How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days (The Embraced #1)

She swallowed hard. “What would that be?”


He stepped close to her and lowered his voice. “We will talk. And you will answer my questions.”





Chapter Eighteen

Back in the southern tower, Leo waited in his room for Brody to arrive. After leaving Tatiana’s tower, he’d asked the dog shifter to meet him here. On the ground floor of his tower, he’d found two of his personal guard and his squire, Edmund, sharing a meal.

“Brody will be coming soon,” Leo had told them. “Can you spare some food for him? And some clothes?”

When they agreed, Leo headed up the stairs to his room. Now he paced about the small, circular chamber. It was much the same as Tatiana’s room, furnished with a bed, a table, and two chairs. One window overlooked the Southern Sea, and the other one gave him an excellent view of the southwestern tower where Tatiana was living.

He stopped at the second window to scowl at her tower. Morning swim, my ass. She was exchanging messages with someone. And she didn’t want her future husband to know about it.

There was a knock at the door, then Brody peered inside. He was dressed in a spare uniform from one of the guards below. “Did something happen? Has Nevis returned?”

“Not yet.” Leo motioned for him to enter. “Did you get something to eat?”

Brody shut the door behind him. “They didn’t have much left downstairs, so Edmund ran to the kitchens to get some more. What’s going on?”

Leo crossed his arms as he gazed out the window. “The seals will be back in the morning.”

“The ones that brought my lady a secret message? How can you be sure?”

With a wave of his hand, Leo motioned toward her tower. “She asked permission to go swimming. It has to be tomorrow. At dawn. And she wants to be alone.”

“Damn,” Brody whispered. “What is Lady Tatiana up to?”

If she was Tatiana. Though now, she wanted to be called Ana. Leo dragged a gloved hand through his hair. Dammit. After the duel was over, she’d been invited to lunch with him, the general, and her father, but she’d refused. Was she avoiding him in order to keep her secrets?

With Captain Bougaire’s accusation still ringing in his head, Leo had wondered how her father would react. So he’d mentioned it during their luncheon in the library.

“Bougaire said something odd when he surrendered.” Leo had pretended to be engrossed in his roast beef. “He claimed your daughter was not actually Tatiana.”

General Harden had chuckled. “What a sore loser.”

But the duke had instantly turned pale, and his hand had trembled slightly when he’d set his wine goblet down. “What nonsense.” He’d cleared his throat. “As if I wouldn’t know my own daughter.”

Dammit to hell. Leo paced across the tower room. He couldn’t bring himself to tell Brody about his latest suspicions, but it seemed clear that the duke and his daughter were both hiding something. “I need to know the truth about her.”

A knock sounded at the door. “I have your food, my lord,” Edmund called out.

“Bring it in,” Leo ordered. He continued to pace while his squire set a basket on the table, then left, closing the door behind him.

Brody retrieved a bottle of wine and two pewter mugs from the basket. “Here. Have a drink.” He poured the two mugs full.

Leo took a sip. “I’ve spent my entire life on land, so I don’t know much about sea creatures. Do you think it’s possible to track the seals?”

Brody ran a fingertip around the rim of his mug, apparently deep in thought. Finally he took a deep breath and looked up. “It could take a few days, but I’ll do it.”

Leo blinked. “You can do it? How? Do you need to rent a boat? I can give you the money for that. And you can take as many soldiers as you need. Or hire as many sailors—”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.” Brody took a long drink.

Leo narrowed his eyes. Was he becoming paranoid, or was Brody withholding information again?

Brody removed a platter of cold meats and cheeses from the basket, along with several small loaves of bread. “The prisoner hasn’t said anything yet?”

“No, Willem has refused to talk until he knows his family is safe.”

Brody ripped open a loaf and stuffed it with meat and cheese. “And Captain Booger? Did he leave like he was supposed to?”

“Yes.” Leo suspected Brody was trying to steer the conversation away from his mission of tracking the seals. “What do you think she’s up to?”

“Lady Tatiana?” Brody bit into his makeshift meal.

“Who else?”

“Well,” Brody mumbled with his mouth full, “I don’t know whom she’s communicating with, but they must be very important to her. The last time the undertow was strong enough to pull her off her feet. She put herself in danger in order to reach the bottle.”

Leo recalled seeing a bottle before in her bedchamber in the keep. “There were pebbles in the bottle.”

Brody shrugged. “Don’t know what that means.” He took another bite.

“You’ll be ready at dawn?” When Brody nodded, Leo continued, “We can’t let her know that we’re following the seals.”

“Right.” Brody swallowed. “You know, you could try trusting her. If you’re truly smitten with her.”

Leo scoffed. “Or she could try trusting me enough to tell me the truth.”

“We already know almost everything. She’s worshipping the moon goddesses. She talks to the dead. That’s a strange ability, so we’re assuming she’s Embraced. The only thing we don’t know right now is who is on the other end of these messages, but I’ll uncover that soon.”

There was also the question of her identity, but Leo didn’t want to admit to that. “I’m to be her husband. She should tell me everything.”

Brody took a long drink. “Look at it from her point of view. Why would she ever tell anyone she’s Embraced, when it could get her killed? And get her father killed for hiding it?”