Page 81 of The Ashpaw: Part One

And so with nothing else to do, she proceeded as if it was just a normal day and pretended to sweep, watching dust motes float idly in the afternoon sun that streamed through the window. Fern reached out, her fingers slowly dancing between them.

It was hot, and after so many days without bathing, she figured that at least if things did not go well tonight, she could relieve Eidan of his “wolf-coaxing” duties and take advantage of having the castle and bathing room to herself.

It actually didn’t sound all that bad, now that she was thinking about it. She could eat whatever she wanted from the kitchen, and maybe take another dress or two and hide them somewhere for when the one she had became too filthy to wear any longer.

Although perhaps planning ahead wasn’t necessary, and Darion’s idea of a permanent solution for her second failed shift was her death.

That didn’t scare her as much as it probably should have.

When the sun set and the Solvekh emerged from their quarters underneath the kitchens, Fern realized that she didn’t have a cloak, nor anywhere to even change and leave her clothes.

Of course, she could be worrying for nothing and not shift at all.

She chewed her lip in thought as she watched them all march out.

Some stared at her with thinly veiled disgust, others pity, while most paid her no attention at all.

Until Mauricia emerged.

No friends were surrounding her as they had before. No hangers-on, desperate for her good fortune in becoming one of Kyntha’s attendants to trickle down to them.

No, she walked alone, her arms carefully wrapped around her stomach in a way to hide what Fern already knew was missing.

Mauricia looked at Fern for a mere second, and she expected to find hatred there.

But instead, her eyes appeared lifeless and defeated, and even with all she’d put Fern through, she couldn’t help but feel a little sad for her. Mauricia had trusted Kyntha enough to believe she would shield her from punishment, not understanding that she was simply a disposable means to an end.

A dark thought crossed her mind, and she averted her gaze, pretending to be sweeping as she wondered if she had put her trust in the wrong person as well.

Eidan didn’t seem to have any agenda aside from just being nice. But the longer she considered it, the more suspicious it seemed.

He’d admitted to being attracted to her, yet he would not petition for her.

But what other reason would a wolfkin have for such kindness? And it wasn’t like he needed to woo her if he had wanted her in his bed. An alpha could snap his fingers, and every woman in the castle and beyond would line up before him, ready and willing.

So why was he helping her?

Could she trust him?

Or would doing so lead her to lose more than a hand?

The wooden doors were shut behind the last Solvekh, the heavy thud echoing through the empty air.

And then she heard the breathing.

She looked up, expecting to see Eidan, but it was Harland who stared at her in nothing more than a loincloth.

His chest heaved as though he’d been running, his body covered in a thin sheet of sweat while his sharpened canine teeth looked longer than they had a few days ago.

But his eyes… they glowed. The wolf was taking over.

“She-wolf,” he rasped. “Tonight. You will shift, and Alpha Darion will have no choice but to make you mine.”

Fern froze, her mouth running dry. She took a step back, his head tilting slowly.

“G-good evening, sir,” she finally said, her voice catching for a moment. “Alpha Eidan will escort me to the shift, so you don’t have to worry about me.”

“Fuck Alpha Eidan!” he spat. “And fuck Alpha Darion. He may have marked you, but I claimed you as mine the moment I scented you in that tavern. I have waited long enough.”