Chapter 189

Lester returns with the new collar, and suddenly I’m very afraid. Innocent looks at me and gives me something I’m sure he thinks is a reassuring smile. “It won’t hurt.”

“It’s silver, of course it will hurt.”

“No, my dear child. You’ll see.”

He nods at Lester who walks over to me and asks me to sit down. “May I reassure her, your excellency? Share my experience with the collar?”

“Yes, of course. Please do that if it will put her mind at ease.”

Holy fuck, this man is giving me whiplash. Last night, he was cold and indifferent, and tonight he’s like a loving father, kind and caring. It’s freaking me out.

Lester unlocks the collar and turns it around to show me the inside. “It’s insulated with leather,” he says. “The silver won’t touch your skin.”

“Okay,” I say, nearly breathless with fear now.

“You won’t be able to communicate with your wolf, and you won’t be able to shift. On the next full moon, which is just a little over two weeks from now, when your wolf forces the shift, the silver