The Forbidden Wolf King: Kings of Avalier, Book 4(38)

I wanted to scream, I wanted to tell Ansel what a monster he was but I knew Axil’s life was in his hands, as well as my own, so I kept my mouth shut.

This was not how I expected this day to end.

ELEVEN

We’d been strung up like fresh kills, hanging from our hands in shackles with my feet barely touching the ground. A collar was cinched around my throat which then had a metal leash attached and bolted to the stone ceiling to keep us from shifting forms. My arms ached, my wrists burned and I’d never been more livid in my entire life. We’d been put up on display right in the large private dining room of the castle. We’d never even been taken to the dungeon.

Ansel was sitting at the head of the table with his wife, eating a decadent meal while Axil and I starved.

He was taking psychological warfare to the extreme. His wife was from Ivanna’s pack, a ruthless dominant who’d won her Queen Trials famously by choking the other girl with her bare hands. But they’d been married four years now, and no child? It meant the rumors of her being barren might be true.

“Let her go,” Axil growled to his brother. “Let Zara go, she has nothing to do with this.”

Ansel put down his fork and stood, walking over to where Axil hung on the far wall next to me. “Oh, she has everything to do with this, brother.” He looked back at his wife. “Something’s wrong with Jade. She can’t give me children. So, I’ll divorce her and take Zara as my wife. The moment she’s pregnant with my heir, I’ll kill you.”

My gut clenched at his words and fear seized me. His wife hung her head in shame and that’s when Axil went absolutely berserk.

He bucked against his chains and screamed and growled. The bolt in the ceiling that held the chains creaked and strained and fur popped out onto Axil’s arms. It broke my heart to see him so helpless.

Ansel tipped his head back and laughed, walking back to the table as Axil went insane trying to free himself.

“Axil,” I whispered and he stilled, panting. He looked over at me with eyes that were blue threaded through with yellow. I was speaking to man and beast. “Whatever happens, I will be okay,” I told him and tried to keep the emotions off my face. I knew he would feel responsible for this. Giving Ansel control of the pack again and all the power that comes with being a king might seem stupid now, but we couldn’t have known his brother would do this. He gave his word in front of every wolven present, including the advisors. A king was nothing if not a man of his word. Ansel was a coward in every way. Not strong enough to defeat Axil in a challenge fight, so he used the king’s power to control him and get what he wanted.

Axil’s jaw clenched, the veins in his neck bulging. “You will not be touched by him. I. Will. Kill. Him if he marries or beds you.”

He didn’t whisper. And Ansel heard. And he erupted into another laugh.

He’s insane. That was clear to me now. And his wife, our queen, was acting like the most submissive dominant female I’d ever met. She just sat there and said nothing, like a stuffed toy.

He’s controlling her too. The horror of that realization hit me like a punch to the stomach.

No.

He could cause a person to lose their self-control and he was doing that to her now. This was an insane abuse of power, yet, I was unable to stop it.

The dinner dragged on and I’d long lost feeling in my hands, my shoulders were numb as well. Any time my legs gave out, the collar choked me and forced me to stand right back up. I prayed we wouldn’t be made to sleep like this. Was this what Ansel did to Axil when he was younger? No. A person couldn’t live like this for two years. This was for show. This was for Ansel to prove he had all the power.

Just as King Ansel was wiping his mouth and had eaten his last bite, the doors to the dining hall opened.

I looked up, bleary-eyed and in pain.

A guard stepped in and cleared his throat. “My lord, you have three visitors outside who claim to be the queens of Thorngate, Archmere and Embergate.”

My heart beat wildly in my chest and I exchanged a shocked glance with Axil.

Ansel picked up his mead and took a long swig, letting the silence stretch in the room. “Send them in,” he stated at last.

Why would the queens of other realms come here, to Fallenmoore? If they had a message, they would send it with a courier. To come in person meant something was gravely wrong. Maybe something to do with that war meeting Axil had had. I’d never even asked about it, I’d been so consumed with winning the trials.

A moment later, three beautiful women entered the room, one of them carrying a small tin box in her hands. They were bright-eyed and smiling until their gazes landed on us. All three of their smiles were wiped from their faces at the sight. In that moment the brown-haired human-looking one slipped the tin box into her cloak and bowed deeply to Ansel.

“King Axil Moon?” she asked Ansel. “We are so pleased to meet y—”

“I’m King Ansel. My brother Axil is no longer king.” He jerked his head in our direction.

The women remained tight lipped, with forced smiles, betraying only slight signs of anxiety.

The red-headed fae stepped forward, not bowing, and held the king’s gaze. “I am the Fae Queen Madelynn of Thorngate: we have come bearing grave news and seek your help, King Ansel.”

Grave news.

Axil stiffened beside me as we watched the scene unfold. I noticed the blonde one, I was guessing dragon-folk, stood there poised as if ready to attack and did not take her gaze off Ansel.