Page 31 of Fated to be Enemies

I dipped my head. “Consider it done. And for Nova? I’m afraid I’m not familiar with feeding a wolf, and the last thing I would want to do is offend her by treating her like my dogs.”

“She’s content hunting. We like to do that together, but if we can’t, she’ll take whatever’s raw.” Dannika looked at Nova, who sat beside her, and smiled. “Thanks for asking about her too. I didn’t expect . . .”

“For me to care?” I finished. She looked at me sheepishly, confirming my guess. “She’s part of you. I respect her.” I gazed at the wolf, and she held my stare, considering me. She understood far more than one realized. I was intrigued by her intelligence and was keen to know how much of her was connected to Dannika’s psyche. I’d never met a shifter whose wolf existed outside of them. Had she been born this way? Had it been the consequence of some tragic accident? Was she truly cursed?

I didn’t care which, obviously, given it didn’t affect her ability to be my queen or fulfill the purpose for which I’d chosen her. My curiosity was simply piqued.

“You’d be the first,” she mumbled.

“I pity the supe who makes the mistake of underestimating either one of you.” I laughed quietly. “I’ve already had a front-row seat to Kym’s dismembering.”

Dannika cleared her throat. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. He deserved it. His behavior was unacceptable. I’m having his past looked into as we speak to figure out all he’s done since your sister brought it to my attention.” I steepled my fingers together, resting my chin on them. “How did she know about his indiscretions, though?”

Danni didn’t react. Her pupils didn’t dilate. Her breathing didn’t change. Her body didn’t tense. She simply shrugged a shoulder and pursed her lips. “Don’t know. She has a sense about people. Can tell when they’re assholes. Good intuition, our mom always said.”

Her poker face was spectacular. I suspected she was lying. I just couldn’t prove it, not until I got the interrogation report from Ysa. Nothing about Danni’s demeanor gave her away, but if her sister had intuition, one could say I did too. Adora was a diamond in the rough. There was a hidden talent behind that plain curtain. A power or secret they were hiding. If Danni could keep up that charade for the sake of her family, she was going to do well by my side.

“Hmm.” I tilted my head, cocking an eyebrow. “I wonder what she told you about me.”

Seconds ticked by in silence, and I let the awkwardness sit heavily in the room. I never took my eyes off Danni, and she did damn well holding her own. She would need this kind of pressure to survive the supes she would have to deal with soon. While I was giving her days to adjust, that was hardly anything in the eyes of the Blood and Beryl High Court. All of them were over a hundred years old, some far more than that.

Danni inhaled through her nose, finally deciding to share. “She said she doesn’t trust you.”

I laughed. “Smart woman. What about you? Do you trust me?”

She sniffed, breaking eye contact to look at her nails. “I’m undecided at the moment.”

“Also smart,” I said, causing her to look back at me. I winked.

“And you? Tell me about you,” she said, not using a mocking tone, but adding a hint of sarcasm to the words.

“I assume you’ve heard plenty about me,” I said casually, tapping my finger against the armrest. Rumors were the one thing never in short supply. “What is it that you want to know?”

“What was your dog’s name?” She jutted her thumb over her shoulder. “The one I . . . yeah.”

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Of all things she might have asked, that was not what I’d expected. “Samson.”

She nodded. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Ice blue.” I kept my tone even, watching her response. Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and she hummed.

“You think you’re charming, don’t you?”

I grinned. “I know I am.”

She laughed, shaking her head lightly. “I think you’re confusing arrogance with charm.”

It was my turn to laugh.

She twisted her lips in amusement, then continued. “What do you like for breakfast?”

I gave her a look that said really? and ran my tongue over the tip of my fang.

Heat rushed to her cheeks, and she looked away. “Right,” she said quietly. “I knew that. Makes sense.”

“Does that bother you?” I asked. It shouldn’t have mattered. We had a deal, but a deeper part of me didn’t want her to care. We were in a business arrangement, but I didn’t want her to be the kind of supe who hated other species. It was a quality I didn’t care for.

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