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“I don’t, my love. I—”
“Stop calling me that.” She let out an exasperated sigh.
“I’m not sure what to call you. Duchess, Miss Willoughby, Mrs. Wesley, Phillipa? But one thing I know for certain is that I never stopped loving you.”
“This is too much to bear.” She rose from the chair, not making eye contact with him as she headed to the door. “How dare you tell me such things, you vile beast. Pretending to be my beloved Wesley when you know I have been mourning his disappearance…” She stopped. “I’m not sure why I’m the one who’s leaving when you’re the one behaving so atrociously.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
“Of course not.” She put her hand on her forehead, wiping away the dew that had formed from being so close to the beast. “Only a monster so presumptuous as to call himself king would think he could come in here and order me around like—"
“You’re my wife—”
“Wolven.” Phillipa met his gaze, and she instantly regretted it. There was no hiding the fact that he was devastated by her rejection, like he really believed that they had been married. She must be going daft to wonder if he could possibly be right.
“I would be so honored if you would grace me with the first dance of the night,” he said. “I don’t expect you to believe me now, but perhaps if we spend some time together, I’ll have a chance to tell you why I left on our wedding night. Why I couldn’t tell you what happened to me until now.”
She should have vehemently refused his proposition. This wolven didn’t deserve the pleasure of her company. But she had to admit, she was holding onto a sliver of hope that this outrageous story could be true.
What if she could have her Wesley back?
Only, he wasn’t her Wesley. He was this horrendous wolven who’d tortured her friends. And she shouldn’t be giving him anything.
But if she danced with him, it was one more chance to get close enough to kill him.
“I believe you took my necklace, sir.” She held out her hand. “It belongs to a friend of mine. They let me borrow it for the Ball. And I would like it back.”
“How kind of your friend to lend you a lethal weapon. I’ll give it back to you if agree to a dance.”
“I should tell Countess Stalbridge about your behavior, you wretched beast.”
“Countess Stalbridge personally invited me to the Ball. She stopped in the woods after she dropped off your invitation. As you can imagine, I was quite surprised to hear of the Ball and told her I had no plans to go. But when she told me that Her Majesty demanded your presence, there was no way I could stand by and let another monster claim you after I’d been watching over you so diligently since my transformation.”
“You’re awfully bold to make such a decision, wolven.” Phillipa couldn’t yet bring herself to call him Wesley.
“Promise me a dance, Duchess. That’s all I ask.”
She didn’t answer.
He cleared his throat. “Of course, if you refuse me, that would mean that you don’t plan to dance with any of the monsters in attendance tonight. It seems that you still love to dance, Phillipa. You have already entertained many partners at this Ball. Lucky beasts, every last one of them. I noticed the band did not play a waltz last night. It surprised me, as Master Bow assured me the dance was not too bawdy for the attendees of the Ball. Tonight, it must be on the playlist.”
“One dance.” What had she just done?
The wolven bowed to her, and she cursed her stupid heart for fluttering. He looked so handsome, with the fur on the top of his head carefully parted and combed to the side. His soft gray jacket with purple lapels had been molded to his body. A Master Bow special for certain. The way his tail swished, so hopeful.
This beast could be her husband, or he could be making an absolute fool of her.
“Thank you, Duchess. I understand that this new phase of our relationship has not gotten off to the smoothest start. But tonight, we will talk. I will tell you all the things that I’ve waited so long to say.”
Another bow, and he left the library.
Phillipa was stunned. This wolven, who had been wreaking havoc in the woodlands, claimed to be her beloved Wesley.
And he knew just enough to make her doubt her own convictions.
She had no idea what to do. Ainslee would be horrified if she knew that she’d agreed to dance with the Wolven King! Even more so that he had her necklace. Ainslee had infused it with magic, and there was no telling what would happen in the Wolven King’s presence, for she had cursed him last night too.
Could she trust the fae’s magic after she’d said that she’d cast a spell to bring Wesley back to her?
