Chapter 4

-Kit-

I cradled Trynnian’s hand in mine - it was soft and much smaller than my own. Trynnian took a deep breath, massaging his temple with his left hand. “I had no idea our war prisoners were treated so badly.”

I couldn’t stop the scoff from escaping my throat. My husband side-eyed me, quirking an eyebrow. Cute. Brushing my thoughts away, I spoke up. By now I knew that he liked me to talk, and he wasn’t going to hurt me for voicing my thoughts. After I said I didn’t like his family, I expected him to hate me, cause me pain, something.

But, he didn’t. And now, we were holding hands. Maybe, I was safe- I quickly cut off that line of thought. I would never be safe with a human. Especially not in the castle.

“The chains are the least of the wolves’ worries. We can deal with the pain.” I tried not to think about my heavily bandaged back, and the lines of broken skin, burns around the edges, which caused me pain every time I moved.

Trynnian squeezed my hand a little, a sad little smile on his lips that I wasn’t even sure he was aware of. “Please keep talking. You’re free to say whatever you’d like.” That was all I needed. I wanted to trust him, trust that he wouldn’t hurt me for speaking out.

“Sometimes they wouldn’t feed us, wouldn’t give us water. The food was barely edible, and the water was dirty. But, it was better than nothing.” Trynnian hesitantly reaches a hand to my shoulder, pushing my hair over it, so that he could see my face more easily.

“You were starved? For-“ his voice breaks a little as he finishes his sentence. “For five years?” I look back at the floor, nodding slowly. When no pain came, when he didn’t even move his hand from mine, I relax a little.

I suddenly tensed up, however, when I felt his head rest on my shoulder. How did he go from wanting nothing to do with me, to initiating closeness? I couldn’t stop myself from voicing my thoughts, now that he had given me the chance.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked quietly.

“Do you not like it?”

I shook my head quickly, squeezing his hand gently. “Werewolves like physical contact. This is nice,” I whisper, scared that if I told him I liked something, he’d take it away. He didn’t.

“I’m doing this because I want to,” he says eventually, his voice smooth and calm. Moving his head so that our eyes locked together, he spoke again. “I’m sorry for judging you for how you were born. If I had spent any time with you, any time at all, I wouldn’t have said I wanted nothing to do with you.”

His smile is gentle and nurturing, soft and sweet. “Kit, we’re married. Let’s get to know each other - the actual each other, not you who’s scared to say something wrong.” I huff, looking away. “I’m not scared.”

Trynnian rolls his eyes, and I feel the heat rising in my face. I’m that obviously scared, huh?

“Your hands have been shaking for like, the entire time. Sure you’re not scared.” My blush deepens, but a gentle hand on my jaw leads my gaze back to his. “I promise, on my life, that I will never hurt you for talking. Or for anything, for that matter,” he says with an awkward laugh.

“Thank you,” I whisper, my gaze transfixed on his purple eyes as his hand rests on my cheek, his thumb smoothing across my cheekbone. “So, when were you released from the prisons?” He asks slowly.

I grimace, but lean into the hand on my cheek. I can’t help it, I love contact and it’s something I haven’t been allowed in a very long time. I feared that if I got close to any wolf in the cages, they’d be whipped as well as me. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt for my greedy wishes.

“This morning.”

Trynnian’s hand drops from my cheek, as well as his jaw from the rest of his face. “They- what?!” I nod, already missing the warmth from his hand. I glance down at his hand, and almost like a mind reader, he tentatively places it back on my cheek.

I can’t stop the smile from tugging at my lips.

“Kit, how long have you known about the marriage?” He asks, his voice serious. I repeat my words from earlier. “This morning. They said not to kill me, because I was going to marry the prince.”

When I glance back at Trynnian, there’s anger in his eyes. Fear spikes through my gut, and I jerk away from him. He’s angry at me, he’s going to whip me.

“Kit? I’m sorry, I’m not angry at you,” he says, worry creeps into his voice as he reaches for my hand again, but I can’t stop the shaking in my own hands. I move further up the bed, away from him. “Sorry, I can’t,” I whisper, curling my arms around my knees.

It makes my back stretch, which burns like hell, but the comfort is worth it. I wish I could shift, then I’d feel safer.

“Kit? I’m really sorry. I was so angry at them- I’ve known about this for a month. They should’ve taken you out way earlier.” I glance up, adrenaline polluting my vision. How much blood would still be in my body, if the past month hadn’t happened?

The whippings had become worst over the past month; they used the burning chains more frequently than they had before. I had wondered why they were always so angry, but I guess it’s because I was going to marry their prince.

I steeled my expression, numbing my thoughts. The month had already happened, nothing was going to change that. “It doesn’t matter,” I whisper, wrapping my arms more tightly around myself. Trynnian shifts slightly, edging closer to me.

I tense, and he immediately shuffles backwards. “Do you want to shift? Aren’t werewolves supposed to be more comfortable like that?” I look up at him in shock. “You’d be ok with that?” I ask quickly, hesitant that he’d take the offer back.

Trynnian grimaces, nodding. “I- I’d have to leave, but of course. You can shift whenever you’d like.” He bites his lip, and if I wasn’t focusing on calming myself down, I’d think more about how adorable the gesture was.

“Thank you,” I say quietly, but don’t move to shift just yet. If I do, Trynnian will leave. I don’t know what will happen when he leaves, so for now, I’ll deal with my panic without my wolf.