Page 11 of The Wolf's Mate
Innocent enough question, but still I bristle. I’m not ready to share her with outsiders yet. “She’s tired. My cousin, Tallie, is helping her settle in.” Not a complete lie. Tallie is helping Hettie settle, but that’s because I’m not prepared to be around her yet, and our first meeting was less than spectacular. Until she’s officially pack, she won’t sit in on these meetings.
“Shame. I’ve never met Hettie, but I heard her name around town when I lived in Grym Hollow. Maybe next time,” Rose says before heading back over to Malix. The two take a seat, and Thorne and I follow. Behind us, the door opens, and two betas walk in carrying trays of buttery biscuits and garlic chicken. My stomach growls, reminding me I haven’t eaten today.
We don’t speak of Nephilim or curses during dinner. Rose takes over the conversation, filling us in about her life at Grym Hollow. I think of Hettie and what life she might have lived there. Couldn’t have been a good one if she made a deal with Ender. Rose left a cheating boyfriend and a sister who betrayed her. What did Hettie leave? More importantly, would we ever get to a place where she would want to tell me? Willingly?
After dinner, dessert is placed in front of us, an iced lemon cake that I take little interest in. I’m eager to get the discussion started. The longer we put this off, the sicker wolves grow with the curse.
Thorne catches my eye from his spot next to me, and I know my second is thinking the same thing. Enough of the pleasantries. I need answers.
“Shall we discuss the reason you’re here, then? What updates can you tell me about the Nephilim and Gadreel? Last we met was to warn the leaders of their escape from the mountain.” It wasn’t all that long ago when Malix summoned all six leaders of Mescos to Kraken’s Lagoon. Since then, all of our conversations have been in writing. None of the letters have held any important updates out of fear they could be intercepted.
Malix lets out a deep sigh. For the first time, I see the weight of his kingdom on his shoulder. Like me, we are both young kings, responsible for every life in our kingdom. These are unprecedented times, but it’s hard to not feel like I’m failing my people.
“Gadreel and his people attacked Dragon’s Keep. They got through our barrier when we were at our weakest. My people fought hard, but it was Rose who saved us.” The look he gives his wife makes me feel like I’m intruding on an intimate moment between the couple.
I’m surprised Malix is willing to admit to his weaknesses. Dragons are prideful beings and secretive.
“What do you mean, Rose saved you?” This makes little sense. A mere human against ancient, powerful creatures known as the Nephilim? Giant, human-like creatures with shredded wings, designed to wreak havoc upon the world. Their leader, Gadreel, is more powerful than any of us truly know.
“I restored the barriers,” Rose explains.
“Not only that, but she broke the sleeping curse,” Malix adds.
“But how?” This time it’s Thorne who asks, seemingly just as confused.
“That’s the part we can’t explain.” As soon as Rose says it, both Thorne’s and my shoulders slump. “Not in any logical way, at least. Ender told me there is magic in Mescos. Magic that humans once possessed. It’s there—I feel it, but I didn’t really start feeling it until I fell in love with Malix.”
Love. How cliché. And utterly useless.
I’m no closer to learning how to save my people than I was at the start of dinner.
“Pardon my bluntness, but love doesn’t feel like enough to keep my pack safe. There has to be more to it. We don’t have the magical barriers Dragon’s Keep has. My people are completely exposed to the Nephilim and rogues?—”
“Lycan Forest has rogues? Since when?” Malix tilts his head, mulling over my words.
I bite back my anger, giving him a curt nod. “Since the magic keeping the Nephilim imprisoned started fading.”
Malix nods. “That’s when we started experiencing changes too. What about the curse? What kind of curse is plaguing your lands? It’s going to hit each kingdom differently, but the effect is all the same. Death to our kind.”
It’s a sensible question from King Malix, one I expected him to ask. Still, I hesitate. Admitting weakness to outsiders sets my people up for attack. I don’t believe Malix or his dragons will turn on us, but the thought still lingers. It’s not natural for us to seek assistance outside the pack, but with the alarming number of wolves falling each day, I’m backed into a damn corner with no way out.
I catch Thorne’s eyes, and he nods once, assuring me he agrees that the only right choice here is to be as transparent as possible.
I still don’t fucking like it.
But I tell him anyway.
“My people are losing their connection to their wolves. It starts out as a headache, maybe some night shivers. And then their bodies shut down. I’m watching wolves wither away. Without the connection to their wolves, their bodies cannot sustain them any longer. There have only been a few casualties, but my healers say it will get worse.”
Walking through my infirmary feels a lot like walking through a graveyard. Death clings to every corner. Mourners cry and pray over their loved ones for a cure that seems more impossible by the day.
Neither Malix nor Rose says anything when I finish telling them about the curse. Rose shakes her head, her face a mixture of disbelief and pity. Malix scowls and pulls Rose closer. He visibly relaxes when their shoulders touch. Seeing the change in the Dragon King is shocking. Jealousy rears its ugly head, but I tamp it down. I have no reason to be jealous of another king and their mate.
I’ve never been interested in taking a mate. I was fine with women warming my bed for a night, maybe two, but I never let it go longer than that. The interest in them left as soon as my needs were filled. As the King Alpha, I know I will have to eventually take a mate, but it wouldn’t be for love. It would be for necessity. Kings need heirs.
Images of Hettie’s large brown eyes and straight black hair fill my mind. Heat rushes through my body. This damn human has already taken up residency in my head.
I don’t like it.