“What do you think Sebastian will do to you when he realizes my brother has had you first?” says James. “It doesn’t please me, either. I am willing to overlook it.”

My pulse accelerates again. Not only at the thought of what Sebastian might do to me, but also at the thought of what James will expect from his wife if I were to accept his offer. If I marry him, I will have to submit my body to him too.

No. I will not do it.

“I will not marry you. Not now. Not ever.”

James’s face darkens. “I am the Wolf King.”

“You are the Wolf King because Callum allowed you to be.”

A flash of pain bursts into my cheek and my head is snapped to the side as James backhands me. My mouth fills with the metallic taste of blood, which sprays across the rug. Cold adrenaline floods my body. The backs of my eyes burn.

I blink hard.

I force my gaze back to James, my cheek burning and strands of hair hanging in front of my eyes. “I will never marry you.”

He’s settling back in his chair, his face like stone.

Over his shoulder, I notice Blake watching. His expression is nonchalant. Bored, even. I catch a flash of darkness behind his eyes. When he sees me looking, he leans back against the window ledge and moves his gaze to the mountains outside.

I feel another burst of hatred so strong that I fear I will combust.

James whistles, and the door opens behind me.

“Put the princess back in her cell,” he says to the two men who enter the room. “And make sure she is not comfortable. She needs some time to reconsider her choice, and to be reminded of my mercy.”

My arms are grabbed, and I am pulled to my feet.

“I have made my choice,” I hiss, the taste of blood strong. “I will never choose you.”

James’s gaze moves back to me. “You have until sundown. At which point, I will either ride with you to a chapel just north of here, or I will ride with you to meet with Sebastian. Don’t be a fool.”

He clicks his fingers in dismissal, turning his gaze to the roaring fire. I struggle against the men to no avail as I’m dragged out into the corridor.

“Blake,” says James. “Make sure she makes the right choice. Do whatever is necessary.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.” Blake’s voice is smooth and calm amid the chaos.

He bows before following us out of the room.

***

My hands are bound above my head. The metal handcuffs that hang from the ceiling bite into my wrists. I’m forced to balance on my tiptoes and the muscles in my arms are screaming.

I’m shivering violently. The damp air seeps through my shirt, and into my bones. Only my cheek is warm, burning, where James hit me. My shaky breaths plume in front of my face, and I stare longingly at the flaming torch through the bars of my cell.

I do not know how long I’ve been here—alone in the darkness. My stomach growls. It feels like hours since I last ate.

Blake was supposed to make me change my mind, but he did not follow us down into the cell when they strung me up here. That snake has yet to make an appearance. I presume he thinks by leaving me here, in pain and in a place devoid of hope, I will change my mind on my own.

The burst of anger that provokes gives me something tangible to hold on to.

I do not think my story will end happily. Not any longer. But it will end on my own terms. I won’t be forced into this marriage. I will not bed James.

James will take me to the front line to hand me to Sebastian. And when war breaks out, I will run.

I would rather take my chances. I would rather run wild and free with the wind in my hair, and the grass beneath my feet, than spend tonight as the wife of the brother of the male I think I am in love with. Even if it ends in bloodshed.

And I will not go back to Sebastian.

Footsteps echo in the darkness. I jerk my head upright as Blake walks to the cell door. He’s carrying a small flask. His dark clothing is pristine, but his hair is messy like it was the night of the storm. I wonder if he’s stressed for some reason. Perhaps he doesn’t want to torture me on James’s behalf.

“Hello, little rabbit.”

My insides harden. I am trapped, vulnerable. Yet I do not want him to see any weakness from me. I turn my head away from him, careful to keep my balance. “I have made my choice.”

I keep the corner of my eye on him, though. It is unwise to look away from a predator.

He opens the door to my cell and walks inside.

“Are you afraid?” he asks.

“No,” I lie.

He leans back against the barred wall, slipping his arms through the gaps. The air in the cell feels thick, unbreathable. His presence fills the small space, somehow. He tilts his head to the side, the movement almost catlike, as he watches me.

My arms ache. I wobble, off-balance, under his scrutiny.

“Quite the mess you’ve gotten yourself into,” he says.

“You got me into this mess. Not me.”

“I disagree.”

He takes a sip from his flask, and my eyes snap to his throat as he swallows—suddenly aware of how bone-dry my mouth is. He puts the stopper back in, then threads his arm back through the bars of the cell.

“The way I see it,” he says, “you could be bathing right now in front of a warm fire. You could have eaten a hearty meal. You could be putting on a pretty dress, and preparing to ride north. Yet here you are.”

He looks around the dank cell with distaste.

“Bound and chained. Vulnerable. Defenseless.” He makes a tsking sound. “That was your choice, was it not?” His expression darkens. “I’ve been ordered to make you change your mind.”

Cold dread spreads through my body.

I recall the hand-drawn diagrams I found in Blake’s medicine books, and the depictions of torture that seemed like they came from experience. His eyes were cold when he told me what he’d done to his father. The Wolves in this kingdom all seem to fear him.

“What are you going to do to me?” I ask—my voice sounds small. I wish it didn’t.

The corner of his mouth lifts. “Darling, I’m not going to torture you. You have nothing I need. I’m merely going to implore you to see reason.”

I relax slightly, but the tension in the room is thick. “I won’t marry him.”

“Why not?”

“I will not be a pawn in another game between men.”

“You wouldn’t be a pawn. You’d be a queen. Is she not the most powerful piece on the board?” His voice is a gentle, seductive caress—as dark as the night sky.

“How does this help you get what you want?”

“Who says that it helps me?” He cocks his head to the side. “Listen, I know what you’re thinking. You think that during the fight that breaks out, you’ll be able to slip away. You won’t. Have you ever seen the front line of a battle? It is not a place many trained warriors walk away from. Let alone little rabbits who have strayed far from their burrows. Even if you do manage to break free, James or Sebastian will kill you. You smell of wolf.” Blake’s nose curls. “Sebastian will not let you live for that. And James would gladly kill you to take something from Sebastian.”

He has an ulterior motive, I remind myself. I cannot trust anything he says. “You’re telling me this to help me, are you? You don’t need me to marry James? The marriage was your idea, was it not?”

He shrugs. “Yes. That was my idea. But whether or not you accept him matters little to me. My game is already in motion.”

“What is your game?”

“Play with me, and find out.”

I calm my breathing, wondering if I can implore him to listen to reason. “If it doesn’t matter to you, why not let me go?”

Blake laughs. “I’m not your knight in shining armor, Aurora. I am not here to rescue you. I have given you a way out. It’s your choice whether or not you take it.”

“A way out? You will have me. . . submit myself, my body and soul, to a man I do not want?”