Page 23 of Wolf Caged (Bound to the Shadow King #1)

KAELERON

T he little wolf’s innocence might be bewitching, and her lightness refreshing, but she was a bold creature.

All morning, as I had held court, meeting with my advisors and hearing requests from my people, I had considered her reactions to me at dinner, and how curious she had been about my world.

I had thought she would be afraid of it, but with every question I had answered, she had only grown more curious.

I was still no closer to unravelling her purpose and role in my vengeance, and it irritated me, but this wolf had a strange way of making me forget the pressing need to find my brother and make the Summer Court bleed.

Amusing myself with her was a glorious distraction, one I willingly plunged myself into while I found ways to discover more about her, sure in time either she or Neve would reveal her purpose.

She strode towards me through the trees, chin jutting upwards the moment she noticed me, her wandering and flitting gaze locking onto me.

Her aquamarine eyes darkened a touch, losing some of the shine of fascination that had been in them as she had taken in her surroundings.

She liked nature. It made sense, given her breed, but I had been unprepared for how strongly she liked it.

Even now, she struggled to keep her eyes from the trees and the lake, and the mountains that loomed above us, fighting to keep her focus locked on me.

As if I might strike like a snake and bite her if she did not watch me closely.

Saphira halted in front of me, bold and a little courageous even as I raked my gaze over her, appraising her shapely form and how the swimsuit she had requested hugged her curves, the black material fitting snug to her body and revealing more than it concealed.

My servant had returned from the human world with several choices, some more revealing than others, and this had been the most modest of them.

I had selected it and another garment I was told mortals often used to cover their legs while they were out of the water.

I had wanted to see what she would make of the offering that played up her innocence.

Would she hide as much as possible from me and others, shielding herself as best she could with the garments, or would she be the bold female who had stood up to me on more than one occasion?

This female before me, her blue gaze challenging me to say something about her attire, was as bold as they came.

It had been a long time since I had courted a female, but there were few in this world who were as brave as this little wolf as she faced me, standing her ground despite the tremulous beat of her heart that betrayed her nerves.

I swept my hand towards the lake. “After you.”

She lingered a moment longer, looking as if she was trying to soak up the scenery that surrounded her, and then stepped into the water.

Fascination played across her face and my senses as she studied the water and the glow bugs that took flight at the disturbance, and I wanted to ask her what she thought of this world.

My world .

I held my tongue, sure whatever would leave her lips would be adequately scathing if I demanded to know her thoughts rather than letting her offer them up to me of her own accord.

She would snap fangs at me and bite with her words, attempting to wound me.

Amusing little wolf. She wielded words like weapons, as if she had no other defences.

Perhaps she did not.

I was not particularly informed on the behaviour or societal structure of wolf shifters.

They rarely entered Lucia. But in this world, females were often treated as inferior to males, held back from activities the males could pursue—such as fighting.

It had taken threatening my council, and dealing with several of the less malleable members in a manner that sent a message to the others, in order for me to allow Jenavyr to join the ranks of my army and train in the art of war.

Had the little wolf been subject to such ridiculous restrictions in her pack?

I would find out.

But first, I would set out to complete the plan I had set in motion last night at dinner.

She strode deeper into the water, so it lapped at her slender thighs, and I peeled my tunic off, following it with my boots and then my pants, leaving them in a neat pile on a smooth boulder on the shore.

Like the little wolf, I had few qualms about being seen in a state of undress.

Yet, a strange fluttering feeling began low in my belly as I waded towards her, my pulse hitching as she started to turn towards me.

And her mouth hung open.

Crimson painted her cheeks, and hunger flared bright in her eyes, the scent of need perfuming the air as she stared.

And then she dove into the water.

Attempting to escape me.

“That will not do,” I murmured and followed her, diving deep towards the crystal boulders at the bottom of the lake before kicking upwards, enjoying the feel of the warm water and the sight of the little wolf as she tried to swim away from me.

I came up before her as she broke the surface for air and that blush on her cheeks deepened as I treaded water before her, letting her drink her fill and enjoying the feel of her hungry gaze devouring me.

Innocent, but not shy. Afraid, but courageous.

This female was a delicious blend of contradictions.

There was not a female like her in my court.

Perhaps that was why I was drawn to her, wanted her as I had wanted no other. She was different. Alluring. Tempting. And I liked teasing her, trying to crack her cool reserve and rattle her a little.

She was a challenge.

And I would be the victor.

I would break her.

No trace of fear coloured her eyes as I swam a lap around her.

She turned in pace with me, blue gaze lifting to the mountains at times, or perhaps the sky.

When she was facing the castle, I lost her.

She ran her hand over her wet silver hair, clearing it from her delicate face, and stared at the castle.

“Do you like it?” I husked, watching her reaction as she took it in, that irritating fluttering returning as I waited to hear her verdict.

She shrugged. “It looks like the Addam’s Family and Disney had a baby.”

I was not sure what that meant or who these two families she spoke of were.

She glanced at me as she wiped water from her face, a little smile teasing her lips. “Now who’s stupid?”

It only took a scowl to make that smile wobble. “I know little of your human world.”

“Not human world. Plenty of shifter breeds live there, and vampires, and witches and even demons. It’s just not your world.” She rotated to face me, but her gaze drifted back to the castle. “I just meant it’s a little grim with all that black stone, but something out of a fairy tale too.”

I had never thought of my castle as like something from a fairy tale. “What makes it so?”

She lowered so the water met her nose as she studied the castle for long seconds, and then kicked upwards, her shoulders breaching the surface. “It’s the towers, I think. The rest of it looks a bit… medieval military. But those towers and the cone-shaped roofs. Very Disney.”

“Who is this Disney?” Someone she knew? I needed to know and while I could have feigned knowledge of what she spoke of and asked one of my servants to investigate it later, I found I wanted to hear it from her soft, pink lips.

“They make kids TV and movies… like pictures that move and have sound. Although they’ve branched out a bit now.

But when I was younger, they were really known for entertaining children, and pups like me.

” She waved a hand towards the castle. “Their logo is a castle. Towers like yours, but it’s more…

light… fake. Towers that look too thin to be of any real use, taking up valuable space. Your castle is more… real. Functional.”

I looked at it too. I had built it as a fortress, one strong enough to protect all within its walls if it came under attack. It was not beautiful by any stretch, but it was beautiful to me. It represented safety and security, and strength. Designed to strike awe and fear into those who saw it.

“The towers are functional,” I assured her. “Men use the upper levels to keep watch. The vantage point from so high is such that they can see movement across a great distance, and even up into the mountains.”

“See.” She spun to face me again. “That makes total sense.”

It struck me that she was far too at ease with me despite my nakedness, that she had easily overcome it and now acted as if it was nothing.

Not the reaction I had desired when devising this plan.

I had been sure she would blush constantly and attempt to evade me, too ashamed of her own feelings and desires to gaze at me as boldly as she was now.

I kicked onto my back and then rolled and dove beneath the surface, heading away from the castle and along the shore, feeling her gaze tracking me as I went. More than her gaze tracked me. She swam after me.

Curious little wolf.

I broke the surface and swam for the waterfall.

I reached it before she caught up with me and hauled myself out onto the slippery boulders in the midst of the spray close to the thundering water.

The sound drowned out all other noise, and my senses sharpened to compensate for the loss of one of them, centuries of training and experience kicking into place.

None would dare attack me here, but I refused to lower my guard.

The little wolf caught up just as I finished traversing the stretch of wet stone and stepped beneath the edge of the waterfall, letting it rain down upon me and batter my shoulders and back. The chilly water numbed my skin, but by the Great Mother, there was nothing quite as invigorating.

Well, perhaps there was something.

The feel of Saphira’s gaze scalding me.