Page 177 of The Wolf King

“I am glad you saved me.” My voice is sweet as sugar and it makes me feel sick. “I was so afraid.”

Sebastian’s eyes flit to mine and narrow.

“I was kidnapped, but no one touched me. They said I had to be kept pure so they could trade me for that rock you gave them. And I wouldn’t have let them touch me, anyway. I would never let awolftouch me.”

I put all my disgust at the man before me into the word.

“Is that so?” says Sebastian. “You didn’t let that beastly wolf from the kennels touch you?”

My insides scream. Wildness rattles against a cage in my chest. The thought that a monster such as Sebastian could call Callum beastly sets my insides aflame.

I let my mask cover my rage.

“I would never let him touch me,” I say. I lean forward and put my hand on his leg, inwardly flinching at the contact. “Let me prove it to you.”

His eyes darken, and something cold and hungry flashes behind them. Whatever beast resides beneath his skin stirs. I see it. I want to cower away from it. A wave of lust ripples from him, and my aura seems to curl in on itself, trying to get away.

I force myself to rise. I close the small space between us, and straddle his lap—my dress rising up my legs, and revulsion rising up my throat.

I will him to keep his eyes on mine, so he does not notice the now-exposed blade strapped to my thigh.

“We are to be man and wife soon,” I say softly, sweetly.

His gaze drags down my neck, my collarbone, my breasts—leaving a trail of cold in its wake. He licks his lips. My heartbeat pounds in my ears so hard that if he were a wolf, he would know my deception.

“Sebastian,” I whisper.

I remember being in Callum’s chambers, a silver letter opener in my hand, his hand rough and warm around mine.

Go for the throat,he told me.

In a sudden movement, I grab the knife. Before I can sink it through his pale flesh, he grabs my wrist. His other hand curls up into my hair, gripping tight.

I shriek—releasing the wildness in my soul—as I struggle against him. I try to push the blade against his neck. My scalp screams as Sebastian pulls my hair, and his fingers tighten around my wrist painfully.

He laughs. The sound is cold and dark, and his eyes flash with danger.

“Grew some teeth while you were with the Wolves, did you?” He bares my throat to him. He bends my wrist, hard, and the knife flies from my hand. “Not to worry. I’ve tamed many wild creatures in my time. I don’t like to be teased, Aurora. Especially not by little sluts like you. How about you show me what else you learned while you were being a whore to that Highfell beast?”

“Fuck you,” I hiss.

“Get on your knees.”

Fear and bile roll over me. The carriage blurs. I’m cold. Frozen.

“I said, get on your—”

Something hurtles into the side of the carriage, and the two of us are flung across the space. My shoulder slams painfully into the side as Sebastian’s body crashes into mine. For a moment, we’re a tangle of limbs and shattered glass and splintered wood. My head bashes against the ceiling, then the walls, as the carriage rolls.

It shudders to a halt on its side.

Everything is still.

I fight the adrenaline that’s making everything seem far away. I taste blood. My shoulder is crushed against one of the windows, and the carriage door is now above us. Long grass and jagged rocks splinter the glass. Sebastian stirs beside me, and there’s a crunching sound.

The knife has pierced the wood on the other side of his body. It glints in the moonlight that streams down. My pulse rages.

I lurch for it, shoving my knee into his crotch. He hisses, his eyelids flickering open.

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