men, I’m not sure we’d be here standing before you.” Growls went up around the throne room. “The thought of a human girl being married off to a pack of two-souled seemed to incense his people and they were prepared to use lethal force to stop that from happening.”

“And are you married to this woman?” That was the queen. She said the words slowly, giving us a chance to rethink our response, come up with the right answer and I knew what it was.

“Well, no. We wanted—”

“If the boys have not married her and I see no mating marks, then the deal can be nullified,” the queen told the king. “We could send her back—”

“No!”

The peanut gallery should’ve tittered at that, at Weyland’s voice slicing through his parents, his king and queen’s conversation. I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, pull me close and press my face into his chest and I couldn’t have been happier to do so. I didn’t dare hug him back. My breath was coming in faster and faster, my chest beginning to tighten. My body knew it was in danger and responded accordingly.

“Steady, lass,” he said in a low mumble. “Steady.”

I took a long shuddering breath in then and thankfully felt my chest begin to open up again, the air coming and going unaided.

“Darcy is our mate,” Weyland said in a much more civil tone, though there was no mistaking his intent. “She stays with us.”

“And it was my fucking fault we didn’t get what you wanted,” Axe said with a grunt. “You want to send someone back to Grania? Send me.”

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