Page 93 of Wolf's Bane
The beast wanted out. Now. This man was a threat.
Alek clenched his hands, claws digging into his palms. He hung onto his control. Barely. The bond between him and Solenne shivered with concern.
“Or what? Don’t be greedy. One anchor is enough for man or beast, eh?” Chambers jabbed a finger at Alek, prompting a growl. A triumphant grin spread across Chambers’ face. “How curious, Hardwick. Are you quite yourself?”
Alek brushed away the man’s hand. He knew. Alek betrayed himself, and Chambers was the sort of man to press his advantage.
“You know, I never enjoyed hunting down your kind. It seemed cruel, chasing down beasts who were so simple-minded. There was no challenge to it, but you’ve been a challenge.”
Alek wanted to deny it, to proclaim his status as an unadulterated human, but something in the man’s gaze made that impossible. Alek was old in beast years. People with his affliction seldom lived more than a handful of months. The level of control, or power, radiating off Chambers was unimaginable. Alek felt the urge to bend his neck to the superior wolf.
The mask had come off. Alek knew before whom he stood. “Like calls to like,” he said.
Chambers blinked, breaking the hold. “So it seems.”
Alek stepped back. “I should make a polite excuse, but why bother. I’m finding my wife and leaving.” She would be displeased with him, but she would be safe.
He found her in the dining room, sitting between Charlotte and Godwin. She laughed and picked at a plate with those little bites of food that never really satisfied a hungry person.
“There are too many people,” he grumbled, unaware of the looks he drew.
“Alek? Are you well? You look…odd,” Luis said.
He ignored Luis and rushed to Solenne, grabbing her arm. She lost her grip on her plate, sending it tumbling to the table. Those little bits of food scattered, ruining the clean linen. She gasped.
“We’re leaving,” he said.
Laughter from a nearby table. “Can’t wait, Hardwick?” Jase asked, as if he were clever.
“What? Why?” Solenne’s smile fell.
“I have no time for this.” He scrubbed at his face. He was doing this wrong, and that frustrated him. His senses felt muddled. Alcohol did not have that effect on him. Chambers had dosed the wine with something, but he did not understand what. “Can you do as I say and not argue?”
Well, that was the wrong thing to say.
Solenne pulled back. “Excuse me?”
“Aleksandar, I think you need to take a moment to control yourself.” Godwin laid a hand on his shoulder.
Alek jerked away, snarling. His hip bumped into the table, sending plates, glasses, cutlery, food and all the assorted detritus of dining to the floor.
“Do not presume to order me about,” he growled. He turned to Solenne, forming his words carefully despite the sense that his mouth was too crowded. “Solenne, I would not ask you if it was not important.” He glanced down at the overturned plate. “Perhaps Charlotte should come with us.”
Godwin made more barking noises, blustering and without meaning. Luis appeared, pressing a glass of water into his hand. For some reason, Miles was there, retrieving the cutlery and plates from the floor. Alek rubbed his temples. Everything was too loud and too hot. He wanted to find a secluded corner and sit in the dark.
Solenne looked at him with concern. “Do you require something? For a headache?”
He nodded, his brain jiggling uncomfortably with the motion.
Miles gasped, dropping the fork. A vivid red burn branded his palm.
Chapter 24
Aleksandar
Boxon
Vervain Hall
