The Wolf King's Demand

3

“Gather the security,” he cried. “Find Addison!”

And then, without a second’s pause, his body shifted.

The first time it happened, the shift was painful. Bones stretching, muscles expanding into new shapes, claws bursting out of the skin. In fact, it never actually stopped being painful.

But Tyler had learned to embrace that pain. It was the pain of taking on his stronger form. It meant that something was happening and that he was stepping up to meet it.

What if it’s too late? a voice whispered inside Tyler’s head. What if she’s already taken?

That voice was always inside Tyler’s head. It was the same that told him that he couldn’t handle the crisis in the north or the power of the throne. It was a whisper that told him Addison would never love him because he hadn’t earned her love.

But in his wolf form, there was only silence. His actions and decisions while in his wolf body happened entirely because of his animal instincts. When he was human again, he could be afraid about having done the wrong thing or whether he’d succeed the next time he had to shift. But he didn’t worry while he was a wolf. He just acted.

He bounded out the door of the library and down the steps, out the main door, into the outdoors. His body hovered halfway between human and wolf; he could move like either when he chose to. The wolf’s run was the fastest way to get anywhere, but standing like a human with his hands free was the deadliest way to fight.

As the house came into view around the corner of the castle, he let out a single, piercing howl. Security had already entered the house, and he would be there in a few seconds. He leapt through the door, past his guards, and into the study, following Addison’s scent with his powerful nose. She was down and obviously hurt, with two of his guards tending to her. The attacker was gone.

“He got out the window,” one of the guards said. “And he already made it to the forest.”

Tyler let go of his wolf strength. Like a spring coming back to rest, his body quickly returned to his normal self. He quickly redressed in a spare change of clothes, one of many stored around Addison’s house and his own castle.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he yanked a shirt over his head. “And who attacked you?”

Addison looked at him, still shaking from her ordeal. Tyler sensed her pain almost as if it was his own. Someone had tried to hurt someone close to him, and he hadn’t been there in time to protect her.

You failed her, that voice said.

“I’m fine,” Addison answered. “And I don’t know. I was working on reviewing a security system, and then suddenly, he was just here.”

“Did you see his face?”

“No, it was covered with a hood.” Then she winced as she tried to move.

Tyler held his anger back. After all, Addison wasn’t the one who had done anything wrong. But once he found the one who had …

“You’re sleeping in the palace from now on,” he declared.

“What?” Addison said, confused. “No. I’ve got all my work set up here and …”

“This isn’t a debate,” Tyler snapped. “I want you to be as comfortable as possible. But first, you have to be safe. And right now, this house isn’t safe. Do you understand that?”

Her eyes widened.

He realized she clearly didn’t expect that kind of passion from me. Did she really think I would leave her in a house where someone had nearly killed her?

“You’re right,” she said finally. “I like being on my own, but … I’m not used to this kind of thing.”

“You shouldn’t have to be,” Tyler told her. “Let’s get you inside. You need a shower.”

“A shower?” she repeated, slightly confused.

“It will help relax you,” he explained. “Which is important after an experience like this. And also, it will get the smell of that foul attacker off your body.”

“Can we change that to a bath?” she asked.

Tyler smiled and scooped her into his arms. She relaxed into his chest. “Even better.”

Questions ran through his head as he carried her out of the house and into the castle. Who would do such a thing? Was it an enemy of hers, or was there someone out there who would try to get to him through her?

“Draw a bath,” he commanded the maid as he entered Addison's chamber, the bedroom reserved for her that she had refused to use until now. He laid her on the bed to wait for the bath to fill, and she smiled up at him.

“I didn’t know you cared about me that much,” she said, her voice light and dismissive.

Tyler said nothing. It wasn’t the only thing that he had kept secret from Addison. He always liked to play his cards close to his chest with everyone, and it was particularly important with her. If Addison knew that she was his fated mate, that the two of them were destined by magic and biology to be together for life, she would feel forced to love him. And that wasn’t the best way for them to come together as they were truly meant to. He had to tread carefully.