Page 110 of The Wolf King

***

There is a storm coming.

I feel it as nightfall approaches.

The air is static and close and the Wolves seem more excitable than usual. I can hear them outside, shouting and laughing and brawling within the castle grounds. I wonder if that’s a wolf thing. Perhaps they can sense the storm and it agitates them in some way.

It makes me glad I have protection while Callum is away, even if it is Blake I must turn to.

I sit cross-legged on my bed and examine the collar he put around my neck.

It is black and featherlight, with a faint pattern on it made up of crisscrossing blacks and greys and other shades of night. It’s made of silk, and I run it through my fingers. At its center, there’s a black obsidian stone that absorbs the light from my candle.

I cannot decide whether to go to Blake’s chambers or not.

There are many reasons not to. For one thing, it would be completely inappropriate for me to visit a man’s bedchambers. Especially alone, after dark.

For another, Callum told me Blake was the most dangerous wolf in this entire kingdom.

And yet, the story Blake told me about his mother haunts me. A moment of understanding passed between us in that corridor. I wonder if we both have broken souls.

Maybe he’s not as bad as Callum thinks.

Curiosity flares within me, too. If his mother was human, does that make him a half-wolf? Why are the Wolves here so afraid of him? And why did he protect me?

As the candle burns low, flicking shadows over the shelves that creak beneath Blake’s books, my intrigue finally outweighs my trepidation.

I want to know why he has invited me to his chambers, and I’m certain he won’t harm me. Whatever his game is, I think he needs me in one piece in order to win.

Thunder rumbles through the castle walls as I slide off my bed, signaling the arrival of the storm.

I pull on my boots, and creep down the spiral staircase.

The torches in the corridors flicker violently, as if the flames are as excited by the storm as the Wolves that shout and roar in the Great Hall. I stick to the shadows, flattening myself against the wall as a couple of drunken Wolves pass by on their way to the festivities.

When I reach Blake’s door, I take a deep breath.

The last time I was here, he shifted and chased me through the forest. I’m not sure what I’ll be faced with this time.

I gather my nerves, and I knock.

I wait a few seconds. The rain hammers against the castle, and there’s a flash of light through the narrow window at the end of the corridor as lightning strikes.

There’s a thud within Blake’s chambers, followed by the sound of someone stumbling.

The door opens a crack.

Blake’s dark hair is messy, as if he’s been running his hands through it, and his skin is clammy. The top few buttons of his white shirt are undone and his sleeves are rolled up to his elbows to reveal corded forearms.

His eyes are bloodshot.

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

Behind him, his room is a mess. The black sheets of his four-poster bed are crumpled, there are books all over the floor, and his desk is littered with small glass jars.

My brow furrows. “You told me to come at nightfall...”

“Oh. Right.” His words are a little slurred. He tilts his head to the side. “Why would a rabbit seek out a wolf?”

---