Page 187 of The Wolf King

A surge of triumph floods through me, so strong I gasp. A strange, smoky darkness twists inside my chest—unwelcome, but familiar. A laugh spills from my lips, though I’m not sure where it’s coming from.

Callum’s brow furrows. “Princess? What is it?”

“I... I frown. “I don’t know. Sorry. I... what were you—?”

Blake is watching me. And I... Ifeelit. I feel his amusement as strongly as I feel my own confusion.

I recall the moment when I was dying. He offered me something and I took it. Ifelthim then, too. Dark, and smoky, and scented like the forest. He filled me. He was inside me. He gave me light. And I saw things. Felt things. Flickers of memories that weren’t mine.

Dread seeps through my bones.

“What have you done?” My words are quiet and filled with horror.

Callum’s eyebrows knit together as he turns to look at Blake.

“Ah, yes, about that...” Blake straightens the cuffs of his black shirt. “I shared my life force with you to save you. Only, it appears there may be a slight... consequence...”

“What consequence?” I hiss.

Blake runs a hand over his jaw. “It seems to have created a... bond... of sorts, between us.”

He shrugs as though his words are meaningless but they slam into me so forcefully I physically jerk back.

“What do you mean?”

“I can feel what you feel. You can feel what I feel. It’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal?”

My blood turns cold, while Callum’s entire body hardens.

Before I can do it myself, Callum crosses the room, grabs Blake by his collar, and slams him into the closed door. “You piece of—”

Pain surges through me and I cry out.

Blake arches an eyebrow.

“Did you not hear what I just said?” he asks. “If you hurt me, you hurt her. If you kill me, she dies. And if your brother gets hold of me—then any pain he inflicts upon me will also be inflicted upon Aurora, too. So, if I were you, I’d focus your aggression on him. Because I stuck my neck out for the both of you, and you’d better believe James is going to come after me for it.”

Callum relaxes his hold on Blake’s neck, though his shoulders are still hard.

Blake sighs. “Do you think I wanted this? I’m a private person, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

The two stare at one another for a long moment, before Callum lets him go. “You’d better find a way to break this... connection.”

Though Blake is acting sincere, I can taste the smoky amusement on the back of my tongue. “Believe me, this pains me more than it does you,” says Blake.

He smirks.

“I hate you,” I say.

“Oh, believe me, I know.”

Blake smooths down his shirt as Callum comes to sit down on the bed beside me, his jaw tense.

“In the meantime, you’re both welcome to stay at my castle,” says Blake. “I’ll help you recruit the outlying clans before you challenge James for the throne. You won’t be able to take the throne without their support.”

“You’ll help?” Callum’s eyebrows raise in surprise.

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