Page 103 of Ravenous

Twenty-seven days till the Hunter’s Moon

“Fuck me, that optionisunwelcome,” Lowell muttered once Thane had finishedrecounting his adventure in the Helter.

Lowell himself had paced this study for hours the night before, waiting for his king to return, doing his best not to imagine the worst. Thane’s last instructions had been brutal.

Now it turned out that the demon-witch had appeared on Thane’s perilous mission but had escaped before the king’s battle with wendigos.

Lowell sank back in his customary chair before Thane’s desk. “You’re no’ actually considering this portal, are you?”

Thane swirled the untouched whiskey in his glass. “I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind.”

Lowell exhaled hard. A king coolly talking about abandoning his kingdom—what next? And Lowell was already having a shite day. After two nights away from his witch, he was twitching, craving the volatile chemistry that made everything else seem dull and gray. Even Craigdúr’s sunset over the Twilight Sea failed to stir him.

Thane continued, “In the mortal realm, she’d be safe from her own coven. And mayhap the Skeinisdying, the ship sinking.”

Word had come this morning of another crop failure in Umber. For a fleeting moment, Lowell imagined taking Meera through that portal—starting over, away from all this—but reason quickly snuffed the thought. Even if he could leave behind his pack, he could never leave his large family. “If the ship’ssinking, then we patch the hull and start bailing. We canna all cram through that rift. We canna found yet another settlement.”

Thane canted his head. “Could we no’?”

“You going to bring the witches too?”

“Does it no’ bear discussion? A king’s pack united with his mate’s people? What could be simpler than life among humans?”

“We’re never supposed to go back, remember? We got kicked out for a reason. Lykae might be able to control ourselves or head to isolated territories, but the witches used to prey on mortals, selling them potions and karmic misery.”

“You speak to me about duty to my people, but I have the same duty to protect my mate. Above all things, a Lykae safeguards his female and offspring.”

“This pack will provide the most protection in the long run. So protectitfirst.”

Unable to deny the logic, Thane stared out the window, as if weighing centuries instead of sentences. He didn’t appear to register the sunset either.

Lowell leaned forward. “Can you commit to me that you will no’ use the portal?”

After a moment, Thane said, “I’ll keep searching for a way to be with Ditch, but I will no’ abandon my pack. Will you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You speak harshly of the witches, and yet you see the assistant as often as you can.”

No’ the same.“She’s different. She’s no’ a cannibal, for one thing.”

Thane set down his glass with a precise movement. “Mind yourself, friend. That’s your queen you speak of.”

“You’re right.”Where is your head, Lowell?“I apologize.”

“If Meera’s no’ divulging much, why see her so often?” Thane asked, tension leaving his shoulders.

Lowell sipped his whiskey and admitted, “She’s like a never-ending bone I’ve got to chew.”

“I’m sure she would love that comparison.” Thane’s gaze landed on his jogging leg.

Lowell stilled it. “Nay. And she’s a prickly one. But gods, her temper spices our encounters.” They needled the ever-loving shite out of each other. Lowell’s mouth curved despite himself. “I canna help but think she’s the one.”

“The one?” Thane said. “There’s onlyoneone. And you stayed in your poston the night of the full moon instead of running to her. I’ve never met anyone mated who had to wonder if they were. You saw how I reacted.”

“As if you’d been booted in the bollocks,” Lowell said. “But mayhap things are different for me. I’ve never had trouble controlling my beast, never struggled with a wolven temper or unruly curiosity. Mayhap my matehood will lack fanfare and drama.”

“Mayhap?” Thane gave a soft laugh, but there was steel beneath it. “There’s just no doubt. When you find your mate, you will be thunderstruck, rocked to the core of who you are—because in that moment, who you are changes utterly, formed anew by that interlocking soul. It is no’subtle, friend.”