Filed to story: My Kidnapper Is the Wolf King
He must be worried about Ryan. I am, too. I’ve no doubt Sebastian will have sent men after me. What if they caught up with the group Callum and I left behind?
A couple of hours into the feast, Blake finally gets up. He weaves through the crowd and exits the Great Hall through the door he nodded at earlier.
Callum waits a couple of minutes before rising. “Ready?”
My limbs are stiff, either from the horse-riding or from sitting down for so long, but I let Callum steer me through the boisterous crowd. His huge body creates a protective bubble around me.
When we reach the door Blake went through, Callum puts a hand flat on my stomach and I still. His warm breath tickles my ear.
“Just to warn you, Wolves tend to use this room on nights such as this when they want a bit of. . . privacy.”
“That’s good, isn’t it? That’s what we want.”
“Aye,” he says carefully. “But others may want privacy for a different reason. If you catch my drift?”
I don’t, but I nod anyway.
“When we get in there, I’ll need to tell Blake I’ve taken you prisoner,” he says. “That’s not the way that I see you, okay?”
He opens the door and hustles me inside.
The room is warm and dark, full of nooks and alcoves and small round tables where candles flicker. It smells like woodsmoke and spice, and it takes my eyes a moment to adjust.
There’s a woman straddling a man on the leather armchair to our right. The top of her dress is pulled down, exposing her breasts, and the male has his mouth around one of her nipples. She rocks against him, moaning softly.
I gasp, jerking my head in the opposite direction.
Callum nudges me forward. “It’s okay. Keep walking.”
We head toward the hearth at the end of the room. There are two armchairs facing it, and Blake sits back in one of them, his long legs stretched out in front of him toward the crackling flames.
When we reach him, I look for a third space to sit down, but Callum hooks his arm around my waist and drops down into the vacant armchair-pulling me down onto his lap. When I try to get back up, his arm tightens around me.
Blake watches our almost imperceptible struggle, his dark eyes glinting.
He leans forward.
“Caught yourself a little rabbit, have you, Callum?” he says.
Chapter Twenty
My mouth dries.
Blake’s gaze pins me to the spot, while Callum’s thick arm holds me against his chest.
I’m not used to being so close to a male. Back at the palace, I had to dance, and smile, and sweet-talk nobles at social gatherings. If any of them had held me like this, they would have been executed. This is not appropriate. And it’s certainly not the way I wanted to meet the male that Callum said is the most dangerous wolf in the Northlands.
But it is the strange heat pulsing beneath my skin that finally makes me try to shuffle out of Callum’s grasp.
“Behave,” growls Callum, and I stiffen.
He has not used this tone on me before, and panic surges through me. Have I misjudged this male?
But then I remember he was going to tell Blake I was his prisoner. I do not see how that can work to our advantage, though. If Blake knows who I am, then it only makes me look weak.
Before I can decide how to react, Blake takes my hand in his and presses his lips to my knuckles. I freeze.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, little rabbit,” he says.
A low growl rumbles in Callum’s chest and the corner of Blake’s lip quirks before he releases me.
“You remind me of someone I saw back at the Southlands palace,” says Blake. “Did you know that the daughter of the king has red hair, just like yours?”
“Give it a rest, Blake,” growls Callum. “I know you know who she is.”
Blake sighs, before leaning back in his chair and reaching for a glass of wine on the round table beside him. “Very well. Let’s be direct with one another, if you don’t want to play.”
“Where’s James?” asks Callum.
“There was a disturbance near the border. He went to sort it.” Blake sips his wine. “You intend to trade her for the Heart of the Moon, I suppose?”
“Aye.”
“If the Wolves find out who she really is, they’ll tear her apart.”
I frown. Must they speak about me as if I’m not even here?
But then Blake’s eyes move to mine. Curiosity ripples off him. “Why did you choose to come here, little rabbit?”
“She didn’t choose. I took her,” says Callum. “And I’ve just told you why.”
“Very well. I’m interested in how this is all going to play out. I’ll keep your secret.”
“If Magnus gets back before James, he could cause some trouble,” says Callum.
“Are you asking for my help, Callum?”
“Aye,” Callum grits out.
“Say please.”
Callum’s thighs tense beneath me, and I can feel the restraint in his chest. If he launches himself at Blake like I sense he wants to, we’re going to be in trouble.
“Please,” I say, giving him a hard look.
Blake’s grin widens, and again I notice the dimples in his cheeks. “Looks like your pet has better manners than you, Callum. Very well. I’ll deal with Magnus.” He turns his attention back to Callum. “And you can put your rabbit in a hutch for safekeeping. The chambers in the western tower are empty-“
“She stays with me,” says Callum.
Blake puts his glass down on the table. In a sudden movement, he reaches for me.
Callum grabs his wrist, stopping him.
I’m jolted forward.
“Look at you,” says Blake. “You’re like a dog guarding his favorite chew toy. What happens when you decide you want to play with it?”
“She’s my prisoner,” says Callum.
Blake chuckles. “Please. You’re not a kidnapper, Callum. You’re a savior. Perhaps you told yourself that you brought her here for the Heart of the Moon, but we both know the truth. You saw a woman who needed saving, and you wanted to be the one to do so. She’ll stay in the room in the tower where we can both keep an eye on her.”
“No,” says Callum.
“You truly wish for me to believe you’re holding her captive?” Blake arches an eyebrow. “Fine. Prove it. Make her do something.” His lips curve into a smile. “Tell her to come and sit with me.”
“That is not-” I splutter.