Filed to story: My Kidnapper Is the Wolf King
I don’t fight the smile that spreads across my face.
Blake looks at me curiously. Then his gaze flits lazily to the door.
“You seem to be in some pain yourself, little rabbit,” he says. “Muscular pain, from your journey here, I presume. If you come to my chambers tonight, I have just the thing to help.”
Callum strides back into the room.
“He’s in recovery,” says Blake, before Callum can speak. “You can take him to his chambers, if you-“
Blake’s gaze narrows on Ryan, and he snatches something from the boy’s pocket.
“What’s that?” Callum holds out his hand.
Blake turns over a bloody envelope. Instead of giving it to Callum, he passes it to me.
I frown.
Aurora is written in elegant calligraphy across the front.
Heart beating fast, I turn it over. The wax seal has a star in its center; the sigil of the Borderlands.
My skin turns cold as I rip it open and read.
A present for you, my love.
Think of the boy as a betrothal gift. I know you were fond of him from our time at the dog fight.
I’ll be seeing you soon.
Yours,
Sebastian
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ryan’s chambers are warm and quiet.
A fire crackles in the hearth, casting light onto Callum’s face as he sits in the wooden chair beside it. He’s changed out of his blood-soaked clothes-as have I-and he’s bathed. His hair is damp and brushed back from his face. He looks younger and more boyish when he’s clean.
Becky snoozes in a chair next to the bed, and Ryan breathes softly as he sleeps. Alongside my relief at his recovery, a swell of satisfaction blooms in my chest. He is going to be okay. And I helped.
Still, a dark shadow hangs over me.
“What are we going to do about Sebastian?” I ask.
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Not all of your people have returned. He hurt Ryan because of me. And if he has more of your men. . .”
Callum runs a hand over his mouth. “It’s not your fault. We’ll get him back for this, I promise you.”
Something twists in my gut. Now, more than ever, I do not want to go back to Sebastian. And, after spending time with Callum, my initial plan of giving my father information about the Wolf King is getting less appealing.
Yet, if I stay, people will be tortured and die because of me.
I’m not sure if I can stomach it.
“I should go back,” I say.
“No.” Callum’s eyes blaze into mine.
“You’re going to trade me for the Heart of the Moon, anyway. Why not do it now?”
“No.” This time his tone is final. “We’ll find another way.”
***
I’m not sure how much longer we sit there, but it feels late by the time that Callum walks me back to my chambers.
“Thank you for earlier,” he says. “What you did for Ryan. . . I appreciate it.”
“It was nothing,” I say, embarrassed by the emotion blazing in his eyes.
“No. It wasn’t.”
Callum follows me into my room. Someone has been here in my absence, and lit the candles on the desk and the bedside table. They emit a soft glow, and flick shadows over the books and the small bed. They do nothing to fight the cold, though. My breath plumes in front of my face.
It has been a long day, and the adrenaline that was pumping through my body earlier has desisted-leaving me with aching limbs and heavy eyelids.
“Let me help,” says Callum.
“What?”
He stands awkwardly beside the bookshelf. His height and broad shoulders seem too big for the small room. His head almost touches the ceiling.
When he drags his teeth over his bottom lip, an uncharacteristic vulnerability flashes behind his eyes.
“Blake said you were still aching. And the way you were walking up the stairs. . .”
“It’s unsettling that you know these things, you know?”
He offers me a lopsided grin. “Aye. Not much is private around here. Imagine being a young pup, up to no good, and your mother being able to hear your racing pulse as you lie to her about your whereabouts.”
“Were you often up to no good?”
“Oh, always.”
I let loose a soft laugh, and his eyes brighten.
I shift from one foot to the other, suddenly very aware that we are alone in my chambers after nightfall. I swallow.
“It’s not bad, the aching. Blake said if I went to his chambers, he would give me something for the pain.”
Callum’s expression darkens. “Blake was trying to provoke me. I doubt he has anything that could help. The wolf inside us fights off most pain relief. And if he did have something, it’d be in the infirmary, not his bedchambers.” A sheepish look crosses his face. “But I can help you, if you’d like?”
“How?”
He nods at the bed. “Lie down. On your front.”
“I will do no such thing!”
He laughs, softly. “I mean no harm, Princess. Nothing improper, I swear it. I promised you no one would touch you, and that extends to me.”
I eye him suspiciously. “Well, what are you going to do?”
“Just massage some of the tension out of your muscles.”