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And it hit me; I knew I’d agreed to Hia’s deal too quickly, because while we agreed I would spend the next three days bound to one form, we had never agreed on which one.
And apparently, I was spending the next seventy-two hours as a wolf.
Chapter XXIV
Home.
The thought slammed into my wolf mind. It was more than a word. It was a prayer. It was salvation. The air tasted right in Hell, in a way the realm of the living hadn’t. The last time I’d shifted, I’d been fighting. I’d been angry.
Now, instead, there was just intense longing. Desire.
Need.
And my human mind, in horror, knew exactly what that would mean.
I couldn’t force my wolf to even slow enough to try and communicate with Daphne. The second my four paws hit the freshly planted ground, I spun back toward the city walls and took off in a run.
Because my wolf had one priority above all others.
I was a blur of crimson. As a human, my red hair drew uncertain looks in the capital. As a wolf, I distantly registered the stunned looks as I passed through the crowds. The people of Hell jumped out of my way as I passed, something my wolf distantly recognized with a shred of pride. She enjoyed the recognition.
But that was nothing, barely a wisp, compared to the pulsing demand to get tohim.
I was fully aware of what was happening, but I had no control over my wolf. No influence. Whatever shred of harmony I’d struck upon in combat flew away when I tried to say,Hey, wolf-self, maybe play it cool and hide out until the next three days pass.
You’d think getting back into the palace as a wolf, sans opposable thumbs or the ability to speak, would be hard, but people took one look at the four-foot-tall red wolf and got out of the way. No one stopped me as I ran through the palace halls in search of him.
Then again, it was for the best. If anyone tried to stop her from getting to Cole…
It would be bloody.
I found him by scent, an instinct so deeply buried, so long slumbering, I’d never known it was there.
I hadn’t shifted once since coming back to Hell, and I knew I was about to get a harsh reminder of why.
And then my search ended.
I walked into what could only be a throne room. The walls were lined with soldiers, the room filled with courtiers and other well-dressed people. At the back of the room, in the center of a large low dais, were two twin thrones of onyx. One sat empty.
And on the other was the King of Hell, as I’d never seen him before.
There he was.
Cole.
It had been days since I’d laid eyes on him.
And he was magnificent.
He wore clothes more elegant than I was used to seeing him in. An ornate coat covered the usual simple silk shirts he favored. Every inch of his clothing said wealth. His hair was pulled back, a crown resting on it. He filled the room with his presence. He was justice and danger, a barely contained storm sitting on a throne.
There could be no doubt, not in this moment, that he was the ruler of the realm.
He sat, one ankle crossed over his knee while his head rested on his fist as he leaned back at whatever he was listening to. A bored expression lined his face.
Until it fell to me.
Surprise was masked as quickly as it flashed, the slight narrowing of amber eyes, the barest tightening of his jaw.
