Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 32263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
I try to lighten the mood and get this serious man smiling, so I switch to some silly questions.
“Has anyone ever fainted in front of you? I feel like the answer is yes.”
He chuckles. “Many times.”
“Oh man,” I say, laughing. “I know I shouldn’t laugh, but I can totally see that. You look so intimidating with that crown on. Do you practice looking intimidating, or does it just happen naturally?”
His mouth curls up in a grin.
“You totally practice it!”
He shakes his head and laughs low. “When I first got the crown—”
“I knew it!”
“—I may have practiced it once. Or twice.”
“Or a hundred times,” I say, giggling.
“No more than ten.”
I point at him as we both crack up. “Well, you’re a professional now!”
It’s not just me asking the questions. He asks me all about my life in the village, my personal history, and my candle-making business. He leans forward and listens attentively, asking me follow-up questions and listening like he can’t get enough of the words coming out of my mouth.
He runs a whole kingdom and I run a tiny candle-making operation at the village fair, but he makes me feel like it’s the most amazing thing in the world.
Alaric eats an incredible amount of food as we talk. I finish way before him, but I don’t mind. We’re having a great conversation and I like watching him eat. I can’t get enough of the sight of that big, masculine jaw chewing.
The servants take away the dishes when he’s finally done, refill our wine, and then bring us dessert—a delicious warm berry pie that makes my toes curl when I have the first bite.
“Can I ask you something?” I say softly between licks of my fork.
He nods. “You can ask me anything.”
“What happened to your wolf?” I ask. “You said you nearly lost him to grief? What does that mean? How do you lose him if he’s inside you?”
Alaric lowers his gaze to the table and I notice his breathing becomes slower and heavier. When he speaks, his voice is quieter, like he’s letting me see him at his most vulnerable.
“He went silent,” he says sadly. “Over the past year, I just… I stopped feeling him at all. No pull during the full moon. No instinct. No growls or howls. Just… emptiness.”
I reach across the table without thinking and place my hand over his.
“It’s been horrible,” he whispers. “A Wolf King cannot rule a pack without his wolf. Shifters would instinctively rebel. It would be unnatural for them. Over the past few weeks, I could feel the whispers starting. They were beginning to doubt me. I feared the rebellions were about to commence. And I had nothing to fight them with.”
My heart aches.
“My whole kingdom would have been in ruins. Packs fighting packs. No one would have been safe.”
And the Wolf King, my mate, this amazing man, would have been the first one killed. I shudder at the thought.
“And now…” I say, afraid to ask. “Is he back?”
Alaric’s shoulders rise as if he can feel the power within. He smiles as his eyes fill with pride.
“He is,” he says confidently. “You brought him back. The moment I scented you, it was like he roared awake. Like he’d been lying in grief waiting for his mate all this time, and once you appeared, the nightmare was over.”
My cheeks blush shyly. I can’t believe I brought his wolf back to life. I can’t believe any of this is happening.
“Have you let him out?” I ask, replaying the day in my head. Has he had time to release his wolf? I don’t think so…
“Not yet,” he says. “I wanted to get ready for our dinner.”
I jump up from the table so fast and hard my chair screeches across the floor. “Let’s go now.”
“Now?” he says, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes,” I say with my pulse racing. “I want to see him. He won’t hurt me, will he?”
“Never,” he says fiercely. “He would die to protect you.”
“Then let’s go outside,” I say, grabbing his hand and pulling him up. “Your wolf has waited all this time to meet me. Let’s not make him wait a second longer.”
Alaric grins as he lets me pull him up to his feet.
“Very well,” he says, following me to the door. “Be prepared for a lot of licking.”
Chapter Eight
King Alaric
As soon as I step outside, my wolf is bursting to get out.
He’s charging and clawing and snarling in my ear, more excited than I’ve ever felt him.
He feels like the wolf of my youth with more energy than he can possibly burn as he slams against the inside of my skin like a battering ram, all muscle and instinct and feral impatience, rattling my bones with his power.
I stumble onto the grass, trying to leave Morwen a safe distance behind me. I know my wolf would never hurt her, but he’s so amped up with adrenaline and excitement that I’m worried he may hurt her accidentally. My chest tightens with the effort of keeping him contained, every breath a battle, every step an act of restraint. It feels like trying to hold back a charging beast with nothing but willpower and pride—and both are wearing thin.