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My heart pounded against my ribcage. How could he make me so weak by saying only a few words?
I went on to describe a bit more about the men in Troy’s inner circle, and when I was finished, Night stood.
“Thanks for the information,” he said. “It’s been helpful.”
“You’re welcome.” Suddenly, I wanted to thank him for rescuing me from Troy, but the words stuck in my throat. The urge was like a tug in my chest, one I couldn’t make go away. But I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t know how he would take a thank you after so many days of arguments. I didn’t want to ruin the first real conversation we’d had that didn’t end with a fight.
I walked him to the door and waved as he walked away. My heart was still beating erratically in my chest. Troy was the only thing that we had talked about, but something about our evening left me feeling more confused about my emotions—especially regarding my captor, who now seemed less like a captor and more, perhaps, like a friend?
23
BRYN
Over the next two days, I took full advantage of every moment of my newfound freedom. When I wasn’t in the kitchens or working in the garden, I was in the library reading.
In the afternoon of my second day of freedom, Pax came by to visit me with his mother, Lillian. Lillian informed me that there was a stash of board games hidden in a compartment of one of the chairs, so Pax and I had a fun time searching for them. Then we played checkers while Lillian relaxed with a book.
“Tomorrow, I’m going to shift in front of the whole pack,” he said. “You’re still coming, right?”
“Of course! I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world.” I saw an easy strategy to win the game, but I chose to move my piece elsewhere to give Pax the win.
“Yay!” Pax threw up his arms and beamed at me. “I can’t wait to show you my wolf!”
“And I can’t wait to see him.” When I noticed he was debating where to place the next piece, I said, “Oh, no! You better not move to that spot there, or I’ll be in trouble.”
His eyes widened. He glanced up at me, grinning deviously, and put the piece on the spot I’d indicated.
I gasped. “But from that position, you’ll have control of the board!”
He gave a devilish giggle and went on to win that game and the next two after that. When he got bored of playing checkers, he asked me to read to him, which I was happy to do. He sat in my lap while I opened a book about a princess and a big strong knight who protected her. I’d chosen it out of nostalgia; I’d read the book too many times to count when I was Pax’s age.
I made Pax shriek with laughter every time I lowered my voice to speak for the knight, and he teased me for not sounding at all like a man.
“Oh yeah? Can you do better, Pax?”
“Yeah! Watch.” He concentrated, staring hard at the page, and said, “This is my deep voice.”
It was several octaves above where it needed to be, and I laughed so hard I snorted, which made both me and Pax laugh even harder. Even Lillian joined in. When I finally, finally reached the end of the story, Pax looked up at me.
“Bryn, where’s your big strong knight?”
For a moment, Night flashed through my mind, but I quickly pushed the thought away. “I guess I don’t have one yet.”
“Good!” He hopped from my lap and pointed at his chest. “Then I’ll be your knight. I’ll protect you from all the bad things!”
I chuckled and pulled him in for a big hug. “I’d be honored, little guy.”
Later, when I arrived back from the mess hall after dinner, Violet surprised me with new clothes. These were a bit more modern, a bit tighter, and were all vibrant shades of blue, orange, pink, and red.
“I think this is more the style that young wolves like,” Violet said. “They should all fit you, but let me know if anything doesn’t.”
I accepted the clothes reverently and looked at her with tears in my eyes. “Violet, you’ve been so wonderful to me. I wish I knew how to repay you.”
“I’m sure fate will find a way,” she replied with a wink.
I smiled. I couldn’t pretend to understand what Violet meant, but the statement reminded me of the things Mom used to say. “You’re sure there’s nothing I can do?”
“Don’t worry about me, girlie,” Violet laughed. “I’ll be just fine.”
