Page 73 of Lycan’s Hunt

Soren, catching my groan, glances over at me where I see him still lying on the bed. His eyes fall upon the offending appendage jauntily wagging behind me and he chuckles.

“Relax, it’s not even poking out of your dress.” He grins and I turn to scowl at him, about to retort when the door to our room swings open, revealing Damian.

“Dinner is being served,” Damian says as he leans on the door frame, in his typical all black uniform. His eyes wander over me and down to my tail. He raises an eyebrow. “Interesting choice of accessory,” he comments. I glare at him and he only smirks.

“Leave her alone, she is moody and already doesn’t want to go to dinner,” Soren snaps. Damian chuckles, shaking his head and wandering off.

I grab the errant tail, carefully tucking it up under the dress. If only it would stay put. I wonder if we have duct tape, I could strap the damn thing to my leg.

“Ugh, this tail is a real nuisance,” I mutter under my breath; Soren chuckles behind me and I glare at him.

“Are you laughing at me?” I ask with mock outrage.

“No, darling, not at all.” The grin on his face tells me otherwise. He is enjoying my torment. He gets up from the bed and comes over to wrap his arms around me from behind. I meet our reflection in the mirror; him smiling behind me, his eyes full of love and amusement.

“You’re as charming as a feral cat right now.” He plants a kiss on my cheek.

“I could show you feral…” I grumble in response, but can’t help the blush that creeps up my cheeks as my tail decides to wrap around his leg.

“I’d love to see it,” he murmurs into my ear before releasing me and unwrapping my tail that decided to twist around him like a snake. “But first, dinner; then you can be as feral as you want, just in the forest, not here.”

With a resigned sigh, I glance once more down at my tail, which has managed to slip loose again and is currently swishing back and forth as if taunting me.

With a last look at my reflection in the mirror—a messy-haired girl with a tail that has a mind of its own—I leave our room and head toward dinner with Soren right beside me. Despite the day’s stress and impending run tonight, having him there is a comfort that puts my bond at ease even if my thoughts are racing. Something tells me that perhaps learning to control this new aspect of myself won’t be so bad… as long as I’ve got Soren by my side.

“Come on, stop stalling, let’s get dinner over with.” Soren holds his hand out to me, with a heavy sigh I take it and follow him down the hall.

Down the spiraling staircase, through the darkened hallways, we trudge toward the dining room. My heart fills with a nervous flutter as we near the arched double doors, but that nervousness falls away when I see Max’s cherubic face light up. Relief floods me when he rushes over, his little body colliding with me. His arms wrap around my waist as he hugs me. At least he isn’t scared of me after earlier.

“Come sit with me,” he chirps excitedly while Maribel is surrounded by bridal magazines. I glance at Soren who pays no attention to me, instead he walks into the room and drags out my chair. I take a seat between him and Max. Maribel slides a magazine across to me.

“What about these colors?” she asks and I glance at the magazine, its table decorations. Peering over at Soren, he leans forward to look at what she is showing me before glancing at me.

“Aubrey?” he questions and my brows furrow in confusion.

“What’s going on?” I ask, chewing my lip.

“The wedding is going ahead, we are finalizing the last arrangements then you two need to pick a date, but which color, for the table settings? Do you like the dark purple plates or the violet?” she asks.

“Maybe we’ll take a look tomorrow, Ma. You’re overwhelming her, I haven’t had a chance to tell her yet,” Soren cuts in.

Maribel sighs.

“Can’t we go with the prior arrangements,” I ask.

“Depends when the date is going to be set; what we had originally planned will take time,” she looks at Soren who shrugs.

“We can discuss it more tomorrow, I’m taking her for a run after dinner.” Soren looks around me at Damian at the end of the table next to his father.

“Everything is already organized, the guards pushed the perimeters back and we have tranquilizers if needed.” That does not make me feel any better. Tranquilizers? I look at Soren slightly alarmed but then the kitchen staff file in with dinner.

The rest of the dinner goes in a blur. Everyone is making polite conversation, discussing trivial matters about the town and some upcoming events Maribel is canceling so she can focus on the wedding, but my mind is elsewhere.

My thoughts on guards, perimeters, tranquilizers? I have to wonder if going for a run is a good idea if they need to take such precautions.

“Are you okay?” Soren’s voice whispering into my ear has me snapping my head toward him. His eyes full of concern boring into mine are enough for me to push away all the impending thoughts of the night ahead.

“I’m fine,” I assure him, mustering the most convincing smile I can achieve under the circumstances. One thing about Soren, he always sees right through me. His lips curve up slightly, but I note a hint of worry still lingering in his eyes.