All Chapters of Dark Wolf King (Wolves Of The Night Book 3): Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

“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.

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

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

“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

Kodan laughed, but there wasn’t much humor in it. “Because there aren’t many of us. And even fewer of us in the higher ranks. If I weren’t Elias’ friend, I doubt I would’ve made it as far as I did.”“What do you mean?” I asked.“The training program isn’t easy. The few women who are interested in becoming soldiers often get pushed out of the program early.”“On purpose?” Adora asked. “Why would they do that?”Kodan huffed a laugh. “A lot of soldiers aren’t too keen on getting their ass kicked by a teen girl. And when I started training, I was kicking a lot of ass. A lot of the guys didn’t like that. I didn’t have any friends — I wasn’t even allowed to stay in the same barracks when I was young. I slept in the servants’ quarters.”“Gods above,” Fina said. “Sounds like they were a bunch of assholes.”“That’s an understatement,” Kodan said. “I had to train three times as hard to climb up the ranks. If Elias hadn’t stuck with me, I would’ve given up a dozen different times. He stood up fo