The Forbidden Wolf King: Kings of Avalier, Book 4(61)

They both watched us as we entered and the queen gave me a snarl. I glanced at her bandaged hand and grinned.

“You can have her wolf power, Regis, but I want the elf queen,” she told him.

Regis looked at me and squinted. “She’s the wife of Axil Moon?” he asked and my stomach tightened. They knew his name.

“I believe they call them mates, but yes,” Zaphira replied.

We were led to the table where two places had been set across from the queen and her companion. Kailani and I shared a look.

What was the game plan here? Feed us dinner and then steal our magic? Why? To play with us?

Just when I was beginning to wonder if we were meant to take a seat or not, the guard pushed me down into one of the chairs. I was seated across from the man Zaphira had called Regis, who I was going to assume was the necros’ king.

“What will you be having for dinner? Blood with a side of blood?” I asked him sarcastically.

He shared a look with the queen and she nodded. “See. She has a temper: those make for the best magic elixirs.”

I swallowed hard at that. If Kailani was right, I’d have only seconds from when they took off my cuffs to when they placed me in the machine. And if I couldn’t fight back, I remembered my promise to Raife and I would not falter. There was no way I was giving her this power. I’d carve my own heart out before that happened.

A waiter brought out three plates of food, setting them before the queen, Kailani and me. Then he set a glass of dark red fluid in front of the king.

Regis looked at the waiter in disgust. “I prefer it straight from the source.” Then he turned to the queen. “May I?” he asked, his eyes on me.

Zaphira nodded and I stiffened. “Oh, please do.”

Kailani squirmed in her seat beside me. “Won’t that affect the power transfer?” she asked nervously and I could tell she was stalling for time.

“No,” the queen said and then before I could even track his movements, the king was beside me, my face in his hands. I moved to fight back and then his mouth was on my neck. A small pinch bit at my skin and then a wave of nausea rolled over me as he sucked.

“Stop this!” Kailani shouted, jerking beside me, but the guard held her firmly in place. The slurping sounds at my neck were making me want to vomit but not as much as the slight buzz of pleasure that hummed just under my skin. He had some kind of magic spell over me that was making me think I liked it. With one jerk of my head I cracked my skull into his and he pulled away from me laughing.

The moment his mouth released my neck, the pleasure faded and was replaced by a dull throb.

Zaphira took a bite of her meat, grinning. “Does she taste good?”

Regis stood. “Oh, you have no idea. And not just that, she is linked to her mate. I could feel him, far away but there.”

I froze, swallowing hard. He felt the pack bonds? I calmed myself and searched for Axil. I could feel him alive and anxious but there. Had the necro king felt that too? That wasn’t right, but then I had no idea what kind of power necros held.

Regis walked over to the queen’s plate of food and grasped her meat knife. “I wonder … Do you think her mate can feel it if I hurt her?”

Kailani and I both bucked in our seats at that but the guards kept us firmly in place. My heart crashed wildly in my chest but I was helpless to stop him.

The queen nodded and then held out her bandaged hand, showcasing her missing finger which was now a bloody stump hidden under white gauze. “I require revenge, my love.”

My love?

One second he stood beside her and then next my hand was being pulled out onto the dinner table, fingers splayed out.

“No!” Kailani screamed, thrashing her back against her chair.

The necromerian king held the blade to my pinky finger and I went eerily still, resigning myself to my fate. Cyrus taught me that wounds hurt more when you resisted them.

Control where they hurt you.

I curled my other fingers into a ball and willingly gave him my pinky, looking at Kailani to let her know it was okay. Tears streamed down her face and then … the dining hall doors burst open and a young man stumbled in, grasping his throat. His face was purple, and white foam bubbled at his lips. Regis and Zaphira both froze.

“Who is that?” Regis asked, perplexed.

Zaphira’s fork clattered onto the plate and her hand shook. “My food taster.”

She smacked her lips together and then reached up to grab her throat in anticipation. Staring at Kailani, she leapt into a standing position. “You can save me! Regis, she can save me!”

The queen was coughing now, clearing her throat uncontrollably. She stumbled forward, falling onto the table as she gasped for breath and rolled onto her back, looking up at the ceiling.

The necromerian king went from being about to cut my finger off to zooming over to Kailani and pressing the blade to her throat. He was so fast it was unnerving. A worthy adversary had this been a fair fight.

“Save her,” he commanded and then looked at the guards. “Uncuff her!”

The queen’s lips were purple now, white spittle forming on them as she rasped for breath.

Kailani stood, looked down at Zaphira and smiled. “I would rather die than save her. So kill me now and be done with it.”

Pure pride flooded through me at that. Kailani was an alpha: she had no fear of death.