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“Enough!” the king bellowed.

Silence fell over the room. The duo’s faces turned red, and they bowed quickly. “We apologize for the beast’s behavior, she isn’t normally so disobedient,” they stammered. The female who held the whip wrung it nervously in her hands.

Alaroth looked down towards me, a small smile on his face. “Yes, I know a thing or two about unruly creatures.” He turned to face the crowd again. “But I’m afraid my beloved does not care for the way you treat your vryscral.”

Vryscral… that’s what the creature was called.

The male of the duo adjusted his hat. “I don’t quite understand…”

Alaroth nodded towards a few of the guards that lined the room. “Your vryscral is hereby surrendered to the throne. You will leave the castle immediately.”

“Your Majesty!” the female begged. “We’ve raised the beast since she was a kit! We’ve spent countless hours and gold in her training and upkeep, she is the source of our livelihood!”

I studied the creature and stood up slowly. Her long ears perked up, and then he sniffed the air. I took deliberate steps, cooing my intent as I approached.

“It’s okay…”

Ezra snapped to get my attention. “Marlowe,” he whispered loudly. “Stop, it could kill you in a second.”

By the looks of the fangs that protruded from her large mouth, and the claws that scratched the marble floor, he was probably right. Yet something told me the vryscral wasn’t interested in my blood.

Her eyes darted between the guards, the performers, and me, the creature’s face contorting as she released an anxious hiss.

I paused, holding out my empty hands. “Come here, check me out. I’m not going to hurt you. You’re a beautiful thing, aren’t you?”

The performers steamed in anger as the vryscral took a tentative step towards me. Once she was assured no one else was going to attack her, she trotted over, smelling my hands and then rubbing her head into my palms. A deep trill reverberated through her chest, and I kneeled down to scratch her scaly chin.

A male fae came forward from somewhere in the shadows, bowing along the periphery of the open space. “All hail the future Queen Marlowe, Tamer of Beasts!”

“Hail the future Queen!”

Crap, I’d kind of forgotten about all the other people here. This ball may have been thrown in my honor to celebrate and engagement I didn’t want, but I’d hoped not to stand out in anyway or cause a scene.

I did my best to ignore the cheering, focusing all my attention on the vryscral in front of me. “What’s her name?” I asked the two performers.

“She doesn’t have aname,” spat the male. “How absurd. Your Majesty,” he begged, looking back towards the king. “If your betrothed wants her own vryscral, I’d be happy to help procure one…”

Alaroth stepped off the dais and joined me in a crouch, one hand on my back as he gazed at the creature. “I’m afraid my beloved has already bonded with this one. Leave now and you will be compensated for your loss, or you may protest further and find yourselves in my dungeons. Which do you prefer?”

They grumbled their response and were escorted out by a pair of guards.

Ezra came to my other side, wincing as he crouched down. Yeah, those boots were totally killing him. “Well, congratulations on the pet.You’llhave to think of a name now, I guess.” He reached quickly to pet the vryscral on her head, but she reared back and hissed, causing Ezra to snatch his hand back.

“Oh, I’m calling you Wasabi,” I laughed.

Ezra lifted his lip towards my vryscral in a retaliatory snarl. “Wasabi?”

I shrugged. “She’s green and a little spicy.”

Alaroth wrapped his hand around my arm and pulled me back up with him. “I look forward to you holding up your end of the bargain tonight, beloved.

I closed my eyes, imagining myself shifting into a wolf and running through the wilds with Wasabi by my side. Playing. Jumping.

Feasting on the flesh of our enemies, starting with the one in front of me.

“As am I.”

The ball was still going strong hours later, and after some exaggerated head bobbing, Alaroth allowed Ezra to take me to my new rooms, where he would be joining me later.