Page 114 of The Fox Heir

I force myself to sit up on my elbows and grab his chin roughly, making him look into my eyes.

“Look at me, Wolf,” I say. “This is the only time you’ll ever see this.” I spread my knees, giving him a full view of where his body joins with mine as I grind into him.

He groans but obeys. “You’ll fuck me again, Red. I promise you that.” He rubs his hands over by belly, my breasts, and then …

My body clenches around his. We stare at each other with a mixture of fury, desire, and desperation before my body is consumed by the delicious fullness of him inside me. My sex is throbbing and wet, dripping in a way I never knew a woman could as waves of pleasure crash over me repeatedly. I am breathless, drowning in light.

And then we do it all a second time.

I almost regret promising that he’ll never make my body tremble like this again.

When we’re spent, gasping on the cold, stone ground, I can’t help but wonder ... How could anyone cower in the face of Death when you could shatter on the cock of a Wolf instead?

Chapter 34

At dawn, I wake to the sound of bells. A deep, persistent clanging echoes across Gwyllion.

Hazy morning light spills in through the open tower window, and spiderwebs sway in the corners above our heads. Next to me, Tristan jumps to his feet, all signs of sleep vanished. I’m momentarily distracted by his delicious nakedness before I remember what the bells mean.

They’re here.

Tristan reaches out a hand to help me off the ground where we’d slept, warmed by the power purring inside of me. Of course, the first night I sleep wrapped in a man’s arms, he’s my enemy and we’re hidden away in a ruinous watchtower. So be it. I will face the Fox Army with kiss-swollen lips and dirt smudged on my defiant face.

I tug my tunic back over my head as I run to the window beside him. Beyond the castle’s defensive walls, mist clings to the ground. The field is nothing but swirling shades of gray in the early dawn.

Then, I see them. Shimmers of copper in the distance, caught in the first rays of morning sun. The Fox Army waits along the edge of the distant forest. And several yards ahead of them, sitting on the white stallion he favors, is my father. The Fox King himself.

My power flares like fury inside of me.

Part of me had expected he wouldn’t come. That he’d stay behind in his gilded palace and let his army do his dirty work. That’s his usual tactic, but this battle is different. This is personal.

I humiliated him by running away with Hunter and Tristan. I escaped his grasp again and again. Just like Grandmother did. And if there’s one thing I know about my father, it’s that he knows how to hold a grudge. And he’ll want to be here to watch me suffer.

A smile grows on my face as I watch his copper banner wave in the distance. Because if Father is here, it means this is the day I finally get my revenge.

I’m going to kill that man today.

Finally clothed, Tristan and I run down the crumbling stairs and into the courtyard below. The villagers are awake. They’re sharing final goodbyes and rushing to their assigned posts. I watch them one last time. A mother sobs on the shoulder of her young son, who stands with a rusted pike in his hand. The expression on his face makes my heart ache. He’s trembling, but the hardness in his eyes makes it clear he’s determined to fight.

At the front gates, still as stone, the Dead Queen waits. Her long veil blows in the breeze as she sits astride a black, undead stallion. It isn’t Nell, and I find myself grateful for that small mercy. The horse’s opalescent eyes stare blankly at the gate.

Beside the Dead Queen, Nalina waits on her brown mare. She doesn’t meet our eyes as we approach.

I glance around, but I don’t see Hunter. He’s probably in the castle armory, giving last-second advice to the Annwyn fighters. I wonder how much Father knows about him. Does he think Hunter died in Ellyll last autumn? What would Father do if he found out Hunter is here, helping Annwyn?

A sudden thought strikes me. Is it possible Father knows Hunter is the Heir to the North? Is that why he kept him so close all these years? Could that be why he wanted me to marry him? If so, then Hunter needs to stay out of sight. Father can’t see that he’s alive. If I’m Annwyn’s secret weapon, then Hunter is too, if not more so.

A groom brings out two more horses. He leads them toward us. The horses dance nervously, their eyes glancing toward the dead woman astride the dead horse. You’d think they’d be used to the Dead Queen, living in her stables, but it appears instinct is stronger than training.

I climb onto my anxious horse and gain control of the reins.

“What are you smiling about?” Nalina shoots me a disapproving glare.

“Committing patricide.”

She shakes her head. “Not right now, you’re not. If you kill the Fox King before the battle even begins, his army will capture you before you’re able to be useful to us.” She grips the hilt of her sword. “You’re supposed to be our great weapon, not a reckless child.”

I can’t help but roll my eyes. “I’m not going to kill him right now.” I move my head from side to side. “Eventually. Today, preferably.”