Page 49

One of the smaller trolls stepped forward, bowing low. “Yes, Your Majesty. Found them in the forest. They talk too much.”

“Agreed,” the King said, his gaze landing on Kara, who smiled nervously and gave a small wave.

“Hi,” she said brightly. “Love the crown. Very Game of Thrones, even if it was feeling a tad more Tolkien, mixing up two classics is totally working.”

Nick groaned. Wadim sighed. Zara laughed. The others remained silent. And the Troll King scowled.

“Oh, for the love of the Great Luna,” Nick muttered, running a hand down his face. “We’re doomed.”

The Troll King’s scowl deepened, his obsidian eyes narrowing as he focused on Kara.

He took a step closer, his staff thudding against the ground with each movement, the crystal at its tip pulsing faintly.

The trolls around him stepped back, their heads bowing slightly, and Wadim couldn’t help but note the deference they showed their king.

He was trying to remember, digging through the deep recesses of his cobweb-covered memories, if he’d ever read about the trolls having a hierarchy.

It made sense that they would, but now he had to wonder how a ruler was selected.

Was it simply the strongest, most dominant of the bunch, like wolves, or was it a birthright?

He couldn’t wait to tell Fane about this.

And anyone else who would listen, which admittedly wasn’t very many people.

Thankfully, his Zara was an excellent listener and seemed to enjoy it when he got excited about history stuff.

“You are bold, little human,” the Troll King rumbled, his voice like an avalanche echoing through the cavern. “Bold … or foolish.”

Kara tilted her head, her lips curving into a nervous smile. “Well, I like to think it’s a mix of both. Keeps things interesting.”

Nick groaned audibly from his cage. “Kara, were you dropped on your head as a baby?”

But his mate ignored him, her gaze locked on the Troll King.

“I mean, if you think about it, Your Majesty—can I call you that? Or do you prefer something else? Anyway, if you think about it, being bold is kind of a compliment. It means I’m not afraid of you.

” She quickly waved a hand as her head shook frantically from side to side.

“Not that I’m not afraid of you. I mean, well, you’re gigantic, and I’m not.

So, in the natural order of survival of the fittest, it would definitely make sense for you to survive and me to not, and therefore, logically, I should be afraid.

And holy bat crap, I sound like Jewel, and now I’m sad but also a little happy because she rubbed off on me, and Jewel was brave,” she finished as if she’d simply run out of breath.

The Troll King’s lips twitched, and for a moment, Wadim thought he might actually smile. But then his expression darkened, and he leaned down, bringing his massive face level with Kara’s. Apparently his breath was warm and foul, a mix of earth and decay, and that made her nose wrinkle.

“You are correct. You should be afraid.” His voice was low and menacing. “Do you know what we do to intruders in our realm?”

Kara blinked up at him, her hands wringing nervously in her lap. “I’m guessing it’s not a welcome party with cake and balloons?”

Nick banged his head against the bars of his own cage. “Winner-winner, chicken dinner,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

“Slow your roll, Maple Leaf.” Wadim crossed his arms. “Our females are good at charming people. And she’s a whole hell of a lot more pleasant than you.”

“Did you seriously just address me as a plant based on where I’m from?” Nick looked at Wadim through narrowed eyes.

Wadim got the distinct feeling that the Canada beta now found him to be less tolerable than even his mate at the moment.

Which made sense, really. Kara could drive him absolutely crazy right now, then bat her eyes at Nick and rub up against him like Zara did Wadim, and all would be forgiven.

Females had entirely too much power, he decided.

The Troll King straightened, his eyes scanning the three of them. His gaze lingered on Nick, then on Wadim, then went to Gavril, Rachel, and Aphid, and finally returned to Kara. “You amuse me.”

“There,” Wadim said quickly, “see, she amuses him. That’s more than you could probably do.”

The Troll King continued, not sparing Wadim a glance. “But amusement will not save you. You are trespassers in my realm.”

“And there it is,” Nick retorted, cutting his eyes to Wadim, before looking back at the troll.

“We didn’t exactly plan a vacation here,” Nick snapped, his wolf obviously beginning to push for dominance.

He’d crouched down at the front of his cage, his glowing eyes fixed on the Troll King.

“We came for a reason, on behalf of the alpha Fane Lupei.”

The Troll King’s gaze shifted to Nick, and his lips curled into a sneer. “You dare speak to me with such disrespect, Wolf?” He sniffed, like an animal would and added, “And you’re not even an alpha. You’re a peasant speaking to royalty.”

Nick bared his teeth, which had lengthened to wolf fangs. “Yeah, I dare. What are you going to do about it? Throw me in a cage? Oh wait, you already did.”

Gavril let out a low growl. Perhaps his patience, which seemed endless, was wearing thin.

Wadim sighed heavily, running a hand down his face. “Nick, maybe don’t antagonize the giant, magical Troll King? You were doing well there for a moment with the whole ‘we come in peace, can we talk like civilized beings.’”

“And he was worried about me getting us killed,” Kara added.

Nick shot him a glare. “ Neither of you have been exactly helpful. Kara.” He looked at the healer. “You’re comparing them to fictional characters as if they can’t do us any harm, and you”—he pointed at Wadim—“have been ogling them like they’re a historical artifact.”

“They are a historical artifact,” Wadim said defensively. “Do you have any idea how rare it is to encounter an entire troll society that’s been isolated for centuries? This is an unprecedented opportunity to?—”

“To die,” Nick interrupted. “It’s an opportunity to die.”

“I think somebody is starting to lose their cool,” Zara muttered. “Not pointing any fingers or naming any names, cough, Nick. But maybe we need a chill pill.”

Wadim couldn’t disagree with his mate, but he had a feeling two things were seriously fueling Nick’s temper.

One, worry for his mate. Their males were protective in normal circumstances, but throw in a pregnant mate, and they got downright pissy.

And he imagined Nick was also worried that he wouldn’t be able to keep them all safe.

Even with Gavril there, Nick, as a beta, would feel responsible for their entire group.

Maybe he wasn’t an alpha, but he was dominant enough that he would consider it his responsibility to ensure they made it out of this situation alive.

“Enough!” The Troll King’s voice boomed through the cavern, silencing them all. He turned his attention back to Kara, his expression unreadable. “You.” He pointed a thick, gnarled finger at her. “You will explain why you are here.”

Kara opened her mouth, then closed it, clearly scrambling for a response.

“Uh … well, like Nick said, we come in peace. We were sort of … well, that’s to say that, well, to be frank, all hell is breaking loose in the human realm, and we need the help of any and every supernatural who doesn’t want to become extinct.

We didn’t come because we wanted to intrude or be a nuisance.

We don’t want to get eaten. That’s very important. ”

The Troll King stared at her for a long moment, his black eyes unblinking. “We need to search them. See if they carry any magic.” It was almost as if Kara hadn’t just told him that things were falling apart and it would affect all of them.

The smaller troll, the one with the bright orange hair and sly smile, stepped forward eagerly. “Can I searches her, Your Majesty?” He rubbed his hands together, his sharp teeth glinting as he eyed Kara.

Nick’s growl filled the air, low and threatening. “You lay one finger on her, and I’ll rip your head off.”

The orange-haired troll paused and looked back at the King. “Wait, can I eats him first?”

“No one is eating anyone!” Wadim snapped, his usual calm demeanor finally cracking. “And if you’re going to search us, at least do it with some decorum without smacking your lips together. We’re not animals.”

“You actually, literally are,” Zara whispered under her breath and gave him a “duh” look.

The orange-haired troll smirked. “You looked like animals to me when you ran like rabbits from a predator. Big, furry ones.”

Wadim ignored the troll. “You know what I meant, and so are you, beautiful,” he said to Zara, then looked back at the Troll King.

“And carry magic? What do you mean carry magic? We’re wolves, civilized ones.

” He emphasized the words as he shot a look at the troll who’d compared them to bunnies.

“We are innately magical. How on earth would we carry magic?”

Kara raised a hand. “Question. If you search us and find magic—which you won’t because we don’t have any—what happens then? Do we get a prize? Like freedom?”

“Again,” Wadim spoke up before the King could answer, “we are magic. We don’t carry it.”

“Ehhh,” Kara tilted her head to the side, as she pulled her lips back tightly. “Yes, you are magic, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t carry it as well.”

“I agree with her.” Rachel watched Kara curiously before switching to him. “Think about it, Wadim.”

Wadim realized he hadn’t been thinking about magical artifacts, like fae stones or a certain demonic book that could possibly destroy the world as they knew it.

Not to mention fae blades imbued with elf magic.

Okay, so the Troll King had a point. They could very well be carrying magic. He just worded it weird.

The Troll King’s eyes narrowed. “If we find magic, you will explain how you came to possess it. If we find nothing…” He let the sentence hang, the implication clear.

“Right.” Kara’s voice was a little higher than usual. “No pressure.”

Nick growled again, his wolf clawing at the surface. “Touch her, and I promise you’ll regret it.”

“Please, let me eat the grumpy one.”

“Or”—Kara shrugged—“maybe we just leave eating off the table all together. Pun intended.”

“Nothing is off the table.” The Troll King’s obsidian gaze bore down on Kara, his bulk casting a shadow over her cage.

He seemed to be really concentrating on her as if she were a riddle he couldn’t figure out.

His mate was a wolf and could defend herself.

Kara was a pregnant healer, not nearly as resilient.

Wadim didn’t like it, and by the growls coming from Nick, neither did he.

After several heartbeats of tense silence, other than the grumblings of some of the other trolls, the King said, “Bring me the fae.”

Kara’s eyes widened as she turned her head to look at him. “A fae?” she mouthed, obviously as shocked as he was.

All of them turned to look at Aphid to see how he would react to this news. He straightened in his cage, and his eyes narrowed on the troll king. Dude looked pissed.

“How the hell do you have a fae as a prisoner?” Nick asked.

“I would like to know that as well,” Aphid practically growled. Wadim was impressed. Very wolfish.

The Troll King chuckled, a dark, sinister sound. “All you other supernaturals have always underestimated our race.” He kept his eyes on Kara. “But we’re not the fools you think we are.”

“You have a captured fae,” Nick pointed out. “Pretty sure that makes you a fool. Do you think his people won’t retaliate?”

“We will,” Aphid said cooly.

The Troll King glanced briefly at the fae and then dismissed him.

“I am not worried about the fae’s brethren.

However…” He reached up and scratched his chin.

“I am worried about what she is. She is not wolf. She is not fae, elf, troll, warlock, sprite, or any other type of being out there. And not entirely human either.” His head tilted slightly as he narrowed his black orbs on her. “What are you, Little Female?”

Wadim’s stomach twisted. His eyes bounced to Nick’s, and the beta’s jaw was locked tight as he met his gaze. Gypsy healers were unique in their magic to other supernaturals, and that made them valuable and coveted. The last thing they needed was the Troll King figuring out what Kara was.

“You’re right,” Kara piped up. “I am none of those things. I’m something much worse.”

“Kara.” Nick growled. “Don’t.”

She ignored her mate as she stood up in her cage and folded her arms in front of her, jutting her chin out definitely, and stared up at the king fearlessly. “I’m a witch.”

To be continued.

Thank you so much for reading Unbroken . I hope you enjoyed this journey with the Grey Wolves as much as I loved writing it.

If you found joy, excitement, or escape in these pages, I would be truly grateful if you’d take a moment to leave a review. Your thoughts help other readers discover the series and mean the world to me.