The Wolf's Betrothed (The Wolf's Peak Saga Book 5)

by Patricia Blackmoor

  “I don’t want to shift on the bed. I’ll end up tearing apart the mattress.”

  I rolled my eyes. “It’s not as if the duke couldn’t easily purchase a new one.”

  “He’s already done so much for me here. I’m not going to impose more than I have to.”

  I set the mug of tea on the side table. “But it’s his fault you’re here anyway! If you didn’t work for the duke, you wouldn’t have been attacked.”

  “Hazel, it’s my job.”

  I looked down at the floor. “I know.”

  “Are you going to be all right with this going forward?”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. Adam was loyal to Jasper, but this put him in terrible danger. Still, I wasn’t going to pull him away from the job he loved. “Absolutely.”

  There was a lengthy pause before Adam said, “It’s time.”

  I stared at my hands as Adam transformed. I hated watching it, watching his body writhe, his face contort in pain. I averted my eyes until I heard a whining. My head snapped over to where Adam was lying on the floor, his muzzle buried under a paw.

  I flew to his side. “What’s going on? Are you all right?”

  He twisted his head over toward where his stitches were. They were still intact, but bloody. I raced to the bathroom and wet a spare rag. Back at his side, I dabbed at his stitches until they were clean. Once the blood was stopped up, he licked my face and jumped onto the bed. As the night grew darker, I climbed under the sheets and we curled up together.

  Once Adam was able to move more freely, the men called a meeting in the Great Room. Annabelle came over as well, and the three of us girls stayed together. Christine had woken up late, so we sat in the kitchen while she ate lunch.

  “I’m glad to see Adam is doing better,” Christine said to me.

  “Oh, God, me too. I was so scared.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost him.”

  We chatted for a bit. “I can’t wait to be married to Adam,” I said. “Then, if something like this were to happen again, I wouldn’t have to spend hours convincing my parents to let me stay with him.”

  “You had to convince them? They didn’t want you to stay?” Christine asked me.

  I scoffed. “They thought it was inappropriate.”

  “It’s not like you stayed in the same room,” Annabelle said.

  “Most of the time,” Christine said with a giggle.

  Warmth rushed to my face. “He was injured! It’s not like we were having relations.”

  Christine continued to laugh. “Did you really just say ‘having relations’?”

  “For a married woman about to be a mother, you’re quite immature,” I said, trying to suppress a smile. “I just lay there with him. I wanted to be there if he needed anything.”

  “How scandalous,” Annabelle teased.

  We fell quiet for a moment.

  “What do you think they’re talking about in there?” Christine asked.

  My heart sank as I saw the smirk spread across Annabelle’s face. “Shall we find out?”

  I shook my head. “How do you intend to do that? I thought the Great Hall was un-eavesdrop-able.”

  “Only if the door is closed,” Annabelle said before turning to Christine. “You remember last time?”

  “Yes, we kept the door from closing so we could listen in. And we wouldn’t have been caught if you hadn’t gotten so excited,” Christine said with a nod.

  “It was my fault,” she admitted. “We’ll be more careful this time.”

  I watched her, eyebrows raised.

  “Daisy!” she called out, waving her hand. Daisy looked up from the cakes she was making.

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “Can you check and see if the men need any tea?”

  Daisy nodded. “I’d be happy to, ma’am.”

  We followed her out to the hallway, close behind her as she entered between the doors of the Great Hall. When she returned to the hallway a few seconds later, Annabelle jumped, grasping the door handle only seconds before the door clicked shut. She carefully pulled the door so the latches rested against each other, and the door was cracked open just a bit. I doubted anyone would notice unless they looked at the door hard at a very particular angle. Even then, with almost half the men over fifty, they probably wouldn’t notice.

  “They said they were fine, that they didn’t need anything,” Daisy reported.

  “Very good,” Annabelle said softly. Now that the door was open, she didn’t want the men to know we were right outside. With their advanced senses, they’d be able to hear us if we were too loud.

  “Is there anything else I can do for you?” Daisy asked.

  “No, but thank you, Daisy,” Christine murmured.

  “Of course, ma’am,” she said, giving a curtsy. “I’m going to go back to my cakes, but if you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen.”

  She left us waiting by the door. When we were certain she was back in the kitchen and wouldn’t catch us, the three of us pressed our ears against the wooden doors. The conversation was subdued, but if we listened carefully, we could hear what they were saying.

  “I’m not happy about it either, but I think it’s our only choice,” Jasper said, his voice commanding but weary.

  “They aren’t going to like it,” warned Stephen.

  “They don’t have to.”

  “We’ll send Conor with, just in case?” asked Peter.

  “I think that would be best.”

  “I don’t mind,” Conor said.

  Jasper sighed. “All right, then. That’s settled. Next week, we’re going to see the elders.”

  Annabelle and I both stepped away from the door, hands flying to our mouths. Christine looked at us, confused.

  “I don’t understand,” I said. “What’s wrong?”

  Annabelle glanced back down the hallway to be sure no one was going to overhear us. “They’re going to the elders.”

  “I thought that was good. Don’t we want them to go to the elders? Won’t the elders help them track down Seth?”

  Annabelle bit her lip. “Of course, we’re happy they have enough proof to contact the elders. We really could use their help tracking down Seth. The problem is, they aren’t just contacting the elders. They’re actually going to see them.”

  “That’s bad?”

  “Not bad, exactly,” I said, trying to find the right words. I glanced at Annabelle, hoping she could help.

  “Going to the elders means that this is serious,” Annabelle explained.

  “I thought we knew that it was serious already,” Christine said.

  “We did. Thing is, if they’re going to the elders, it means they’ve exhausted all of their resources. They have nothing left, so they’re going in person for an appeal. They only go visit the elders when absolutely necessary. The elders are in Sweden, so it’s a bit of a trip.”

  “Sweden? But that could take weeks,” Christine said.

  “Exactly,” Annabelle said. “It’s an ‘in case of emergency’ type situation.

  Tears sprung to Christine’s eyes. “I don’t want Jasper to be gone for weeks. The baby is due soon.”

  “He might not have a choice,” I said, thinking of the threat Seth posed. “This is dangerous. We already have one body, maybe two. They need to do everything they can to put him behind bars.”

  “I just don’t like this.”

  Annabelle put her hand on my arm. “None of us do. Unfortunately, it’s the type of choices Jasper has to make when he’s the alpha.”

  She nodded. “I understand.”

  She said she understood, but I’m not sure she really did. I returned home that day, ignoring the complaints from my mother, but I was back at Wolf’s Peak the following afternoon and each day after that, trying to console Christine. She and Jasper had been in a fight the night before, and he had left for business in London that needed to be taken care of before the men could go to Sweden. In order to k
eep Christine safe, she was being guarded by councilmen while he was gone, and while the men were in Sweden, she would be moved to a secure location.

  “He’s doing this for you,” Annabelle reminded her.

  “It certainly doesn’t feel that way,” she said, crossing her arms.

  “He only wants you and the baby to be safe,” I told her. “He wants this taken care of before the baby arrives.”

  Christine looked down and rubbed her protruding belly. “I know. It’s that I feel...betrayed, in a way. It’s so unfair. This is supposed to be the happiest time of my life and Seth has ruined it.” She wiped away tears.

  I wrapped my arms around her. “I know, darling. I know. I’m so sorry.”

  While we were chatting, Adam and Stephen came in. They had just switched off shifts with Conor and Lester, and brushed snow out of their hair as they took cups of tea from Daisy.

  “Are you all ready?” Stephen asked. “Jasper should be home in a few days, then you’re leaving.”

  “I haven’t packed yet,” she admitted.

  “What about you?” Adam asked me.

  “I’m fine, thanks,” I said, furrowing my brow.

  “No, I mean, are you ready to go?”

  I frowned. “Go? Go where?”

  Adam shook his head. “Hazel, you’re coming with us.”

  “I’m what?”

  He smiled. “You, me, Bridget, Conor, and Annabelle. We’re all leaving the city with Christine.”

  Chapter Eight

  I struggled to stop my yawn, but it overtook me anyway. The sun hadn’t risen yet, and out my window was nothing but blackness. The house held a chill since none of the servants had lit the fires yet. It would be at least an hour until my mother woke up, maybe more. My frozen fingers struggled to hook the buttons into their loops. My eyes were bleary, and I blinked several times to try to adjust my vision so I could twist my hair back without it looking like a mess. The pins were like ice in my fingers as I slid them into place.

  A soft knock on my bedroom door broke the still silence of the house. I opened my door and my mother stood there, wrapped in her thickest and warmest dressing gown. She yawned.

  “Are you ready to leave?” she asked me.

  “Pretty much,” I told her. We had no idea how long we would be gone. It all depended on how long the councilmen took in Sweden. At the very least, we’d be there for over two weeks, since travel was about a week both ways. That was as long as they didn’t hit any inclement weather, in which case, they could take even longer.

  From downstairs, we heard another knock, and my mother and I descended the creaking stairs down to the main floor. Adam stood there, snow collecting on his coat, and we ushered him inside so we could shut the door and keep the cold out. Adam gave me one of his luminescent smiles.

  “Are you ready?” he asked me.

  “My trunk is upstairs,” I told him. While he went up to go get it, my mother helped me pull on my heaviest coat and loaded me up with a hat, pair of gloves, and a muff. It was going to be a long, cold journey to wherever we were going.

  Adam and I climbed into the waiting carriage, our breath little puffs of steam in the frozen, black air. He reached over and took my hand, and I could feel his warmth through my gloves. I rested my head against his shoulder, fighting off sleep in the comfort of his arms.

  “Where are we going?” I asked him with a yawn.

  “To a castle up north that the prince is lending us. It’ll be a long trip, but the castle is supposed to be lovely and private.”

  “It’ll be like a vacation,” I sighed.

  He laughed. “If you want to think of it that way.”

  We pulled up to Wolf’s Peak, and together we stepped through the doors. Everyone was bustling around, getting ready for the trip. The councilmen were headed to Sweden with the exception of Conor and Adam. Adam was staying with us because of his injuries, while Conor was along because he was a doctor, just in case Christine went into labor early.

  “All right, I just want to go over everything,” Jasper said, clapping his hands together to get our attention. “Christine, Annabelle, Daniel, Hazel, Bridget, Conor, and Adam will be going north. The rest of us will be headed east. When you reach the castle, I’ve arranged for a message to be sent. Likewise, when we return and are a day out, we’ll let you know so we can all arrive at Wolf’s Peak at roughly the same time. We estimate our trip to the elders to take two to three weeks, depending on how accommodating they are. Does everyone understand?”

  I nodded, as did everyone else.

  “Wonderful,” Jasper said. “Now, let’s get going.”

  We left the house, Jasper locking the doors behind us. The men helped us up into the carriage, and I curled up against Adam. He was so warm in the cold carriage, but he pulled a blanket over us. Conor sat on my other side, and while he wasn’t pressed against me like Adam was, I could still feel the warmth radiating from him.

  I couldn’t stop my eyes from closing. I was so warm and cozy nestled next to Adam. He wrapped his arm around me and I fell asleep as we traveled north. I didn’t wake until we made a stop. We all piled out of the carriage. Though it was freezing, it felt nice to stretch my legs. Still, we couldn’t stay out long, or we’d freeze, at least those of us who weren’t wolves. After a brief few minutes and a restroom break, we loaded up back into the carriage and started back on the road.

  We’d packed food for our trip, but it wasn’t enough to get us through dinner, so we stopped at a roadside pub. I savored the warmth inside the building. A massive fireplace crackled on one side of the room, and I stretched my hands out to take in the warmth.

  The food at the restaurant was nothing remarkable, but the hot food felt amazing. I drank a steaming cup of tea, and would have asked for another had we not had several hours left on the road. When Conor announced that it was time to head out again, I sighed inwardly. I didn’t want to leave the relaxation of the restaurant for the cold of the carriage.

  Still, we pulled ourselves out to the carriage again. The seats were cold as we sat down, and I pressed myself up against Adam, absorbing as much of his warmth as possible. He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead.

  “You’re freezing,” he murmured.

  “I know.” I shivered.

  He pulled me in close.

  “It’s been a long day,” I sighed. The sun was just about to cross below the horizon. We had to hurry; none of us wanted to be traveling at night. Not with Seth on the loose. The horses picked up the pace, rushing us toward our destination.

  Across the carriage, Christine had drifted off against Christine‘s shoulder. She had mentioned that pregnancy made her more likely to be tired. I could understand that. I kept wanting to drift off, and I wasn’t the pregnant one.

  The smooth rolling of the carriage changed to a rough bump as we changed terrain. Not long after our carriage rolled to a stop. Christine yawned and stretched.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, rubbing at her eyes.

  “I think we’re here,” Bridget said, turning her body to look out the window.

  Conor and Adam climbed out first, waiting outside the doors to help us down from the carriage. We stepped out into the snow and looked up at the castle before us. The building was large and square, made of heavy stone. This wasn’t the type of castle that kings and queens would vacation in. This was a fortress, heavily fortified with watchtowers. The windows were scarcely more than thin slits, the doors heavy and made of thick wood and steel.

  We huddled together on the stone steps as Conor used the knockers to alert the castle to our presence. After a few moments of knocks and pauses, the door swung open to reveal an older woman. She could have been petite in any situation, but dwarfed by the massive doorway, she looked tiny.

  “Why, hello!” she cried out. Gray hair was piled on her head, and her cheeks were round and rosy. “I’m so sorry. Didn’t hear you pull up! The snow does so muffle the sounds out here.”

  She stared at us
for a moment and we stared back, unsure of what to do as we shivered on the steps. Her hand flew to her mouth and she laughed. “Oh, how rude of me! Come in! Please, come in!”

  We moved together, entering the castle. A blast of warmth hit us as we crossed the threshold into the entry. Just like the outside, the inside was constructed entirely of stone, wood, and steel. Though the castle was obviously a fortress, that didn’t mean they’d skimped on luxuries inside. A massive chandelier sparkled above us, the gems casting rainbows over the split mahogany staircase and thick crimson rug. The entry seemed to be the center point of the house; from here, hallways stretched out under stone archways and through double doors.

  Once we were all in from the cold and the door was shut behind us, the woman turned to us again. “Welcome to Ashford Castle. I’m Mrs. Henstridge. I’m the housekeeper here. My husband is the butler; he would have met you at the door, but he was fixing the fire in the dining room. I do apologize.”

  “It’s not a problem,” Christine said with a smile. She still looked ready to fall asleep.

  From one of the hallways, a man came out, taller than Mrs. Henstridge but still small.

  “Hello,” he said. “I’m Mr. Henstridge.”

  Mrs. Henstridge smiled at her husband. “We’re the only ones here. On such short notice, we didn’t have many other options.”

  “It’s no problem. We’ll do our best to not be a bother,” Christine said.

  “Oh, no! Bother away. We’ve been here by ourselves for far too long,” she said. “Why don’t we get you settled into your rooms? You must be exhausted from your trip.”

  She pulled out a large key ring and led us up the right staircase to the second floor. We each had our own bedrooms. Christine’s was first, and Mrs. Henstridge put Bridget next to her in case anything came up. Next to Bridget was Conor’s room, and on the other side of Christine was Annabelle’s.

  “I found a crib for the little one,” Mrs. Henstridge said as she unlocked Annabelle’s door.

  “Oh, thank you so much,” Annabelle said.

  We moved down the left side of the hallway. Conor’s room was set up to look over the back courtyard from the duchess’s right side. Adam and I had rooms that faced the front yard from the duchess’s left side. Mrs. Henstridge had covered all the bases. No one would be able to sneak up on this place easily.