Father looks to Mother, then to me, before he stammers, “W-what about banishment, Your Majesty?”“Would you like to be banished?” Nathan asks coolly. “What about you, Mr. Daniels? Is that a punishment you believe you all deserve?”None of them answer. If a feather drifted through the air and brushed up against the ceiling, we would hear it. And Nathan lets us sweat in that silence.“I’m an outsider. It’s not a secret,” Nathan says, his piercing gray eyes fixing on my father. “But you, Thomas. You fought harder for me to assume this position than any council member. What could have changed, that you now think of me as a threat to your pack’s independence?”I think back to the night in the ballroom, the hushed conversations and whispers that Nathan had come to take the Toronto pack for Greater London. If Father believes that, he must have some reason.“But would I seize my queen’s throne?” Nathan asks. “Perhaps a marriage pact between your daughter and I will convince you that I am not

It’s late. My head is pounding. My body is trembling from renewed adrenaline, and I decide that maybe sometimes, like now, for instance, violence actually is the answer. I run at him.He doesn’t move. He stands there and lets me collide with him, actually stops me from falling even as I punch wildly at him. I’m not as tough as I assumed I was; I’m not strong enough to actually hurt him or affect him in any way. But I try, abandoning my ineffectual punches for somewhat effectual slaps. He takes every one of them, even the hard blows to his face that make my palms sting.“I hate you!” I scream at him, looking for any flicker of emotion on his face. But there isn’t any, and a disappointment I couldn’t have anticipated sucks all the strength out of me. I fall to the floor like a marionette with cut strings, and I finally let myself cry.After a long moment, Nathan speaks. “Your father, your brother-in-laws, they plotted against me. Not just to remove me from power, but to do it permanentl

I wake to an unfamiliar voice.“Your Majesties, a letter from the council.”I can barely open my eyes, convinced I’ve only been asleep for a few minutes, but the sunlight that assaults me through the windows says otherwise. I mumble something, try to push myself up, but I’m too exhausted and my muscles are too sore to expend any real effort.The blankets rustle as Nathan gets out of bed and I watch through the reluctant, narrow opening of my eyelids as he walks across the bedroom, totally nude, like there isn’t another person with us. He takes a scarlet envelope from the thrall’s silver tray and waves the man away.I momentarily duck my head under the covers when Nathan turns back, a strange mix of horny and bashful forcing a giggle up my throat that I subdue when I emerge and see the frown on his face.He’s standing by the bed, reading, a crease between his dark eyebrows growing deeper as his eyes flick across the page, and I have to sit up. Carefully. With the top sheet wrapped arou

Lupercalia. The challenge is here.I’m taken from Aconitum Hall to the ceremony grounds in a chauffeured car. I sit by myself, across from two unsmiling, armed royal thralls. I get the feeling that they’re protecting a piece of disputed property. I’m not the future queen tonight.Not that I wasn’t pampered like royalty. Before I left there were manicures and waxes, a makeup artist, a hairstylist, all of them sent to prepare me for my mating ceremony. There had also been a tailor, who nipped and tucked an off-the-rack suit for my testimony before the council; black pencil trousers and a single breasted jacket over a light blue silk chemise, all of it making me look much older than I am. My hair is in a careful twist, knotted at the nape of my neck, and it will, the stylist assured me, look as good down as up.Because after my testimony, I’ll be taken straight to the ceremonial chambers and prepared for whoever wins the challenge.Unfortunately, the robe for my mating right is the one m

Nathan carries me down the path, to the ritual grounds. The other members of the pack have already transformed; I hear their calls from the dark woods.I twirl some of his fur in my fingers, my head cradled in the dip of his shoulder. “I didn’t expect it to be like that. I don’t know what I expected it to be like, but not that.”He makes a noise like the snorting of a bull and his claws tighten around me.I slap his chest. “Control yourself. I’ve still got to transform. I wonder what I’ll look like.”My hair is blonde, and I’ve seen blonde werewolves that turn out white or gold. People with darker or ginger hair take on varying shades of brown or black or even the deep silver of Nathan’s fur. And I’m interested to see how my face ends up. Just like with people, every werewolf looks different. I reach up to touch Nathan’s muzzle, and his lip pulls back to bare his teeth in warning.I’m not worried he’s going to bite me or eat me. I’m more worried that he won’t make it to the ritual gro