“No.” Walsh’s command was laced with his wolf, and even though I wasn’t facing him, I knew his eyes would be yellow.
Trip grinned as Walsh dropped his deer skin and pulled off his shirt, showcasing a lean, muscular back full of small scars.
“I’ll fight. Then you give us the horse and carriage. Do I have your word?”
Trip’s upper lip curled at that and I wondered if there was something to a fey giving you his word, because he seemed reluctant to do so.
“If you win your fight, you have my word that you may leave with the horse and carriage I assign you.”
Walsh looked at me and Sage. “Say it again and include them.”
Trip chortled. “Smart boy. If you win your fight, you have mywordthat you may leave with these three lovely ladiesandthe horse and carriage I assign you.”
Walsh nodded, seemingly satisfied with that and it took me a moment to realize thethreeladies included my wolf. He thought she was a werewolf in wolf form. Good.
I could tell from the look on Sage’s face that she wanted to beg Walsh not to fight, but she kept quiet as we left the office.
“You can warm up over there.” Trip indicated to a corner of the room and we all followed his gaze. My stomach dropped when I noticed the wolf inside of the cage near a red foam practice mat. She was panting, licking at an injured paw and whimpering. I inhaled deeply and smelled a female Paladin wolf. She had an earthy smell, like Arrow, wolf shifter but also uniquely Paladin, I could smell the human on her too.
There was no way we could leave her here.
Walsh met my gaze and shook his head, knowing what I was thinking.
“We’ll be taking her too. Name your price,” I told Trip as he turned to walk away. The Paladin wolf must have heard that, because her yellow eyes snapped up to meet mine and I held her gaze for a long moment.
He spun on his heel and followed my line of sight to the Paladin wolf and then grinned. Those yellow stained teeth made me shudder.
Walsh’s hand snaked out and gripped my upper arm. “No.”
I met his yellow gaze. “Yes,” I growled.
“She’s not one of us,” he snipped back to me, barely a whisper.
I yanked my arm from his, feeling too conflicted to explain. “I’mnotleaving without her. You saw how the Paladin man tried to save me after my fall.Thisis fucked up.” I pointed to the cage.
Walsh’s face fell then, and he swallowed hard. There was a human in there, a shifter, not just an animal. He was there when I fell, he knew the Paladin man tried to help me.
“That pretty thing will get me a fair price at market. She can birth future Ithaki,” Trip told us.
What? They had an Ithakibreeding program? I shivered and my wolf peeled back her lips and snarled at the man.
‘Let me fight for her,’my wolf said, and I nodded immediately.
“My little sister here will fight you for her,” I said, gesturing to my wolf and figuring the sister thing made the most sense.
Trip looked at me like I was insane, before he and his henchmen burst into laughter. “You think that little pup can stand against one of my fighters?”
I opened my mouth to speak and Walsh growled, shutting me up. “We will fight doubles. Me and the wolf against two of your strongest men. If we win, we get to leave with the horse, carriage,andthe Paladin wolf.”
Trips eyes glittered. “A doubles fight?” He looked at his guards, who nodded once.
“The crowd will love it.” He rubbed his chin. “Alright, you have a deal. You have my word that if you win this fight, you, the ladies, and the Paladin wolf are free to go on my horse and carriage.”
Walsh nodded and Trip turned and left just like that. When Trip was gone, Walsh rounded on me as Sage tucked in closer to my side. “Are you crazy? You probably just got us both killed. Now I’m going to have to fight two of them while protecting you!” he growled.
I scowled at him. “Are you saying my wolf is useless?”
She growled to let him know how much she resented that thought.
