Page 8 of Betrothed

“I do not need to cook,” Zax said. Then he sat up straight, his purple eye going wide. “But I can cook for you! I can light a fire. And my brother Slate taught me which parts of animals to remove so mortals can eat them safely!”

Fawn realized she was gaping. She snapped her mouth shut. So, she didn’t even need to cook her own meals, let alone his? And she would hardly need to wash his clothes if he only wore that damn loincloth. If he didn’t bring her here to keep house, that left only a few worrying options.

“So…” Fawn swallowed hard. “Children, then?”

“I cannot give you a child,” Zax said. Then he paused. “Well, I cannot put one inside you. But I can find you a child, if you want one!”

Fawn was caught between laughing and bursting into tears. A strange feeling rose over her, inexplicable and confusing. If she wanted children? Having children was an uncomfortable inevitability. It was her role to provide children for her husband, then to care for them while he lived his life, undeterred. Her own desires never factored into the situation at all.

But Zax made it sound like he didn’t much mind if she gave him any children at all. Though… what had he said? If she wanted them, he would make it happen. It was such a baffling offer that she couldn’t think about it for very long without experiencing that same strange tumult of emotions that made her want to cry but also giggle.

“What about…” Fawn’s mouth went dry. She forced the words out, “Satisfying you?”

At first, his face was blank. Then his purple eye glowed with understanding.

“Do you mean mating?”

Mating. Like she was a mare to be bred. Or… not bred? Fawn was still confused as to why in the hells he had bothered to get a wife if she wasn’t here to do all the things a wife was supposed to do.

“Yes,” she whispered. She cleared her throat and sat up straight, for once not wanting to look meek and forgiving. It was an odd relief. Like she had been hiding under an ill-fitting mask and was finally free of it. Then the reality of her situation came over her, and the relief was washed away by a wave of fear.

She waited, yet again, for Zax to climb on her. Push her down into the nest. Remove that loincloth and show her what was underneath it. She just hoped it wouldn’t hurt too much. But who was she kidding? He was a Skullstalker. Of course it would hurt.

But Zax didn’t move. He simply sat there, watching her intently.

“You are scared,” he said. He even had the gall to sound sad about it. “I will make it nice! There is another spell. When we reach my Anderfel brother, he will cast two: one to bind our lifespans, and another to make both my cocks fit with no pain.”

Fawn choked on her own spit, her gaze dropping again to his loincloth. “Both?”

“Yes,” Zax said hurriedly. “It will not hurt, I promise! Once we have performed the spell, anyhow. And before the spell, I have my tongue. You will enjoy that.”

Fawn had no reply to that. How had she ended up here? She was supposed to be back at camp right now, scrubbing pots. Errol and her mother-in-law, Chastity, would be worried. Or at the very least, deeply annoyed by her absence. It meant that Chastity had to take over the household duties, and her fingers were too stiff to scrub pots these days.

So, the Skullstalker only wanted a wife so he could fuck her. It sounded right, but Zax’s behavior was… off. If he only wanted her for sex, why was he being so kind? Why bother getting her a bathtub and books? Why offer to cook for her?

“Fawn,” Zax said.

Her name sounded so strange in her mouth. Almost… soft. As if a mouth so full of fangs could be soft. And yet he sat there, so eager for her approval. Like he truly cared about what she thought of him.

“I…” Fawn sat up, not having to fake her wince as pain laced up her leg. “I don’t know if I can do anything like that until my ankle feels better.”

She waited for him to scoff at her. Renly had not been put off when she wasn’t in the mood, so why should he?

But to her continued shock, Zax simply nodded.

“Okay,” he said. “I can wait.”

With that, he crawled into the nest with her. There was a moment when she thought he might pull her into his lap, but then he eyed her ankle and curled around her instead. His tail circled her good ankle, squeezing in a way that almost seemed fond.

“Goodnight,” he said, sounding giddy. As if this was the first night that he had ever gotten to say that.

“Goodnight,” Fawn echoed quietly. She lay back in the nest, her head resting cautiously on his torso, which was angled behind her head. His belly was pleasantly soft, almost pillow-like. Zax sighed happily, his breathing going slow and relaxed. Despite herself, Fawn found herself slowly falling asleep.

She would spend the night. Maybe even a few weeks, so her ankle could heal. But one thing was certain: her new husband’s days were numbered.

Four

Zax woke at dawn to watch his new wife sleep.