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Dark Wolf King (Wolves Of The Night Book 3) 21
“We’re grateful you’ve joined us,” Elias said to Ealric, as he poured more wine into his cup, then my own. I was seated between the two of them at the head of the table. The conversation surrounding us was low and serious, lacking the usual jovial atmosphere that accompanied a welcome dinner. The potential for war weighed heavily on all of us.“Of course,” Ealric said. “Starcrest is pleased to support Nightfall in these times. I’d rather be overprepared than under for any Fae attacks, after all.” He nodded. “And I hear that there’s research occurring, as well.” He nodded at me. “With Adora as part of the convoy?”“Yes, we’re looking forward to it,” I said. “Of course, there’s no way to know if we’ll gain the knowledge we’re hoping for — but it’s better to explore all the options we have, while we still have time.”“I agree,” Ealric said. “The eagles have always been kind neighbors. The border’s quite close to Starcrest, as you know.”“Have you had much interaction with them?” I asked.
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When the laces were undone, Elias paused. He slid his hands over my hips, then pressed his chest to my back. I leaned my weight gratefully against his strong body and tipped my head back against his shoulder.“It makes me realize how I didn’t really have a family in Daybreak,” I said. “Not the way I do here. I finally have a man who actually wants to be my father, and a sister, and you.” I folded my hand over his as he pressed soothingly against my hip. “It’s wonderful. But it’s overwhelming too. Like I don’t have space in my heart for all of it yet.”Elias kissed my temple. “I don’t doubt it,” he said. “It’s a lot to take in.”“You don’t think I’m ungrateful?” I asked. “When he gave me that ring, it mostly made me…sad. Like there was this whole other life I could’ve had, with parents who loved me. I feel like I should’ve been happier. Or it should be easier. Easier for me to want to get close to him. I just…I just don’t feel ready.”“Take all the time you need, little wolf,” Elias sa
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His hand stilled briefly, then resumed the relaxed combing motion. “Sometimes.”I smoothed my hand over the natural curve of his waist. “What do you imagine?”He hummed thoughtfully. “Nothing concrete, really. I mostly imagine it when we’re running.”That surprised me. I drummed my fingers against his skin. “What do you mean?”“When we’re in the forest, running, chasing each other… It’s easy for me to imagine what that might be with pups.” He smiled to himself at the thought. “What they might look like. Maybe one with a white coat like yours, and another with a dark coat like mine. Young, and fast, but clumsy. Easy to imagine them tripping over each other and falling into the stream when we’re crossing it.” He chuckled.The image made me smile, too. “You only imagine them as wolves?”He shrugged, the motion jostling me slightly on his chest. “I suppose it’s easier to give into the fantasy when I’m in my wolf shape.”It was easier, I knew, to lean into my emotions when I was in my wolf
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“Your mother was a troublemaker,” he said with much fondness in his voice. “She wasn’t poor, but she wasn’t in the upper echelons, either. She came from a family of musicians, and they often performed in the Starcrest manor. When I first met her, her parents were playing in the royal band for a ball. It wasn’t a ball for anything in particular — a harvest celebration, if memory serves.”He sighed as we walked, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.“Why was she there?” I asked.“To cause trouble, I assume,” he said with a wink. “She was young when we met. Just turned twenty. I remember I saw her in the middle of the dance floor, wearing a plain blue gown, dancing by herself amid all the couples. When she spun, the skirt of her dress revealed a silver petticoat. It was like she was dancing atop an icy lake. Gorgeous.”“She sounds like it.”“You look a lot like her, actually,” Ealric said. He glanced at me, a slightly pained expression flickering across his face, but it was g
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I burst through the doors of the main room, panting, then shifted into my human form as effortlessly as breathing. Ealric, Fina, and Adora were behind me — somewhere -they didn’t have the same moonstone tools I did, so shifting took slightly more effort with the trappings of royal wear.Elias was seated at the head of the table. At his side, a young messenger was seated, tearing into a leg of lamb like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. He was scrawny, with dirt on his face and wearing leather armor. He couldn’t have been more than fifteen.“What is it?” I asked. I was slightly out of breath, and my blonde hair stuck to my temples with sweat. “What happened?”The messenger looked up. He widened his eyes, then scrabbled at the table in a hurry to stand and bow. Elias put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and pushed him back into his seat. “Sit. Eat.”The boy still stared at me. I nodded at him, and with some hesitation he returned to his meal.“Word from Duskmoon,” Elias said. “Corinne has attacke
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“The royal jaguars of Askon believe the eagles of Cruora still hold access to powerful alchemy,” I said. “Old magic. The kind that might help us hold our own against the Fae, when it comes to that. It’s a long shot, but we need to activate all the defenses we have.”She nodded. “As much as I hate to say it, it’s true…shifters are not the strongest against Fae magic.”I remembered how easily Corinne had forced me into my wolf shape and kept me there against my will. I cringed at the memory. “I know.”“If the eagles have it, will they be willing to share it at all?” Aerika asked.“I don’t know. But we have to try. And we have to get there soon. I’m leaving tonight.”“Tonight.” Aerika pressed her lips together. “Still, your Highness…why me?”“I trust you,” I said. “And if we’re trying to find a way to defend against Fae magic, we need someone with us who understands Fae magic. Someone who knows the Fae better than we do.”Aerika cut her gaze to the side, clearly unsure.“It will be dange
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“It’ll be like we aren’t parted at all,” I said with a smile. I turned around in his arms, and then pulled him down for a kiss. It was only now, standing in our bedroom, that the full reality of what I was doing hit me. I was leaving tonight. I didn’t know when I’d be back either. It felt like I’d only just found my way back to Efra, to Elias, after being trapped in Shianga and Faerie for so long.And now I had to leave him again. I wound my arms tightly around his waist, then tucked my face into the side of his neck and inhaled his warm, familiar scent.He kissed my temple gently.“What about you?” I asked as I pulled back. “Are you ready? Ready to rule without me and Kodan here to reign you in?”It was a tease, but Elias’ soft expression showed he knew what I was really asking. Am I ready? Can I really do this without you?“I’m a little worried,” he admitted with a small smile. “Sending you off on this kind of journey, after everything that’s happened…it’s not my favorite thing to d
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Despite the nerves still twisting in my gut, I felt confident.I could do this. I would do this. I’d gather whatever knowledge the eagles had — and I’d come back home and defend our nation from Corinne.Then, Elias kissed me briefly. It was soft, but burning, like a promise. “Travel swiftly, my Queen,” he said. His eyes flashed gold when he pulled back. “And make our nation proud.”10We traveled all night, over the hard-trodden roads outside Efra, northwest toward the distant land of Cruora. It’d be days before we arrived. I had no idea if we’d be accepted, or if we’d be turned away at the gates by the eagles. Maybe they’d want nothing to do with us. Maybe like the wolves of Duskmoon, they would only be willing to consider the threat when they saw it for themselves. And by that point it might be too late.As the sun crested the horizon, we stopped outside a small inn just before the mountains outside of Efra. “We’ll cross at dusk, when there’s still light, and continue on in the eve
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“It sounds like a good plan to me,” Elias murmured. “These are the kinds of innovations we should be encouraging, don’t you agree?”I nodded. In the months since the war, reconstruction had started across Frasia. We’d rebuilt the manor, as well as the walls of the city. The buildings damaged in the fighting had been repaired as best we could. Then after that, Elias and I arranged for convoys to travel to each of the packs, providing resources and answers to all of those who had been affected by the fighting.Everything was going well. But to my embarrassment, I often found myself a little…bored.Fina caught my eye from where she stood in front of the dais. She raised one eyebrow, and I straightened up to better give the young wolf my full attention.Since the end of the war, Fina had been working as my head spy, occasionally running missions to other packs and nations with Kodan. She’d come into her own as a spy of Nightfall, and when I saw her training with Adora in the barracks, she
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He shook his head. “I knew it had healing properties,” he said. “Or…I hoped it did. I bought it off a Fae jeweler outside of Starcrest, before relations with Faerie worsened. I thought it was beautiful, and I wanted something she couldn’t get in Frasia proper.” He chuckled to himself. “I wanted to impress her. The jeweler told me it had healing properties — that it had strong, old Fae magic. I never had a chance to give it to her. But I did have it looked at again, when I was older, to learn more about the magic. But there wasn’t much the scholars of Starcrest could tell me. I knew it had healing powers, and I knew it was strong. But I didn’t know…”“That it would affect me like that,” I said.“That you would be able to wield it,” he said. “You surprise me at every turn. Just like your mother did.”“I wish I could’ve met her,” I said softly.“I do, too.” He folded his hand over mine on the table. “When you and Elias visit Starcrest next, I’ll show you where she’s buried. It’s a beauti
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In the afterglow, I leaned against the headboard of our bed with the blankets pulled up to my hips. Amity and Rue had delivered a small meal a few hours ago, and Elias carried the tray from the table to the bed. We shared a few bites of fruit and soft bread with butter, and Elias poured us each a small glass of fragrant red wine.It felt indulgent, luxurious — like we were the leaders of a wealthy and peaceful nation. It was a glimpse of what life could be like once Frasia has recovered.Elias popped a grape into his mouth, then settled on the bed next to me, careful not to jostle the tray at the foot of the bed. He smoothed his hand over my thigh and squeezed. “So you still have your magic,” he murmured.I laughed and squirmed a little closer to him, despite the nervousness curling in my chest at the mention of it. “I guess so,” I said. “I thought it’d go away eventually, but…”“It hasn’t changed?” he asked.I shook my head. “It feels like it’s settling.” I rubbed my hand over my ste
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Elias smirked and lifted an eyebrow. “What’s that look mean?”“Come here,” I demanded. “Kiss me.”“Love it when you’re so nice and polite like that,” Elias teased.He climbed onto the bed and crawled over me, letting the towel slide from his hips. He knocked my fingers away from the string on my dressing gown and unfastened it himself, then slid the soft fabric open. He caught my lips in a sweet kiss as he flattened his hand on my belly and smoothed over my skin. I hummed into Elias’ lips as I slid my hands over the strong planes of his back, and down to his pert ass. I squeezed.He chuckled into the kiss, then dropped his weight atop me hard enough to make me huff out in a surprised “Oof!” That only made him laugh again as he kissed my cheek, my jaw, my neck.I hummed in pleasure and wrapped my arms around him tightly, keeping his body pressed close to mine. I loved being this close, loved the feeling of all that warm muscle pinning me down, keeping me safe. We kissed for a few long,
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“You did well,” Elias said, low. “Efra still stands.”“At what cost, though?” I asked. “We lost so many.”“We did,” he said. “But not everyone. And Corinne is defeated. Decisively.”“It shouldn’t have happened at all,” I whispered. Guilt chewed at me like a hungry dog. “These soldiers should be alive.”“Reyna.” Elias put his hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him. “You can’t think like that.”“Like what?” I asked.His golden gaze burned into mine. “You can’t undo what’s been done. Our subjects need us now more than ever.”I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “How can they trust us after so many have died?” I asked quietly. “What will we say when the citizens return from the forests?”“We say the war is over,” Elias said fiercely. “That the Fae Queen is defeated, and Frasia remains free. And we stand strong for our pack.”I closed my eyes briefly. He was right. After so much death and turmoil, the wolves of Nightfall needed to be able to rely on us.“Your pain only shows
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Around us, more Fae rushed in, launching snarling attacks on Elias, Ealric, and Kodan. I trusted them to hold their own and hold the soldiers back from me as I focused my attacks on Corinne.I grinned at her. “That all you got, Queen?”She shrieked again, then swung her sword back and brought it down with the force of a warhammer.The world seemed to slow down. Each breath burned in my throat. The sun glinted off Corinne’s white hair, and off her bloodstained blade, as she turned on her heel to follow my movements. I parried her sword, the sound of steel clashing against steel drowned out by the crackle of our competing magics. I roared and bared my own teeth. Then, driving my foot hard into her shin, I sent her stumbling backward. I launched forward, slashing my sword at her throat, but she dodged, knocked me backward with a punch, and then swung her sword in another high arc.Corinne was fast, faster than anyone I’d ever fought, yet the moonstone quickened my heart and my feet as we
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But I couldn’t hear the battle around us anymore. All I could hear was the pounding of my own heart.Elias pressed his hand to my chest.I took a deep, gasping breath, like I had just broken through the surface of the sea, as cool power rolled through me. My hands flew to Elias’ arms and clung desperately, as the moonstone power coursed through my veins. It eliminated the burning inside me and even stitched up the terrible gashes in my thighs. My vision cleared, and the fog lifted from my mind.“Reyna?” Elias smoothed the hair from my forehead. His brow was still deeply furrowed in concern.“Hi,” I whispered.“Gods above,” Elias choked out. He leaned down and kissed me fiercely. “I thought I lost you.”The moonstone ring was obviously enchanted differently than the swords were — it had healing properties in it. Thank God Ealric had been here to tell Elias what to do. My whole body ached with exhaustion, but the pain had dissipated. I returned Elias’ kiss, then he helped me sit up.“We
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I had to rely on my skills. I met his sword with mine. Clang. Clang. His eyes burned with rage as he pushed me backward. He grinned that sharp-toothed smile, like he wanted to devour me himself. He pushed his blade against me, forcing me back step by step, then suddenly he lunged down and dragged his claws — claws?! — over the meat of my thigh. His fingers, like his teeth, were sharp and threatening, like that of a beast, and with ease he opened four gashes in my muscle. Pain seared through me, and I gasped as my knees quivered. I lost my balance and fell backward. But I still had my sword.“Silly wolf,” Eodwin sneered. “Thinking you’re a warrior. You’re nothing but a lost little girl out here on the battlefield.”“I am more than a wolf,” I said through gritted teeth. I pushed through the pain and clambered back up to my feet. My sword weighed heavily in my hand, but I narrowed my eyes and lifted it up. “I am a Queen.”Eodwin laughed. The made the hair on my nape stand on end. I gripp
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Orange light glowed deep in the darkness. The roars grew louder, closer, and then with a rush of beating wings, dragons poured out the portal, surrounded by rushing flame. There were at least two dozen of them, maybe more. Flames poured from their mouths onto the balds, setting the scrubby grass alight and scorching it to nothing. They flew with soulless determination, over the balds, and directly to the city.My horse whinnied and jerked backward, barely avoiding a burst of flame as the dragons soared overhead. The one who had expelled the flame barely noticed my reaction. It simply snapped its jaws shut and kept flying.“They’re under Fae control!” I called. “Bozhin, to the dragons!”Bozhin shifted into his immense war gryphon form. He cried out, and the few eagles at his side shifted into their forms as well. They took to the skies, streaking after the dragons. Bozhin led them higher, so they were above the beasts, and then led them in a rapid dive-bomb. Bozhin went talon first. He
