e
Prince. The future King. The man who gave me his cloak and promis
turn. "Wait outside," he said, and they obeyed, because he is a pr
ay he looked at me like something precious: I should have know
I am only a slave, and I do not know this building as
s face unreadable. "Keep wa
ut
uiet, a
gather and the Goddess will speak, I recite what I have memorized. "It holds hundreds of wolves. The windows look out over the city, the forest, the
re will
Like a s
hands curl into fists. I
, work, and die. "This is where we live. This is where we
ce soften. "It is the only place
tiful. But it is not yours. You tend it, but it belongs to De
such things. You are a prince, a
ut I canno
cannot think when he
r he asks questions, nods, understands, and he is not
e I know what happens to
y d
I turn to him. "That is all. That
he says. "For
away, but his
the slave
eze.
y fed? How d
hat. If I speak, I
l hear. It
Do not
nt, pine and rain and something warm
way. He
gh. "I know you are royal. I know what that w
s to ice. "Yo
s though each one scrapes his throat. "If
u swore you would keep my secret. Th
not quite hide. He looks like a man holding a knife
ou are a prince. Yo
h. "I am not
trembling, forcing me to meet his gaze. His face is inches from
anyone could walk in and see what I am.* If I shift, there is no taking it back. A white wolf with a silver mark, in Derek's k
I can hear how much he hates it,
would
wil
rickles. The wolf surges against my f
tell
blurs. I am going to shift. I am g
hair, his perfect face, and I hate
shov
it. I do not wait. I turn and run, worn shoes slapping the marble, breath t
ot trust anyone. He is a p
hand shook. It thinks he might be different. That
If I am wrong, if he tells Derek, if he exposes me
I r
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