The Wolf Queen (The Queen's Slave, Book 2)

Seventy: Into The Woods

A raspy cough rattled the air, tainted with sickness. "N-no, y-y-your b-brother-," her words were shaken by the cold and by her fear, the harsh clack of her jaw snapping shut ringing through the air. I stiffened and straightened by back. My senses told me she had been beaten recently, and no doubt worse judging by the freshness of the blood staining her clothing. I inhaled softly, looking towards her with my broken eyesight, feeling the slightest twinge of sadness for the horror she no doubt endured at his hands.

For all her misdeeds, she did not deserve this.

"Ezekiel is dead, Cara."

She released a keening sound then, a shattered note of profound pain, a sound that sliced right through me. "H-h-how c-can y-y-you b-be s-sure?"

"I relieved him of his head myself." A dark smile lit up my cheeks. "Among....other.....tiny...things."

There was no audible reply, but her heart beat unhealthily fast at my words. I sighed, debating the urge to save her or condemn her to the wild wolves for the crimes she committed against Azalea in my palace. My demon snarled at the reminder, studying the girl through distrustful eyes. I studied her as well, taking account of her rapid breathing, shallow as it was, and the delicious scent of terror leaking from her pores. A twig snapped behind me and I spun around, sniffing the air. I chuckled to myself at that. Perhaps I have been spending too much time with wolves.

Yet, there is one here with us now.

Crumbled rock scraped against the remains of this concrete platform I stood on as Cara tried to drag herself away from the male wolf. I rose a brow in amusement and crossed my arms as the rugged Alpha padded up to her, uncaring that she was terrified of him.

"Keep still, I'm not sure what he wants." I warned her and she froze.

"Y-you'd l-let him k-kill me?"

"If it is his choice, yes."

The air shifted around me then, and steady waves of vibration rose the hair on my arms. I could almost taste it, the scent of rain and warm wind, omens of a summer storm on the horizon. Cara began to sob anew when Kore's wingbeats shook the air, curling herself into a little ball. I stayed put even when she landed, blowing my hair every which way.

"I quite like your hair this way." She commented on my thoughts, her lips curving against the shell of my ear. "I can't want to wrap my hands in those silky strands tonight."

My lips twitched, but a warning flashed through my unseeing eyes, a warning for her to stay out of my head before she heard something she didn't like. "You will have your turn, mate."

Her fingers brushed my jaw lovingly, curling around my chin and turning my face to hers. My mouth brushed her lips as she spoke, desire sparking between us. "I would never push you, Elizabeth. But I do believe you will cry for me, just as our sweet little wolf trembles for you."

"I'm not scared of you, angel." I purred, my fingers covering hers as I pressed a kiss to her palm. "But it is you who will do the begging." Her hand fell from my face and the air around us shifted as she moved away from me, the bond flashing with images of her desire. Thick coarse fur brushed my arm and the alpha licked my hand, settling on his haunches beside me.

"We've met before, have we not?" Kore asked her, a curious note to her voice.

"Y-yes, a-at t-t-th," her words cut off as a wave of violent coughs wracked her frame, and she abruptly passed out, too weak to stay conscious, her body slumping to the ground.