Yeah, for a psycho asshole, which he was, but there was a playfulness to our banter and I relaxed into that.
“Demi needs a Paladin name.” Willow mixed her rice and beans as I started to take a bite.
“She needs to earn it. It’s not given out for free,” Rab said through gritted teeth.
Willow rolled her eyes at her mate. “I’m aware of that. Who says she can’t earn it?”
I tipped my chin to her in thanks but Rab laughed. “Astra and Arrow both risked their lives to sneak into Wolf City and plead with her to help us and she gave them canned food and turned them away. That’s not the trait of an alpha.”
“Hey!” I slammed my fist down on the table and the glasses clanked, causing everyone to jump. “I’m sorry.” I looked at Willow, but she seemed unbothered by my outburst.
Then I glared at Rab: “I only found out I washalfPaladin a few months ago, and an alpha a few weeks ago. Excuse me for having to think things through before throwing away my entire life to help people who have been nothing but assholes to me and my mate.” I shoved my engagement ring in his face. “The mate that I need to rush and marry so he doesn’t die from the curse your people put on his family!”
The table went silent, and I didn’t realize how loud I’d gotten, but I’d definitely screamed the last part. Rab sighed, looking down at his food in an apparent act of submission. Willow’s gaze flicked over to my ring and she grinned. “I love her. She’ll be a perfect alpha.”
I yanked my hand back and rubbed my face. “I’m sorry I lost my temper—”
Willow snort-laughed. “You’re a Paladin female. We would expect nothing less.”
I gave her a small smile, grateful to feel so accepted but still annoyed Rab and everyone expected me to just ride in and save the day the second they told me they needed help.
“The curse on the Hudson family was a mistake,” Rab finally said. “A mistake our entire people have lived with for as long as I can remember.”
Fair enough. We all made mistakes, but the curse was still there and a huge problem in Sawyer’s life. “Well, you can’t expect someone to just easily get over that mistake when it impacts their entire life. In Wolf City, they have contests to win the alpha’s heart, where you compete with dozens of other women. He dates them all at the same time because of your curse. It’s messed up.”
Willow shook her head. “I would kill them all.”
I grinned. This chick was going to be a good friend, I could tell.
Rab dropped his fork on the plate. “Okay, I get it, we messed up forever ago and there is a good reason city wolves hate us. Can we move on?”
I nodded, shoving a mouthful of yummy spiced beans into my mouth as a flavor explosion of cumin burst across my tongue. “Yes. Let’s move on. I know you don’t like me, but I’m all that you have left, so I’m just going to have to do.” I shrugged.
Willow stilled. “Does that mean … you’ll go to the Dark Woods and prove yourself as alpha?”
Her hand went to her belly and I sighed.
“Yes. You think I’m going to let your baby be born a human and eat dried beans and rice for the rest of their life? I told you, I’m here to help.” Dammit, their entrapment had worked. I was going all in.
Rab looked me up and down then, scanning my body with the gaze of a predator as if looking for weak spots or wounds to exploit. “Run was the greatest alpha of our time, and it took him three years to find his way through the Dark Woods to the Cave of Magic. Do you really think you can even make it out of there alive?”
My wolf surged to the surface then and I glared at him. “Have you ever had an alpha who was a split shifter?”
Willow lifted a finger. “Angel wolf, and no, we haven’t,” she agreed, and Rab shot her a glare.
“You’re not trained,” Rab said. “The first cold night, you’ll lose your fingers to frostbite.” He took a bite of rice and beans, chewing it slowly.
Okay frostbite sounded bad, but after my time with Marmal and running through Dark Fey Territory, I was no longer scared of being alone in the wild. “Then teach me as much as you can in the next twenty-four hours, because I’m going and I’m coming back in three days with magic that will fix this land and save your people.”
He looked at me like I was a puzzle he couldn’t figure out. “Our.”
I frowned. “Huh?”
“Our people, and if positive mental attitude could help you out there, I wouldn’t worry so much.”
I smiled, taking another bite of food.
“But it can’t,” he growled. “So be ready for a master class in woodland survival.”
