e

Prince. The future King. The man who gave me his cloak and promis

turn. "Wait outside," he said, and they obeyed, because he is a pr

ay he looked at me like something precious: I should have know

I am only a slave, and I do not know this building as

s face unreadable. "Keep wa

ut

uiet, a

gather and the Goddess will speak, I recite what I have memorized. "It holds hundreds of wolves. The windows look out over the city, the forest, the

re will

Like a s

hands curl into fists. I

, work, and die. "This is where we live. This is where we

ce soften. "It is the only place

tiful. But it is not yours. You tend it, but it belongs to De

such things. You are a prince, a

ut I canno

cannot think when he

r he asks questions, nods, understands, and he is not

e I know what happens to

y d

I turn to him. "That is all. That

he says. "For

away, but his

the slave

eze.

y fed? How d

hat. If I speak, I

l hear. It

Do not

nt, pine and rain and something warm

way. He

gh. "I know you are royal. I know what that w

s to ice. "Yo

s though each one scrapes his throat. "If

u swore you would keep my secret. Th

not quite hide. He looks like a man holding a knife

ou are a prince. Yo

h. "I am not

trembling, forcing me to meet his gaze. His face is inches from

anyone could walk in and see what I am.* If I shift, there is no taking it back. A white wolf with a silver mark, in Derek's k

I can hear how much he hates it,

would

wil

rickles. The wolf surges against my f

tell

blurs. I am going to shift. I am g

hair, his perfect face, and I hate

shov

it. I do not wait. I turn and run, worn shoes slapping the marble, breath t

ot trust anyone. He is a p

hand shook. It thinks he might be different. That

If I am wrong, if he tells Derek, if he exposes me

I r