Page 39 of Wolf's Prize

Aimon chuckled. “You make a fair point. I confess I do not enjoy my visits there overly much. The rankness of it is legendary amongst our kind.”

Kathryn giggled. “I do not like going there much either. At least you only have the horrible smells to contend with. I must spend my day embroidering with a room full of gossiping women who coat themselves in any number of potent floral unguents.”

He bit back a grin. “Do you not like embroidering?”

Even blindfolded, the horror on her face told him everything. He laughed. “No, I suppose you would much rather be out here in the forest.”

“Oh my, yes.”

She smiled at him again, and his heart warmed. He cleared his throat. “Let us focus back on the forest. There is something you have missed.”

“I did? What is it? A bird? An animal?”

“Knowing what is in your immediate surroundings is important, but knowing what has been here in the recent past can also be useful. Try again. See if you can scent it.”

She turned her attention back to the forest and raised her nose to the air. “I think… Yes, there is something else. It is very faint, like the scent is not fresh, and there are layers of it heading out in different directions. It smells almost like you, but…different.”

“And what do you think it was?”

“Was it…? Could it be…another werewolf?”

“Very good. Gaharet patrolled his demesne frequently. The last time would have been a week at most, before…” Aimon stopped himself before he revealed too much. “What you smell is the residue of his scent.” He stepped closer and slipped the blindfold from her eyes. “You have done well today, Kathryn.” She beamed at his praise. He would praise her often to have her smile at him. “We will continue again tomorrow.”

“But—”

“Tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. You have waited eleven years for this, I know, but training takes time. We all make mistakes when we are tired. Your safety, and the safety of all those who live on this estate, is paramount.” He inclined his head toward the keep. “Come. Anne will have a hot bath and a good meal waiting for you.”

She would come to look forward to those as her training continued and be grateful of Anne’s ministrations. While Kathryn would not admit it, her energy was flagging, her feet all but dragging on the ground by the time he handed her over into Anne’s care.

As he watched her weary body climb the stairs, disappearing around the curve, his thoughts already skipping ahead to tomorrow’s training, Farren appeared at his side.

“All went well?”

Aimon nodded. “Very well. She is progressing much faster than I had imagined.”

“She has nightmares. Has had them regularly since her turning. Do you think they will stop now?”

Aimon stared at the empty stairwell, unwilling to look at Farren. “I imagine so.”

Farren’s sigh was steeped in regret. “I hope one day she can forgive me. Perhaps then I can forgive myself.”

Farren shuffled back to the library, a dejected cast to his shoulders. Aimon stared after him. Whatever the future held for Kathryn, she needed Farren in it. Until the truth had come out, they had shared a bond far stronger than Aimon had with his father. It would be a travesty if she gained her wolf, only to lose the father she loved.

Chapter Sixteen

Kathryn stepped into the bath and eased her aching body into the heated water. She would not admit it to Aimon, but she was tired. Shifting so many times had taken its toll on her body, and a headache was forming behind her eyes. She rubbed her temples. Would it always be this way? Did Aimon feel as fatigued as she did? She should heed Aimon’s advice and rest. After all, he had experience in this.

Three months it had taken him. Three whole months. She had much to catch up on. If only her father… A lump lodged in her throat. Well, he had not, and nothing could change that now. But she would learn everything she could from Aimon and be thankful for the opportunity. It did not bear thinking she might never have had the chance, never have understood she was not cursed, had events played out differently.

Kathryn rested her head against the rim of the barrel and closed her eyes. She should be grateful Aimon had shown her the truth, shown her what he was, forcing her transition.Wait. Why did he do that?She opened her eyes and sat up, splashing water over the rim of the barrel. Whyhadhe done that? He must have known, or suspected, she was a werewolf, for he would never have revealed himself to her otherwise.

She cast her mind back over the past few months. When had he caught her scent? She had not spoken a word to him, nor been in his direct company. Not once, only admiring him from afar, along with every other woman at court. And the smells of Langeais Keep affected him as much as they did her. He had admitted so today. So how… Oh. She remembered. She had bumped into him at Langeais Keep the day Comte Lothair had bequeathed them Gaharet’s estate. Aimon had not come to the d’Louncrais Keep because of her change in fortune. He had not come here to marry her at all.

Kathryn slumped back into the water. She had made a fool of herself. No wonder her rejection had not perturbed him.

What about that kiss in the forest?Had she imagined his interest? She reached for a lock of her hair, sliding her fingers through the copper strands. No. She did not think so. Kathryn rubbed her face with her hand. How she wished she had a mother to talk to, to ask questions about men.

The door swung open, and Anne shuffled in, a plate of undercooked meat, bread and cheese in her hands. She eyed the old cook. Anne had a motherly, if somewhat forceful way about her. Did she dare ask her? Kathryn blushed. No. She would figure this out for herself.

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