Page 140 of The Ashpaw: Part One

“Who has access to my room?” she asked Lucas, her voice almost breaking.

He straightened immediately, shifting his posture as though the assailant was about to attack at any moment. “What’s wrong?”

Her whole body shook, and it was difficult to take a full breath. “My… my nest. Someone’s disturbed it. Taken things.”

Lucas frowned, walking inside and inspecting all the places a person could hide first before looking at the nest itself.

Fern had taken everything off in her search, and the floor was littered with bedding.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

She knew she must seem crazy, and a soft whine sounded on her next exhale of breath. Lucas looked horrified.

“I’m sorry, I-I believe you. I’ll check with the head of the attendants at once. I’m sure it was a misunderstanding.”

He was about to walk away, then turned back to her and gave her an awkward pat on the shoulder before finally leaving.

Fern stared at the mess surrounding her, her skin crawling.

The whole thing needed to be replaced, and her chest constricted when she realized the only one she should ask was the only one she couldn’t count on to care.

Chapter 32

Fern

Darion had placed Fern on his lap again while he read in Kyntha’s room that night, but she couldn’t relax or get comfortable.

Especially not with Kyntha sighing as she got up and sat back down every few minutes. Each time, she made sure to jostle Fern as much as possible.

“You’re restless,” Darion said, eyes still on his book.

“I’m sorry, I’ll try to be still,” Fern replied, but that seemed to agitate him further.

“This isn’t supposed to be a punishment. Tell me what bothers you.”

Kyntha continued working on her needlepoint, but she could tell she was listening closely to every word, and Fern didn’t really want her to know.

She cupped her hand around her mouth and whispered in his ear, “Someone took something from my nest.”

“Your nest?” he repeated out loud, causing her to wince.

She should have known better than to count on a man for any sort of discretion.

“Aye,” she said quietly. “I thought maybe an attendant had accidentally moved things at first while cleaning, but today when I returned to my room, something was missing. And Jena knows—”

“Who’s Jena?”

“My attendant. The… the mute one.”

He grunted his understanding and for her to continue.

“I told her specifically not to touch it.”

Kyntha scoffed and finally looked up. “And you expected her to understand you?”

Fern shot her a nasty look. “She’s mute, not deaf. And even if she was, she can read and write, so we’re able to communicate just fine.”

“Enough, she-wolves,” Darion said. “I have no tolerance for bickering.”