Page 28 of Of Wolves and Wives

“What do you mean?”

She stares at me for a moment, chewing her lips as she considers what to tell me. I wait. Patience is the only option here. Even if it kills me knowing that Rykker hurt her in some way. After a moment, she tells me what Rykker revealed to her. The role she played in ensuring that she was orphaned and left to the streets. I stay silent as the words spill from her, my shock growing with each word until she falls quiet.

After a moment, I tell her, “I understand your grief. You shouldn’t try to hide from it.”

“How could you possibly understand?”

I hesitate for a moment before I tell her, “My parents were killed when I was a pup. They died in a fire set by humans. They intended to kill my family simply because we were shifters. And I guess they succeeded.”

She’s quiet as she watches me.

“I know fear,” I tell her. “But I also know hatred. The desire to make those that have wronged you pay. To make them suffer as you have.”

Her eyes soften for a moment, then she whispers, “I honestly hate him for what he did.”

“I know,” I assure her. “I hated the humans after what they did. I didn’t exactly wish them harm, but I also wouldn’t save them if they were in danger.”

“What changed?”

“I bet a human who was different,” I reply. “She made me realize that love knows no bounds. And it was a waste of time hating an entire race for something just a few cruel individuals did.”

It takes a moment for her cheeks to blush when she realizes that I mean her. I wish I had a better answer for her. She wants to know if she can ever forgive Rykker. If only I had the answer to that, but unfortunately, I don’t. For his sake, I hope she does. I know he must be beating himself up over what he did to her.

“I’d also have to be a fool to think humans are the only ones capable of cruelness. It just took me years to realize how cruel my kind can be,” I tell her. “It wasn’t until I came to be in the service of the Grey Prince that I saw that some wolves were deserving of the human’s hatred and anger.”

“You haven’t always been in his service?”

I shake my head, “No, thank the moon. Technically, I also never have been.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“Peirce, Rykker, and I are not from this kingdom. We did grow up together, training with one another until we were the best of the best. Once we completed our training, we were sent to different kingdoms with various tasks to complete. I suppose this must be when Rykker was ordered to eliminate the threat your father posed.”

Rose leans toward me, listening and only frowning slightly at the mention of Rykker. I suppose it’s a small improvement. I’m not entirely sure why I have the urge to repair the damage he’s caused. Perhaps because I see how much it pains her.

“We don’t talk much about our time apart,” I continue. “It wasn’t until us three were assigned to the Grey Prince that we were reunited. Years had passed, and too many awful deeds for us to want to relive them.”

She nods to this before asking, “Why were you sent here?”

“Blood law.”

“And what exactly is Blood law?”

“It means that to ensure his right to his throne, every wolf king must produce an heir by forty. This keeps there from being any vacuums of power should a king die unexpectedly.”

“If they fail to have an heir?”

“Then they no longer have any claim to the throne.”

“How many years does the Grey Prince have left to produce an heir and claim his throne?”

I’m quiet for a moment before I tell her, “This is his last year. His fortieth birthday is in less than a year.”

“Human years or shifter years?”

“Shifter.”

“Why exactly are you here?”

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