Page 26 of Plug and Tame

They were missing, with only a small stub at the base, as if someone had…

Her fists curled as grief and anger roared to life.

Who the hell would dock a nine tails?

“Kira,” Nathaniel began, “Allow me to introduce Haley and Ana. They have sacrificed much for our cause.”

Including their tails, she realised.

She’d already discovered for herself that Henrikk’s scarf of eighteen tails was real, from which she’d wrongly concluded that Nathaniel truly had killed Haley and Ana. Except that clearly wasn’t the case. The two female wolves were alive in the flesh, minus their beautiful tails.

“Hello,” Kira greeted stiffly, eyeing the way Haley—the one in wolf form—ambled over to Nathaniel and licked the back of his hand before returning to her spot.

Mary and Byron chattered away with Haley and Ana, leaving Kira to ruminate in her thoughts with Nathaniel sitting quietly beside her.

She chewed the inside of her cheek as she remembered back to what Susie had said about the female wolves: that they were students of the academy, and had become involved sexually with Nathaniel in the days leading up to their disappearance. It was hard not to ignore the sharp stab of jealousy twisting round and round in her gut, the feeling growing sharper with every assault of Ana’s melodic laughter.

She jumped when Nathaniel placed a hand on her knee and leant close. “They were students at the academy.”

“Yes, I know.” She cleared her throat and swivelled to face Nathaniel head on. May as well get it off my chest. “I heard you were quite…close to them.”

“Ah. Well…appearances can be deceiving.”

“Susie said they were your pets. That you had intercourse with them.”

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow. “Intercourse?”

“Susie’s choice of word, not mine,” she muttered.

Nathaniel shifted closer, his other hand cupping her face. “I did not have an intimate relationship with Haley or Ana. Or any other wolf or vampire in recent years.” He paused, and Kira felt the tension in her chest ease as the words sank in. “It is true that I treated them as pets, and that I had them sleep in my room. But it was a ruse to protect them. When I first discovered their links to the royal family, I approached them with the intention of counselling them to keep a low profile. However, another student grew suspicious of why they never shifted publicly and reported them to the authorities. Fortunately, I found out before my father’s men did and helped them disappear.”

“But there was a cost,” Kira murmured.

“Indeed. I want you to know that they both gave their tails freely so I could present them to my father as proof that I had killed them. It allowed them to flee without being hunted, and it solidified my position at court. It was what led to my father agreeing to crown me king when I turned thirty. He has long wished to abdicate and focus his attention on raising new armies and…other pursuits. My father was built for war, not for sitting on a throne.”

“But not you.”

“No. I detest war.”

“A vegetarian and a pacifist,” she said under her breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” Kira smiled, knowing that he’d heard her just fine. She fell silent, trying to find the words to describe what she felt for him right now. Surprise? Relief? Gratitude? All her misconceptions had come tumbling down, the last of her reservations answered as she stared wide eyed at the two female wolves.

“I had Barbara make their tails into a scarf to satisfy my father’s vanity,” Nathaniel added. “I hope you do not think less of me for it.”

Kira blinked. “No. Not at all.”

She couldn’t imagine giving up her tails and could only imagine what a harrowing experience it must have been for them all—Haley, Ana, and even Nathaniel. She had a strong feeling that he had been the one to remove their tails.

As the others talked amongst themselves, Kira gave Nathaniel a sidelong look, studying him.

He caught her looking. “What is it?”

She gave her head a small shake and smiled as her fingers brushed the locket. “Nothing. It’s just that I’m running out of things to not like about you.”

Chapter 9