Page 12 of Wolfkissed
Servants stop in their tracks as we move toward the stairs, goggling at our little party and the huge werewolf lumbering behind us. I say lumbering, but glancing over my shoulder at the monster following me, I find he’s rather stumbling along, one leg dragging.
Della was right. He’s wounded.
Good.
Would that slow him down if he loses control and attacks me? Not likely. Would he even feel the pain? He’d probably relish it as he tore me to pieces. Besides, werewolves heal inhumanly fast. He?—
“My lady, be careful.” Della tugs on my hand, and I realize we’ve reached the stairs.
Clever, killing myself by falling down the stairs out of fear that the wolf would get me. Ironic.
Getting myself together, lifting my chin, I let go of her hand and lead the way down and into the great hall.
The last thing I want is to let Stepfather and everyone else read any alarm on my face, so I school my features into a calm countenance. I reach up to my neck, making sure my high collar is in place and my hair hasn’t slipped from its do.
A grim lady is coming down the stairs, wearing my face, ready to fight.
I’ll fight for my salvation.
The noise from the hall slams into me before I reach the bottom of the stairs, and then I enter it. It’s like plunging into alake full of snakes, the voices jabbing like fangs into my aching head.
A few faces turn as I march between tables and into the center of the hall, followed by my unlikely bodyguard and the others. The noise goes down a notch as more and more guests fall silent, watching our small but spectacular procession head for the lord of the manor.
“Stepfather,” I say, too riled up to even manage a curtsy. “I demand you send this beast away from here.”
“Good morning to you, too, Stepdaughter.” Stepfather has the gall to look mildly amused at my declaration. He doesn’t get up or even stop cutting up the meat on his plate, simply lifting his brows. “Sit down and have some breakfast with our guests.”
“This… creature.” I point blindly behind me. “He has to go. Now. I’m not staying with him breathing down my neck.”
“But that’s just the thing, Stepdaughter. You’re not staying.”
I blink. “What?”
“It’s time for you to travel and join your future husband.”
“But… I’m not ready to leave yet.” I’m shocked, caught off guard yet again, and I hate it. I hate how I’m losing control of my face muscles, that my eyes go wide, and my body stiff. This isn’t how it was supposed to go down. “It’s too soon for the wedding.”
“Now that your bodyguard is here… you are leaving.” He waves his knife in the air. “Well, it will take a few days to prepare your things, of course. Pack up everything.”
A silent scream is building up in my chest, rising in my throat, choking me.
“Pack up everything.”My entire life is to be stuffed inside a few coffers. And I thought I was ready to go, leave this life behind and look to new horizons, new possibilities, so why is the thought crippling me, making my knees weak and my mouth dry?
Worse still… “I’m not going with this…thingfollowing me!” My voice rises, and I can’t keep it down. “There is no way. I won’t.”
“Now, don’t act like a crybaby. Such a fine-looking lady,” he goes on, still using the knife to emphasize his points, making the whole argument seem petty and unimportant. “Despite her scars, of course. It’s not proper to screech like this just because you’re not getting your way.”
“I’m not screeching.”
“There you go. Come now, sit and partake of this delicious banquet. You won’t have such fine fare once you’re on the road.”
I feel faint. Black spots swim in my sight. My chest feels crushed, my lungs laboring. “You can’t… can’t do this.”
“It is already done.” Now, he points the knife at me. “You should be thanking me. After what happened to you in the past, I made sure you’d have the only bodyguard who can actually protect you in case of an attack on the road. A fine specimen. And such an interesting hair hue… Doesn’t he remind you of someone?”
My head is pounding so hard I can barely think. “What? No.”
“Well.” He leans back in his chair. “It doesn’t matter. How about some gratefulness for all the trouble I went through to secure one of the creatures?”
