Page 64 of The Wolf Queen’s Curse

“Then we’ll use my method. For tonight we were safe enough.”

I lift his fingers and kiss the scraped knuckles as I whisper another healing spell to ease the pain.

“You shouldn’t waste your magic on me,” he says. “Not when that was self-inflicted.”

“I consider it inflicted by Hamish. And, as for your earlier fear of me seeing you angry…” I lean into his ear. “I have seen far worse.”

I ease back. “But I understand what you fear is a loss of control. Again, though, I’d argue that in a true loss of control, you wouldn’t have stopped punching trees until you broke your hands.”

“Hmm.”

He settles back, pulling me atop him and arranging the jacket and shirt over us. “I can’t do what he asks, Delia.”

“I know.”

“It’s not that I won’t lower myself to it.”

I shift to look down at him. “It’s that you truly can’t do it. How would you expect the Pack to respect an Alpha who killed on the orders of another werewolf? And once you do what he asks, he knows he can keep asking.”

“Yes. That’s it exactly. This wouldn’t be a one-time request.”

“He’s testing you, as you said. Testing your desperation.”

Bishop sighs. “I wish he’d asked for something that I could have done. I’m asking a favor, and I expect to pay for it. But not like this.”

“But now that he’s set the conditions, he can’t change them, which suggests—I fear—that he never planned to help. At least not unless you passed his threshold, which would prove you’re such a weak leader that he can take over your Pack, maybe give it to one of his sons.” I consider. “Or that could be the whole of his scheme. Caledonian, Cambrian, Albion. Three Packs. Three sons.”

Bishop stares at me for several long heartbeats and then smiles. “Yes. That’s it. The Cambrian Pack isn’t a territorial threat to Hamish, no more than it was to Silas. Hamish complains that they’re stealing his wolves, but he actually has too many.”

“He just wants to choose which wolves he ‘donates.’”

“One strong but overburdened Pack. Two weaker ones in need of wolves. And three sons in need of Packs. Use me to kill Franklin Doyle, which leaves the Cambrian Pack in need of an Alpha.”

“And, also, you killed the Cambrian Alpha. Hamish did not, and he can massage that to position him as the Cambrian Pack’s benefactor when he installs one of the sons as the new Alpha.”

“Which he will also do with the Albion Pack. He’ll let me lead us out of this current predicament and win back Trevelyan, but then he’ll use what I did against me, ousting me in favor of his son. Edwin is the businessman, the manager, so he will be Alpha-elect for the Caledonian Pack, which needs that. Angus is the general. He will get the Albion Pack, which faces more threats and must maintain London and its ports. Dennis has not yet established a leadership style, so he will get the Cambrians, a new Pack of young wolves, and if he can’t make a go of it, the Pack can disband easily.”

Bishop gazes up into the stars as he thinks. “Alternately, if I fail and Doyle kills me, it leaves the Albion Pack without an Alpha, so he could take over from there and deal with the Cambrians later.”

More thinking. “Hamish is known for his machinations. And if he hasn’t realized he could take over all three Packs, he’ll figure it out soon enough.” He kisses my forehead. “We make an excellent Alpha pair.”

“We do.”

“The problem is that knowing Hamish’s plan isn’t enough. I can’t afford to refuse his offer outright. I considered leaving without giving an answer, but I don’t think that’s the right tactic. I’ll need to agree to do it. My fear is that he might know it’s a lie.”

“We can discuss that. Julius will help.”

“Once I agree, Hamish will expect me to proceed to Wales. So I’ll need to do that. If I can’t ally with the Caledonians, the Cambrians are the only other realistic option. I would prefer the Hibernians, but the distance makes them unsuitable.”

“Do you know where to find the Cambrians?”

“I do. With Silas taking no interest in them, I took charge of tracking their movements. They’re living in a rented property outside Cardiff. It seems to be the region where they hope to settle, which was a little close to our border for my liking, but Silas was unconcerned.”

“If we are headed south again, might it be possible to stop in Glasgow first? I mentioned making a potion to prevent pregnancy, and I know a witch there who’ll have what I need. She’s an old colleague of my aunt’s. I wouldn’t ask for the detour—I could find the ingredients in any large city—but I’d have another purpose in stopping there.”

“Informing her of your aunt’s death.”

“Well, yes, as well as seeing what she knows about the Levine Cabal. But also something that might help you.”