Page 32 of The Wolf Queen’s Curse

When Bishop trails off, Rufus’s brows shoot up. “You don’t know your mate’s name? Off to a fine start, I see.”

“Daniels is fine,” I say. “Bishop hesitates because I may have a few. Daniels. Carter. Levine.”

Rufus chokes on a strip of bacon. “Levine?” He groans. “Really, Bishop? I know you don’t do anything by halves, but you’ve only been in the Pack a few years and you’re already breaking the rules, taking a mate … who is Silas’s daughter and a Levine witch, meaning you have stolen from two very powerful—”

“Not stolen,” Bishop says firmly.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Rufus bows his head to me. “Forgive my rough manners, my lady. You are a modern woman, I am sure, who cannot be stolen but gives herself freely. A pretty fiction that is not going to matter to either side of your family.”

“Silas gave me to Bishop,” I say.

Rufus stops chewing. “What?”

Julius sighs and waves us to the only empty seating—a small sofa. “Please sit, Cordelia. Our host skipped that part.”

“She can’t sit without permission?” Rufus says.

Julius continues, “Let me do this as quickly as possible. Silas tricked Cordelia into coming to Trevelyan, under the guise of protecting her from a threat. He then made Bishop his Alpha-elect and gave him Cordelia as his bride.”

“You really did make an impression, boy.”

“He wanted grandsons,” Bishop says. “Cordelia and I were breeding stock.”

Rufus jabs his fork our way. “Congratulations to you both on being deemed Alpha-worthy breeders. So, how’s that coming along?”

“Moving on,” Julius says. “Bishop had no intention of marrying Cordelia against her will, but before they could resolve that, Silas became suspicious and forced the marriage, after which he immediately accused me of murdering your cousin Henry.”

“Did you?”

“No.”

“Huh. That’s too bad. I have more breakfast in the kitchen, and I’d have given you some if you killed that sadistic bastard.” He pauses. “Is he dead at least?”

“Yes.”

“All right then. You can have breakfast.”

“Moving on again,” Julius says. “Silas wanted to execute me for killing your cousin, which forced Bishop’s hand, and he had to issue his Alpha challenge immediately. Silas accepted, for an immediate fight to the death.”

Rufus nods. “So that’s why you’re on my doorstep. Bishop grabbed you and his new bride and made for the hills. Or, at least, Leeds.”

“No,” Bishop says. “I was successful.”

Rufus chokes on a mouthful. “You killed Silas?”

“Yes.”

“Then who exiled you? Reginald?”

“Reginald is also dead. Killed by Silas for betraying him. And no one exiled me. We…” Bishop takes a moment to regroup. “I lost Trevelyan.”

“Trevelyan was taken from us,” Julius corrects. “Right after the challenge fight. While we were exhausted from the infighting that followed, we were attacked by a cabal.”

“A…” Rufus blinks and finally sets down his plate. “Fuck me. Which one?”

“Mine,” I say. “Or my grandmother’s, that is, which I knew nothing about.”

“And there it is,” Rufus says. “All that way to swing back to my first point. You stole a bride from the wrong people. Or Silas did, I suppose.”