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My mind is spiraling with all the scenarios I conjure up, each one having only one end—me being wolves’ meat.
They continue to slowly march in my direction, their intent as clear as the full moon above me.
I let out a disparaging giggle, thinking how ironic it is that on my walk to clarity, in trying to come up with a plan to ensure my survival in the east, I personally hand my enemies what they crave for—my death and demise.
But just as I am coming to terms with my somber fate, the sound of hooves pulls my attention off the wolves and onto the man on horseback, riding like the devil himself toward us.
Levi jumps off his horse, the same one that cuts through the wolves’ formation and breaks them apart. In their disorientation, they disperse from the pack, Levi using it to his advantage as he slaughters them one by one. I am left rooted to my spot, watching his sword slice through their flesh, killing them in an instant. Sliced, cut-up balls of gray fur fall dead on the ground, while others flee from the bloody scene, preferring to spare their lives than help their fallen pack members. Once all is said and done, Levi wipes his blood-soaked sword, panting heavily as he makes sure that the threat has been fully defeated.
After he’s caught his breath, he then turns his sights on my shaky frame and lunges at me.
At first I think he’s going to console me after the fright I just had, but all too soon do I realize by the disdain in his glower how wrong I am. He pulls my hood down and wraps his hand around my neck, pushing me toward a nearby tree. My back slams onto the bark as Levi’s face comes within inches of mine.
“You stupid, stupid girl!” he shouts, looking even more menacing than the wolves had been not a minute ago.
“I’m not a girl. I’m your queen. Remember your place, Levi,” I snap back with all the fortitude I can muster, given I’m still in a shock.
“You were about to be a dead queen.”
“Like that would trouble you.”
“You think I want wolves to kill you? If I wanted you dead, I would have done it myself already.”
“Ha! There he is! That’s the Levi I was waiting for! I knew you were playing me!” I shout, angry that I let myself believe my ploy was working.
“And you haven’t been playing me?” He scoffs. “Maybe I should have let the wolves have at you. It would have solved all my problems. You’re more trouble than you’re worth,” he barks out with so much hatred, I can almost taste the venom on my lips.
“And you’re not? For a king, you sure are a brute! I’ve never once met a man so unsophisticated and crude.”
“And for a queen, you sure are a pain in my ass!”
My eyes widen at his audacity.
“I should have you killed for talking to me like that.”
“Yeah?” He smirks cruelly. “Dead queens can’t shell out orders,” he says, making sure I hear the underlying threat to his words.
But instead of backing down like he expects me to, I provoke him further.
“Do it then. We’re alone. There isn’t a soul around for miles. Do it, Levi. Kill me,” I taunt with gritted teeth.
His hand tightens around my neck, the wood at my back pricking my skin. But instead of the fear that I should feel, there is something else that blooms inside me—a thrill like no other I’ve ever experienced.
“I could snap your neck right here,” he grunts, scanning my face with his eyes before they fall to my lips.
“You won’t kill me,” I breathe out with a certainty I didn’t have before.
“No?” He arches a mocking brow.
I shake my head and lick my suddenly dry lips.
“How can you be so certain?” he asks, his tone as thick as the air between us.
“Because,” I choke out breathlessly, “you want to win my crown fair and square. You’re a man of honor. Like you keep reminding me.”
“I don’t feel so honorable right now.” He groans, his eyes trailing the way my tongue swipes at my bottom lip. My chest heaves when Levi takes one more step toward me, eating all the space between us. “There’s something I want more than your crown right now.”
“What could you possibly want more than that?” I ask on bated breath.
