Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
NATALIE
Clément Duval uses a table to stand as we approach in the packed dining hall for breakfast. The rest of his council does the same. Well, almost all of them do.
“Natalia—” He pauses and purses his mouth to the side in question. Then, his thick eyebrows rise and he corrects himself with “Nat,” extending his palm to me. When I return the gesture, he bows and places a peck on my hand, promptly dropping to his seat once more and waiting for us to do the same.
Nik pulls out the chair next to him and I sit, inspecting the rows of dishes lining the table.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when it came time to eat breakfast. But I certainly didn’t think a werewolf menu would resemble the food laid out in front of me now.
There’s no raw meat. No human-shaped limbs garnished with fresh herbs.
Instead, assortments of breads and pastries fill each tray, complemented by vibrant jams and jellies to the sides.
I can’t say I’m not grateful. With how my stomach has been feeling the past two nights, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to handle a table of carnivores.
“How were your accommodations?” Clément asks, eyes the same shade as the drink in his hand.
“Gr—great,” I stammer, feeling the suffocating weight of his entire council inspecting me like some pet Nik travels with. “You have a beautiful home.”
Jade rolls her eyes and takes a large pull from her glass. “With what everyone heard last night, you must have enjoyed yourself.”
“Jade,” Clément says in a husky tone and waves her off. “Forgive her. Not much of a morning person.”
I nod, chewing on my lower lip, but say nothing else.
Downing the rest of her glass and placing it to the table, Jade stands abruptly and grates the stone floors with the feet of her chair.
“J’ai perdu l’appétit,” she spits and doesn’t wait for her father or the council to leave their seats.
She exits the hall without another word, only giving me a sideways glance before she departs.
Although I can’t make out everything she said, there was one word that stuck out. L’appétit. Appetite, if I had to guess, and I don’t exactly need a course in French to understand what she meant. I sink lower in my chair until Nik’s hand settles on my thigh, thumb tracing small, scalding circles.
“Daughters,” Clément says with a scoff. “Onto business, I suppose.” He clears his throat and straightens his posture. “How many wolves does your father have, Nikolai?”
Nik runs his fingers along his beard methodically.
“I don’t have an exact number. In my absence, my father has been recruiting.
Whether these new additions to the pack are volunteers or were simply taken, I’m not sure.
Our long-standing deal with the Russian government says we can’t hunt citizens.
It doesn’t say anything about turning them. ”
“A dozen less than before because of me,” Alexey says proudly through a mouthful and elbows Dimitri. He gives a loud oof when Dimitri elbows him back in the ribs.
Clément hunches forward, round face drawing serious. “If what you’re saying is true, I’m not sure my numbers will be enough to stop them without the full moon. Not with two wolves who change at will.”
From what I heard during our conversation in the council chamber, Clément’s pack is only half of what it used to be years ago. Some battle in an eastern province with massive casualties. He wouldn’t say what pack they were fighting. On second thought, he didn’t mention what they were even fighting.
Nik nods. “Attacking now would be pointless. Especially when every Vostik wolf around the world will be called back to the den. He will reinforce the compound, making it impossible to survive a gunfight with his soldiers on alert. Our best chance at pulling this off is going to be during the blood moon before their hunt begins. A hungry wolf makes mistakes, and his pack is starving.”
I think back to my time in the cage. How Viktor was seconds away from killing me but stopped and feasted on that poor woman instead. It wasn’t him calling the shots then. No, it seemed like he was arguing with the wolf in his head and unfortunately for that woman, the wolf won.
Clément smirks. “I warned your father his hunger for humans would get him in trouble.”
“You don’t eat humans?” I blurt out the question before I can stop myself, earning curious and disgusted glances from his council.
The large alpha chuckles, his cheeks dancing. “No, Nat. We gave up that tradition a long time ago. Nikolai’s father thought it made us weak. Less deserving of the transformation his grandfather gifted my family.”
A pack that doesn’t hunt humans? I didn’t even know that was possible. I thought they needed to feed on humans to survive. Then again, I’ve never seen Nik eat anything I myself wouldn’t. So, maybe they found a way to live without sacrificing their humanity in the process, too.
“So it’s decided,” Clément continues. “You will train my wolves. Teach them control. And on the blood moon, we will pay your father a little visit.”
Nik gives a single, affirming tilt of his head. “Agreed. But I can’t promise they’ll be ready. Not in a couple weeks.”
Clément Duval reaches for a baguette on the plate closest to him and bites off the end. “Well, what are we waiting for?”
Clément leads us through the maze of the castle, passing through different corridors sharing the same stonework of the front wings, but the area he takes us to now is darker, almost neglected.
Strings of cobwebs dangle down from the ceiling, and I can’t escape the feeling I have more than a few spiders crawling on my scalp.
“Just a little farther,” the alpha says.
“We used this room to chain up the pack on full moons before the outside walls were made impenetrable. And should a shifted be brazen enough to climb those walls—” He pauses and turns toward us, hand jabbing at Nik with an invisible stick.
“ZZZzzt.” He makes a shocking sound and grins.
“We have humans run point on the perimeter. No successful runaways yet.”
Great. So what he’s saying is even if we tried, we are trapped in this fortress with no chance of escaping. It doesn’t seem to bother Nik, but the rest of us behind him all exchange concerned glances.
“Mr. Alpha,” Alexey interrupts from the back. “When will I be permitted to go to the armory? I still have some things I need to build for big werewolf battle.”
Clément shakes his large head and waves him off dismissively.
“Qui, later today.” His words come out in an annoyed huff, and when the answer seems enough to satisfy Alexey, he continues down the hallway.
“I say we start with elders and work our way down the pack. Experience with transforming could help them channel their wolf faster.”
Nik undoes the tie strangling his long brown hair and lets it flow down each shoulder. It’s like he’s preparing himself. Getting ready to turn into the monster that had Clément salivating in his council room seat. “A good suggestion. I have one request, however.”
The alpha lurches to a stop and peers at him, one eyebrow raised. “What might that be?”
Nik takes one purposeful step back, standing in line with me. When he speaks again, he urges me forward. “Natalia will be attending each of these training sessions.”
Me? What does he mean I’m going to be in every training session?
A noticeable amount of disbelief skirts across Clément’s face.
It’s insulting to say the least, but honestly, can I blame him?
I haven’t even shifted yet. “She,” he says and points a finger at me, “is going to train with my pack elders? A pup? No disrespect, Nikolai. Are you sure she can handle it?”
His words cut deep enough to have me take a step back, but Nik doesn’t let me.
No, he keeps me in place with a warm hand at my spine.
Two syllables beat in my head, bringing the promise of a migraine later.
I can’t. I can’t train with wolves who have years of experience with this curse.
I am barely able to control my hearing, not to mention the rest of the abilities which have been dormant, so far.
How can he expect me to train in the same room with the strongest members of this pack?
I stare at him, silently begging for an answer, but he doesn’t bring those golden eyes to me for once. No, he keeps them on Clément, one side of his mouth tilting to a smirk. “Trust me.”