Wolf King by Lindsey Devin

Author:Lindsey Devin [Devin, Lindsey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-04-17T16:00:00+00:00

14

I barreled out of the small side room and into the crowded ballroom, my paws skidding on the polished stone. It wasn’t the presence of a wolf that shocked the crowd, but the speed with which I skittered out. The guards in their wolf forms watched me curiously yet they made no movement. Adora gasped, her hands covering her mouth.

My wolf was small and sleek, with a thick, double-layered pure white coat and silver eyes. It made running in Daybreak uncomfortable, but here in the chill of Efra, it was almost pleasant. I shook out my coat and then barreled toward the door, weaving around interested guests and ignoring Fina’s and Adora’s voices behind me. I had to get out of here. Away from all of this. Away from the council, away from the ball, away from the king.

I needed fresh air. I needed to clear my head. Most of all, I needed to run. Whatever had been in that drink would be burned out of my system once I got my paws in the dirt. I clattered out of the ballroom, down the hall, and out of the back doors of the manor.

I ran without thinking. In my wolf form, I knew where the woods were. All I had to do was run. I tore through the city and into the tree line, until my paws dug into the soft earth and the roots. The air was crisp and cold in my sensitive nose, bringing with it intoxicating scents of the trees, the wildlife, and the wolves of Nightfall.

As I ran through the woods, the questions turned over and over in my mind. Why had the council been asking me so many questions about my mother? My mother had nothing to do with the Choice. I’d never met her. She hung over my life like a specter—the woman I resembled, and the reason my father resented me. And now the council wanted to know about her, too?

It was never about just me. I should never have been so naive as to think the choice would be a place I would be appreciated for who I was. It was all about the pack. About my lineage, whatever that meant. Not about me.

But at least right now, in my wolf form, I could be myself. I could pretend nothing mattered except the dirt under my paws and the cold breeze rustling through my coat.

Then, a low, long howl cut through the silence of the forest. It seemed to be coming from nowhere and everywhere at once, surrounding me. I skidded to a stop, hackles rising and tail low as I looked for the source of the howl. I slunk into the brush, carefully concealing myself in a low bush, pressing my body low to the ground.

Then, from amid the trees, the king emerged.

He had frightened me in his wolf form when I’d been in my human form. He was immense, his coat dark and thick, his golden eyes glowing, his breath exhaling in clouds of steam around his snout.

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