Page 109 of The Night Prince

A floorboard creaks behind me.

I shove the small flimsy tome into my pocket and turn. Callum stands in the doorway.

His eyes move from Blake’s crumpled bedsheets to the spot where Blake was standing a moment ago. His nostrils flare and my pulse kicks up.

Does he think that something inappropriate happened between us?Didsomething inappropriate happen between us? I had been so caught up in getting the parchment, I had acted on instinct. I had not thought too hard about where I was, or who I was provoking. I bit him. My cheeks heat, and something cold moves beneath my skin.

It’s certainly not proper for a lady to be in another man’s bed, but I was angry. I wasfightinghim. I was trying to get answers for Callum, as well as myself. Still, shame spreads through me.

I get the sense that he’s battling with his wolf. He breathes deeply, and his fists are clenched. His expression could be carved from stone, and I know he only pulls his emotions back when he feels threatened.

“Callum.” I step toward him.

He staggers back as though I pushed him. Panic flickers across his face. He turns on his heel and walks out of Blake’s bedchambers.

“Callum.” I hurry after him.

He doesn’t slow down, so I can’t fall into step beside him.

“Callum!”

He halts outside the door of his bedchambers, clenches the top of the doorframe, and leans forward. His broad shoulders practically burst the seams of his shirt. He presses his forehead against the door. “His scent is all over you.”

“It’s not what you think.”

He releases a bitter laugh, devoid of his usual warmth. “He touched you.”

“I was trying to get answers—”

He spins around, and the wolf is in his eyes. “Were you in his bed?”

“Yes, but it’s not—”

He makes a low sound, shuts his eyes, and bites down on his knuckles. A dribble of blood runs down his fist and drips onto the flagstones. It doesn’t seem to offer him any relief, because his breathing is unsteady.

“Callum, please calm down.” I reach for his wrist so I can stop him from hurting himself.

He lurches away from me and his back hits the wall. He drops his fist to his side, and blood drips onto the flagstones. When he opens his eyes, I almost stagger back with the force of his gaze.

“Don’t,”he snarls.

“I’m sorry. I just—”

“Do you want him?”

“No!”

“I’m a wolf, Princess!” He slams a hand on his chest and I flinch. He blinks back the watery film over his eyes, and shakes his head. “I saw you dance with him, you know? At the feast at Lowfell.”

The memory of Blake twirling me around the dancefloor flashes through my mind. I shake my head. He cannot be serious. “I didn’t conceal that from you. I was trying to get information from him.” I hate the plea, the whine, thedesperationin my voice.

A muscle feathers in Callum’s jaw. “Is that what you were doing when you wound up in his bed?”

“Yes.”

He makes another low sound. My breathing is ragged. I’ve swallowed a storm, and it’s taking all my strength to keep it contained.

“If you calm yourself, I shall explain what happened. Let us go inside and talk about it like rational human beings.”

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