To Live Among Wolves (Legends of Arcadia Book 1)

Chapter 44

I saw a werewolf for the first time when I was four years old.

No one believed me. I don’t blame them.

I was an imaginative girl living amongst the mountains, studying them, befriending them. A girl who screamed in the wind, unruly dark curls flying behind her.

And I was about to be killed by a shapeshifter. A werewolf. A virlukos.

I had searched for this, searched for belonging. And I found it. But at what cost?

Around me, a dense fog swallowed everything in its path. Trees, stones, friends—all were blanketed in mystery. It disoriented me.

He’s messing with your mind.

Stand your ground.

There’s no backing down now.

Above me, the clouds rumbled in their unease, a storm fighting in their depths, rain making it difficult to keep my eyes open. The Little River rushed before me as I stood on that same shore where Iain had rescued me all those years ago. I thought I could face this place and that memory without a problem, but my entire body shook with fear and cold.

I had come here to trick a beast.

What a fool I am.

My death was inevitable.

But Silas.

I prayed that he’d find the resolve to forgive me for leaving. I prayed that he’d find the strength to not blame himself if I died.

I thought of our would-be wedding.

Until death do us part.

Death would’ve been the only reason to leave him. But it came much earlier than I expected.

My veins filled with ice at the sound of that sickening growl. Nyx emerged from the dense fog like a ship on the ocean, slipping into existence with ease. The times I had dreamt of him, he had been half wolf and half smoke, difficult to see. But reality was much worse. His face had been scarred, ugly gashes visible despite his fur growing back in places. And those reddish amber eyes bore down on me, unrelenting in their hate.

I had thought he’d be scrawny like the regular wolves that roam without a pack. Instead, his shoulders shifted while he walked, his strength evident in his tensed muscles. He loomed powerful and larger than life.

And the terror of it rooted my feet to the ground.

“Has the little king attempted to send a message?” The wolf huffed. “He thought a human could stand against me?”

I swallowed, my words spilling out before I thought better of it. “He thought the Queen of Arcadia could.”

Nyx shifted where he stood on the opposite bank. “Queen?” The word rattled in his throat. He swished his tail, snarling. “He’s made you—a human—his queen?”

I straightened my shoulders, wanting to appear strong.

“Folly of the youth.” He sighed. “Go back to your cities and your tame life.”

My shoulders dropped. “What?”

He turned like he didn’t plan to stay.

“I am the Queen of Arcadia. I demand your respect.” One of my allies moved behind me. True, I wasn’t a queen yet, but semantics didn’t matter today.

Nyx angled his head at me. “You, a human, demand my respect? You, a human, thought it wise to stand before me?”

I said nothing, willing myself not to turn away from his eyes despite the intensity of his hellish gaze.

He faced me now with hackles raised. “You, a human, are willing to die for Arcadia? To atone for its deceit and abandonment of its own?”

My resolve faltered at the sight of his anger, and I attempted to keep my voice unwavering. “I came to negotiate.” I lowered my head to peer at him through my lashes. “I think I can offer something you might desire.”