“What are you holding?” The question came out like an interrogation.
I saw Camila’s eyes narrow and knew I would hear about it from her later.
Avery practically squeaked, eyes wide, and held the plate out to me, forks rattling on the fine china.
Am I really that scary?
From what I could tell, Silvermoon had treated her far worse.
“Calm yourself.” I said, irritated.
I took the plate from her. It seemed to be some sort of cake.
I tossed it on the table to the side.
Killing had taken away my appetite, and I wasn’t in the mood for food, especially sweets.
Avery’s eyes when I turned back had gone wide as saucers, and there were tears in the corners.
My wolf howled in my mind.
No need to be so harsh! My wolf scolded.
That was unusual, my wolf had always been on my side.
Struck, I queried, That’s unlike you.
An unexpected rush of affection for Avery flowed from my wolf.
You should treat her better, he growled.
Fine. I rolled my eyes and reached for the cake again, stabbed it with a fork and lifted a bite to my mouth.
The rich taste of chocolate flooded through my mouth. It was the perfect mixture of buttery, bitter, flavorful, and delicate.
The taste transported me back through time, to the last time I had this particular dessert years ago.
The girl who had used to make it was gone now. She had known this was my favorite and had baked it for me often. Some of my favorite memories involved this dessert, I hadn’t thought I would ever taste it again.
I raised my head to ask Avery if she had made this herself, but she was already hurrying away, head down as she disappeared into the crowd.
I felt a moment of regret for how I had acted. She had probably made this to try and please me.
Had she spent the time to try and specifically learn what I like?
I detested the thought of being intentionally manipulated.
The cake is damned good though.
When Gideon tossed my cake to the side, my heart sank.
My fiance reeked of blood and death.
What was I doing thinking I could earn his favor through baked goods?
In retrospect, it seemed painfully naive.
I shut my mouth and stepped back, slipping away to disappear into the crowd until Camila came to get me.
She had helped me prepare for my role in the ceremony and told me where to stand and what to say. It was moderately complicated and I was nervous about forgetting my lines.
The pack bell rang, indicating the ceremony was beginning.
I found my spot in line behind Gideon and followed him onto the stage.
He didn’t acknowledge my presence.
From up here, I could see the hall was packed with people.
The crowd surged closer to the stage in anticipation.
One woman kept coming and jumped onto the stage from the front.
I thought it was a part of the ceremony until I saw the long, wicked knife in her hand.
With a bloodcurdling scream she lunged at me and brought the blade down in a killing blow.
Avery’s POV
The woman screamed and hinged.
Gideon grabbed me around the waist, swinging me out of the way. He tucked me against his side with one arm while his other hand darted out and captured the woman’s wrist as she drove her killing blow towards me.
There was a sharp snap, and the woman’s wrist broke within Gideon’s grasp.
The long, wicked knite dropped from her hand as she screamed in pain.
Gideon snatched the falling knife out of the air, flipped it deftly, and drove it upward.
The point of the knife entered beneath the woman’s chin and slid upwards with a sickening shick.
The woman dropped to the stage, dead.
It all happened so fast. I stared at the still-twitching body in horror, feeling like I might pass out.
Warmth seeped into me from Gideon’s chest against me where he still held me tightly to his side. It anchored me to the physical world and I felt slightly less faint.
He had moved so quickly and decisively to protect me.
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