The king whirled on Marissa, new hope kindling as his mind worked through the nuances of what they’d done. “You can complete the bond without the she-wolf now, yesss? Her blood was only to stabilize them at first.”
Marissa tilted her head, her skeletal necklaces clacking together. “I can try, Serpent. But without the source, the magic is weaker. Her death would unmake them completely.”
Azure barely kept his roar contained. “That mangy wolf stole her away! You said distance would not matter.”
The priestess clucked reproachfully. “I don’t think that’s what I said.” She tapped her chin. “Yes, I distinctly recall saying her death would break the spell. Of course, proximity to the source matters. The pull grows harder to resist over distance.”
The girls shuddered at her words, fresh tears coursing down their dirty cheeks. Azure dismissed them from thought. If he wished to cement his victory, he needed to retrieve the she-wolf or force her wolf to return her.
“We have two successes,” Marissa pointed out softly. “Is it not wiser to be content rather than risk more failure chasing what is beyond your grasp?”
Azure trembled with the urge to strike her. But sadly, she had a point. Much could still be salvaged from this debacle if he proceeded carefully. The two newanimicould be molded into weapons and offered to his allies. Word of this success would smooth over the unrest in his kingdom.
Azure took a slow breath, regaining control. The she-wolf’s loss galled him, but he would endure it. Unless… The wheels in Azure’s mind started turning as he considered ways to bring the she-wolf back under his control. There was onesureway that she would come running.
Otto.
Yes, there were other paths to power yet left unexplored that didn’t involve the girl. But, before he attempted to reinvent the wheel, so to speak, he needed to exhaust one final effort to get Katy Dire back. He just needed that damn little lizard. The Dire Wolf had only stalled the inevitable. For now, he could adapt.
Turning to Marissa, Azure inclined his head. “You speak wisdom, Marissa. We will make do with what we have for now.” There was no need to share his plan to capture the she-wolf’s Achilles’ heel. Marrissa’s usefulness would come to an end soon anyway.
He gestured dismissively at the captive women. “Let’s get tattoos on them and see where they’ll end up. I must contact my allies and take stock of who remains loyal after Gage’s rampage.”
Marissa bowed low, beads clacking. “It will be done, my king.”
Azure didn’t bother to address her disingenuous action. She was a prickly witch, and she enjoyed getting a rise out of him.
She snapped her fingers, and the guards dragged the crying girls away. Alone with his thoughts once more, Azure moved to the writing desk tucked in the corner.
Texts to type, calls to make, and allies to appease if he wished to salvage his kingdom from the Dire Wolf’s devastation. Gage would rue the day he challenged Azure.
But first, there was the troubling matter of his missing mate. Zeena would never abandon him willingly, which meant she must have come to harm when the mansion was attacked. His chest ached at the thought. Despite their quarrels, he loved her. Maybe not to the extent that she wished, but to the extent that he was capable, and that had always been enough in the past.
Azure added finding Zeena to his growing list of tasks. Once she was safe at his side again, they would welcome a new heir and destabilize the other kingdoms from within. A slow smile curved his lips. He was far from defeated. The Dire Wolf had only awakened a viper’s lethal potential. When next they met, it would be Gage begging for mercy at his feet.
Diplomacy and clever machinations would strengthen his position for now. But soon enough, the taste of vengeance would be sweet on Azure’s tongue. All it required was patience.
“Fortune always returned to favor the bold,” his mother had said. And Azure was nothing if not bold. And also cunning and hungry to reclaim his rightful power. Let his enemies think him weakened and in hiding. The snake king knew that sometimes to find victory, one first must play the victim.
For now, though, there was work to be done. He picked up his phone and sent out a text to one of his most trusted allies. “I need Otto. He is the key to controlling the Dire She-Wolf.”
The reply was swift. “Consider it done.”
Otto scurried through the dense underbrush, his small heart heavy with sorrow. The forest was shrouded in mist, and faintbeams of sunlight filtered down to dapple the loamy earth. But the beauty of the coming evening was lost on the desolate lizard. His thoughts dwelled only on the atrocious circumstances facing his mistress, Katy.
He blinked back tears, his throat tight. Otto had been so happy when the great Dire Wolf, Gage, brought him and Katy here—a place where he didn’t have to worry about Azure’s abuse, Zeena’s crazy, or any other KOV member that might seek to torment him. Katy cared for him kindly, and Gage treated Otto with respect. He had never imagined that life could be so sweet. Katy, even with her hilarious attitude, had always been kind to Otto, seeing him as more than just a dumb beast or oddity. Next to Gage, she was the first one to show Otto genuine friendship.
But now fate threatened to steal his brave, bright Katy away forever.
The small creature crept under a weathered log, claws digging furrows in the dark earth. It wasn’t fair. Katy deserved happiness with her wolf, not this torment. If only there was some way Otto could protect her, as she had tried to protect him.
Voices up ahead drew Otto from his melancholy thoughts. Peering out cautiously, he spotted Gage pacing the small clearing. The Dire Wolf’s face was drawn, and his shoulders bowed as he spoke urgently into his phone. Otto crept close enough to listen.
“Agreed, the priestess must die,” Gage rasped, raw desperation in his rough voice. He raked an agitated hand through his ink-black hair. “I’ll kill her myself, and then that damn serpent king as well. I don’t need the pack’s assistance, and you have a kingdom to run, Nox. Just let me handle it.”
Otto’s heart squeezed at the wolf’s obvious anguish. This strong, unyielding warrior was brought low by the thought of losing his love. It wasn’t right.
After another moment, Gage growled out a terse farewell and ended the call. He stared down at the device for a long moment before his hand tightened into a trembling fist. With a roar of agony, he hurled the phone against a nearby tree where it shattered into a dozen pieces.
