Page 26 of The Ashpaw: Part One

She had to remind herself they were still beasts, and that she would become one soon herself. The full moon was days away now, and she would finally experience her first shift.

Which meant her wolf—the whiny, needy thing—would finally be in control, and if she was going to be as tiny as Fern was compared to the wolfkin, a jilted Lurvekh could easily harm her.

“Was he punished?” she asked, worried she had inadvertently swatted away too many hands since she’d arrived.

Vedia shook her head. “Wolfkin are never punished for crimes committed during a shift. Even those against pups are forgiven. Our wolves aren’t really us, you see. So you cannot punish the man for a beast he cannot control.”

That was hardly comforting.

“Are you holding out hope for the young guard, perhaps?” Annik asked.

Color hit her cheeks, and the three women laughed, assuming that to be the case.

In truth, if she were unable to refuse a petition, Jules was probably the best man to go with. The guard continually stopped by in between meals to say hello, his touches and words much gentler than Harland’s. He’d even begun bringing her small gifts—flowers, ribbons, that sort of thing. Something the Solvekh had assured her was unusual.

She wanted to weave them in her hair, to do something that made her feel like less of a faceless serving girl, but she also didn’t want to draw even more attention to herself.

The cook saw them chatting and waved them off. “Foods getting cold, off with you!”

Arms laden, they left, with Tegen whispering. “You never know, you might end up with both.”

“Both?” she cried.

Both! her wolf cried.

“Aye, it happens sometimes. Stops the Lurvekh from fighting and killing each other needlessly over mates and Naravekh. As long as there are pups, most will accept sharing.”

Fern could not imagine how such an arrangement would halt arguments instead of causing more, especially after what she’d heard from Hyde, and her thoughts spiraled into further worry when she heard Harland whistling loudly.

“Hurry now, Fern, I’m starving!”

She took a deep breath, fixed a neutral smile on her face, and headed over. “Good evening, gentlemen.”

The men laughed, one taking the platter right out of her hands before she even had a chance to set it. She meant to turn around, but Harland grabbed her around the middle, pulling her down and forcing her onto his lap. She pushed weakly at his chest, but his grip only tightened.

“I’m afraid you keep mistaking me. I was hungry for this.”

His teeth gently bit the soft skin of her neck, and she keened loudly in surprise, her head falling and back bowing from the pain of it.

And yet, there was the barest hint of something akin to pleasure that slowly blossomed alongside the hurt, unfurling low in her belly into something warm and tingling.

It was a foreign feeling, and she did not know if she liked it or not.

He growled against her in warning not to move, lapping at the mark he’d made and holding onto her tighter.

“You smell so good,” he said, his voice low. “And I’m tired of waiting for the alphas to release you to me.”

One hand gripped her by the neckline of her bodice, and he forced her up to meet his eye, pupils large and black.

Fern could feel her wolf pressing her forward, getting stronger. Her fingers found his cheek, cupping his face, her own breath becoming shallow.

She hardly liked the man, but there was something in the way he drew these responses from her that left her confused. Curious.

“Aye, she-wolf,” he said, his voice low and rumbling. She could feel his arousal, hard and much larger than she’d even anticipated, along the back of her thighs. “You want this too, hm? For me to fill you with my seed? For your belly to grow large with my pups?”

Fern and her wolf whimpered in unison.

“Give her a taste!” one of the other men bellowed.