Page 31 of Wolf’s Fated Bride

I backpedal. “I mean, my parents have guards stationed at her bedroom door. Ash and Maren have to marry before the guards disappear.”

“Ouch. Old school.”

“Mmhm.”

“How about you, little wolf?” Blade’s eyes lift at the corners. “Are you old school?”

“Nah, I like a good shag here and there.”

“How about a great shag?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Are you offering?”

“Surveying my options. If we don’t get out of here soon, we’ll be stuck indoors with you guys during the fire moon. Can’t run through the mountains in this weather. I expect there will be lots of itchy wolves. Sex is the best option to scratch that itch.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Can I count on you?”

No, but I wouldn’t refuse an offer outright. I like how he approached me. Besides, Blade Skyrender is a beautiful man if you like your wolf dark-haired, gray-eyed, and playfully lethal.

“Maybe,” I say.

“Fair enough.” He offers me a hand.

I shake it, but he lifts it to his lips and kisses the back of it.

“You’re such a gentleman,” I tell him. “Are you a whore in bed?”

“Only one way to find out.”

That evening, Blade makes it to the family dinner with us. Ash doesn’t. Neither does Sven, but nobody besides my sister worries about the Regulator’s whereabouts.

Maren is beside herself, unable to contain her tears. They’ve been gone for nearly twenty-four hours now. We know Ash intended to purge the fire somewhere safe, but he never told us where, so if there’s an accident, we won’t be able to rescue either of them. And during the storm, we have limited rescue capacity.

Not that I think Ash Fireborn needs anyone to rescue him, but one never knows. A male who is hard to kill is nevertheless not immortal. He could die or suffer serious injuries. He’s not accustomed to this kind of weather.

“Where do you think they went?” Maren asks.

My mother pours Maren another glass of wine, trying to get her drunk enough to pass out and sleep. I don’t blame her, but we should really look into other forms of soothing. Like maybe take some of those alchemy meds humans take to get through their lives.

“Don’t know, but we’re not burning,” Blade says. “Which is good.”

“That’s comforting,” I confirm.

“If Ash kills another Regulator,” my father says, “the Peacebroker will investigate. They’ll turn this pack inside out.”

“Don’t let them,” Blade says. “This isn’t their territory.”

My father snorts. “If I hadn’t pledged my allegiance to the humans back in the day, you wouldn’t even be here. Don’t forget I knew your father.”

“Actually,” my brother says, “if the Fireborn Alpha loses control, they’ll neutralize him.”

My heartbeat accelerates. “What do you mean, neutralize? Like kill him?”

My brother nods.

Blade takes a swig of his beer.