AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Wyatt’s eyes dipped. “The Huntsman’s wife killed his hounds. Beasts that never tired, they would ride the veil and find the lost souls from the Aos Sí that needed to return home. When she killed them, the Huntsman needed new hounds to do his duty. The solution made sense at the time. He chose the wolves who helped his wife betray him.”
I exhaled a shaky breath. “I’m not sure I agree with that.”
“The wolves fought the war for many years.” Wyatt pointed out. “We live with the truth we can accept. To me, the Aos Sí is a week-long vacation that I don’t remember. When we return to Tennessee, I won’t even remember this conversation. Neither will you.”
“If the Huntsman lets me leave,” I muttered as a thought occurred to me. “If the Wild Hunt only hunts the Durrach, why would they chase the wild stag? Isn’t it just a stag?”
“Stags are often prisoners. They are given a chance to live if they can escape. They rarely escape the hunt.” Wyatt said simply.
“So, which wolf were you last night?” I lifted both brows.
“Why don’t you guess?” He gestured to his red hair before resting his chin on his hand as he stared at me. “Did you hide yourself because of the Huntsman? Many of our kind do. There is no shame in it.”
“I am not a full wolf. I didn’t even know I could shift; I’d never tried before.” I explained.
Wyat’s brows arched with curiosity. “Most wolves shift for the first time as a child.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” I sipped my tea, wishing it was sweeter.
Wyatt chuckled. “Planning on erasing the witnesses?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Kaleb. Dean and Mitchell.” Wyatt ticked off on his fingers.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “The Locket pack.”
“Curious, isn’t it?” Wyatt’s eyes glinted mischievously. His gaze flicked to the bite mark Dean had left on my shoulder, though I knew he couldn’t see it through the fabric of my shirt.
His words demanded consideration, but I wasn’t ready to have a deep conversation over nettle tea and venison stew.
I bussed my tray, trying not to stare at the short, wrinkled goblin creature at the cleaning station. It hadn’t truly hit me that I was in the Aos Sí, the home of the Fae, until that moment.
I was hopelessly lost, unable to find my room again; when Kaleb came around a corner, relief painted his features the moment his eyes laid on mine.
“I was looking for you.” He told me.
My entire body sagged, and I wrapped my arms around Kaleb’s body and pressed my head against his chest. “You’re alive.” I breathed. “When I didn’t catch the stag, I thought he’d kill you for sure.”
Kaleb frowned. “Mallory…”
I stepped back and brushed my hands down the front of my wrinkled outfit. “I didn’t…” I shook my head to clear it. “I thought the Huntsman had hurt you.”
Kaleb’s face cleared of all expression as he looked away. “The Huntsman wants to see us both.”
My jaw hardened. “Do I have to?”
Kaleb gave me a long look. I closed my eyes and took a measured breath, but it did little to calm the anger that pulsed through me. The Huntsman had put me in a cage. He had taken me to the Aos Síagainstmy will. He had forced me to change shapes and to hunt.
“Does he know who my grandmother was?” I asked, my eyes still closed.
“I don’t think so,” Kaleb said reluctantly. “I doubt you would be alive if he knew.”
“This is a dangerous game.” I exhaled, bending at the waist as I struggled to catch my breath. “I want to go home. I don’t want to be here.”
Kaleb gestured to the hallway behind us. “We shouldn’t keep him waiting.”
Kaleb kept his chin lifted and his gaze head-on as we left the kennels and made our way to the castle. We passed a dozen people milling about, chatting excitedly about last night’s hunt. Apparently, though several groups had spotted the white stag, they hadn’t been able to catch it—something that had never happened before.
