Chapter 10

Caleb huffs a short, bitter laugh. “You are imagining things,” he says to Tristan. “I only care about her enough to keep her alive. She’s the only lead we have to finding my child.”

Tristan lowers his head. “Of course, my King. My apologies.”

“See that you don’t make this mistake again,” Caleb says.

“I won’t.”

Satisfied, Caleb looks down at the unconscious woman in his arms. She’s still very pale. Too pale.

“I will return her to her rooms,” Caleb says. “I need you to find an actually capable doctor to meet us there.”

Tristan looks up again. “Do you believe she is still in danger, my King?”

“I don’t like the color in her face,” Caleb says.

“I will find a capable doctor,” Tristan complies.

“Good.” With that, Caleb turns toward the exit of the cell and carries Harper out into the hallway.

He could leave her down here, he supposes. Lock her in one of the cells like the other criminals and people who have wronged him. She’d deserve it for her treachery, and a healer could treat her down here just as easily as they could in her rooms.

Yet whenever he tries to slow his feet, or tries to turn around to place her back into her cell, his body won’t let him. Rather than question it, he just continues on.

He reasons, if he leaves her down here, perhaps her bleeding wound would become infected. She could die, and then he would never find his lost child.

At the stairwell, he doesn’t hesitate, immediately taking to the stairs that would lead him – and Harper – away from this place.

I feel warm. It’s winter, isn’t it? Even fully dressed and snug in my bed, I wouldn’t feel this full bodied heat. It’s all around me, radiating and soft, surrounding me like the world’s fuzziest blanket.

Reality comes back to me slowly. I’m not in my bed. Actually, I don’t feel like I’m in any bed. In fact, it almost feels as if I’m resting against someone’s chest, with their strong arms wrapped around me.

I sniff a little, cautiously, and immediately recognizes Caleb’s scent.

Caleb. The Lycan King. The source of all of my fears and troubles.

My heartbeat starts to flutter, yet, just as quickly, it slows back down.

There’s something in my arm. An IV? It seems to be helping me relax. That, or the calming scent, or the steady rise and fall of Caleb’s chest.

I don’t want to admit how relaxing the feel of him is. It shouldn’t be. This is a man who has terrorized me since I’ve arrived here, who claimed me in bed and tried to kill me with a needle in my neck.

Yet my body can’t be denied. It likes this closeness. This warmth. Just as it enjoyed all the pleasures of last night.

Treacherous, traitorous thing.

Embarrassed by my own reaction to Caleb’s closeness, I keep my eyes squeezed shut. I tell myself it’s so I can avoid being snapped at a little while longer. The truth is, that I will deny to my deathbed, I just want to be held like this until I absolutely must be forced to move.

Treacherous body. Tired, weak limbs.

“My king,” says a man nearby. It doesn’t sound like Tristan. Another subordinate, perhaps? “Our spies in the Bear Kingdom have reported back. Tristan thought I should report to you at once.” He clears his throat. “Unless you are… otherwise… engaged…”

“I’ll hear your report,” Caleb says. His chest rumbles as he talks, I feel it vibrate against my ear. His skin there is warm.

Wait. Is he not wearing a shirt?

“Of course, my King,” the unknown man says. “We’ve known that the bear clan has been making moves against us, planning an invasion on wolf pack lands. What we haven’t been able to decipher is where that invasion might occur – until now.”

“Out with it then.”

“The bear clan are building their forces just outside of the Riverwood Pack territory. We have every reason to believe the attack will be there.”

My heart picks up speed. That’s my pack.

“The Riverwood Pack are holding their Alpha succession ceremony soon,” the man continues. “With it, they will be expecting many visitors from far and wide. This will lower their defenses. It would be the perfect opportunity for the Bear Clan to slip their warriors into the Riverwood Pack territory.”

“That would be the case, yes,” Caleb says.

“We have a few days before the ceremony,” the unknown man says. “If we want to make a move in their defense, we still have time to organize and deploy.” The man pauses a moment. “What would you have us do, my King?”

I hold my breath. Surely the King will send his forces to defend my pack and its lands from this invasion. We’ve always been loyal to the Lycan King, expecting that the loyalty would be returned.

Yet, still, I’m nervous. Caleb is as ruthless as they say, and given how insistent he is about a child, I’m not entirely certain he is of a sound mind.

“Definitely not,” Caleb says, a firm no.

I’m frozen deep down to my core.

“Of course, my King,” the man says. “Forgive me, but people will wonder as to the reason of the answer. If you would include me in on your thinking, I could help spread your message…”

“The Riverwood Pack is withholding my child. As they have refused to hand over the child or any clues relating to the child’s whereabouts, I am under no obligation to protect its people. They stand against me with their defiance, and are therefore not worth saving.”

This reasoning is so cold…

To let so many people die because they can’t give information they don’t have about a child that doesn’t exist…

“In addition,” Caleb continues. “This information provides us with a rare opportunity. Who can be certain that we will know in the future where the bear clan might attack? We let them make their move, thinking that they have the drop on us. Right as they are comfortable, we counterattack.”

“Ah, a sound plan, my King,” the man says.

Maybe to someone sitting at a strategy desk, playing with maps and paperwork, lives could be traded and lost so casually. But this isn’t a game. These are real people. People who are precious to me. My pack.

Caleb wants to sacrifice my pack just so he can have a better opportunity to counter.

I need to send word to Samuel somehow. As soon as I am able.

I don’t know how, but I will find a way. I won’t let my people die because of Caleb’s callousness.

The unknown man excuses himself. At the doorway, he exchanges brief greetings with a man whose voice I recognize as Tristan’s.

Tristan moves closer. “I trust the report went well.”

“I’ll tell you later,” Caleb says. “We will need to strategize.”

“Very well.”

In the moment of quiet that follows, Caleb shifts slightly, readjusting his arms around my waist.

“What should we do with Miss Lovett?” Tristan asks. “Once she is well, I can send her back to the dungeons. We can find something that will force the truth from her without killing her.”

Caleb makes a thoughtful hum, like he’s actually considering it.

“I don’t believe that will be necessary,” Caleb says. “In fact, I have a much more pleasant torture in mind for her.”

“Oh?” Tristan asks.

“Prepare garments,” Caleb says. He lifts a hand and places it at the base of my throat. “Harper will be my personal slave.”