Chapter 9 #2
My wolf surged. Every instinct I possessed screamed to correct the dismissal in his tone, to make him understand exactly what kind of mistake he was making.
I kept my voice level. “My queen.”
Victoria’s expression didn’t change. She inclined her head with a show of courtesy, as if Bastian had greeted her properly instead of reducing her to her species.
“Sit,” I barked, waving to the chairs someone had arranged near the enormous fireplace.
We settled into position. Victoria beside me, Bastian across from us, and his enforcers standing at attention behind him. My pack members maintained their positions around the room, a silent reminder that this was my territory, my hall, and my home.
“Talk,” I snarled, ready to rip his head from his shoulders if he so much as slanted a dark look my wife’s way.
Bastian settled back in his chair with the kind of ease that set my teeth on edge. “I’ve been reviewing the treaty terms.”
“For three months.”
“It’s a complex document.”
“It’s five pages.”
His mouth twitched. “Nevertheless, I have concerns about the enforcement mechanisms. The language around dispute resolution feels much too vague.”
I’d heard this before. Different words, same underlying message. He wanted concessions. He wanted me to need him enough to give ground.
I leaned forward, resting my forearms on my knees. “What if instead of signing as a party to the treaty, you served as the primary enforcement authority?”
Bastian went still.
Good, I’d surprised him. I owed him at least that for arriving here without sending word that he was coming.
“The packs respect you,” I said, using Victoria’s framework from last night. “They’d accept your mediation. You’d have direct authority to resolve disputes, maintain the peace, and report violations to me for final judgment.”
I watched him process it. Saw the moment he realized that I was offering him visible power, a role that elevated him above the other sub-pack alphas without requiring him to formally acknowledge my authority by signing the agreement as is.
His scent shifted, and I could taste his excitement in the air, though his expression didn’t show it.
“An interesting proposal,” he said. “I’ll need time to consider the implications.”
“You have two weeks. Then I’ll offer it to Crikon.” The alpha of his rival pack in the northwest.
His lips twitched, but he nodded. “Two weeks.”
He turned his attention to Victoria, his expression sliding into something almost condescending. “Tell me, Lady Victoria. What does a witch researcher contribute to wolf pack governance? I’m curious how your particular skills apply to our political landscape.”
The room went quiet.
My wolf slammed against my control, snarling to get through. Every protective instinct I possessed howled to shut him down, to make him understand that insulting my mate in my hall was the fastest way to end up with a gaping hole in his throat.
Victoria placed her hand on my arm.
Acorn shifted on her shoulder, settling his weight. A tiny show of solidarity.
She met Bastian’s gaze. “I’ve been investigating the shifting sickness affecting the region.”
Bastian’s posture didn’t change, but his scent did.
He was startled. He didn’t smell guilty, however, which I found interesting. Something like that couldn’t be masked, not among wolves.
“How many of your pack cannot shift?” she asked.
“They can all shift,” he said with a huff.
She leaned forward. “How many have a hollow feeling when they reach for their wolves?”
His gaze dropped from hers. “We’re handling it.”
“So some.” Her eyebrows rose. “It’s affecting more than this pack, which means it’s a wide-spread problem.”
He just grunted.
“I’ve identified some unusual flora while doing research,” Victoria said, her tone as clinical as if she was discussing weather patterns.
“The magical signature suggests old pack-sealing magic that’s been broken or disrupted.
I can’t yet determine if it is deliberate or accidental. But the pattern is spreading.”
She paused, letting that sink in.
“I imagine that’s of some concern to you since it could also impact your pack,” she said.
Silence stretched through the room.
Around the hall, my pack members had gone still. Kirk’s expression had sharpened. Maria exchanged a glance with Tessa that showed approval.
Pride shot through my chest.
Bastian’s smile returned. “Fascinating. I had no idea the sickness had drawn such scholarly attention.”
“Knowledge tends to spread when problems affect adjoining populations,” Victoria said. “Particularly when those problems appear to originate from specific geographic locations.”
She’d placed the slightest emphasis on specific.
Bastian shifted in his chair. “The northern creek territory is extensive. Narrowing down a contamination source would be quite challenging.”
She hadn’t mentioned the creek.
It didn’t prove guilt, per se. His pack would’ve known we were in the area. They would’ve watched us.
I kept my face neutral, filing the information away with everything else I’d collected during this conversation.
“I enjoy a challenge,” Victoria said.
“We’re through, then,” I said, standing, tugging Victoria up to stand beside me, looming over Bastian.
“Yes, I believe we are.” Bastian rose as well. “Thank you for your hospitality, Feral. And for the treaty proposal. I’ll send word within the week.”
“Yes, do.” I matched his pleasant tone. This had been a draw. Neither of us had gained significant ground.
But Victoria had rattled him. That counted for something.
I walked him to the entrance, the formal courtesy required between alphas. His enforcers filed out first. Bastian paused at the threshold, turning back.
“Your witch is more formidable than I expected,” he said, pitching his voice low enough that only I could hear.
“My queen is as formidable as she needs to be.”
He studied me for a moment, then dipped his head and left.
I watched until he’d crossed the clearing and shifted, disappearing into the tree line, before turning back to the hall.
My pack members lingered, none of them rushing to leave. Kirk caught my eye, approval in his expression.
Maria approached Victoria, who’d remained by the chairs. “That was well done, my lady.”
My wife blinked, clearly startled. “Call me Victoria, please. And I just answered his questions.”
“You put him on guard without raising your voice.” Maria’s grin widened. “I respect that. We all do.”
“Thank you.”
Acorn sat up straighter on Victoria’s shoulder, his whiskers twitching with what I could only interpret as smugness.
The pack was beginning to accept her as someone who belonged here.
My wolf preened.
I said nothing, just moved to Victoria’s side and offered her my arm again.
She took it, and we left the hall together.
We ended up on the balcony of our suite. The forest spread out below us. Distant sounds of the pack going about their day drifted up. Sparring. Conversation. And the rhythmic thunk of an axe splitting wood.
Victoria leaned against the railing, her notebook open in front of her. “I believe he came here to assess your strength. To see if our marriage was legitimate or just a political facade.”
“And?”
“He’s recalculating.” She tapped the page. “The treaty proposal caught him off guard. He expected confrontation, not collaboration.”
I nodded, watching her work through it.
“But he revealed more than he intended,” she said. “The way he reacted to the shifting sickness information. That wasn’t casual surprise.”
“No.”
“And he knew about the northern creek.” She looked up at me. “The specific location. We never mentioned it.”
“His pack would’ve scented us the moment we reached the area. We can’t pin this on him for that fact alone. Though he didn’t smell guilty when you mentioned the sickness. Surprised, yes. But not guilty. Someone in his pack might be acting without his knowledge.”
“We can’t dismiss that he might be involved.”
“Not one bit.”
She shot me a smile. “I enjoyed watching you handle him. You didn’t relent, and you didn’t give one bit of ground. It was admirable. Very king-like.”
Pride puffed my chest. “Thank you.”
“You’re a good king. I can tell, as can the rest of your pack.” She closed her notebook, setting it aside. “How are you feeling about the conversation? Not tactically, but personally.”
The question caught me off guard. “What do you mean?”
“Bastian clearly has history with you. He tested your boundaries and pushed at your authority. That’s personal, not just political.”
I looked out at the forest, weighing how much to say.
“He was my father’s rival,” I said. “They competed for territory, influence, and every scrap of power they could claim. When my father died, Bastian believed the northern packs would support him as king, but they didn’t. I’m sure he expected me to quickly fail.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I was nineteen, and I had no idea what I was doing, but I refused to let his expectations become reality.”
“Good for you. Even then, you were a good king.”
I didn’t like how pleased she made me feel.
Mate, my wolf reminded me.
As if I could forget?
“He’s been waiting for me to prove him right,” I said. “To show I’m not strong enough to manage all the packs and maintain peace.”
“You proved him wrong today.”
“We proved him wrong today.”
Her mouth curved. “Fair point.”
I reached over, catching a strand of hair that had come loose from her arrangement and tucked it behind her ear.
Then realized what I was doing.
She didn’t move away or comment. She just watched me with her sharp eyes that saw too much.
Neither of us spoke.
I dropped my hand and stepped back, putting distance between us before my wolf could offer commentary on how right this felt, how natural.
“I have reports to review,” I said.
“I have samples to test.”
We both knew we were retreating, though neither of us acknowledged it.
Acorn leaped off her shoulder and scooted inside, probably to claim his favorite sunny spot in the basket on the windowsill, where he could pretend he hadn’t watched the whole exchange with too much interest.
Victoria collected her notebook and headed for the door. She paused with her hand on the frame.
“Thank you for introducing me properly and not nudging me to the side or behind you.”
“You’re my queen. That’s not negotiable.”
She nodded and disappeared inside.
I stood on the balcony, gripping the railing much too tight.
The pack was accepting her. She’d handled Bastian better than I could have alone. She’d asked how I was feeling instead of what I was planning.
No one had asked me things like that in years.
My wolf said one word. Queen.
I couldn’t argue with that.
I left the balcony, descended the stairs, and headed for the tree line.
As soon as I hit the forest, I shifted, letting my wolf take over.