Chapter Twenty-seven: The Alpha’s Return

SIGRUN

I blinked at his tone. Uh, excuse me?

"I...beg your pardon?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

We were practically at the center of the courtyard, and he was raising his voice at me when he was the one who left?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

He leaned into me and repeated, "I said, where the fuck are you coming from?"

For a second, I just stared at him. The audacity. The absolute, breathtaking audacity of this man who had brought a new wife to his home and promptly disappeared for seven days without a single word to her. Then he suddenly materialized back home, and somehow I was the one being interrogated?

Alpha or not, I didn't care. Where I came from, respect was an important part of any relationship. Especially marriage. The fact that I wasn't from here didn't mean I had to stroke his male ego.

I snorted. It was void of humor. "That's amusing. That's really amusing."

His jaw tightened. "What is amusing?"

"The fact that you're standing here demanding answers from me when you're the one who vanished on my first night in your castle, husband," I said, injecting sarcasm into my tone.

Something flashed across his face. Not guilt. Definitely not guilt. Varul didn't seem like the sort of man who was familiar with the concept.

It looked more like irritation. Which somehow annoyed me even more.

"I did not vanish."

"You left without telling me where you were going."

"I informed the household."

I laughed. Actually laughed, this time. I ignored how icier his aura turned by the second. Several nearby servants immediately found very important reasons to stare at the ground.

"Well, that's wonderful," I said sweetly. "I'm delighted that the household was kept informed."

His eyes narrowed. "Sigrun."

"No, please. Continue. Perhaps next time you leave, you can also notify the cooks and stable boys. Since apparently everyone receives updates except your wife!"

The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on. Around us, people were suddenly finding reasons to move elsewhere.

I couldn't blame them. If I were watching this argument from a safe distance, I'd probably evacuate too.

Varul took a slow breath. The kind that suggested he was exercising an enormous amount of self-control.

One of the guards behind me cleared his throat very quietly, like he regretted existing. Varul's gaze flicked toward him. The guard immediately looked ready to throw himself off the nearest battlement.

Varul turned towards the castle. "Inside, princess," he ordered over his shoulder.

I crossed my arms, well aware that I was playing with fire. But damn him if he thought he could bully me. I would go inside when I wanted to go inside. "No."

The entire courtyard seemed to stop breathing. He turned back slowly, as his eyes pinned mine.

"No?" He asked this like he was genuinely baffled by the concept of my refusal.

I raised my chin in haughtiness. "No."

A muscle ticked in his jaw. I felt strangely victorious. Possibly because I had survived New York subway systems. A giant wolf king wasn't about to intimidate me.

Well. Not much.

"Inside, princess," he repeated.

"I am standing right here."

We shared a brief staring contest that lasted for only several seconds. His eyes darkened.

Then, slowly, he smiled. It was heated and icy all at once. I gulped. He leaned into me, one hand reaching down to grab my waist and press me closer to himself. I was reminded again of the stark difference in our heights.

He bent his head until his lips brushed the shell of my ear.

Then he murmured words that only I could hear, "You see, princess, most of the time I fancy myself to be a refined man. But at my core, I am far from it."

A shiver ran down my spine because of the controlled, quiet way he was speaking. I hated how aware I suddenly was of every point where our bodies touched. I took an instinctive step backward. His hand tightened on my waist before I could get very far.

He continued, "If you continue arguing with me in the middle of my courtyard and in front of my servants, I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you inside myself. And then, I will give that pretty ass of yours the spanking it has been begging me for."

Heat flooded my face. My stomach promptly forgot how to function.

I stared at him. He stared right back. Completely serious.

The realization hit me all at once. The infuriating man would actually do it.

"You wouldn't," I croaked.

One dark eyebrow lifted. The bastard didn't even answer. Because he could tell how much I knew that he would do it.

His gaze took in my expression. Satisfaction flickered in his eyes. His hand slid from my waist. The movement felt strangely disappointing.

He turned and stalked towards the castle. "Inside, princess."

I hated him.

I really did.

Unfortunately, my pulse had started doing deeply embarrassing things.

I groaned under my breath, handed my shopping back to a guard, and followed Varul, ignoring the surreptitious stares around me.

Servants scrambled when we walked into the entrance hall.

Varul was taking large, angry strides that I struggled to keep up with. From my peripheral vision, I saw Marta, Conny, and Rita in the foyer, staring at us with various expressions of curiosity and worry. I didn’t spare them a glance.

I followed Varul as he bounded up the stairs towards the wing that housed our individual chambers. He silently opened the door to his and I walked in.

I barely got the chance to admire the dark tones of his chamber decor when, suddenly, he locked the door and pinned me against it.

My breath caught as he planted both hands on either side of my head. His dark eyes searched my face.

“Done glaring at me?” I asked when I could find my voice.

“Princess.”

“What?”

One hand left the door to wrap around my throat, the pads of his fingers pressing against my pulse. His voice dropped lower. Rougher. “You cannot challenge me in public. I run this pack, and my word here is law.”

My breathing turned heavier in the best way. “Laws can be broken.”

His hand slammed against the heavy wood of the door, eyes blazing. “Gods in seven hells,” he swore. “Why are you so stubborn?”

“Because you’re being unreasonable. All I did was go into town!”

“It is not safe for you.”

“I went with guards.”

“Guards fail.”

“I’m failing to make sense of what you’re saying.”

“I am saying, you do not leave the castle without my approval.”

“What?”

“The North is no longer safe. I will not have you walking about and putting yourself in harm’s way.”

“If you’re trying to communicate something, you’re going to have to give me more context. All I did was going to a shop to get paint. I don’t see how that translates to putting myself in harm’s way.”

“Princess—“

“You don’t get to come back from your mysterious trip and yell at me for stepping out of your massive castle for the first time in seven days.”

“Princess—“

“And next time, maybe have the decency to—I don’t know—give me a heads-up before you up and leave for seven whole days, so I don’t wake up the next morning and look like a fool when I ask other people if they know where my husband—“

The words were cut short when his lips slammed on mine. For one startled second, my mind went completely blank. Then I opened my mouth to give him more access.

He swooped in, tangling his tongue with mine. My senses were on overdrive. My thoughts were narrowed to this single moment. Him. The feel of his tongue against mine. His scent. The possessiveness of his hand at my throat, holding me in place for his pleasurable assault.

Everything else faded into the background. I lost track of time. How long had we been at this? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? I didn’t care. I needed more. I grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and pulled him even closer to me.

I gave a whimper of protest when he slowed and he chuckled huskily against my lips. He bit my bottom lip and chased the sting with his tongue.

Then, to my disappointment, he pulled away, his hand leaving my neck to trail up my hair and gently take hold of the back of my head.

“Feisty princess,” he murmured, heated eyes dancing with amusement. “What were you screaming at me about again?”

I blinked and tried to focus through the haze of lust clouding my brain.

Shit, what was I saying again?

My brain felt like someone had shaken it vigorously and thrown half the contents into the nearest river.

Varul’s mouth twitched.

The bastard.

He knew exactly what he’d done. Kissing me to shut me up.

And damn him, it had worked.

I narrowed my eyes at him, though I suspected the effect was ruined by the fact that I was still clutching his shirt like my life depended on it.

His gaze dropped briefly to my hands.

Slowly, deliberately, one dark brow lifted.

More heat flooded my face.

I released his shirt as though it had personally betrayed me.

“I hate you,” I informed him.

The corner of his mouth curved upward.