Page 76 of The Ashpaw: Part One

“And you can?” Fern asked. She dared a peek at his face, concentrating on his lips as they curved into almost a smile.

“Not quite. But unlike Darion, that doesn’t scare me.”

We don’t scare our alpha, her wolf countered, pouting from her hiding spot.

Fern tried to ignore her, feeling betrayed by her absence last night and her continued loyalty to the alpha who did not deserve it.

He does deserve it, he chose us.

Fern almost shook her head. Her wolf was ridiculous.

The same way a butcher chooses a lamb, Fern replied.

“I’m going to try to change this ruling,” Eidan said as they continued to descend. It felt like the stairs would never end. “And if I fail, at the very least I will do what I can to lessen its severity.”

Fern could not muster up the energy to even hope he could.

They finally made it to the dining hall, early enough that the Solvekh were only just starting to prepare the room for the first meal.

She felt their eyes and heard their whispers as Eidan placed her in his chair at the head table.

“Stay.” He barked his order, an alpha command that probably should have intimidated her, but instead sent a ripple of warmth through her limbs. It was a verbal box to reside in, to be surrounded by.

But that feeling did not last as she watched him leave towards the kitchens, and the room became suffocating in its openness.

The chair was too high.

All at once she slipped off it and landed under the table, finding it easier to breathe and bring her racing pulse back down.

Feet shuffled by.

Feet on the ground.

There was no further to fall.

Her eyelids grew heavy, and her head bobbed, the force of it falling snapping her awake and leaving her wondering for a moment where she was and how she’d gotten there.

She woke up with another start when the chair she’d been placed in pulled out suddenly, and Eidan’s face appeared.

“What about ‘stay’ was so difficult to understand?” he asked, his amused smile softening the harsh tone.

“I haven’t moved much,” she muttered.

He gestured for her to get out of his way, and she scooted down a few feet to accommodate him as he squeezed in next to her, so large he could not sit straight without bumping his head.

“Eat,” he said next, handing her some hard cheese, a bread heel, and a small plum. When she stared at the meal with wide eyes, he let out a small growl. “And don’t you dare tell me it’s too much.”

It was, but she kept her mouth shut anyway, taking a sniff of the plum and nearly crying at the sweet, slightly tart scent. She closed her eyes and took a small bite, flavor coating her tongue. Juice dripped down her chin, and Eidan reached over to wipe it away with his thumb.

“Better?” he asked.

She nodded. “Thank you,” she said, the words garbled in her full mouth.

He watched her silently, taking back the pit when she was finished with the plum and then handing her the cheese next.

She nibbled on it, looking out from their spot as Solvekh continued to walk by, ignoring their strange party.

But she knew they’d speak on it. She was not only the Ashpaw, but a Solvekh dining—on the floor—with one of the alphas.