"How much is he paying you?"
Brian spun Suri around and shoved her back against the cold wall. Pain exploded across her whip marks, and bit down hard on a gasp, refusing to let him see how much it hurt. Her vision swam; she felt light-headed, her legs shaky, but she stayed upright through sheer stubbornness.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she muttered, trying to keep her voice steady.
He studied her for a long moment, amber eyes narrowed, as if he could peel the truth off her face just by staring. "I'll double whatever he's paying you to leave this pack and never come back."
"Excuse me?" Suri blinked, wide-eyed and innocent.
She had heard their exchange in the ballroom to know exactly what he meant.
And yes, she currently hated Ragnar with the intensity of seven suns, but she wasn't about to hand this smug cousin proof that the marriage was fake. Worse than fake. She had been dragged here against her will. Compared to Brian and that creepy Uncle Crane, Ragnar suddenly felt like the safer monster.
"Don't play stupid, runt," Brian snapped.
Bingo, Suri thought. He's got a temper. She decided to poke him a little. "Maybe you should use clearer words? I'm clearly too 'dumb' to understand your implications."
Brian gave her a sneaky, fox-like smile. "I see why he picked you. He must have been really desperate to choose someone like you."
"What can I say?" Suri shrugged. "I'm a lucky girl, and clearly his best option."
Brian laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "Don't get ahead of yourself. Ragnar only married you so he could keep his throne."
"So?" Suri acted like she already knew. "He's the man I love. If our marriage helps him out, I'm happy to help."
"You think you're so smart," Brian sneered. "You're just a pathetic, weak, runt, he's using to spite me. You can't seriously believe a King would marry a wolfless idiot for love?"
Those words cut through Suri, crumbling her resolve. They were the exact same ones her father hurled at her whenever he felt like twisting the knife. For a second her mask slipped; something raw flickered behind her eyes. But she refused to show Brian just how much he had hurt her or how scared she was right now. She just gave a casual shrug.
"If thinking that helps you sleep well at night, by all means go for it." She pushed herself off the wall, ignoring the fire in her back. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a wedding party to get back to."
She started walking away. Her heart was thumping against her ribs like a trapped bird. She kept waiting for him to grab her or hit her, but he just stood there.
"I always get what I want!" Brian called out behind her.
Suri kept her head high and didn't look back. Suddenly, the door at the end of the hall swung open, and she stopped dead.
It was Ragnar.
His icy eyes landed on Suri first, then moved to Brian, who was standing there with a huge, annoying grin. Suri knew exactly how bad this looked. That son-of-a-bitch, she thought, glaring back at Brian.
"You've been gone a long time," Ragnar said. His voice was perfectly calm, which was somehow scarier than if he had been shouting. "Go back to the party. I'll be there in a minute."
Suri didn't argue, or try to explain the situation. She simply nodded once and slipped past him, spine straight, refusing to wonder what would happen in the corridor once the door closed behind her.
***
"It's so rude of her to leave her own wedding party when it had barely started," one brunette woman, named Liora, said to a redhead as soon as she spotted Suri coming back into the ballroom.
The redhead woman whose name is Ruby Veyle stood at the centre, holding a champagne flute she had barely touched, turning the stem slowly between long fingers as though considering whether the wine deserved her attention. Everyone had thought Ruby would become the Luna of Dravengard someday. She had put in all her time and effort into growing their pack, became the Head of Welfare and even chairs the pack women organisational meeting, which was supposed to be headed by a queen. But it had come as a shock, even to Ruby, when King Ragnar announced that he was taking a bride.
The worst of it was not only that King Ragnar woke up one day and decided to take a bride, but that he took a werewolf woman, a wolfless runt at that. How could the most feared Alpha in the whole of Athelwulf Country take a weak bride? It was a slap to Ruby's pretty face. But she didn't want anyone, especially her minions to see how this had affected her; since she had always bragged about having the king's favour.
"Look how lost she looks," another woman, named Adele said.
"What do you expect from a weak mutt?" another woman, named Mia, asked. "She is pathetic."
A ripple of soft laughter moved through the group.
"I still can't believe he went through with it," another woman, called Sasha, whispered, sipping her champagne. "A werewolf? She doesn't even have a presence. She's practically... invisible."
Another woman, Cressida, younger and more eager still, hurried to fill the silence. "But surely this must only be politics? Everyone knows you were the one expected to be at his side. His Grace had eyes only for you and…" She trailed off, glancing at Ruby for approval.
Ruby's eyes stayed on Suri. "Ladies, he is a King. He is playing a role. The Council has been breathing down his neck for an heir and a stable border for years. I'm sure he did this to spite them. If he has to put a ring on a stray dog to keep the elders quiet, he'll do it. I'm not worried about a placeholder."
"You're right," Mia chimed in, eager to please. "I mean, look at her. She was clinging to his arm like she was afraid she'd trip on her own feet. She looked terrified."
"She should be terrified," Sasha said. "She's sitting in a seat that doesn't belong to her. Ruby is the right queen to sit beside the King. She has earned it."
Cressida hesitated, then ventured, "Do you think the King will set her aside? I mean, if he could throw this elaborate wedding just for her..."
Ruby turned her head slowly, regarding Cressida with the mild interest one might give a child who had just asked something adorably naïve. "He will. King Ragnar is a very difficult man to be with, and she will flee like the others."
Although Ruby can't tell the reason why Ragnar had suddenly decided to marry a wolfless girl, she tried to save her face with the other women.
"Hey, ladies," a deep male voice said.
All the women turned at once to find Kai smiling charmingly at them. They all blushed, except for Ruby, who rolled her eyes.
"Hi, Kai," the ladies chorused, some batting their lashes, others giving him small waves.
"I'm going to need all of you to stop being so stunning for five minutes. I can barely think straight."
The ladies giggled shyly as Kai moved even closer.
Ruby huffed slightly and fixed him with a glare. "What do you want, Kai?" Her voice was laced with impatience, though she kept her tone light enough not to shatter the fragile veneer of composure she had built around herself.
Kai had always taunted the hell out of her, about her ambitions of becoming the pack's Queen. Ruby knew Kai had heartily disapproved of her as queen of Dravengard and would be delighted that Ragnar took even a werewolf wife, as long as the woman was not her.
Kai's smile widened as he stepped a fraction closer, but not invading her space. He tilted his head, his eyes sparkling with that effortless mischief that always seemed to disarm everyone but her. "Ah, Ruby, always straight to the point," he said. "But surely you know by now that what I want is simply to bask in the glow of the most captivating woman in the room. You make every gathering feel like an event worth attending."
The other ladies tittered softly, their cheeks flushing again, but Ruby's expression remained cool, though a faint flicker of irritation crossed her features. She set her champagne flute down on a nearby table with care.
"Ladies," she said, turning to the group with a gracious smile that did not quite reach her eyes, "why don't you go and enjoy the dance floor? I'm sure there are plenty of admirers waiting to sweep you off your feet. Kai and I have… old matters to discuss."
The women exchanged quick glances, murmuring their goodbyes with lingering looks at Kai, before drifting away like petals caught in a gentle breeze. Once they were out of earshot, Ruby crossed her arms, fixing him with a glare that could have frozen wine in its glass.
"Alright, out with it," she said flatly. "You've been circling like a vulture all evening. What clever little taunt have you been saving up this time?"
Kai chuckled, low and rich, leaning casually against the nearby column as though he had all the time in the world. "Taunt? Me? Ruby, you wound me. I'm just here to offer my condolences. It must sting, watching the King walk down the aisle with someone else. And a werewolf, no less. I mean, I really didn't see that one coming. What happened to all those whispers about you being the perfect match? The one with the right bloodlines, the impeccable poise?"
Ruby's jaw tightened, but she kept her voice steady, refusing to rise to the bait. "It's politics, Kai. You of all people should understand that. The King needs alliances, not fairy tales."
"Politics? Oh, come on, Ruby. We both know you've been positioning yourself as queen for years. All those late-night strategy sessions, the way you've clawed your way into every council meeting and heading every organisation. And then—poof—he picks a wide-eyed little mutt from Moonfang. Must feel like he slapped you right across that perfect face of yours."
She huffed. "Jealousy doesn't suit you, Kai. Or is this your way of admitting you're still sore that I never gave you the time of day?" She turned away from him, ready to leave.
Kai pushed off the column and followed her. "Jealous? Of Ragnar? Please. I'm just enjoying the show. You, the queen bee, dethroned by a girl who looks like she'd faint if someone raised their voice. Tell me, will it keep you up at night, wondering what she has that you don't? A pulse, perhaps?"
Ruby's eyes narrowed, but she tilted her chin up, refusing to back down. "I'll have you know that I'm not bothered by this temporary arrangement."
Kai laughed outright, and his laughter turned a few heads nearby. "Oh, Ruby, that's what I love about you, always so sure you're the inevitable."
"Laugh all you want Kai, but when the King is done playing house with his little werewolf pet, he'll remember who truly belongs at his side." After all, it had happened before.
"Kai raised his hands in mock surrender, still grinning. "Touché. But until then, enjoy the view from the sidelines, Your Almost-Highness. It suits you so perfectly."
With that, Kai turned and strode away from Ruby, leaving her stewing in rage as she watched his back.