AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I doubt that.” The fae scoffed.
He stepped closer. His little adversary flinched, only slightly, but she didn’t back away. “I guarantee that you are wrong, faerie. You’re here to serve your mistress.”
Her eyes widened. “What do you know about my mistress?”
He wanted to say everything, but that wasn’t true. “That her heart has been broken, and she will soon find what she’s looking for.”
Her lips parted, like she may have figured out who he was. “I won’t help you. Not after the pain you’ve caused my kin.”
“Very well.” He stood upright and smoothed out his jacket. He wouldn’t win her over tonight, or maybe ever after what he did. “But you won’t stop me, either.”
The fae flicked her fingers at him and he was surrounded by a cloud of energy. He growled, his head swimming. He heard her laugh, but she was gone.
He’d let her think she won the battle, but he was in total control of the war.
Even if the little fae hadn’t given him power, he’d taken some of his back. Phillipa would know he was here. There was no way the fae wouldn’t tell her about their exchange.
But that wasn’t good enough. He needed to claim her.
And with his behavior so far, he wasn’t going to claim anything. He had to stop feeling sorry for himself and accept his situation.
He didn’t need magic.
He didn’t need his humanity.
He needed to embrace who he was at this moment and stop pining away for what he lost before it made him lose everything.
He headed downstairs, carefully taking a drink off a waiter’s tray as he scanned the room for Phillipa. A dance was in full session, and a group of ladies stood near the fireplace, eyeing him.
Master Bow waved to him. “How are things, Your Grace?”
“Phillipa?”
His face lit up. “Oh, please tell me you’ve revealed yourself to her and that we can announce the first match of the Ball! You look so handsome tonight. She couldn’t possibly turn you down.”
“Not yet,” Wesley said. “Have you seen her?”
“It seems that she’s stepped out for a moment. That’s why I thought you had found her,” Master Bow said. “The Ball has just begun. I can confirm that she has not yet committed to any of our monsters.”
“Yet,” Wesley added.
“What can I do to make your time here more enjoyable?”
“Dance,” he said.
“With Phillipa?”
Wesley nodded toward the cluster of ladies who were watching the exchange with great interest.
“Oh. Yes.” Master Bow led him over to the ladies. “I can make an introduction, but what would you like me to use as your title? Many of the ladies in attendance are familiar with the disappearance of the Duke of Chelmsford. If I introduce you as the Wolven King, that will raise more questions.”
Wesley was at a loss. “I’ll do it myself.”
Master Bow gasped. “That is not how it is done, Your Grace.”
Wesley approached a curvy blonde in a white dress with big blue eyes, and who did not seem to mind the breech of etiquette.
“You’re very handsome.” She curtsied. “My name is Elizabeth.”
