Chapter Six

A gentle breeze blew the white curtains behind my back into the upstairs dining room. I heard them rustle against the cords meant to keep them in place. My nose twitched, picking up the scent of lake water and vegetation. The dark ripples below danced around a quarter moon watching from the night sky above, a slanted purple eye.

If this is to be my new home for the foreseeable future, then I carry few complaints, I thought, sighing and leaning forward onto the white metal rail with an elbow on the structure and my cheek in my hand.

The Raven Queen and I put away five elk steaks between us. Though I took the majority of them. A shift into my wolf form always left me crashing hard unless I devoured a pile of protein. Just doing it once a month was exhausting enough for the body. And now I was going to be in that form each day my mistress held court? Gods, I was going to put this castle's cooks to the test.

A pair of doves flew past the balcony and down toward the trees, as though they were late for bed. The sun had set hours ago, and I was just enjoying the last hours of peace before slumber and the next day's dreaded activity. . . court.

I'm sure it'll be fine, I thought. I'll be a wolf for all of it, so in a way, it's like my own consciousness would be mostly asleep.

That's how it always was with the wolf in control. If paws were on the ground, my consciousness didn't stick around.

I dug through the scraps of memories that passed between the inner wolf and my brain. As usual, it was mostly a blur. Dark feathers, frustration, bruised ego, and ultimately submission. And not to a pack leader or another wolf, but a raven. This left my inner wolf a tad grumpy, even if my mistress had played fair through the entire challenge. Still, I had no doubts now the canine would be on her best behavior tomorrow at the queen's side.

We would be both submissive to her every whim. Though, with my inner wolf, the Raven Queen had worked for that submission, even if only a little. Ceras regaled me about the challenge as my mistress carried me back to the castle. They were quite excited, and I was still dizzy.

They're such a goofball, I thought. I hope I get to pester them again soon.

Smiling, I remembered how the feathers, that is, all the queen's guards, at the rear watchtower came rushing over when my mistress emerged from the forest carrying me wrapped in her black feather cloak.

***

"Your grace! Is everything okay?" one shouted.

"Should we summon a healer for your pet, my queen?" another yelled.

But the queen shook her head.

"Be calm, everyone. I'm glad to know you take your oath to protect my pet seriously, but she is fine. A little bruised, a little dizzy, and a little submissive," she said.

I blushed furiously and glared at the queen. It was one thing for her to talk like that when no one was around, but we had 25 guards around us and Ceras!

Though. . . I probably would have looked a lot more threatening if she weren't carrying me, and my vision wasn't spinning.

The guards, what few I could see clearly, looked both relieved and of cheerful humor. And I suddenly realized why. The new puppy was okay. Fuck me.

I may only be the queen's pet, I thought. But they still get to watch me move about the castle and interact with their ruler. It's a room full of smiles when a puppy is present, even for people who are just watching.

Good to know faeries, at least these faeries, were as enamored with dogs as humans were, even if, right now, I still looked like a person who walked on two legs. . . when she wasn't being carried by her mistress.

"Sorry, I need to correct the record. For as I have conquered the werewolf, my pet is not just a little submissive, but very submissive," the queen said, grinning.

My face burned, and I tried to growl from deep in my chest, but it was difficult in the position I was carried in, flat on my back in the queen's arms.

None of the feathers were laughing. . . not on the outside, anyway. But I could practically hear their thoughts chuckling as the queen teased her new pet in front of them.

"Can you not?" I all but hissed, not wanting the guards to overhear that my embarrassment was enough to fuel a rocket to the moon and back.

There was a big difference between talking like this just the two of us and where we — sorry, she — stood now.

Varella leaned down to my ear and whispered, "I am sworn never to harm you, but you will never be immune to teasing, darling."

I retorted, "If you don't get us inside and away from their prying eyes, I'm going to—"

"What?" she interrupted. "Roll over even harder?"

Never before had I wanted to slap that grin off her face so much. This was mortifying. But I later learned she had her reasons. My mistress always had her reasons.

Ceras bid us adieu and resumed their post at the watchtower, where the feathers gathered around their talon to hear exactly what went down in the forest. And from what I could hear, Ceras' recounting was already off to a rough start, thick with embellishment.

When we returned to my bedroom, the queen set me down gently on my bed, and I looked up at her, still a little grumpy.

"Look, I know I'm your pet. I agreed to that, and so far, I don't have any complaints. When we're alone, you can tease me all you like. But do you have to talk like that in front of others?" I asked.

"Darling, I was simply endearing the soldiers to you. It ensures they'll fight that much harder to keep you safe," my mistress said, sitting on the bed next to me.

I raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

The queen looked out over my room and thought for a moment before getting back to me. It let me know she wasn't just winging her answer.

Heh, winging, I thought. Raven Queen. No! I was grumpy. I wouldn't allow myself to be distracted by a simple pun.

"My feathers are well-invested in my happiness. And now I know they're invested in yours as well. They're a merry band of soldiers who fight hard to keep my queendom safe. But it's easier to fight for something when you're emotionally connected to it," she said.

"Go on," I said, still not quite understanding what she was driving at.

I scratched the back of my head before withdrawing my arm inside the queen's cloak, which, by the way, left me feeling naked and clumsy with how thing and long it was. That made sense. My mistress was more than two feet taller than me.

"You're my new pet, and you have me feeling amused and delighted. That makes the feathers happy. And when they see me teasing you or carrying you around like a fluffy pal, it leaves them feeling amused as well. They feel connected to me, and subsequently, you, all the more," she said.

I nodded slowly.

"Because they witness these little moments, humorous and adorable scenes, it's like the feathers are part of them in some way, part of us. That connection will ensure a stronger bond between you and them. And that bond will serve as a suit of armor for you. The land of Faerie is not kind to mortals. It's rarely kind to the fae. So, I want you to have every defense here that can possibly be mounted in the name of your safety."

Sighing, I blew my bangs out of my face and looked over at my wardrobe. That all made sense on some level. But I was still a little suspicious.

"Okay, I believe you intended for that show to help me. But you can't also deny you enjoyed embarrassing me," I said, frowning, just a little, for effect.

This accusation didn't startle my mistress in the least. Varella merely moved her face closer to mine and said, "I never denied that. Just as you never denied how much pleasure you derive when I put you in your place, my pet."

Inching back, I felt my face heating up again. If I thought she couldn't embarrass me when we were alone, I was a fool, a damn fool! My heart was fluttering, my stomach was doing summersaults. It was like each organ was competing in some Olympic event.

"That. . .," I started, after failing several times to create a sentence. "Is neither here, no there."

Once again, the Raven Queen closed any distance between us, looming over me with that stupid height of hers.

"I believe you enjoy being had, whether here or there," she said with all the confidence of a trial attorney giving the closing statement of the millennium.

Stupid fae swagger and confidence, I thought, unable to retort. She was right, but I would not give her the satisfaction of admitting such.

And yet, the warmth spreading through me, she could no doubt feel. The pulse of my body screaming, "YOU'RE RIGHT!" she doubtlessly heard. The pleasurable numbness, not unlike a high, that announced itself in the middle of my mind, my mistress also sensed. All she had to do to reveal this awareness to me. . . was grin.

"I know," that grin said.

So I could try and deny her all the satisfaction I wanted. In truth, I denied her nothing. Because it simply wasn't in my repertoire as her submissive pet to do so.

"How is your back?" she finally asked, granting me a mountain's worth of mercy by changing the subject.

My tongue stumbled a little but eventually found its words.

"Bruised. But better. Already on the mend," I said, feeling its dull ache pulse mostly when I tried to twist left or right.

"Shall I call a healer?" Varella asked.

I shook my head. Such a thing was unnecessary.

Varella pressed her forehead to mine, its cool touch leaving my mouth agape. I took in her scent, the lingering smell of forest and feathers.

"Then I'll see you for dinner in a few hours, my pet," she said, with a light kiss on my forehead as she parted. "I'll send Barsilla to fetch you."

"Yes mistress," I said, feeling the cold touch on my neck's marking fade as she exited the room.

***

Looking down over the lake, I inhaled and exhaled, wondering not as much about court tomorrow, but the next day. And the next. Thus far, this entire adventure seemed like a magical vacation, which was an odd prize for killing one's father (may he rot in Hell).

I wasn't complaining. If anything, I was curious.

My mistress walked onto the balcony with all the subtleness of a raven swooping down out of a cloudy sky. In her hands, she held ornate wine glasses, offering one to me.

"Trying to get me liquored up?" I asked, smiling.

"Why? Are you not of age in the human world? How old are you, darling?"

I scoffed.

"I'm 21," I said.

"Then I don't see why you're suspicious. It is rather mundane to enjoy a glass of wine after such a hearty meal," Varella said.

Taking a step closer and playing a dangerous game, I said, "Maybe you just want me boozed up so you'll have an easier time seducing me."

My mistress set both wine glasses on the railing and whispered something in a tongue I did not understand. But I felt her magic stir, even for such a small spell. When she turned back toward me, Varella didn't seem the least bit worried about the wine glasses toppling over the edge.

When the breeze picked up, the glasses didn't so much as flinch. The wine inside cast nary a ripple.

My heart skipped a beat as she stood over me.

"It's cute that you think I'd need the aid of alcohol to seduce you, my pet," she said, our bodies touching. "I could simply tell you to get on the table over there and lie down. I'm confident you would."

There went my heart again, spinning in circles faster than the Tasmanian Devil. But maybe some part of my inner wolf lingered from the challenge this afternoon, because I pushed a little further, standing on my toes.

And with zero confidence at all, I said, "I believe in that situation, I would simply respond, 'Make me.'"

My mistress' grin only grew. With a speed I couldn't detect on my best day, her right hand was suddenly buried in the curls of my hair. She pulled, just hard enough to bring me to the point of pain without crossing that line. I gasped, eyes widening as I looked into her own.

"I could make you," she said. "With a pull, with a brushing of bodies, with a touch that reminds you how deeply you are mine. I could have you on that table without the aid of wine or glamour."

The gambit had failed. Though I honestly wasn't sure what game I'd been playing at. Maybe I just wanted to see what would happen if I tried being a little obstinate. But as my legs started to wobble, and my heart raced along with the speed of a locomotive, Varella saw exactly what she wanted to see.

I felt my pulse in the roof of my mouth as my mistress hovered over me, still as a statue, wearing the confidence of steel armor.

"If I told you to climb onto that table so I could pin you to the surface, you would do so with great speed and even greater excitement," she said. "I know what my words and my caresses do to you, my pet. You're quivering because deep down you understand the truth."

"Wh—what truth?" I whispered as she lightly stroked my right cheek with her fingers.

"That you enjoy submitting to me. And you always will. It's part of what makes you such a fun pet to have. And make no mistake, darling. You are had," Varella said, lightly kissing my nose.

She's absolutely right, I thought, feeling more warmth spreading inside of me. And just as that warmth spread between my legs, my mistress spoke again.

"But I will not bed you, Siera Chelsi. Not until you beg me. Though I suspect that day will come soon enough," she said, stroking my cheek again.

My heart caught in my throat at the idea of the queen taking me to bed. Part of my brain wondered why she wasn't doing that right this second.

Wait a minute. . . am I disappointed she's not? I thought. That can't be right. I've known her for less than a week. Fuck!

"Why. . . why beg?" I stammered.

As the Raven Queen's gaze fully engulfed mine, she took both of my hands in her own, which only increased the wobbliness in my knees.

"Because then I'll know without a doubt that you truly want it," she said.

I do want it, I thought, but it took every ounce of restraint I had left to keep from speaking those words out loud. And yet. . . as in the bedroom earlier during our discussion, I'd wager she knew. No matter how much I tried to hide it.

And then, she stepped back, and I breathed for what felt like the first time in minutes. She grabbed her glass of wine and took a sip before offering me the other.

I downed half of it immediately and nearly choked, which would have been an absolute insult to the fruitiness of the wine. Mother of god this was good shit. I was confident that if you took the greatest fruits from vineyards in California or France or Italy and compared them to whatever had been aged to make this wine, it wouldn't even compare.

The food and drinks here in the land of Faerie possessed an inescapable potency that overwhelmed the mortal mind. Maybe it was why so few of us were allowed here.

"So, my pet. Do you have any questions about tomorrow?" she asked, the lake wind lifting her midnight hair.

I stood next to her, wine glass dangling over to the rail. And when I realized we weren't quite touching, I scooted my hip over until it bumped hers and stayed there. She did not indicate detecting it.

"All I have to do is sit beside you on the throne, right?" I asked. "As my inner wolf?"

"That's it, darling. You'll walk in, growl or snarl at a few nobles and other members of my court to establish just how fearsome a beast I've won, and then you'll sit beside me, head and paws in my lap," she said, taking another drink.

That sounded simple enough.

"Can I ask a question about my presence here at large, mistress?"

She nodded with a smile. I think she enjoyed me calling her that. I made note of it so I could cut off that title if I was feeling extra bratty in the future, not that the Raven Queen would have any trouble coaxing it from my lips again if she wanted.

"Not to sound cliche, but. . . why me?" I asked, looking over at her. "I'm beyond happy to be here, but you swoop in during my moment of need. You wine and dine me until I can't eat another bite. And you flirt and tease like there's no tomorrow, which thrills me to no end. But I just. . . don't understand why? In the movies, this would be where you reveal some deep and historic prophecy concerning myself. Or you'd admit that I carried within me some legendary birthright that made me the princess of Rohan or something. I just want to know why I'm here."

"You want your presence to have meaning, my pet?" she asked.

Once again, she'd cut right through the sea of words I'd vomited and pinned me down with my heart bare.

I nodded.

The Raven Queen finished her wine and tossed the glass over the rail. I saw a large black bird catch it in their beak by the stem and fly down into the castle below. We were about six or seven stories over the water.

"I've sat on this throne for centuries, my pet. There is magic in the land of Faerie, yes, but great darkness and animosity, too. I've led my talons and feathers through wars, overcame three attempted coups, and spilled enough blood to fill the lake you see below us. I wield the dark wind. I jealously guard that which is mine. I carry burdens that would break the minds and hearts of any mortal," she said.

My mistress did not move, only looked at me and spoke.

"So understand this. When I saw a cute wolf girl running through the woods, fleeing for her life, I felt compelled to swoop in, not out of some need for karmic balance or heroics. I am a dark queen, darling. No. What I wanted from you was a new pet, companionship, and loyalty without question. I derive great pleasure from pampering you, from holding you tight, from sending you looks and commands that make you melt into a puddle at my feet. And it is a pleasure I do not wish to be denied. Your benefits from this arrangement are a byproduct of my gratification. You were in the right place at the right time for me to swoop down and snatch you up. Understand?"

I nodded and buried my face in her chest, wrapping my arms around her tight. That was enough for me. It was a relief that destiny didn't bring us together for some otherworldly grand plan.

My mistress simply saw me, wanted me, and got me.

And make no mistake, I thought in Varella's voice. You are got.

She kissed the top of my head and whispered, "Is that enough for you?"

I nodded, and my own muffled voice buried in her bosom said, "More than. You're the Raven Queen, my thrilling mistress. And knowing that my presence pleases you makes me happy."

"You really are an amusing little wolf, my pet."