Filed to story: My Kidnapper Is the Wolf King
A look passes between Callum and Blake.
“We know why he’s here,” I say. “He’s come to take me back to my father.”
“Not everything is about you, darling sister. I didn’t come for you. I only found out you were here a few days ago.”
“Why are you here, then?” I ask.
He nods at Callum. “I came for him.”
Callum laughs. Arms folded, he looks Philip up and down. “You came for me?”
“Not to kill you. Goodness, must it always amount to violence among your people? I was sent by Ingrid Erickson, alpha of the Iceborn tribe, queen of the Snowlands. She believes an agent of the God of Night wishes to release the dark god from his prison. An army will be needed to push him, and his followers, back. She has a message for the Wolf King.”
Callum frowns. “What’s the message?”
“She wants to make an alliance to unite the two wolf kingdoms,” says Philip. “She wishes to ask for your hand in marriage.”
Chapter Forty-One
“M
arriage?” Callum’s eyebrows raise.
Shock hardens my body.
Philip has come with a betrothal request for Callum from the queen of the Snowlands. Of all the reasons I could have theorized for his presence in the Northlands, I would never have imagined it would be this. I would rather he had come for me.
“I see I’ve touched a nerve, little sister. Sorry about that,” says Philip.
“Explain yourself,” says Callum-when I need him to just say no.
“Around thirty years ago, our mother was sent to the Southlands by our grandmother,” says Philip. “The Snowlands was being ravaged by a pack who were deeply devoted to the God of Night.”
“They were led by someone called the Shadow Wolf,” I say. I read about it in one of Blake’s books at Lowfell.
“Yes,” says Philip. “I don’t know the exact terms of the agreement, but our mother married Father because he agreed to help the Wolves fight this Shadow Wolf. They were defeated, but lately, there has been a resurgence in this pack. They’re stronger than before. More determined. They seem to think they have a chance of actually freeing the God of Night this time. There are rumors that the key to his prison is in the Northlands, and a wolf they’re calling The Night Prince is looking for it. Soon, you’ll face the same threat we have been dealing with. We need to unite.”
Callum runs a hand along his jaw, and I wonder if he’s thinking about all the strange things that have been happening in the Northlands lately-Night’s chapels springing back into use, Claire’s desperation for an alliance because of strange murders happening in the north, and Kai’s claim that he faced one of Night’s prisoners.
Philip nods at me. “My father will never agree to a match between the two of you,
so you have no chance of an alliance with the Southlands. What I’m presenting. . . it’s a sensible match. You’ve not seen the things I have seen.” Callum opens his mouth, and Philip raises his fingers to stop him from speaking. “You don’t need to answer now. Think on it. I will stay for a while.”
Callum’s expression is stony. “When I marry, it will be for love, not for politics.”
“Then perhaps you’re not ready to become king,” says Philip.
“That’s rich, coming from you,” I say.
He shrugs. “It’s different. I’m heir to the throne. One day, the Southlands will be mine, whether I’m ready to be king or not.”
Obnoxious, arrogant fool. I bet he would let our kingdom fall into ruins rather than perform his duty as king.
“I was drinking in a tavern close to here,” continues Philip. “Word is, not all support your claim to the throne. They think you’re a southern sympathizer. It won’t be long before you’re challenged, and then what? Constant war among your people, when a bigger war is coming. An alliance with another wolf kingdom would be wise.” He shrugs. “It would be for appearances only. You can still carry on with whatever this is.”
He waves his gloved hand between us, and his wrist strains against his constraints.
Callum’s low growl rumbles through the infirmary. “Do not question my honor. My answer is no. When I marry a lass, she will have all of me-heart, body, and soul. I will expect the same from her. I will settle for no less.”
“Why not offer yourself to Ingrid as a marriage prospect?” Blake asks Philip. I feel a thrum of curiosity that doesn’t belong to me.
“The last time my kingdom made an alliance with the Snowlands, it didn’t end well for them.” A shadow dulls Philip’s eyes. With the seriousness of his freckled face, and his hard lips, he looks like the prince he’s supposed to be, rather than the waste of space I know that he is. “Ingrid won’t marry me.”
Questions bubble inside me. There’s so much I want to know. I wonder what he found out in the Snowlands, and whether he knows Mother was a wolf. “We will talk about this later, Philip,” I say.
“You were always insufferably bossy, little sister.”
I narrow my eyes. “And you were always insufferable.”
The door to the infirmary swings open. Lochlan and Jack enter.
Philip falls quiet as Jack strolls toward him. “Is this the heir to the Southlands throne?” For the first time, Philip seems uncomfortable. Jack grabs his hand, the one with the finger missing, and clucks his tongue. “Oh dear, what happened here?”
“I’m more interested in this.” Lochlan approaches, grabs the high collar of my brother’s coat, and tugs it to one side. Ink curls up Philip’s collarbone and creeps down his shoulder. The tattoo must be new; he didn’t have it when we lived in the Southlands. “I’ve heard that deadly warriors in the Snowlands bear these kinds of marks.”
Philip shifts in the chair to cover it back up, and my scoff dies in my throat.
His face is hard. There’s an iciness in his eyes that I’ve not seen before. His face. . . the way he’s looking at Lochlan. . . For the first time in his life, he looks dangerous.
Until he blinks, and a grin broadens across his face. “The outcome of a night of debauchery and too much ale at the King’s City docks.”
Callum exhales. “If Alexander is planning an attack, I don’t have time to look after a spoiled prince. Blake, find out what you can, then get rid of him.” He tracks Lochlan’s movements as the alpha pulls a chair toward Kai’s cot and drops into it. “Has anything changed?”
“No,” says Blake.
Philip straightens. “I’m not leaving. Not until you’ve agreed to speak with Ingrid.”
Callum shrugs. “I’ve given you your answer. I won’t force you to leave, but my people will tear you apart if you stay. I won’t protect you.” He walks toward the infirmary doors. “Princess, let me escort you to your chambers.”
The desire to know more about what Philip has been doing, and my need to have a conversation with Callum, war inside me. My aching heart wins, and I follow Callum into the corridor.
I feel both Blake and my brother’s eyes on me as I walk away.
Chapter Forty-Two
We make the journey through the castle in silence. Callum follows me up the spiral staircase, then leans over me to push the door open. His chest momentarily presses against my back.
Do as he says.
Inside, the candles are unlit, and the darkness lies heavily atop the many books and trinkets within the room. The door clicks shut, and the room feels too small to breathe. Callum strolls toward the window and looks out onto the shadow-drenched mountains.
“You-“
“Why-“
We both speak at the same time. I shut my mouth and allow him to continue.
“Can we trust your brother?” He clasps his hands together, and I get the impression that wasn’t what he was going to say.
“No. He’s rotten. But everything he said about the God of Night. . . Kai has Night’s mark on his chest, and it seems like Alexander worships the God of Night. I think something is going on. What if Alexander is the Night Prince?”
Callum’s jaw hardens. “It doesn’t matter who he worships. If he means to attack my kingdom, if he means to take you, he’ll face my wrath.
He runs a hand over his mouth. When he sets his eyes on me, there’s such pain in them that I almost stagger back. I sigh. “Talk to me, Callum.”
He walks to the edge of my bed and sits down. The small frame creaks beneath his weight. “I cannot get it out of my head,” he says. “Even with everything going on, it gnaws through my skull. There’s no respite. I close my eyes, and I see him with you.”