Valerie

Chapter Eighteen

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"I had him thoroughly under my thumb."

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The education center was about as comfortable as laying on a bed of needles. They did about the same things as last time⁠⁠—constant noise, pheromone exposure, and readings from their teachings.

"A female wolf was born to be kind. As it's her nature to nurture. She was not born to take pleasure in killing, and when she does it, she does it for the protection of her people."

And I don't think a person can do mad twice, and I'd gone mad already, so where I'd cried before, I spent most of my time staring at the ceiling, remembering the feeling of power I had in the ring. Before long, the director of the facility came to check on me⁠⁠, a smile on her face, which fell before she even left. I think they believed I was too quiet. I hope I made them nervous.

One day bled into two, two into three, three days into three weeks until finally the numbers couldn't run anymore and I lost all track of time. My procedures began again; I guess Aeneas grew tired of waiting. Bones, skin, fur, teeth, eyesight, vocal cords. Hilla would hold my hand as I slipped in and out of sleep, and my dream victims would promise me all the power in the world.

And then finally, at last, Aeneas came to visit me.

I knew he'd come because they took me out of my room, brought me, servants, washed me, and dressed me in something soft and pink, before leaving me in a sitting room with a tray of sandwiches in front of me. Now long after, the door opened, and Aeneas's voice shook me from my haze.

"Tell the Lords there'll be no meeting today," he whispered.

It was Beta Artimidge who responded. "But if you⁠⁠—"

"Don't. I'm tired of their antics. The next one who bothers me, I'll have them hunted down by hunting dogs. Go."

The door shut and I stood as he entered. He paused for a moment, looking at me. The air grew denser as he walked closer. "You look healthy," he said. He spoke it pleasantly. Reserved. "Are you eating?"

"Of course."

He gestured to the couch, took my hands, and sat me down. "It's been a month now."

"Oh?"

"And Ravenna Shreer woke up from her coma last week. Her medical team kept her in a sort of stasis until most of the damage could be undone."

"Which means..."

"That I bring you back. But you can't cause trouble. Valerie, you have to calm down." Some desperation crept into his voice as he said it, but it was quickly tamped down. Still, I could see the situation had grown out of his control. His cheeks had thinned and his under eyes darkened. He had a shadow about it, and from his speech at the door, he must've become crueler in the last month. That could either go in my favor or against it. I would have to be careful there.

"You don't sleep anymore," I said. "You don't look well."

"No more trouble, Valerie. I don't know what you wanted to prove, but you've proven it. The Shreer girl is scared out of her mind. She has nightmares, panic attacks. No one will dare provoke you again."

"That's exactly what I wanted."

His grip around my hands grew tighter. "A Queen should be kind, should be approachable. Should be loved."