by Victoria Zak
~~~~~
In a rush Thomas left the table and took the stairs two at a time until he reached a smaller bedchamber across from JewelAna’s. He paced the floor with his hands on his hips. God’s bones, why was I so reckless?
The door flew open and JewelAna barged in. “Thomas de Wolfe, I knew it!”
“Jewel, you know nothing. I’m going to bed.” Thomas fumbled with the ties of his gambeson.
“I’m not leaving this room until you tell me. Thomas please, I need to know.” She softened her tone and helped him with the ties. “I can feel it.”
Thomas bent down, nuzzled the top of her head and inhaled. “Lady Jewel, you smell divine.”
“And you’re drunk.” She slipped her hand under his jacket. Instantly his body tensed. He needed to pull himself together before he landed under her spell, which always tested his willpower.
“You said I reminded you of my mother. Did you know her? What was she like? By the Virgin, wolf, I need to know.” She pushed him and he stumbled back a step.
Thomas stood for a while, staring at the blonde beauty in front of him. She was relentless and there was no going back in time to unsay the thought he had spoken out loud. Still arguing within himself, Thomas went to the side of the bed and pulled out a square wooden box. He placed it on the bed, then walked away.
He pointed at the box. “Everything inside was your mother’s.” A sadness he hadn’t allowed himself to feel since the day Tacey died consumed him.
JewelAna stood frozen, staring at the box.
“Go on,” he encouraged her. “You wanted to know.”
With her guard up, she walked to the bed and lifted the lid. Sitting on top was a folded piece of leather. She opened it and a gentle smile creased her lips.
“Your mother loved to play Fox and Geese, and she was very good at it.” He smiled, remembering the times he’d played with Tacey. “She always beat me.”
JewelAna looked at Thomas and his heart ached for her. “What was her name?”
“Tacey.”
“What did she look like?”
“She had a beautiful innocence about her. Her eyes were kind, just like yours.”
JewelAna swallowed hard. “Had?”
A grimness crossed over his face. “Tacey died during your birth.”
She gasped, “I killed my mother?”
Thomas didn’t know how to explain it, for there was a time he’d blamed her for Tacey’s death. But there was nothing the child had done to cause her mother harm. “No, Jewel, you did not kill her. Sometimes a birth is too much for a woman to endure. Your mother was only thirteen and petite. Her body wasn’t made for child-birthing.”
“Did you love her, Thomas?”
“I cared deeply for her, but our time together wasn’t meant to be.”
JewelAna’s brows furrowed. “Why was she kept a secret from me?”
Thomas shoved his hands through his hair and sat down on the bed beside her. “Everyone in Wales believed your mother was going to give birth to the next pure-blooded Prince of Wales. Little did we know she had given birth to a princess.”
“I’m a princess?” she said in shock.
Thomas reached over and tucked a strand of fallen blonde hair behind her ear. “Aye. I promised her I would protect you with my life. It was your mother’s dying wish. I don’t know why she was so adamant that it be me she wanted to protect you, but I would have done anything for her.”
JewelAna leaned into Thomas’s touch as he continued. “Father was there at Castle Rhydilian the day you were born. Your Uncle Bhrodi wanted to keep you safe from King Edward and announced to the people of Wales that your mother and the babe had passed during the birth. Your uncle asked father to take you back to Castle Questing and raise her as a de Wolfe.”
“So all this time I was a de Shera?” JewelAna’s brows furrowed.
“Aye.”
Suddenly, JewelAna stood with excitement. “Thomas, do you know what this means? Since I’m not a de Wolfe, I don’t have to marry Fáfnir.”
“Jewel, wait, before you go any further there’s more I need to tell you.”
Dead silence fell though the room. Intently she stared at Thomas while he searched carefully for his next words. “In order for your uncle to protect his family and Wales from King Edward, he had to—”
“Do what, Thomas?”
“King Edward and his men were closing in on Anglesey. Your uncle needed a powerful ally and sought out protection from the Wend Drakis. Fáfnir agreed, but in return for their protection, he wanted the next pure blooded princess of Wales.”
Thomas saw the anger glittering through her eyes like blue flames whipping in the wind. “Jewel, your uncle did not know a princess would be born so soon. He tried to protect you as best as he could.”
She shook her head, confused. “But how did Fáfnir find me?”
“I don’t know how the one-eyed bastard found you.” Thomas stood and walked over to her. Cupping her face, he glowered into her eyes. God’s bones, he wished he could take her away, leave England and never look back. “Trust in me when I say if it was in my power, you would never have had to leave me.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she placed her hands on top of his and squeezed. “I know, Thomas. You would never do anything to hurt me.”
“You do understand if I don’t fulfill this particular request, much as I may want you for my own. To keep you would bring war between our house and the Wend Drakis and de Sheras.
“Aye, Papa said that my marriage to Fáfnir would unite the three houses. I do not want to start a war.”
In one fluid motion Thomas captured JewelAna by the waist and pulled her close, his lips a breath away. He pressed his chest pressed against the softness of her breasts, and the sensation the contact sent curling through his body forced him to use all his resolve to stifle a growl. When he thought about another man touching or even looking at his JewelAna, he went feral inside. “But it seems that I’m in a disagreeable predicament.”
JewelAna held his smoldering gaze. “And what might that be, my Blaidd Drwg?”
Bad wolf dripped like honey off her Welsh tongue and shot straight to his cock. God help him, the untamed wolf had come alive. “No one thought about what I want.”
“And what might that be?” She swallowed hard.
A low, deep growl bellowed inside, shaking Thomas to the core. “I want my claim. I want you.”
Finally confessing his feeling to her, it became all too real. There was no more holding back. What his wolf wanted, he attained.
Thomas captured her lips with a forcefulness that said everything he’d yearned to say over the past ten years, but had been too stubborn to declare. The urge in him drove him past any logical thinking, because there was no going back. Here, now, he would claim her.
Fisting a hand of long, blonde hair from behind her neck, he pulled her head back and dragged his lips across the sensitive part of her neck, just below her ears. Her sweet moans of pleasure stroked his wolf and drove him farther. Suddenly, JewelAna squirmed her way out of his embrace. She stood a few steps away as he waited for her to make the next move. In all honesty he hoped she would do what was best for them both and leave the room.
With lust-imbued eyes locked in on his dark depths, she slowly removed her shift, tantalizingly, inch by inch, and then threw it at his chest. There were many things he adored about her, but above all her boldness always struck him defenseless. He brought the material up to his nose and inhaled as she pinned him with a wicked smile.
He watched her take a step back toward the bed as she curled her index finger and motioned for him to come closer. “I won’t bite,” she grinned.
Something savage inside kindled into a raging fire. Thomas threw the shift to the ground and kindly responded to her advances. “I do,” he growled.
Forcefully, he pulled out of his tunic and pushed JewelAna onto the bed. As he untied the front of his breeches, he couldn’t tear his eyes from the be
auty who lay before him. She was delectable in every way, as if she was made solely for him. Her breasts were small but just enough to satisfy his raging hunger for her flesh. Her stomach was flat and exhibited a black beauty mark next to her belly button. His mouth watered. He was going to have fun with that.
His cock throbbed as his eyes trailed farther to a patch of blonde curls covering her maidenhood. Christ, de Wolfe, what are you waiting for?
As if his tether had just snapped, Thomas pushed JewelAna’s legs open with his muscled body and settled in for the kill. He nuzzled her neck and down betwixt her breasts, capturing a peaked pink nipple in his mouth and twirling it with his tongue. Lightly he grazed her tender skin with his teeth, testing to make sure she found his way of carnal courtship pleasing. To his satisfaction she moaned and arched her body, pressing into his. “By the saints, Thomas,” she panted.
Their hands feverishly explored each other’s bodies with an undeniable passion that Thomas had long forbidden himself to taste. Her body was like a fine instrument he was tuning for a beautiful melody sung just for him. Knowing the sounds coming from her mouth where for him and him alone pleased him like nothing he had ever felt before. All the years of pent up physical attraction hummed through him, urging him forward.
Thomas could no longer hold back and in one thrust he buried himself to the hilt, breaking through her maiden’s pearl. JewelAna gasped and tensed beneath him. Feeling like a selfish fool, Thomas paused until she relaxed, then continued thrusting. They both fell into a pleasurable rhythm.
With every thrust and quiver they chased down a hot path into a blissful place both yearned for. JewelAna’s legs tightened around Thomas’s waist and shook. He looked down at her red-flushed skin, as she panted and grabbed the sheets as if she were holding on for dear life. He had her right where he’d wanted her all along, submitting to his every command.
Her walls tightened around him as he pumped faster and harder until she screamed his name. The wolf took over and flipped her onto her stomach, positioning her on her hands and knees to finish his claim. Out of pure instinct, he pushed her hair away from the side of her neck, bent over and licked her throat right where he wanted to leave his mark. His release breached the battlement walls and he nipped, then bit down on the back of her neck just below her shoulder.
Thoroughly sated, he rubbed his hands up and down her back as he waited for JewelAna to catch her breath. Not wanting to let her go, he stayed connected with her a little bit longer. By the love of Christ, he was a greedy bastard.
Blissfully, JewelAna looked over her shoulder at him. “By the Saints, you are a bad wolf.” She grinned.
Thomas chuckled as he released her from his grip.
On her knees, JewelAna turned to face him. She unbound Thomas’s hair from its leather strap, then ran her figures through the strands.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you, Jewel. I acted too rashly.” He ran his hands up and down the side of her body.
“I should be the one to apologize for my disgraceful behavior earlier today. I am truly sorry for shaming your good name. I didn’t mean a word I said.”
His heart sank when he saw the sorrow in her eyes. “You’ve been forgiven,” he winked. “I’ve shown you mercy.”
She giggled against his lips as he bent down and kissed her.
“Thomas,” she looked at him as if she was committing every bit of him to memory.
In fact she was. The mood in the room shift to a place he’d soon like to forget. He knew what had crept in and threatened to take her away. But tonight—tonight she was his, dragons be damned.
“Shhh, not tonight,” he said as he nuzzled her neck and brought her thoughts back to him.
“’Tis my turn to show you my gratitude.” She met his eyes and hit him with another wicked smile.
Aye, indeed, she found her way back to him.
Chapter Nine
The night had been brighter than the gloom the day presented. JewelAna stood on the shore, staring into the horizon of never-ending water and mist. The clouds were gray, the sea was dark, and the mood throughout the tower this morning was even darker. Aye, the gloom of the day had set in and chilled her bones.
Even though her body ached head to toe from last night, she took comfort in knowing that she finally knew the secrets of her past. That her mother had been cherished and the de Wolfe’s took every measure to secure her safety. As she had all of her life, she was loved. In fact she felt like a de Wolfe now more than ever. She thought she had been seeking that last puzzle piece to make her life complete, but all along what she wanted most was always there beside her: her wolf.
Now that she must leave him, she threatened to come undone when Thomas crossed her mind; she would never see him again. It was reckless of her to bed one man when promised to another, but in reality she would do it all again. There was no shame in following her heart as long as it led her to Thomas. Forever she would remember last night, and dream of it often.
She squinted into the mist rolling off the ocean as a ship came into view. In slow motion, a wooden dragonhead perched high on the bow of a cog sliced through the air, and from the thickness of the fog looked as if it blew smoke fiercely from it mouth. JewelAna’s breath hitched in her lungs, her heart pounded, and she grabbed her chest, trying to calm her nerves. It was he, Fáfnir; he was coming for her.
All JewelAna could do was stand and wait in horror. Every fiber in her body told her to run away, hide somewhere where he couldn’t follow. This wasn’t right; she could feel it to her marrow. She didn’t belong to him.
At precisely the right moment, Thomas stood behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder without saying a word. He didn’t need to say anything, for the comfort he gave came with the squeeze of his hand. Shaking, she grabbed it and took in his warmth. How was she going to leave him?
A small boat advanced the shoreline and a man wearing a black cloak stepped out onto the sandy ground. Once he secured the boat so it would not float away, he approached JewelAna and bowed.
“Princess, my name is Logmar and I’m here to escort you to our lord Fáfnir.” The man had shoulder length blond hair and a stance that gave him an authoritative demeanor.
Taken aback by the man, she wondered why Fáfnir hadn’t come in person to greet his future bride. Indeed she found it altogether rude.
“Where is Lord Fáfnir? Am I of no value to him that he couldn’t spare his time to meet his bride in person?”
Thomas squeezed her shoulder, giving her a warning to tread softly.
Logmar tightened his jaw and exhaled a calming breath. Certainly he wasn’t used to a woman so bold. “Lord Fáfnir awaits your company back on the ship.”
Just then, Malin carried out JewelAna’s chest and placed it in the boat. Lucky for her, the chest was small.
“I leave you to say your farewells.” Logmar bowed again and when he straightened to walk back to the boat, he gave Thomas the devil’s eye.
The dreaded time had come; she could put it off no longer. She willed her body to move, but one step and she would shatter into a million sobbing pieces. Her body shook and her palms sweat; this was it…she was never going to see Thomas again.
She turned to face him, but she couldn’t possibly look into his eyes; she couldn’t bear to see what she was leaving behind. Protectiveness and comfort, passion and love, a future she would never have.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and he bent his head down to whisper in her ear, “Be brave, my little lamb.” Then he kissed her cheek.
Before she left his warm embrace, she whispered back, “Fight for me, Thomas, fight for us.” She regretfully slipped out of his arms, her head hung down, and made her way to the boat.
Logmar took JewelAna’s hand, assisting her into the boat. She sat facing the pack of wolves as they stood on the sandy shore watching the sea take one of their own away. The princess kept her eyes on the shoreline until it faded into nothingness. A mournful chorus of cries echoed across the water
straight to her heart. “Ffarwel, Blaidd Drwg.”
~~~~~
The moon shone bright through the haze of graying clouds. Thomas still stood on the shore, dark eyes locked on the waves crashing in. His stance bold with his arms crossed over his chest, his dark long hair and black and gold surcoat whipping against the wind. His grim expression warned the rest of the pack to keep their distance. He had sent his little lamb into the belly of the beast.
“I wonder when the gloom will lift? ’Tis too beautiful a place for such weather.” Woolsey stood next to Thomas observing the gray sky above.