Chapter 19: The Fool’s Gambit

Daemus pulled the door open, letting out a long, long-suffering sigh. His keen wolf senses had picked up the familiar scent on the other side of the door minutes ago.

Blair, however, shrank back, standing rigidly in the center of the room. She swallowed hard, expecting a terrifying, monstrous warlord to stride in and demand her immediate execution.

Instead, a tall, lean wolf beastman strolled casually into the bedroom. He had the same dark hair as Daemus, though it was peppered with distinguished streaks of silver at the temples. He was dressed in a burgundy suit, but his attention wasn’t on Daemus or Blair.

His golden eyes were glued to a smartphone in his hand.

"Slide the red gem to the blue gem," the man muttered to himself, aggressively swiping his thumb across the glowing screen. A cheerful chime sounded from the device. "Aha! Take that, you digital sorcery. My human taught me how to play this. Fascinating little distraction."

Daemus dropped his head back, pinching the bridge of his nose in sheer exasperation. He let out a groan. "Of all the people the pack could send... why did it have to be you, Uncle Silas?"

The older beastman finally looked up, closing out of the game with a bright, goofy smile. He tapped the screen a few times, holding the phone up and pointing it at Daemus.

FLASH.

A sudden, blinding burst of white light erupted from the device. Daemus flinched, throwing a hand up to shield his sensitive eyes. "Goddess, Uncle, what was that?!"

"A photograph!" Silas announced proudly, inspecting the screen. "Your mother has been complaining that you haven’t visited home in months. I promised my dear sister I would bring back proof that you are eating well."

"You couldn’t have just called her?" Daemus grumbled, blinking away the spots in his vision.

"And miss the fun? I volunteered to come check on this little rumor because I missed my favorite nephew!" Silas chirped, his tone entirely too cheerful for the situation.

Daemus let out another long sigh. Being Uncle Silas’s "favorite nephew" was a horrible fate and an incredibly heavy burden.

Silas stepped up to Daemus, aggressively patting the younger wolf’s biceps and checking his posture. "Look at these shoulders! The ice hockey training is serving you well. You’re getting huge."

Blair stood perfectly still, her eyes glued to the floorboards. She didn’t dare speak. She barely dared to breathe.

The older wolf finished fussing over his nephew and finally turned his head. His golden eyes landed on Blair, sweeping over her small, trembling frame swallowed up by the hockey jersey.

"And this," Silas said, his cheerful tone dropping into a flat, unimpressed drawl, "is the lesser you ruined the alliance between two powerful packs for?"

He stepped closer. Blair’s heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird.

"You will have to explain this one to me, Daemus," his uncle sighed, reaching out. He casually caught a strand of Blair’s dark hair, twirling it around his finger. Blair squeezed her eyes shut, unable to keep her body from trembling in terror. "A beautiful human? As rare as they are, I would understand the temptation. But such a simple, boring-looking creature? Why blow up your future for this?"

"I don’t get to decide who my fated mate is, Uncle Silas," Daemus stated, his voice hard and uncompromising. "If you have a problem with it, you can go curse at the Moon Goddess."

Silas froze. He slowly let go of Blair’s hair.

Silas’s golden eyes turned razor-sharp, the pupils contracting into predatory slits. The aura in the room suddenly felt suffocatingly heavy.

"A wolf? With a human as a fated mate?" Silas asked, his voice dropping into a deadly, quiet rumble. He stared right into Daemus’s eyes. "Are you lying to me, boy?"

Daemus didn’t flinch. He held his uncle’s terrifying gaze. "Why would I lie to protect a human?"

Silas stared at him for a long moment. Slowly, the intense pressure in the room lifted. Silas chuckled, tapping his chin. "Fair point. That would be illogical."

Silas turned his attention back to Blair. He began to circle her like a show dog at an auction, his keen eyes analyzing every inch of her.

Blair’s breath hitched. She was hyper-aware that she was wearing nothing underneath the jersey.

Silas stopped behind her. Suddenly, he grabbed the loose fabric of the jersey at the small of her back. Blair gasped, her entire body stiffening as Silas pulled the fabric taut.

The jersey instantly snapped tight against her front, outlining the shape it had been hiding. The fabric clung tightly to her large, perky breasts, highlighting her tiny waist before flaring out over the undeniable curve of her wide hips, thick thighs, and ass.

"Ah, I see," Silas hummed approvingly from behind her, looking at her silhouette. "Underneath, her body resembles that of a beastwoman. I can certainly understand the physical draw for a growing, hungry wolf."

Blair’s face flushed a brilliant shade of red. She could just drop dead there and then.

Silas released the jersey, letting it drape baggily over her frame once more. He stepped around to her front, leaning in incredibly close. It took every ounce of Blair’s willpower not to take a terrified step back.

"You look familiar," Silas murmured, his golden eyes narrowing as he studied her face. "What is your name?"

"B-Blair," she managed to stutter out, her voice barely a whisper. "Blair Willows."

Silas’s eyes widened. A spark of recognition lit up his features.

"Blair Willows?" Silas repeated loudly, the goofy grin returning to his face. "The human who came in second to Crown Prince Killian on the entrance exams? The one who humiliated the entire nobility on live television?"

He threw his head back and laughed, clapping his hands together.

"Well, I take it all back!" Silas announced gleefully, looking at Daemus. "This is a very interesting lesser."

Silas turned his grinning gaze back to Blair, looking her up and down one last time before turning to his nephew.

"I’ve made up my mind," Silas said simply.

Daemus furrowed his brows. "Made up your mind about what?"