I thought I'd presented a perfectly reasonable argument, but I realized I was wrong the moment Harlow shoved me, sending me stumbling backward into a large tree.

“Look, you pampered little shit,” he exploded, following me as I fell back, “I’ve spent the last five years of my life watching you humans commit the most vile acts imaginable, killing cubs as easily as you kill soldiers! Damn right I’m fucking prejudice. The lot of you are vicious, violent cowards! Give me one good reason why I should believe you or any of those poncy Palace knights are any better.”

Something inside me snapped. What gave him the right to blame me for something I had nothing to do with? 

Without thinking, I shoved him back. The shock alone sent him stumbling back a few steps, and I shoved him again as I shouted, “You know what? I don’t give a shit what you believe about me! You’re just looking for someone to take your anger out on, but it is not going to be me!”

“How about I go tell those other silver haired freaks they can have you then, huh?” Harlow shot back with venom, “You should show a little gratitude to the person who saved your ass.”

“Nico and Vargas saved my ass, not you,” I retorted, dumbfounded by his audacity, “All you did was show up and start yelling at everyone. And now you’re threatening me because you don’t like what I have to say? You think humans are all cowards? You’re a damn coward.”

Harlow’s eyes flashed with rage. 

Before I could process what I was seeing, he shifted into an oversized wolf and released a menacing growl. I'd seen Andrian shift from lion to human before, but watching a man turn into an oversized wolf in the blink of an eye was something else entirely. He was so big that he came up to my shoulders, and he glared straight into my eyes, baring his sharp teeth.

To be fair, he was quite intimidating. I’ll even admit that I was a little startled at first. But despite his claims to the contrary, I wasn’t the least bit stupid. I was well aware that the snarling wolf in front of me was the same asshole I’d just been arguing with– and that cheating jerk was trying to scare me into submission.

“More threats?” I asked, doing my best to look unimpressed, “We both know you’re all bark and no bite.”

He took a step closer, invading my space. I held my ground, refusing to give him an inch. If there was one thing I’d learned as a knight, it was that people who liked pushing others around wouldn’t stop until you pushed back. Man or wolf, he was still just a bully.

“Well come on then, mighty General,” I taunted, “We both know I can’t fight you like that, so you might as well just get on with it. Show the weak, little, unarmed human how big and strong you are. That’ll make you less of a coward.”

The wolf in front of me let out a booming bark. The sound was so loud and unexpected that I stumbled back in shock. To my horror, I not only stumbled, but also lost my balance and fell backwards, landed butt first on the ground, and smacked my head against the tree. So much for my bravado.

Face burning red, I looked up at Harlow, who had shifted back into his human form and was– Wait, was he laughing?

“Looks like my bark was more than enough to put you in your place, human,” he mocked, savoring my humiliation.

Pride stinging and butt hurting, I jumped to my feet and did one final foolish thing. With my hand clenched into a fist, I took a swing at him.

Harlow effortlessly caught my wrist while I was still mid swing and twisted my arm behind my back.

“And you expect me to believe you aren’t stupid?” he hissed in my ear.

His breath on my skin sent an unwelcome yet shockingly pleasant shiver down my spine. In spite of the situation, my pulse quickened as I realized how close he was. Seriously, what was wrong with me? Clearly my lower half was at least a little stupid.

To compensate for my lower half’s foolishness, my upper half started cursing, “Let go of me, you asshole! You damn coward! I’ll show you who’s stupid!”

I could have sworn I heard him chuckling as he used my captured arm to steer me toward the camp. I didn’t struggle, wary of hurting my shoulder, but I also didn’t stop shouting insults the whole way. 

In retrospect, it was a little childish, the way I insulted his mother, every other member of his family, and even his manhood. But you have to understand, I was really quite angry.

We reached the edge of camp, where Nico, Vargas, and the Palace knights awaited. To my amazement, Harlow steered me over to Nico and Vargas. So he wasn’t giving me to the knights after all. I almost felt a flicker of gratitude, but then he shoved me forward, abruptly releasing my arm and sending me tumbling to the ground.

I flipped over and sprang to my feet, teeth bared and ready for a fight.

Harlow ignored me, scowling at Nico as he muttered, “You found yourself a feisty one. I’m holding you personally responsible if I regret this.”

Then he turned to the Palace knights and added, “And you lot better be grateful that I’m not sending you packing. Show your appreciation by not pissing me off again.”

“General, you seem to forget that we are still on Vraynian soil,” Sir Nolan argued stubbornly, still unwilling to accept his defeat, “You have no authority over us in matters regarding the Knight of the Golden Pal–”

“You say that,” Vargas interrupted, “but have you really thought it through? The way I see it, Falyn is a citizen of the Beastlands, and Evan's lifelong service was given to him by your Prince who, last I checked, outranks you. So, that means that Evan is a citizen of the Beastlands now, by decree of the Prince who outranks you. So, we might not have authority over you, but we’ve definitely got authority over Evan. I think your Prince would be pretty unhappy if you tried to usurp the authority he gave us.”

Vargas looked thoroughly pleased with himself. He often spoke like the lowest of commoners, crass and lacking in etiquette, but it wasn’t because he lacked intelligence. Rather, I was beginning to think he was smarter than all of us, but didn't want us to figure that out.

Sir Nolan bristled like he was ready to continue fighting, but Sir Francis placed a hand on his arm, “Sir Nolan, we’ve done enough. The matter is out of our hands now. It is not worth jeopardizing the peace His Highness has worked so diligently to establish. Henceforth, Evan de Vray shall no longer bear the title of Sir and shall be known to all as an apostate. He may return to our sanctuary only if he repents for his blasphemy. Should he fail to do so, that shall be a matter solely between Evan and the Gods, may they watch over his troubled soul.”