The Fox-Wolf Bride

Chapter 24 — The Price of a Life

When Ennis opened the door, she gasped.

The sound burst from her throat before she could stop it.

For a moment she simply stood there in the doorway, staring at the two wolves standing on her porch. The lantern above the door swayed slightly in the evening wind, casting uneven shadows across their faces.

Then she saw what Anthony was carrying.

Florence.

The girl's body hung limply in his arms.

Her red hair clung to Anthony's sleeve, darkened by blood. Her clothes were torn and soaked through, and every small movement caused fresh drops of blood to fall from the fabric.

Ennis pressed her hand to her mouth.

"Oh…"

Anthony didn't slow down.

"Where is her room?" he asked sharply.

The authority in his voice left no room for hesitation.

Ennis stepped aside immediately.

Without another word she turned and hurried down the narrow hallway, gesturing for Anthony to follow her.

Sam entered behind them and quietly closed the door.

The house was small.

Anthony noticed it instantly.

The ceiling was low. The wooden floor creaked beneath their weight. The air smelled faintly of damp wood, old smoke, and something else—poverty.

This was not the home of a respected wolf family.

This was the house of wolves who had fallen low in the pack's hierarchy.

Ennis stopped in front of a narrow door at the end of the hallway.

"Here."

Anthony pushed the door open with his shoulder.

The room was dark.

He took two steps forward—

—and slammed his knee hard against the edge of the bed.

Pain shot through his leg.

He barely noticed.

Because the moment his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he understood something that made his stomach tighten.

This was not a bedroom.

It was a storage closet.

A small narrow space barely large enough to hold the thin bed, a broken chair, and a wooden chest pushed against the wall.

There was no window.

No space.

No comfort.

Anthony stared for a second.

Then carefully lowered Florence onto the mattress.

The bed creaked under the sudden weight.

Her blood soaked immediately into the thin sheets.

For a moment Anthony simply stood there, looking down at her.

Even lying still she looked wrong.

Her arm lay twisted beside her body.

Her breathing was shallow and uneven.

Blood still ran slowly from several wounds.

Behind him footsteps thundered through the house.

Marcus appeared in the doorway first.

John followed close behind.

Both men stopped the moment they saw Florence.

Their faces went pale.

Marcus stared at the bed in disbelief.

"What happened to her?"

Anthony didn't answer.

Instead he knelt beside Florence again and placed two fingers carefully against the side of her neck.

Her pulse fluttered weakly beneath his touch.

Alive.

Barely.

"Call the healer," Anthony said calmly.

Marcus didn't argue.

He turned immediately and ran back toward the door.

Anthony continued speaking as if the situation were completely under control.

"Bring water," he added. "We need to clean the blood to see the injuries."

John nodded silently.

Ennis remained standing near the doorway.

Anthony looked up at her.

Then at John.

They were watching him.

Waiting.

Not panicked.

Not desperate.

Just waiting.

Anthony slowly raised an eyebrow.

"Well?"

Ennis twisted her hands together nervously.

Then she spoke.

"Perhaps…"

Her voice trembled slightly.

"Perhaps it would be better if Florence were allowed to die."

The words hung in the air.

Anthony stared at her.

For a moment he thought he had misheard.

Behind him Sam froze.

Then a quiet voice came from the bed.

"So…"

Everyone turned.

Florence's eyes were still closed.

But her lips moved slowly.

"So my own mother finally said it."

Her voice was barely audible.

"But it's the truth she couldn't say since the day I was born."

Ennis's face turned red instantly.

Marcus, who had returned with a bowl of water, froze in the doorway.

For the first time he looked directly at his sister.

Really looked.

Her broken body.

Her blood.

The thin bed in the closet that had been her room.

Something changed in his expression.

He set the bowl down.

Then without a word turned and left again.

Healer.

Anthony watched him go.

Then slowly stood up.

He walked toward Ennis.

His expression had become dangerously calm.

He grabbed her by the elbow.

"Come with me."

Before she could react he pulled her out into the hallway.

Sam stepped aside.

Anthony closed the door behind them.

For a moment the hallway was silent.

Then Anthony spoke.

"She is not your daughter."

Ennis glared at him.

"Of course she is."

Anthony's eyes hardened.

"Then why do you treat her like an enemy?"

Ennis pulled her arm free.

"You don't understand."

Anthony waited.

Her voice rose.

"Our family became outcasts because of her."

John stepped quietly into the hallway.

After her training began," Ennis continued bitterly, "people started laughing at us."

Anthony frowned.

"What training?"

"Fighting."

Her voice filled with resentment.

"She insisted on learning to fight."

Anthony felt a flicker of surprise.

Ennis continued.

"Our family became a joke."

John spoke quietly.

"Wolves talk."

Ennis nodded.

"And Marcus—"

Her voice tightened.

"The girl who is his true mate refuses to marry him while Florence lives in this house."

Anthony stared at them.

Slowly.

In disbelief.

Sam looked just as stunned.

Anthony leaned back against the wall.

For a moment he said nothing.

Then finally he spoke.

"I will buy her."

Sam blinked.

"What?"

Ennis stared.

Anthony straightened.

"I will buy Florence Drake from you."

Silence fell again.

"I will give you three kilograms of gold."

The words echoed in the narrow hallway.

"When she recovers, I will take her into my pack."

Sam stared at him.

Anthony continued calmly.

"Until then you will care for her."

His voice hardened.

"You will heal her."

"And if she dies?" John asked carefully.

Anthony's eyes became ice.

"Then you will compensate me."

John slowly nodded.

He understood.

If Florence died now it would no longer be a tragedy.

It would be the destruction of valuable property.

Sam exhaled quietly.

Anthony didn't love the girl.

Anthony rarely loved anyone.

But watching Florence suffer had crossed a line even he could not ignore.

Footsteps sounded outside.

Marcus returned with the healer.

Anthony opened the door again.

The healer hurried inside.

Anthony stepped back into the hallway.

Sam stood beside him.

Anthony spoke quietly.

"Watch them."

Sam nodded.

Anthony's eyes drifted back toward the room.

"Make sure they don't poison her."

Sam looked at him.

"You realize what you just did."

Anthony didn't answer.

But something in his eyes had changed.

Something had begun.

And none of them yet understood how much that decision would cost.