The Wolf King

“You look exquisite, by the way. You should never pretend to be less than what you are.”

“I’ve wanted this for so long. I’ve wanted you for so long.”

“He expects you to treat him as your alpha, and to do everything he says. And he doesn’t know what to do with you, now he’s found out you won’t.”

“When the first men invaded the Northlands, the Elderwolf was gravely injured. The Moon left her post in the sky to come to him—though it was forbidden. She shared her wild and dangerous power with him, and he was able to transform—to heal, and to seek vengeance on those who had tried to kill him. It was a blessing.”

“You’re saying the Elderwolf was once able to change whenever he wanted. That the curse wasn’t that he had to transform into a wolf, but that the power was taken away from him.”

“I promise I will not ask you to do anything that will cause you harm, nor compromise your morals or integrity. And in return, while you will be mine, I will be yours, too. I will be your alpha. And I promise to take care of you. For as long as you’re here, with me.”

“The collar, it’s a symbol of dominance. And I don’t like it. When I am with a female, I want it to be because we are equal. I do not want to become my father. I do not want my people to think that is who I am. And I don’t want you to think that’s who I am, Princess. So no, I do not like you wearing that thing. It is a reminder of everything I do not want to be.”

“He wasn’t trying to kill you. He was protecting you. And Blake doesn’t do anything unless it’s within his own interests. So I want to know why.”

“We may not have noblemen and ladies like you have in the south. But we have rules, and laws, and traditions. Like, if I were to challenge Rob and win, I would take his clan and title. Wear this, and you won’t be harmed. It’s wolf law. Unbreakable. Inevitable. Just as we are bound to the Moon and must shift when she touches us.”

“I could see the determination, and the strength, and the fire in your soul. Most people would’ve looked away from me if I’d looked at them the way I looked at you, but you didn’t. And I felt the hatred in that gaze. You hated everyone in that room, and you hated me. Goddess, you hated me.”

“Stop treating me like I’m some precious doll that needs shielding from the world. Stop treating me as if I can’t handle things. As if I can’t handle you. You are inappropriate. You shouldn’t say half of the things you say to me. But has it occurred to you that perhaps I like it that you do?”

“We’re searching for the Cridhe na Ghealach—the Heart of the Moon. Because with it, we’ll have the power to shift when we want. With it, we’ll have the power to win this war.”

“Look, Princess, like I said, the wolf hasn’t quite settled down. And you’re in my bed, with the scent of another male all over you. And I don’t like that. I don’t like that one bit. I want you to smell like me. When another wolf is close, I want it to be my scent they smell on your skin.”

“Oh, I would protect you from the Wolves outside these doors. But if you’re going to do something reckless, it’s me you’ll have to contend with.”

“I do want to know you. I want to know everything about you.”

“My whole life, I have been treated like a prize or a possession. I thought. . .I don’t know. I thought it might be different here. Like, maybe I could be something, or someone, else. If I wear that thing, I just belong to another man. It’s the same as back home.”

“The Elderwolf lived here long before the first men arrived, when all kinds of ancient dangerous creatures roamed the earth. The Moon—or Ghealach as we call her—would watch him as he endured. Impressed by his strength and his will to survive, she fell in love with him.”

“And I wanted you. Goddess, I wanted you. I’ve been like a lovesick pup since that moment. I think about you all the time. I want to make you smile, and make you happy, and to impress you.”