Damn.He’s right.
“Do it,” I whisper. “As for you, Valen, remember our agreement.”
“Our agreement seems to be growing limbs,” he growls. “I don’t fucking like being tied. Fuck, no?—”
Bert and Kier haul him to his feet and loop a rope around the tree, tying him to the trunk. The werewolf shoves at them, but then he suddenly stops and hangs his head.
“There,” Bert says, dusting off his hands. “All done.”
“Fuck you,” Valen says, his voice shaking a little.
“Now we can leave you to your thoughts,” Kier says, “but we won’t go far. You only have to shout, and we’ll be back.”
“Kier, I still don’t think we should go,” Bert says.
“Do you two idiots really think I can’t get free if I want to?” Valen asks, a deep purr in his voice. “I’m here because I’m a man of my word, so fuck off.”
I stare at him. His eyes flash gold, and the sight of him tied up like that… stirs something in me, something dark and heavy.
“Stay close,” I tell the two men, my own voice shaking a little. “I’ll call you when I’m ready.”
They grumble but obey, casting looks over their shoulders. Once they clear the low-hanging branches, they vanish from view, giving me the illusion of privacy.
An illusion because he’s still here, of course, tied to the tree. He’s glowering at me from his greater height, his cursing muffled by the muzzle.
With a sigh, I sit down on a root and rub my hands over my face.
Think, Rosie, think. Pull yourself together. You have a plan. It will work. You have to believe it. You have to?—
“Are we going to eat something, or do you still plan on starving me to death?” Valen asks.
I jolt, and guilt fills me before I remember who and what he is. “You heard that.” He heard Della and me discussing him through my bedroom door.
“I’m not deaf. You were… pretty upset.”
And raised my voice a tad too much, apparently. “You can’t sit at the table.”
“I know how to use a fork and knife, if you’d just unbind my hands.”
“A werewolf can’t sit at the table! A werewolf won’t sit at my table.” I scowl. “Never.”
“Was it something I said?” he rumbles.
“You… You’re a danger to everyone. You shouldn’t be here.”
“I know.” He lifts his bound hands. “Trust me, I’m here against my wishes, too.”
He makes me want to laugh with his dry remarks. Which annoys me even more. It’s one thing to be a fearsome, growling beast, and another to be a beast who cracks jokes.
Sarcasm is close to my heart. I wield it like a rapier. But he can’t be close to my heart. Ever. In fact, the only place he can be is out of my life and far away from me.
“My lady!” Kier calls from beyond the branches after a while. “Is everything all right? Are you done strategizing?”
Done crashing and burning, he means. I smooth my hands down my bustle and then lift them to pat my hair, making sure my hairdo is still in place.
The werewolf watches me with those golden eyes that seem to glow in the morning light.
“I’m done!” I call out. “Come stay with him while I go and mingle.”
