The Wolf King

In the forest, Callum grows tense, dismissing a strange smell as a wolf thing. They encounter naked wolves returning to the castle. Instead of taking her to her room, Callum brings her to his chambers, where a steaming bath waits. He explains his wolf instincts have not settled and he feels protective.

When he paces restlessly, Aurora demands he stop treating her like she is fragile. He confesses that having her in his bed while she smells of Blake drives his inner wolf wild and admits he wants to mark her as his own. Instead of being frightened, she is aroused. She gets angry when he apologizes, saying she likes that he treats her like a real person. When she asks what to do about smelling like Blake, he admits he wants to wash her. Feeling daring, she accepts.

Callum ensures she wants to be bathed by him. Facing Callum to hide scars on her back, she removes her clothes. His gaze drops to her body, and she feels powerful.

He kneels beside the tub and washes her with a cloth, arousing her. His hand moves over her chest. She teases him about his promise not to touch her. When he tries to hide his wolf eyes, she touches his face, saying he doesn’t scare her. He tells her to ask him to leave because he cannot control himself.

Blake enters unannounced, taunting them. Callum slams him against the wall, but Blake reveals he has a message from the king.

Blake says King James is in trouble. He notices scars on Aurora’s back, and taunts Callum, who tenses. To provoke Blake, Aurora asks if he is ashamed of being a wolf since he avoided the ritual. Blake counters by asking if she knows how her mother died, implying it wasn’t of disease. She asks if he knows what killed her. He says no but implies it is worth investigating.

Callum apologizes but must leave to help James. Aurora finishes her bath and returns to her chambers. She spends the day reading medical books, haunted by Blake’s words.

That night, Callum still has not come for her. She has an erotic dream about Callum while another wolf watches. She wakes aroused and hears a crash. Outside, she finds Callum has shoved Blake against the wall. Callum looks feral, eyes glowing. He releases Blake and stalks toward her.

Callum is wild and feral. Fiona calls from the stairs and commands him to cool down. Callum softens and leaves. Fiona threatens Blake to keep silent. Blake bows, making Fiona flinch.

Fiona explains how Callum’s wolf instincts are heightened after the full moon and by his attachment to Aurora. She asks if Aurora was aroused—wolves smell emotions. Mortified, Aurora realizes Callum sensed her physical response to her dream. Fiona theorizes he came to stand guard, found Blake nearby, and was provoked into letting the wolf take over.

Fiona grows worried. Because she openly challenged Callum—her alpha—and made him back down, Wolf Law gives her the right to challenge Callum for alpha of Highfell. If Blake tells anyone and it becomes open knowledge, Wolf Law requires that Fiona and Callum fight publicly to settle it. Aurora assures her Blake will not tell. Fiona suggests if Aurora returns to the Southlands, she could be a useful ally.

Later, Callum knocks at her door, soaking wet and remorseful.

Callum apologizes, assuring he would never hurt her. He confirms the king needs help, and he will have to ride out in the next couple of days to meet him. He admits he cannot stay away and touches her cheek, saying he wants to show gentleness. She tells him to show her.

He kisses her gently, and passion surges. She pulls him into a rough kiss. They grow intimate, kissing and touching until she climaxes, and carries her to the bed. When she believes they’ll have sex, he suddenly freezes and staggers off, saying he feels strange. He insists he must go. Hurt, Aurora invokes propriety and her betrothal to Sebastian. He looks heartbroken, apologizes, and leaves. She realizes Callum looked scared and resolves to find out why.

The next morning, Blake enters instead of Callum. He returns her silver letter opener, letting it burn his hand until she takes it. He moves to her bookshelf, and she realizes the room was his. Blake reveals Callum rode out that morning to find the Wolf King.

Aurora feels shame, believing her night with Callum meant nothing. Blake takes a book about lore and asks if she is researching her mother’s death. After questioning her symptoms, Blake concludes it sounds like no disease he knows. He warns that Fiona has left the castle too, and Isla has been left in charge of Aurora’s welfare.

Over the next couple of days, Aurora faces hostility. Callum’s red collar is what keeps most wolves from openly targeting her, and she relies on it while he is away. On the third morning, she finds Callum’s collar missing—she believes Isla stole it. She storms out but runs into Magnus and his friends. Magnus declares her fair game without the collar. A hand places a silk collar around her neck from behind. Magnus and his friends recoil in fear and flee. Aurora turns to find Blake. He has placed his black collar on her.

Blake warns she needs protection. He reveals his mother was a human raped by a wolf, resulting in his birth. He hunted down his father. He tells her to come to his chambers at nightfall. Isla passes, notices Aurora with Blake’s collar, and insults her, infuriating her.

That evening, as a storm approaches, Aurora visits Blake. She finds him agitated with jars of wolfsbane—he created a sleep aid to suppress his wolf. Thunder makes him flinch; he fears storms. She hums a lullaby, and he falls asleep. She notices a wolf-bite scar on his forearm.

After that, Aurora obtains wolfsbane and buckthorn to poison Isla’s food for revenge. Blake catches her and says her dosage is lethal. He advises using butter since Isla is lactose-intolerant. At dinner, Isla eats the tampered food, passes gas loudly, and flees. Blake winks. That night, horsemen arrive, led by Callum.

Aurora waits in Callum’s chambers, angry. Callum bursts in, covered in blood and holding his red tartan collar. He said he found it beside Aurora’s bed and brought it with him. Aurora confronts him about leaving. He apologizes—King James was near death and he had to leave immediately.

His becomes upset when he notices Blake’s black collar around her neck. When he demands an explanation, she says Blake protected her. Enraged, Callum says Blake never protects without a price. He commands her to remove the collar. She refuses, wanting to provoke his wolf.

Callum cries out and collapses, grabbing his shoulder. She sees black veins spreading—he was shot with a silver bullet coated in wolfsbane, preventing healing. Despite Callum’s protests, she bolts to get Blake.