Page 41 of The Night Prince (The Wolf King #2)

P hilip, the prince of the Southlands and heir to the throne, is a wolf.

Callum steps closer to me, as if—for the first time—he perceives my brother as a threat. His mountain scent curls protectively around me as his muscles harden.

I’m foolish to be shocked, but with everything going on, I’d not given much thought to my brother. If our mother was a wolf of course Philip would be a half-wolf like me. Though his eyes changed at will. His nostrils flared as he told Isla about her scent, and he claimed to hear her heartbeat. I told him he had not changed a bit.

You might be surprised , he had responded.

He has made the change. He was bitten, and was strong enough to survive. He is more of a wolf than I am. It’s typical of him to succeed where I’ve failed.

Panic flares inside me. Philip’s eyes confirm that I’m a wolf.

Why didn’t I shift?

Isla steps back. Her cheeks are flushed, and I can tell she’s caught off guard. She huffs. “It doesn’t matter if you have some wolf in your blood. You’ll never be one of us, princeling.” She nods at Blake’s small blade. “Besides, I don’t play with broken toys.”

She flick her hair over her shoulder, throws me a dirty look, then swans out of the room.

Philip sighs dramatically. “I think I’m in love.”

“You’ll be dead soon if you don’t start minding your manners.” Callum’s knuckles crack as he clenches his fist. “Did you know he was a wolf?”

I open my mouth to respond. He’s staring at Blake.

“It was hardly a stretch of logic, with your pet being the way she is,” Blake says. “Plus, I know the wolf who bit him.”

My insides turn to ice. “What? You knew about this and you didn’t say anything?”

Blake rolls his eyes. “Not all this time. I presumed the palace healer had stopped the wolf venom from killing him. When he supposedly left for the war, I wondered if the bite killed him and your father covered it up. It wasn’t until I met you, little rabbit, that I started to suspect differently. I sent Jack, recently, to try and find him. The rumor was that no sooner had Philip arrived overseas, he abandoned the war camp, and slipped off to somewhere slightly colder, never to be heard from again. Tell me, Philip, how did you enjoy the Snowlands?”

My head snaps toward Philip, and for the first time, curiosity outweighs my ill feeling. “You went to the Snowlands?”

“Yes,” says Philip. “And as for how I found it...” He wiggles his tipless finger. “It was rather cold. I got frostbite within days.”

“I. . . what. . . why?” I splutter.

Philip rolls his eyes. “Why do you think, little sister?” To find out more about our mother. “Perhaps we should save the family catch-up for later.” He nods at the bindings around his wrists and ankles. “After my needless torture.”

“Tell us what you’re doing here, and you won’t be harmed,” says Callum.

“Release me, and I shall,” says Philip.

A look passes between Callum and Blake.

“We know why he’s here,” I say. “He’s come to take me back to my father.”

“Not everything is about you, darling sister. I didn’t come for you. I only found out you were here a few days ago.”

“Why are you here, then?” I ask.

He nods at Callum. “I came for him .”

Callum laughs. Arms folded, he looks Philip up and down. “You came for me?”

“Not to kill you. Goodness, must it always amount to violence among your people? I was sent by Ingrid Erickson, alpha of the Iceborn tribe, queen of the Snowlands. She believes an agent of the God of Night wishes to release the dark god from his prison. An army will be needed to push him, and his followers, back. She has a message for the Wolf King.”

Callum frowns. “What’s the message?”

“She wants to make an alliance to unite the two wolf kingdoms,” says Philip. “She wishes to ask for your hand in marriage.”