Page 93 of Hunt Me

Her lips folded when her soon-to-be husband drank from the chalice. A drop of blood rested at the corner of his lips, and she nearly drooled when it dripped down his chin. She hadn’t realized she was gravitating towards him until he dabbed at the blood trail with a black silk handkerchief.

“Not appetizing, you say? Would boar stew appease you?”

“Not at the moment, my King. Please converse.”

“I am King Luka Alesi of Night Falls, am I not?”

“You are.”

“And you will be Queen Matilda Alesi before the week’s end, will you not?”

“Unless there is another assassination attempt or challenge, then yes, I will be.”

“Wonderful. I am aware that you tend to take a more hands-on approach to your queenship.”

“I do. I am horrible at playing the harpsichord.”

The corner of his lips twitched. “No, my Queen, you are not touched with the gift of music and melodies. More so blood, gore, and weaponry.”

Matilda eased against the pillows and waited for her beloved to get to the good part.

“I am growing weary, my King,” she mumbled in a pitiful tone that didn’t move him. He knew her well enough to know she was trying to manipulate him. He snorted when she dramatically threw her arm over her face.

“Since you are weary, I shall not keep you long. You seem to have an agenda.”

“An agenda?” she questioned, dropping her arm and meeting his accusatory gaze.

“What have you planned for David? And please don’t insult my intelligence with your denials. I know every move you make, Matilda. You do not have the authority to release David from imprisonment.”

“You have spies on me,” she accused.

“Always.”

“Who? It is not Ezra who told you.”

“Their identity will remain cloaked. I am your king, huntress, and you’ll do as I command. You will not play political games behind my back. You do not possess the experience, authority, nor tact to make such decisions. One false move on your part can send us hurtling toward war.”

“Are we not on the precipice of war?” she questioned.

“We are; however, your involvement shall be nonexistent. Your only job is to keep you and our child safe.”

“What if I said we could avoid going to war?”

“Then I would say you are delirious.”

“May I change your mind?”

“It will only be in vain.”

“Beta David has been abandoned to suffer unspeakable horrors by his enemies. His Alpha didn’t bother to save him from a grisly fate. What did he do instead? He erased him, stole from him, and promoted a less-deserving wolf to his rank without so much as a blink of an eye.”

Luka endured Matilda’s theatrics with a weary look. “Is that what you told him?”

“It is the truth.”

“It’s embellished.”

“It’s the truth nonetheless. We can avoid war if we assist David on his quest to usurp Prince Lykaon from his throne.”