Claim the Wolf King

by Meg Xuemei X

  Fia had laughed her wicked, velvet laughter, and her dark power rippled in the air. Except for Marrok, every wolf snarled in fright. Even without her full power, she was still formidable. And once she regained her core magic, she’d even take on Akem.

  “Life debt can only be purchased with life,” Fia had said. “Will you pay for hers with yours?”

  “I’m willing to pay with everything,” Marrok had said, “including my own life.”

  I hadn’t been thrilled with the way he’d talked to my future queen, but his words had warmed me more than I’d realized. For the first time, I’d felt sunlight on my skin though I hadn’t seen it since I’d fell on Pandemonium.

  “I don’t give a damn about your life,” Fia had said. “Whether or not you are breathing doesn’t matter to me. Unfortunately, Kaara seems to have taken a liking to you, and she’s served me well.” She’d turned to me. “I’m not your jailer, Kaara Nightshades. You’re free to go.”

  Marrok hadn’t wasted a beat to pull me into his arms. “Let’s go.”

  I’d put a hand up to fend off his advance, and he’d looked so hurt, until I laced my fingers with him. “I’m not a damsel in distress, Marrok. If you want to be with me, you’ll need to let me be myself. You’ll have to accept my decisions no matter how much you don’t like them.”

  I’d then sent him my firm thoughts. I won’t leave Fia until the day I fulfill my vow. Only then will I go with you. If I’m a woman of no honor, you should not be with me.

  I’d returned to the tower with Fia and the remnants of my team.

  “Where should I go?” I looked up at my princess with a small smile.

  “You do have a better place to go,” Fia said softly, still not accepting my offer of the glass of water, even though she was thirsty. The night and morning’s panic had burned her throat dry. “You don’t owe me anything, Kaara. You’re free to go at any time.”

  “I want to stay with you. I’m a creature of habit, and I like it here.”

  She snorted. “You’re everything but a creature of habit.” And she took the glass of water from my hand and drained it.

  I noticed her hand shaking slightly. She’d thought I’d left her. She’d thought she would have to deal with everything alone with no one to watch out for her.

  She could have demanded my undivided loyalty, yet she’d set me free.

  Words were binding. When she’d told me I was free to go, she’d resolved my blood vow, but not to her knowledge. I’d felt the unseen chain drop from me.

  Yet by my free will, I chose to guard her.

  “I’ll never leave you until you can leave here,” I said softly. “Until we can all go home.”

  Fia stiffened. Icy frost unfurled from her nostrils, and her darkness whooshed toward me, hissing. I touched it like tracing a painting, and her darkness purred.

  She didn’t recognize me, but it knew me.

  Fia stared at me for a moment, stunned.

  “You stay with me,” she drawled, “because I’m your only ticket to get off this planet.”

  “We’ve been here for three years,” I cried out.

  She descended the stairs. “Your best chance at survival is with me. Sooner or later, Pandemonium will be ashes.”

  I wanted to tell her more, but I didn’t as I followed her out of the tower.

  Flaming meteors dropped across the sky toward the other side of the jungle. A sudden apprehension jammed into my stomach. What if the Angel fell to the other side where we couldn’t reach him?

  When the brief blast of meteor showers stopped, ashes and smoke rose into the far sky. Yet our side of the sky remained a gloomy grey.

  “I realize your dilemma, Kaara,” Fia said.

  “If you’re worried about my loyalty to you—”

  “—I want you to have what I’ll never have: a love with a strong man.”

  I choked. “But, Fia…”

  She handed me a silver bracelet with mystic runes on its surface.

  The bracelet had been my gift to her when I’d raided a ship two years ago. I’d taken it from an ex-militia whom I’d killed because he’d tried to violate me. He’d robbed the bracelet from an exiled noblewoman after he’d raped her. That noblewoman hadn’t lasted a week on Pandemonium.

  Fia had forgotten that I’d given the silver to her.

  “I want you to keep it,” I said.

  “It’s useless for me,” she said. “But it’ll prevent you from conceiving a child as long as you wish when you wear it. I enchanted it with my magic.”

  Then it dawned on me. She hadn’t slept last night. No wonder there were dark circles under the hollow of her eyes. She’d stayed up all night to etch the runes on the bracelet. She stayed up all night so she could remember the day’s events and remember Marrok and me. She’d believed she wouldn’t see me again.

  “How did you re—have that spell?” I stopped in my tracks.

  “Nothing is impossible with the great Wickedest Witch,” she said in a clipped tone. “And don’t try to follow me today with a sorry excuse of guarding me. My time is short. I can’t spare it to come to save your butt again.”

  My witch princess waved me away impatiently and strode in the direction of the dark jungle, radiating in ice light under the dim morning sky.

  Chapter 14

  Marrok hadn’t visited me since I’d returned to the Witch Tower with Fia. Could he still be upset with me? Hadn’t he said I was his mate and true mates would get through anything? Had he brushed me aside so heartlessly?

  I’d chosen to serve my future queen instead of being with him in his Keep. It hadn’t been an easy choice. Even though Fia had resolved me from my vow, I’d still fulfill it until I could get her home. Without honor and loyalty, what were we? What worth did we have?

  But in Marrok’s language, matehood was above everything.

  I sighed. How long would he stay mad at me?

  Perhaps I needed to go visit him, just to see whether he was up to no good.

  It had only been three days but it felt like three years. I missed him terribly.

  Although he hadn’t shown up, my scouts had spotted a team of three wolves lingering and patrolling right outside the witch’s territory.

  “Should we take them down?” asked Pokka. He had a monkey-like long tail and belonged to a Northorna species from Planet Saturn in Xi6 galaxy. “Wolf meat is as good as dog.”

  “Shut up, Pokka,” Rocky snapped. “They’re our allies. If they don’t attack first, we don’t move on them. Anyone violates the rule will be tossed to the wolves as their new meat.”

  Pokka smacked his mouth then closed it with a regretful expression.

  My thoughts circled back to Marrok. My anxiety was like the unending winter rain.

  If he wanted to be that immature, I’d show him the definition of maturity.

  I would charge into his Keep, give him a piece of my mind, and then leave with my dignity intact.

  Besides, I needed to get out of the tower. Everyone had become antsy and prone to pick a fight, because as an Empath, my mood swings affected those around me.

  Rocky and Pattern insisted on going to the wolves’ territory with me. I needed Rocky to watch the tower while I was away, so I picked Pattern and Otsana. The former assassin had been dumped on this planet two months before me. She had a pair of sharp, yellow horns, and her hands could turn to sharp claws in battle, but she wasn’t exactly a shifter. I couldn’t pin down her species, and she’d never volunteered her background information.

  I also took Whyde, a white rhinoceros-like creature, as our ride. Fia had tamed the wild beast, though she never rode it.

  Whyde had one horn in the center of his large head that went with an enormous body. He was more intelligent than a horse and liked to be groomed with a good brush. The beast had seven humps on his back, and Otsana placed three seats between them. She took the front, let me have the middle as the subject of protection, and ordered Pattern to sit at the rear.

  “W
hat exactly do we want to see the wolf alpha for?” Pattern asked as Whyde trotted at a moderate speed, leaving the witch’s territory.

  “That’s not your business, Pattern,” Otsana answered for me. “Be quiet so I can hear if there are cannibals and bloodsuckers around. And please don’t tell me that you’re actually the descendent of a mighty dragon king again.”

  Whyde moved through the streets filled with rundown buildings, sparks of fire and billowing smoke. Otsana’s hand never left the nocked arrow. She was my best archer, but she was adequate with all sorts of weapons.

  Compared to my tensed-up companions, I was relatively relaxed with my angelblade strapped behind my left shoulder.

  “The three wolves are following us,” Pattern reported.

  I’d sensed their presences in the area before my team had detected them. The wolves kept their distance but diligently trailed after us. Every few miles they would howl, then far ahead, other wolves howled back.

  They were either securing the passage for me and my companions, or spying on us.

  If Marrok was so concerned, why wasn’t he here?

  Did it have something to do with male pride, since no man took rejection nicely?

  His absence made me ache. We might have bonded at a deeper level than I thought could happen. I’d felt an unseen thread between us. If I left Pandemonium without him, with light years between us, would the unbroken thread still tie us on each end? The thought of separating from him sent such sharp pain to my lungs that I could barely breathe.

  I sent my urgent need to Whyde and he sped up.

  The wolves picked up speed and stayed closer to us. They were herding us toward their domain. Otsana and Pattern darted their gazes around wildly.

  “We’re fine,” I said. “They won’t harm us.”

  As soon as we entered the wolf clan’s region, the wolves following us relaxed a notch.

  More wolves passed by us like blurs.

  I recalled how fast Marrok could move. One second he was far, and before I could pinpoint his exact position, he was right in front of me. The shifters could compete against the vampires with their superior speed. I could match up to both species with my skills, instinct, and my empathic perception.

  No wolves halted us or questioned us as we made our way to the Keep. Before we reached the gate, the three wolves howled in unison to report our arrival.

  Otsana pulled her bow string tight, and Pattern’s fingers twitched on the hilt of his daggers. They didn’t trust the wolves.

  We’d never entered the forbidden Keep before this day. In the past, if I’d had a deal with the wolves, I’d always met with Antonio in neutral ground. Usually, we’d joined forces at the arena to fight off other clans.

  The wolves didn’t allow anyone to step into their territory and considered any trespassers easy meat. For them, outsiders would always be outsiders, but they regarded me differently after Marrok had announced me as his mate.

  We halted at the gate to the high-walled military compound. Two heavily armed shifters in their humanoid forms positioned themselves on the platform of the watch tower. One of them twirled a long-range spear in his large hand.

  Marrok had picked one of the best natural defense places in the City of Nine. Rumor was he’d taken it from another clan. On Pandemonium, only three clans had the most-enhanced fortitudes. The vampires had their dark tower and horde, the Wicked Witch had her magical ward and darkness, and the shifters had their sharp claws and this secluded fortress.

  The three wolves came near and joined the patrolling guards outside the gate. Some shifters were in furs and some in skins. The guards inside pulled open the heavy gate for me before I announced myself and my intention.

  I leapt off Whyde, as did Pattern and Otsana. Whyde bent his head and rubbed his square lips against my leg.

  I patted him. They won’t hurt you, and you’ll get a treat.

  The wolves ignored the rhino.

  “I am—” I opened my mouth in case some of them didn’t know who I was, even though the three wolves had obviously announced me.

  “We know who you are,” the lead guard grunted. He had long, braided hair and lean muscles. I didn’t blame him for his gloomy look. Pandemonium had a way of depressing the most naturally cheerful people.

  I didn’t remember meeting him before. Unlike my mistress, I never forgot a face.

  “Lady Nightshades, this way,” he said and allowed my escorts and beast to trail in after me. “I’m Donovan.”

  Otsana swung her bow across her shoulder, her hands hanging near the sword strapped to her thigh. Pattern returned his daggers to the sheaths tied to his waist, but he could get them out in a nanosecond if we were under attack.

  I’d brought the most vicious fighters in the Witch Tower with me.

  As we followed Donovan into the Keep, I noticed a lot of the shifters inside the compound were bare-chested and wore only loose trousers.

  Those who had never seen me before stopped their activities and watched me with curiosity and caution, yet none approached us. None of them snarled at us either.

  For years, my army had failed to inform me how many shifters occupied the City of Nine. At a casual glance, I would say they had at least three hundred, almost as large as the vampires.

  “Whoa,” Otsana said, “Pandemonium’s hot guys are all training here.”

  “The cold ones go to the vampire tower,” Pattern added sourly.

  The vampires’ skins were as cold as ice marble.

  As soon as we stepped inside the Keep, the guards closed the gate behind us.

  The wolves had announced me with howls. The guards had opened the gate for me. So why wasn’t Marrok here? If he was trying to pull rank with me, he’d soon know Nightshades never put up with jerks.

  I usually shoved my boot up their asses and did it without dirtying my shoe.

  I wanted Marrok. I’d missed him terribly. My stomach was all knots and acid and longing, but I wasn’t the kind of woman who couldn’t walk away from an asshole, no matter how hot he was.

  I contained my temper and regarded the structure of the complex.

  The wolves were highly organized. This place was kept in tight order. On the left side, a sequence of structures had to be the residency. In the center, a vast training field extended to the black woods. On the right side, more armed guards patrolled the area of lined-up facilities, which meant their armory was located inside one of the buildings.

  At the far end, straight ahead, a two-story, violet stone house with an open roof stood magnificently. Violet was a rare color on Pandemonium. My throat tightened. If Marrok liked the color, he appreciated my light violet hair and dark violet eyes.

  I immediately knew that house belonged to him.

  Was it a coincidence that his house shared the same color as some of my features?

  “I came to see Alpha Marrok,” I told Donovan, “to discuss a business proposal.”

  Pattern flicked me a quick questioning glance, wondering why he didn’t know anything about the proposal.

  “His Majesty isn’t in today,” Donovan said.

  I blinked, not expecting the pack to call Marrok ‘His Majesty’. I’d thought Alpha was an adequate title. I would need to find out more about Marrok and his shifters’ culture. We were dating now. Though I couldn’t tell him much about myself.

  And the guard’s news was like cold hail.

  “Where is he?” I asked.

  “Out,” said Donovan.

  “Out where?”

  “Hunting.”

  Donovan was obviously a shifter of few words.

  Since Marrok was an alpha, a king, or whatever, then shouldn’t his subjects go hunting and put the food on his table? What was the benefit of being at the top of the food chain if you had to scavenge for your own meals?

  I arched an eyebrow. “For fun, I presume?”

  That was the only logical explanation I could come up with. The Emperor in the Lithuaria Empire—Fia’s father—organi
zed a grand hunt twice a year.

  “For personal reasons.”

  My charm had failed. I doubted torture would get him talk more.

  I sighed. “When will he be back?”

  “Not sure,” Donovan said.

  “Then tell him Kaara Nightshades from the witch’s coven visited,” I said, biting back my bitterness and gesturing for my team to depart.

  Pattern held Whyde’s horn to turn him around, but the beast resisted. He hadn’t gotten his treat I’d promised.

  “I can’t let you go yet, Lady Nightshades,” Donovan said. “His Majesty will be in a bad mood if you left.”

  “Oh, really? Think you can keep me as a prisoner?” I asked with a cold smile, drawing my angelblade, its ancient runes sparking.

  My blade could sense my mood and often emitted a magical aura. The First Seer must have enchanted it before she’d bestowed it on me.

  Pattern and Otsana held their blades in their hands as well.

  “I knew it!” Pattern spat. “They’d never let anyone get out alive.”

  Donovan, however, didn’t display his weapon. The other guards didn’t charge at us either, and none of the shifters in their wolf forms sprang to us to tear us apart.

  “We mean you no harm, Lady Nightshades,” Donovan said, face reddening. “We’ll never harm His Majesty’s chosen mate.”

  “But you intend to jail us?” I drawled.

  “No, Lady Kaara,” a voice boomed, and Antonio strode toward us.

  He’d never called me ‘lady’ before. I didn’t need this upgrade just because I was sleeping with his boss.

  “I apologize for not receiving you earlier,” Antonio said. “I was delayed by a domestic dispute.” He wore a white shirt and black trousers, though the shirt looked too tight on his muscled chest.

  Otsana was bluntly staring at his chest.

  “His Majesty ordered us to make your experience in the Keep delightful,” Antonio said, “if you ever showed up.”

  So Marrok had expected me? Then why the heck had he gone hunting while I visited?

  Antonio bowed slightly. He’d never paid me such reverence before, though he’d never been rude to me either.

  “If King Marrok isn’t around, I have no intention of lingering,” I said, the words ‘King Marrok’ sounding amusingly ridiculous on my tongue. “When he returns, he can come to the Witch Tower if he wants.”