Page 16 of Plug and Tame

“It’s over, Byron. Wintermaw has fallen.”

“What about him?” he replied, glaring at Nathaniel, who was still on his knees.

“Do as you wish,” Nathaniel said. “Kill me. I deserve it. I killed a guard back there.”

Byron’s scowl deepened, but Mary tugged on his arm. “Leave him. The princess is more important.”

“Princess?” Kira asked in confusion.

Byron shot Nathaniel one last suspicious look before he and Mary morphed into dark-furred wolves. They scooped up the two pups by the scruffs of their neck and left via an adjoining courtyard, Mary limping after Byron as they ducked under hanging sheets and disappeared into the night.

The young Nathaniel remained on his knees, watching them go. He spoke softly to the night. “Good luck, Kirabelle.”

Chapter 6

Confession

Kira

The memory dissolved.

The cave was silent, and Kira sat stunned for a few moments. Concentrating on her breathing, she contemplated what she’d seen, and all that Nathaniel had done.

There was an enormous amount of pressure on him to follow in Henrikk’s footsteps. She was only now starting to appreciate the sacrifices he had made.

Kira twisted to face Nathaniel. Even with her night vision, she struggled to make out his features, but she could tell he was watching her, waiting for her response.

“You saved me,” she breathed.

“I only saved two of you.”

“I’m alive because of you.”

“You’re alive because you got away. Because you’re strong, and you’re a fighter. If you hadn’t hidden…” He grunted, clearly exhausted. “As for me…I should have done more to stop the slaughter.”

“It’s not your fault. There was nothing you could do.”

“I could have done something,” Nathaniel stated, his voice full of anguish.

Kira thought of the other pups who had died; her seven wolf selves, as well as her half brothers and sisters with the tan coats.

“I never knew I was missing seven parts of me,” she choked, placing a hand over her heart. “I never knew that I was deficient.”

Nathaniel drew her close. “Listen to me. You are not deficient. The death of your other selves is a failure on my part, but make no mistake, you are no less whole for it. You are so much more than a wolf.”

“I know,” Kira hesitated, before admitting the question that had plagued her all these years. “But I don’t know what I am.”

“Don’t you?” he asked softly, caressing her face. “Don’t you remember our lesson?”

The memory of his so-called ‘lesson’ ruined the tenderness of the moment.

“A lesson where you were spanking me,” she snapped, brushing his hand away.

“Is there any other kind?”

She was glad he could not see her blush. “I can’t say I absorbed much of the reading material.”

“Then let me enlighten you, dear Kira. You are royalty.”