Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 32263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
No one wants to get chosen by the barbarous Wolf King.
“I heard he has a body like a man with the head of a wolf,” Lyris whispers, her voice trembling as we wait in line to go into the royal throne room.
The girl in front of us turns around, looking like she might be sick with fright. “I heard he bites the heads off his wives after ravaging them. That’s why he needs so many.”
“There are over a thousand women here,” I say, looking around. There must be. “The chances of being picked are quite low.”
Especially for me. No king in his right mind would choose a twenty-eight-year-old, over-the-hill woman, when there are pretty, fertile girls in this very room who can breed more of his heirs.
“But the chance is still there,” Lyris says, looking up at me with her big brown eyes full of fear.
She’s right, so I don’t try to argue. I just take her hand and hold it.
Wolf shifter guards are walking up and down the line of terrified girls, eyes checking for weapons or anything suspicious.
“The Vocatio Regia will commence,” a guard near the door yells.
Screams of fear and ripples of terror travel through the vast room. I look at one girl sobbing, and I wish these damn wolves would just leave us alone.
Lyris gasps as the line starts moving. A few girls try to frantically flee, but the guards grab them and force them back into the line.
I begin to wonder what would happen if we all rush them at once, a thousand girls against two dozen guards, but then I quickly push that thought out of my mind when I remember the size of their wolves. Ten thousand unarmed girls wouldn’t last a minute against five of those giant beasts.
Lyris and I are near the front, so it’s not long before we are forced into the throne room.
I gasp as I look up at the tall stone ceiling, taller than even the highest canopy in the forest. Beautiful stained glass windows, each one displaying a moment of the Moonborne Kingdom’s history, shine colorful light into the room.
In the largest stained glass window stands an image of an old Wolf King, and oh Gods, he has the body of a man and the head of a wolf. I keep Lyris’ attention away from it.
“Be respectful to him,” I whisper to her. “Stand in front of him, bow your head, but you don’t have to smile. We don’t have to pretend that we like this.”
“What will happen to the girls he doesn’t choose?” Lyris asks. The girl in front of us turns around to hear my answer.
“This nightmare will be over,” I say with a firm nod.
They don’t ask any follow-up questions, which I’m thankful for. I’m not sure if the wolves will return us to our villages or have us for dinner, but either way, this nightmare will be over.
The room feels different the moment my eyes land on him.
Standing in front of the throne, not seated upon it, is the Wolf King.
He is not what I expected.
I warn myself not to stare, and then I do it anyway. I can’t take my eyes off him.
He is impossibly tall. Exceptionally large.
The human girls barely reach his chest. Even the guards standing beside him only reach his shoulders.
King-sized for sure.
It’s not just his size that’s imposing. It’s his being. His air. His royal radiance. Power and authority ooze off him, filling the room and gripping everyone in his presence.
That power doesn’t come from the crown, the castle, or this old barbaric ceremony. It comes from him. From the tremendous breadth of his broad shoulders, the dominance of his stance, and the absolute authority with which he commands the room with only a slight rise of his chin or a subtle flicker of his eyes.
His body is built for dominance, for ruling over the most savage beasts.
My body tingles as I wonder what he would be like with his mate. Would those strong, dominant hands be rough and demanding, or would they be soft and tender? I’m not sure which one I’d prefer.
I should be afraid now that he’s in sight, but that is not the feeling that settles in my chest. A thrill of danger ripples through me. An erotic excitement I’ve never felt before makes itself known between my legs.
My heart pounds hard and hungry as I watch him. Every movement he makes is deliberate, composed, and restrained. This is not a man who will lose his temper. He is all control. He is not a man who needs to demand obedience either. It is given to him willingly the moment he enters a room. He is a proper king.
“That’s him,” Lyris says, gripping my arm as she trembles. “He’s a giant.”
I swallow hard, my eyes locked on him as I agree.