Page 48 of The Wolf King's Demand

Tyler felt his blood turn to ice. His uncle had been the one to kill his parents. And by some miracle, he’d barely avoided being murdered, too.

“Unfortunately, my plan to dispose of you failed, and you lived on,” his uncle continued. “I needed to find a new way to bring you down, perhaps even turn your own people against you. And then you got engaged to that half-human waste of a princess.”

The king snarled at the insult to his beloved mate.

Maximilian paid him no mind. “I was certain your people would turn on you for it. That they would reject the idea of having a weak queen who couldn’t even shift. And you would have looked weak in turn for accepting her.”

Maximilian began to pace as he relayed the chain of events. “I planned on challenging you for the throne in front of all your men to see. Defeating you in combat would have been the final straw, and I would be the undisputed king. And yet, despite her shortcomings, your people accepted her as their future queen. They even began to adore her.”

Tyler felt a surge of pride at that. At how much his mate had clearly gotten under his uncle’s skin and proved everyone wrong. She truly was stronger than them all.

“Is that why you put the bounty on her?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“If I couldn’t bring you down in one fell swoop, I’d settle for picking you apart piece by piece.” His uncle took a step toward him, and Tyler met it with his own step closer. “Starting with the woman you were so clearly besotted with.

“With her dead, you would slowly begin to crumble. And the rogues attacking your villages would further aid my goal of making you look weak. If you couldn’t defend your villages, let alone your own betrothed, then what kind of king would you be?”

“And yet, even now, we are putting an end to your rogue attacks. And after I kill you, I will find my mate and the child you stole.”

Maximilian chuckled. “Did you really think I would have thought to challenge you if I didn’t think I could win? Don’t be such a naïve boy. Your father and I kept the peace in a very different way than you do, and it struck fear into the hearts of thousands.”

Then suddenly, his uncle had shifted, and he leapt at him. Tyler barely had enough time to dodge the attack and then shift himself.

His uncle made a big mistake in riling him up.

The two charged at each other, and they rolled across the floor. Maximilian pinned him for a moment. His uncle’s teeth gnashed at his throat, but Tyler was quicker. He bit down on Maximilian’s throat hard, and the older wolf kicked him off.

Before his uncle could recover, Tyler lunged at him again, biting at his legs. He managed to get in a few hits before Maximilian returned a few of his own.

His uncle tore at his ear and face, and the king growled in anguish. He retaliated by biting at Maximilian’s throat again and leaping away.

He needed a plan of some kind to take out his uncle. Maximilian’s wolf was bigger than his and could obviously sustain a lot of blows.

Before his uncle could charge at him again, Tyler sprinted toward the large shelves. Time to make use of his environment. Maximilian tried to keep up with him, but he was slower than Tyler.

He disappeared into the shadows and then moved along quietly. His uncle growled furiously at not being able to catch him, and he heard him sniffing around.

Tyler didn’t give him the chance.

Leaping from his place in the shadows, Tyler tackled the other wolf and sunk his teeth into the back of his neck. Maximilian howled and tried to shake him off, but Tyler kept his grip firm.

His uncle tried to roll over in an attempt to dislodge him, but Tyler let go at the last instant. He pinned his uncle to the ground. Maximilian let out a piercing howl before Tyler ripped out his throat.

He stood over his uncle’s body, making sure it was truly finished.

Then, when Maximilian didn’t move anymore, Tyler shifted back.

He was panting hard, and he could feel where his uncle had torn out parts of his flesh.

But that wasn’t important now. What was important was finding Addison and getting her out of there.

TWENTY-NINE

ADDISON

The bar was almost free. Addison had spent the last half an hour working on the rusted piece of iron that held her captive. She had managed to maneuver a rock out of the wall and had scraped away most of the old soft mortar with it.

It was frustrating work. She could sense Cassia nearby and was frantic to get to her before something bad happened to her. She was certain Letitia would have no qualms about hurting the child.

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