The Wolf Prince

CHAPTER 18



Warmth flowed from her fingers. More than that. Enchantment. Shimmering, beautiful, glorious.

Bright.

Stunned, he could feel it heating his skin, and deeper. His blood and his soul. Forgiveness, acceptance and hope. Hope was something he’d lost sight of a long, long time ago. Even as it washed over him, cleansing him, he tried to push it away, to resist. He wasn’t certain he believed in such a thing any longer.

“Of course you do,” she said, once again inside of his head.

As her fingers kneaded his skin, he closed his eyes, letting his head drop until his chin rested on his chest.

Inside, his wolf luxuriated in the sensation. No—he luxuriated. All of him.

“That’s right,” she murmured encouragingly. “You are no longer separate. You are one.”

“Easy enough for you to say,” he told her slowly. “But you don’t know how it’s been for me. Becoming the wolf is like a drug for me. I love it so much—and when I’m wolf I don’t want to ever change back to man.”

“That’s because you’ve been so busy suppressing the wolf inside you. When he finally got a taste of freedom, he didn’t want to go back to his cage.”

Reaching inward, he realized she was right. “How do you know this?” he asked, letting wonder fill his voice.

She smiled again, the beauty of it lighting up her face. “I told you I talk to animals. Your wolf part told me. You could have found this out yourself, if you’d only taken the time to ask.”

Inside, his wolf rumbled his agreement.

Stunned, Ruben looked at her. This lovely woman who had come to mean so much to him. So much—he cut off the thought, afraid she would pluck it from his mind.

In truth, perhaps she already had. She beamed at him, contentment shining from her brown eyes. The same satisfaction filled him as well, making him realize until now, he’d never been fully alive.

Was this a new kind of magic? She was Sidhe after all.

“Yes.” She gave him a tremulous smile. “All my life I’ve believed I was without magic. An outcast, bastard born, so different from everyone that even my own mother could hardly bear to look at me.”

The sorrow in her voice touched him, breaking past the barriers his own inner agony had erected. “And now?” he asked.

“Now I’ve learned there is so much more to me than I ever could have imagined. My sister’s taunts, my mother’s contempt—none if it will touch me again.”

“Easier said than done. We all want our parents to love us.”

“True and while I’ll always feel that lack, at least I now understand the reason behind it.”

Wisely he considered her. “That will only lessen the sting.”

She gave him a smile of such brilliance his chest grew tight. “Yes. But I can live with that.” She considered him, her fingers tracing soft patterns on his skin. “Now, how about you? Do you understand what it is you have to do?”

“Only partly,” he admitted, stretching as he realized he felt better than he had in years. “I’ve been treating my wolf as an enemy.”

“When in fact he’s only one aspect of you. You’ve got to accept yourself—all of yourself.”

Grimacing, he nodded. “I was working my way through that when Chad attacked me.”

They both glanced at the still unconscious man.

“We’ll have to notify my father. I’m going to request a few guards accompany us back to SouthWard. His magic is pretty strong. I don’t want to take a chance of him escaping.”

Later, after King Drem had his guards temporarily quarantine Chad in a locked holding cell, Ruben and Willow found themselves alone in the castle.

Once his adrenaline had subsided, he was in a kind of hell. Even the merest brush of her fingers against his skin made him feel as if his heart was about to leap from his chest.

He wanted her, plain and simple. No, more than that. He needed her, the way his wolf part needed to break free and run.

When the king finally released them to get ready for their journey home, Willow came up to him and wrapped her arms around him. His reaction was swift and violent. It took every ounce of self-control he had to keep from shoving her against the wall and taking her right then and there.

She deserved so much more than that.

“Are you tired?” Her voice broke into his thoughts. Pink stained the creamy perfection of her cheeks.

“Tired?” he repeated, searching her face for signs of exhaustion. “Not particularly. You?”

Instead of answering, she flashed him a wicked grin. Glancing behind them and ahead at the deserted corridors, she turned toward him.

In one forward motion, she molded her curves against him. “Then kiss me,” she ordered, softening it a second later with a “Please.”

He needed no other urging. Desire swept over him as he crushed her to him, claiming her mouth with a kiss. She kissed him back, her mouth moving against his in the kind of kiss that told him she had craved him as badly as he did her.

Right then, with their mouths joined together and passion heating his blood, a vow was made and sealed, at least in his heart.

His, his blood sang. Now and for all time.

Somehow they managed to make it to his room, sharing each other’s breath. She moved her hands, all over him, all trace of shyness gone. Her boldness enabled him to channel his darkness into passion, letting the other part of himself—his wolf—as close to the surface as he could without actually changing.

Pleasure, pure, explosive, arced between them. They were one and the same, skin to skin, heart to heart—two and then three—and, as he entered her, his mate, he almost gave her the words that would let her know she now owned his soul. His mate.

But something held him back, even after, when she curled her body into his and held him, smiling. He had made his choice. He had to allow her time to make hers.

Dawn was a short time away when Willow finally bid him good-night and made her way toward her room. Aching, he watched her go, ignoring the way he wanted to howl at her absence. He punched his pillow, closed his eyes and tried to rest. If he was lucky he could grab a few hours of sleep before they started out in the morning.

Now he would have to try and pretend that nothing had changed. In reality, he knew things would never be the same again.

* * *

Unfortunately, when Willow entered her sleeping chambers, it was to find a disheveled and grumpy Tatiana waiting for her.

“Where have you been?” her sister demanded shrilly. “I’ve been waiting here for hours.”

Willow briefly closed her eyes, gathering her strength. Then she opened them and told Tatiana what had happened.

“I don’t believe you,” Tatiana said when Willow had finished. “Chad isn’t a killer. You’re just trying to frame him because you don’t want to marry him.”

Regarding her sister with total disbelief, Willow sighed. “That’s ridiculous. He tried to kill Ruben tonight. And he admitted to everything.”

“No.” Tatiana crossed her arms. “You tricked him. I demand to see him.”

Tiredly, Willow let herself sink down onto her bed. What she’d give to rest her head on the pillow and simply close her eyes. “Why do you care? I know a long time ago you wanted me to switch with you, but since I haven’t seen any evidence of anything going on between the two of you, surely you’re over that by now.”

To her astonishment, Tatiana blushed a deep, fiery red. “Actually, we’ve been with each other. In the physical sense. I want to marry Chad, not Eric.”

Oh for the... Now Willow did close her eyes. She opened them again when the room began swirling around her. “Tati, Chad’s a vicious murderer. Not only that, but he tried to kill Ruben. We’ve taken him before King Drem. When we leave tomorrow, armed guards will be escorting us home. He’ll be standing trial for his crime.”

But Tatiana didn’t want to hear. “I refuse to believe you. I need to rescue him. If you won’t help me, then I’ll find someone who will. I know.” She snapped her fingers. “Eric won’t let this happen to his brother.”

“Go.” Too drained to argue, Willow waved her away. “King Drem has already summoned Eric. I think you might find out that he wasn’t surprised.”

She didn’t even react as Tatiana stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

The next morning arrived much too quickly. Her entire body aching, Willow hurried through her preparations, aware that her sister would no doubt make this the journey from hell.

Once downstairs, she went to the banquet area. Ruben was already there, finishing his breakfast. She saw no sign of Eric or Tatiana, or anyone else from King Drem’s Court.

Studying Ruben, she saw no sign of the bitter despair that had ravaged him the previous evening. In fact, as she returned his impersonal smile, it seemed like he’d put those momentous events temporarily behind him. At least, she hoped his blankness was only temporary. Sniffing, she searched the air to make sure he hadn’t been placed under a spell. She found none of the lingering residue of magic, so she supposed he was trying to deal with things the best way he could at the moment. Time, like always, would finish healing his wounds.

After filling her own plate, she sat down across from him and filled him in with what her sister had said.

“Really?” Shaking his head, Ruben winced, then drained a large mug of coffee. “Did you see that coming?”

“Honestly, no. Though when the two princes first arrived in SouthWard, Tatiana did come to my room and declared she wanted Chad and would give me Eric. I chalked it up to her normal theatrics and let it go.”

“Ah, well.” He pushed his plate away. “Hopefully she’ll let it go. I haven’t seen Eric, so I don’t know how he’s reacting.”

He’d barely finished speaking when Eric and Tatiana strolled into the room. Neither of them spoke or even glanced at Ruben and Willow. Instead, they filled their plates quickly and took a table in a corner as far away as they could get while remaining in the room.

Willow sighed. “So that’s how it’s going to be.”

Ruben eyed them. “How much magic do the two of them have?”

Shocked, she forgot to chew. Swallowing hastily, she spoke. “Surely you don’t think—”

“That they’ll try to stage a rescue? Actually, that’s exactly what I do think.”

“Then ask King Drem to seal their powers.” She resumed her meal. “Easy enough of a solution.”

“You can do that?”

“Of course.” Satisfied, she pushed her own plate away. “It’s a simple spell for someone who’s as powerful as him. He can even put a time limit on it. The only stipulation is to cast such a spell, the Sidhe must be more powerful than the ones he puts the spell on. And, since you don’t get to be king unless you have a lot of power, I’m sure that’s well within his capabilities.”

“Thank you.” Ruben pushed back his chair. “I’ll find the king and ask him. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

The instant Ruben left, the other two got up and carried their plates over to her table. Without asking, they plunked down in the chairs next to and across from her.

“We need your help,” Tatiana said, her no-nonsense stare telling Willow she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Which was too bad, since of course Willow couldn’t help her with Chad.

“We’ve already been through this,” Willow said, trying not to clench her teeth. “Come on, Tatiana. Please be reasonable.”

Now Eric spoke. Leaning across the table, he took her hands in his and gave his best effort to hit her all at once with his masculine charm. Well aware of what he was doing, Willow hid her smile.

“Come on, Willow. Help us out. Chad is my baby brother,” he said, his voice pitched low enough to sound both desperate and sexy. Not an appealing combination. “I can’t let him suffer.”

Willow decided to hear him out, if only so she’d have a better idea of what they were planning. “What do you want me to do?” she asked.

Eric’s blinding smile would have been dazzling if she hadn’t known what a complete narcissistic ass he was. He appeared to take her capitulation at face value, unlike Tatiana, who narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

“On the ride back, we need to free him.”

“Really?” Crossing her arms, Willow leaned forward. “Exactly how do you propose to do that?”

Before Willow could answer, Ruben arrived back with King Drem. Immediately crossing the room to their table, the king regarded Eric and Tatiana with a thunderous frown.

“Both of you, stand,” he ordered. “I’ve already taken care of Prince Chad. His magic is now rendered useless. The time has come to do the same to you.”

“Why?” Tatiana asked, her tone wheedling. “Do you honestly think we would try to do something so foolish?”

Unsmiling, the king regarded her. “Yes,” he answered. “Stand.” Though he pitched his voice low, the power behind his words echoed off the walls.

Immediately Eric pushed to his feet, proving he at least, was no fool. Tatiana on the other hand, remained seated. She continued to pick at her breakfast as though she hadn’t heard a thing.

Smiling sadly, the king leaned down. “I’m talking to you also, Princess Tatiana.”

Reluctantly, she stood. Raising her head, she glared at Willow before facing the king. With defiance shining from her face, she deliberately reached down and picked up her cup. After taking a long drink of juice—blatantly disrespecting the king—she swallowed and placed her cup back on the table.

“I have armed myself against you,” she said softly. “So unless your magic is more powerful than mine, your spell of binding is worthless.”

Eric snorted, rolling his eyes at her words. Willow exchanged a quick glance with Ruben, impressed that Eric hadn’t completely swallowed Tatiana’s nonsense. Evidently he was a bit more intelligent than Willow had given him credit for.

“Nice try.” King Drem smiled, a hint of dark ruthlessness coming through. “I haven’t held my kingship all these years with weak magic, I promise you.”

She opened her mouth to respond then closed it. Staring at a spot beyond the king’s head, she waited.

King Drem spoke a single word. Immediately, the air sizzled with his power. Impressed, Willow waited to see if he would do more.

He did not. Instead, he clasped Ruben on the shoulder before turning to Willow. “I’ll miss you, daughter,” he said, before enveloping her in a quick hug.

Releasing her, he walked away without saying anything else, though Willow thought she saw tears in his eyes.

Subdued now, Tatiana sank back down into her chair. Eric, who hadn’t moved the entire time, pushed his chair back so hard it crashed to the floor. He stalked off without another word.

“This is going to be a long journey,” Ruben said, glancing toward the departing EastWard prince.

“I know,” Willow sighed. “You know they’re going to try to hatch some other plan that doesn’t involve magic.”

“True.” His smile felt as tender as a caress. “We’ll be all right. King Drem is sending an armed escort, remember?”

Flushing even more, she nodded. “True, but you know his guards will not be able to travel into our kingdom. Once we reach Bright lands, they’ll have to turn around.”

“I’m sure we can manage. Now,” he said, glancing at the huge clock near the unused fireplace. “Are you ready to ride?”

She nodded, taking his hand when he offered it. Again that feeling of warmth, of completeness, brought on by the simple act of skin touching skin. When he pulled her to him, she went willingly, burying her face in the hollow of his throat. He smelled of wood smoke and pine, a masculine scent that made her ache deep inside.

In silence they stood, holding on to each other as if neither ever wanted to let go. Refusing to allow herself to worry about the future and what would happen once they got back to SouthWard, Willow took pleasure in the moment. She drew strength from his quiet embrace and she fancied she lent him some of her own.

When he finally pulled away, his mouth curved into a warm smile which she felt all the way to her toes. “Let’s head down to the courtyard. Our horses should be saddled and ready.”

He held out his arm and she took it. Together, they left to begin the final part of their journey.

* * *

Though Ruben had known instinctively that King Drem had designed something to contain Chad, he wasn’t prepared for the rolling prison that waited for them in the courtyard: a brightly painted wagon, so colorful it might have belonged to gypsies. Six huge draft horses were hitched to it, which might have been overkill had not the inside been entirely encased in iron, forming a cage. Inside, Chad sat quietly, head in his hands. Ruben almost felt sorry for the other man. Almost.

Eric and Tatiana, already mounted, alternated between glaring at Ruben and Willow and staring at Chad.

Astride a magnificent black horse, King Drem waited to lead them from his castle.

First Ruben helped Willow on her horse. Though she smiled bravely at him, sadness darkened her caramel-brown eyes to the color of chocolate as she gazed at King Drem. He knew she was going to miss him.

Though he definitely understood how she felt—he hadn’t seen his parents in what seemed like forever—she’d be fine, he knew. Especially if she followed through on her promise to visit often.

King Drem blew Willow a kiss. Finally smiling, she blew one back. And then, at Ruben’s signal, they turned their mounts to go.

They rode out without pomp or circumstance, the clip clop of the horses’ hooves on the cobblestones the only sound. When they reached the path that led into the forest, King Drem reined in.

“I leave you here,” he announced, his dark gaze settling on Willow. When she acknowledged his look with a smile, he turned to eye Ruben. “Take care of her,” he ordered. “Or I’ll find you.”

Then, without giving Ruben a chance to answer, he signaled to his men and they rode away, leaving four behind plus the coachman who controlled the wagon. Throughout all of this, Chad never once looked up.

Riding alongside him, Eric and Tatiana exchanged a meaningful glance, as though they had something planned, but Ruben didn’t worry. Their magical ability had been contained. If they planned to try something else, something physical, they’d be easily overcome.

The guards, stern-faced men clad all in black, each with blank expressions, the magic pulsing off them palpable, even to Ruben. He was glad to feel it, well aware of how deadly it could be.

They rode hard that entire day, communication limited by the brutal pace they set. As dusk prepared to fall, Ruben began to scout a place where they could make camp.

Finally, he located a clearing large enough to accommodate them all. Signaling to the leader of the guard, they stopped. It didn’t take long for the tents to go up. Unusually quiet, Tatiana immediately disappeared into hers. Instead of joining her, Eric went to attempt to speak with his brother.

Ruben watched them and noticed Chad kept his head lowered, apparently in an attempt to appear nonresponsive. The two brothers conversed, no doubt trying to come up with some last-ditch scheme before they reached SouthWard.

Looking up, he noticed one of the guards regarding them, as well. Good. Though he seriously doubted they’d be able to accomplish much, the fact that they were up to no good was disruptive enough.

“Ruben.” Still standing next to her horse, Willow waved him over. “The animals are worried.”

“About Eric and Tatiana?”

She nodded.

“With their magic bound, I don’t think they’ll be too big of a threat,” he said.

She cast him a troubled glance. “They can still stir things up, even without magic.”

Unable to resist touching her, even if only for a moment, he squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll have a word with the guards.”

With a ghost of a smile, she nodded. Then, standing up on tiptoe, she kissed his cheek, whisper soft. “I’m going to bunk down with the horses. There’s no way I’m sharing a tent with my sister tonight.”

“I don’t blame you,” he said.

Moistening her lips, she looked down. “Anyway, if you’re not too tired, I wouldn’t mind your company later.”

The rush of heat her words brought made his pulse quicken, though he managed a casual nod. “I just might do that,” he told her, before walking away to have a word with the captain of the guard.

Of course, over the next several hours, he could scarcely think of anything else.

Dusk had fallen, with darkness not too far behind. Almost everyone had retired to their tents, with the exception of the two men who were on guard duty and, of course, Chad.

As Ruben walked up to the jail-wagon, he gazed at the other man and waited for him to look up and acknowledge him. But Chad still sat cross-legged, his head down, as though lost in a deep meditation.

Finally, Ruben shrugged and moved away. Casually, he strolled to where the hobbled horses clustered. He went to his mount, scratching behind the animal’s ears, smiling as the horse rubbed its massive head against him for more.

He stepped around the cluster of horses, and his heart stuttered when he saw her, fast asleep on a pallet she’d made of horse blankets and a saddle. A sense of completeness filled him as he gazed down at her. Shocked at the depth of his feelings, he realized he could no longer run from the truth. Willow was his mate. Whether or not she came from his world was immaterial.

Once he’d worked through the remainder of his problems, he wanted to claim her as his.

He turned away, his chest tight. While he had finally faced the truth, he had a long way to go before he’d be worthy of her. He couldn’t exactly blame her if she wanted to take another path.

Returning to his tent, he debated going inside, but turned around, deciding to sleep by the fire instead. Though Eric and Tatiana’s magic had been contained, he wouldn’t put it past the other man to try something physical. If Ruben were in his tent, he’d have no way to see an attack coming.

And his intuition told him, Eric would try something soon. He just didn’t know what.

In the morning as they broke camp, the leader of King Drem’s guards came to Ruben. “Our border lies not more than a few paces south of here. We dare not ride onto Bright land. To do so could start a war. So at that point, we will return back to our own land.”

“I understand.” Turning to eye Chad who still slept inside his iron cage, he shook his head. “What about the coachman?”

“He can stay,” the captain said. “He’s human, so he’ll be safe.”

Human? Eyeing the man perched up on the odd wagon, he wondered why the man hadn’t spoken to him. Still, he was glad for the coachman’s assistance.

“He can’t speak,” the captain grimaced. “We found him as an infant, abandoned in the woods. Oftentimes he does work for us, traveling between our lands and into the human realm.”

Interesting. Ruben inclined his head in a nod to acknowledge the coachman. A moment later the other man did the same.

Shaking the captain’s hand, he thanked him for all his help.

As the man walked back to join his men, Tatiana emerged from her tent. Barely clothed, her lush figure on display for all to see, she sauntered over to Ruben, ignoring the lustful looks from the other men.

“I understand we have a few minutes before we ride,” she purred, running her finger down his chest. “My back is stiff and sore from the long ride yesterday and I have need of a massage. Would you mind helping me out?”

Ruben couldn’t help but laugh. “Get your fiancé to assist you. But you’d better be ready to leave when we ride out. And by that I mean fully dressed. Do you understand?”

Though she pouted at his harsh tone, he saw from her calculating expression that she really hadn’t expected him to capitulate so easily. “Of course I do.” Fluttering her eyelashes, she moved away.

She was up to something. But what?

Ruben watched as she strolled slowly past the guards on her way back to her tent. Being men, they all stared wistfully and when she crooked her little finger, he knew if they hadn’t been on duty, they’d have trampled each other on the way to her tent.

Instead, they stood with their feet planted in place, as she disappeared.

A moment later Eric came out. When Ruben saw what the other man was wearing—or, to be more accurate, what he wasn’t wearing—Ruben laughed out loud. This time, Eric approached Willow, who had her back to him as she checked her horse’s cinch.

Ruben’s jaw tightened. The half-naked man tapped Willow on the shoulder. She turned and as she realized he had on almost nothing, she blanched. Sidestepping him neatly, she moved to the other side of her horse, her face flaming.

“Enough,” Ruben roared. “Eric, get dressed and then help take down the tent. We leave in ten minutes.”

Eric waved, smiling broadly. As he strolled past the soldiers, one man eyed him in exactly the same way as his buddies had eyed Tatiana.

Scratching his head, Ruben went back to taking down his tent. Had the two of them really thought he and Willow were so foolish to fall for that? And even if they had, then what? Had Tatiana planned to knock him out in the middle of lovemaking, with Eric doing the same to Willow?

His stomach churned as he realized he hated the idea of Willow with anyone but him. He felt possessive, like a wolf would toward his mate.

Hellhounds. There it was again, that disturbing truth. Yet while he couldn’t deny the fact, what about her? Did she feel the same way? Did her people—the Sidhe—even believe in mating for life?

Her parents had sought a match with Chad. This brought another stomach-churning thought. Being royal, he knew how many intricacies were involved in a match. Of course, his own family was no obstacle. They’d be happy with any woman he chose.

Willow’s parents were another matter entirely. King Puck didn’t seem like a bad sort. He appeared relatively easygoing. Queen Millicent was not.

Ruben closed his eyes. Was he seriously considering asking for Willow’s hand in marriage? Of course he would, provided she was willing. The attraction between them was powerful and she’d demonstrated numerous times her uncanny ability to read his thoughts. He ached for her constantly, and being with her briefly only made him want her more.

He hoped—no, he prayed—she felt the same way.