Page 26 of Wolf’s Fated Bride

“Why?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe because Ash’s Regulator is innocent in all this.” I turn to look at her profile. “If Ash thinks there’s foul play, he won’t just go after Sven. He might go after all of us.”

Maren huffs and stands by the bed, hands on her hips. “What would you have me do, sister?”

“Accept your marriage.”

“I have accepted it. Why do you think I’ve been drinking every day?”

“No, I mean accept the Fireborn Alpha.”

Maren pulls me up to stand with her and cups my face. “The heart wants what the heart wants. I can’t tell my heart to love a man it doesn’t, any more than Ash Fireborn can tell his to love me. We’re pawns in the game of pack politics. He hates it. I hate it. But we conform because humans run the world. Until we’re free, truly free, we must conform.”

She lets go of me and pads toward the bathroom.

I follow her. While she undresses, I lean against the stone wall. “So Ash is testing Sven’s alchemy skills?”

“Mmhm.”

“When?”

“Tonight. Sven gave him the mixture. Ash will drink it tonight and do whatever he does. Why?” Maren steps into the steaming bath and sighs as she gets comfortable.

Because Sven is jealous, which means he’s not thinking clearly and might try to kill the Fireborn wolf yet again. I assume he will fail. Yet again, but this time, Ash might catch him and think we orchestrated everything. Best-case scenario, the treaty breaks, and Ash departs. Worst case? We all die. “No reason. See you later.”

“Where are you going?”

“I need to check on Mom.”

“Let’s play cards when you get back.”

“Sure.” I exit the room and head straight for the laundry room, where I find the baskets of folded clothes that belong to the Fireborns. We’re supposed to deliver those in the morning when we go there for breakfast and housekeeping, but I need an excuse to be there tonight in case I’m caught snooping around their quarters.

The freezing weather outside heralds a storm. They haven’t mentioned postponing their departure until after the storm passes, but they’ll have to consider that the weather out here could change quickly.

A gust of wind sways my body, and I jog across the bridge as quickly as possible, before the wind topples me down. I check the balconies for Fireborns. Not that I expect any of them to be sitting or standing outside right now, but I don’t know whether the fire running through their veins makes them hot. Ash burned me when I touched him, so cold temperatures might soothe him more than an average wolf.

He’s not on his balcony, but the dim light in his room tells me he might be in his bedroom. This means I must wait for him to leave.

Sören takes his medicine once a day. He can take it first thing in the morning or before bedtime. The bedtime dose includes a downer to help him sleep, so Sören prefers the night dose to the day one. Sometimes, when the full moon rides him, he takes both doses.

I hope Ash takes a night dose with a nice downer. This way, he’ll go off with Sven now and return much later to sleep like a log.

Downstairs, I enter the tower housing the Fireborn pack. The guards nod a greeting, and I nod back before making my way upstairs, where I press an ear against Ash’s door. I hear soft footsteps, so I know he’s inside.

I keep listening, thinking of what I should do.

The footsteps approach the door. I bolt down the hallway and hide inside a linen closet. My ears twitch, trying to make out his whereabouts. Boots hit the steps. When I’m sure he has descended, I peer out from the closet. The hallway is clear.

Basket under my arm, I carry it down the hall when heavy footsteps climb back up the stairs.

I return to the linen closet.

Ash chats with another wolf. Doors open and close as several wolves gather in the hallway. They’re planning on bathing in the pool where the Regulator drowned. Eww. There are two other baths in this tower. In any case, the wolves agree on the time and are gone.

I sneak into Ash’s bedroom.

The scent of the alpha male hits my groin immediately. An involuntary whine escapes me. I’m so glad nobody’s around to hear my horny plight, because I sound like a desperate omega bitch in heat. Which I’m not and can never be for my sister’s fiancé. It feels wrong, but my body can’t help it. He smells delicious.