Page 26 of The Wolf King's Demand

“You weren’t a slave then?” asked Addison. She wasn’t sure if it really made a difference if what Letitia was telling her was true.

“No, but we were all treated like shit. Well, the ones that didn’t fight alongside the men, anyway.” Letitia looked sad. “The fighting women were treated better than the rest of us. They looked down their noses at us and never helped or stood up for us when we were beaten.”

Shit thought Addison. I can’t look away from this. Somehow, I have to offer these women a new beginning.

“Thank you for rescuing us from there,” Letitia said sincerely. “I don’t know what we’d have done if you hadn’t. So many of us had already died because of illness or beatings.”

“Of course,” said Addison, feeling embarrassed. It made her feel sick, listening to what these women and children had endured. She’d only done what any decent person would have done, liberating them from their violent oppressors. It made her feel uncomfortable being thanked for it. “Look, I’ll talk with Tyler about you becoming our nanny. And I’ll see if we can find jobs for all of you around the castle if that’s what you all want?”

“That would be lovely. I’ll tell the girls. They will be so pleased.” Letitia stood. “I won’t take up any more of your time,” she said. “Thank you again, Princess. You will make a wonderful queen.”

She didn’t know what to do with Letitia’s flattery. She smiled and stood. “Please call me Addison,” she said, holding out her hand. “I’ve never much been one for airs and graces.”

Letitia shook it hurriedly. “Thank you, Addison,” she said shyly, then looking uncomfortable, she dashed from the room.

Addison hoped she wasn’t overstepping the mark with her offer. She just wanted these poor, oppressed women to feel at home here. Tyler had been in his meeting quite a while now. She decided she should find him and run the idea past him.

SIXTEEN

TYLER

Tyler and his enforcers had just finished up their official meeting about the current situation. Now, they all lounged around the game room, drinking, and trying to one-up each other in darts or shooting pool.

And though the atmosphere around them appeared calm, they were still trying to sort out their dilemma.

“We scoured that outpost for any trace of the person who paid off the rogues,” his beta said as he lined up his shot. “Nothing, not even someone who had seen them when the bounty was issued. It seems the word’s traveled mostly by way of mouth.”

Louis took the shot, and two of his balls fell in the pockets, much to the dismay of his opponent.

Tyler growled and took a swig of his drink. It seemed Hugh had been right about the mysterious benefactor bailing after issuing the bounty. And the fact that this person had been smart enough to not leave any traces behind spoke of a professional. Just who exactly were they dealing with?

It wasn’t as though he had a shortage of enemies. But the bounty had been placed on Addison, not him, which drove his wolf into a frenzy. Although the attacks on the villages suggested that it was a feud with him. And there was no better way to get to him than through his betrothed.

However, he doubted their attacker knew just how effective a weapon hurting Addison would be against him. And he hoped they never found out.

Or perhaps someone was taking advantage of the chaos to try to get to her.

“So, it’s another dead end then,” one of the enforcers, Valerian, said as he threw a dart, just missing the bull’s eye. “Where does that leave us?”

“With no leads and no new clues until someone else stirs up trouble,” Malcolm said. He picked up his own dart and threw it with ease, hitting the center spot dead on. Malcolm smirked, and Valerian groaned in frustration before shoving him out of the way to take another turn.

“So, where do we go from here?” Henry, who had the misfortune of playing billiards against Louis, asked.

“Continue to send out trackers and keep your ear to the ground. With the price on Addison, no one is going to let up anytime soon,” Tyler said and knocked back the rest of his drink.

His beta nodded. “Yes, Sire. I already have a few men deployed and keeping an eye on some other rogue camps. And we’re still keeping an eye on the outpost in case our mystery instigator decides to come back.”

Tyler nodded. He could always count on his beta to be on the same page as him.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to take your betrothed to another kingdom?” Malcolm asked. “We could have her over the border in a few hours.”

Tyler sighed. “No, we’ve agreed that she’ll remain here. As the future queen, she feels a responsibility to stay. I will honor that.”

Malcolm shrugged. “As you wish. It might be easier to guard her here in the palace anyway.”

“Yeah, the benefactor could have been counting on us moving her and had an ambush planned,” Valerian mused thoughtfully and then threw his dart, missing once again. He cursed colorfully.

Louis grunted. “Well, personally, I think they might …”

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