C3

Zara Lovegrove Moonclaw POV

“Oh, you must be joking!” Callum Harrington Blackthorn laughs right in Damon Thornclaw’s face, his shoulders shaking under his turquoise coat. He shakes his head like he just heard a funny joke from a human. “No, no, no, young Alpha. That is not possible at all. You are making a huge mistake.”

My head jerks up, and my mouth goes wide open. “You were inside your back den the entire time the juice spilt! How can you stand there and talk like you know everything when you did not see anything at all? Did the Moon Goddess give you magical all-seeing eyes while you were sitting at your desk?”

Callum wrinkles his little nose up at me. “What did you just say to me, girl?”

“You do not even care about the truth,” Theo says, his voice getting deeper and louder. He takes a step toward Callum, making his huge shadow fall completely over the little pack steward. “You are just throwing Zara to the winter winds before you even listen to her story.”

Callum walks right up to Theo. He is so short that the top of his head only reaches Theo’s wide chest. He has to tilt his head all the way back to look into Theo’s eyes, but he still narrows his gaze like a mean little badger. “I do not care about your strange words. What I know is that this warrior here”—he points his finger at Damon, who is still smirking like a fool—“is a very high-ranking client from a powerful pack. He brings many resources to our feast hall.”

“You are completely wrong about him,” Theo says, jabbing his big finger straight toward Callum’s face.

Callum jabs his little finger right back up at Theo. “You are talking nonsense, boy! I am Callum Harrington Blackthorn. I am the Moonhall Steward here. That means I am always right!”

I remember what the royal owner told us about this crazy thirty-seven-year-old manager wolf. He told us Callum thought he was an Alpha King himself, but he forgot to mention that the little wolf was completely out of his mind.

Theo’s nostrils flare up wide. He stares down at the little steward with sharp, angry eyes.

Everything about Callum looks ridiculous. He is wearing a bright turquoise linen coat with a fancy, patterned silk scarf tied around his neck. His black beard looks like it was trimmed by a royal stylist, matching his dark hair perfectly, though I can see some fake silver lines painted into the sides. With his loud, strange accent, he looks more like a cartoon animal than a real wolf.

“I will handle this mess myself. You leave right now,” Callum says, waving his hand at Theo like he is shooing away a pesky fly.

Theo does not move an inch. He places his large hands behind his back and stands completely straight, looking like a royal guard on duty. “I am not going anywhere.”

“Young warrior, this is pack business, not your problem,” Callum snaps, his voice getting high and squeaky. “I told you to get out of my hall!”

Theo lifts one thick eyebrow. “Try to make me move.”

“You think you are the highest power in the territory?” Callum screams, stomping his leather boot hard against the stone floor. “I hold the keys to this hall! You are nothing but a—”

“You are speaking to a true legend of the ice arena,” Luca Harrington says, stepping up from behind us.

Theo turns his head just a little bit and gives his best friend a quick nod.

Luca walks right up next to Theo, looking proud. “This man right here is the former star attacker and team captain for the Moonhaven Metropolis warriors. He is a three-time winner of the Silver Cup, an Olympic gold and silver champion, a member of the First Alpha Legacy, and a powerful pack merchant named Theo Kingsley Silverfang.”

“I do not care about his old games at all!” Callum shouts, stomping his foot again.

I do not know much about the royal courts, but I can tell Callum does not care about Theo’s big titles or his amazing history on the ice arena.

“I watched the whole thing happen with my own two eyes,” Theo says, his voice dropping low and cold. “And I am telling you that the wolf you call a high-ranking client is a dirty liar.”

“I saw the same thing unfold,” Luca says, nodding his head.

“I was sitting at the next table, and that man was being very mean to the girl,” a customer wolf calls out from the crowd.

A lot of people in the feast hall start nodding their heads and whispering.

Callum throws his arms up in the air and claps his hands together three times. “Everyone, stop talking right now!”

The air inside the hall gets so thick and heavy you could cut it with a skinning knife.

I do not understand why a pack manager would protect a bad predator while punishing his own worker. He just does not want to hear the real truth.

I look up, and my eyes meet Theo's. The sad, broken look in my eyes must hit him hard, because his chest heaves like he just took a blow to the ribs.

He turns back to the little steward. “Callum, listen to me—”

“It does not matter what any of you think you saw,” Damon interrupts, standing up and dusting off his pants. “Zara is the one who ruined a noble lady's expensive fur cape. Not me.”

A hot blush rushes up my neck. I feel myself shrinking inside my big body, and the tiny bit of hope I had when I first saw Theo completely disappears.

“Are you really going to give this angry woman her silver coins for my mistake?” Lady Esme asks, looking at Theo through the red stains on her clothes.

“I already gave you my royal word that I would,” Theo answers.

“I do not know who you are, boy,” she says, pointing a sharp fingernail at me. “That big girl almost burned my skin because she cannot walk straight. This beautiful cape is totally ruined now. I want to make sure a real wolf takes responsibility, because I know this fat, broke stray over here—”

“She has a name,” Theo growls, jabbing his finger right in Lady Esme’s face. His eyes flash yellow for a second. “Use her real name. I do not want to hear another mean word come out of your mouth. Not one.”

The noble lady jumps back, her eyes going wide as she looks down at my wooden name tag.

“Zara does not look like she has a single silver coin to her name,” Lady Esme mutters, her voice smaller now. “I would rather take coins from a powerful warrior than go through a long fight with the Alpha Council, which I will gladly do if I have to.”

Theo stares her down with a terrifying look. “I am not going to say it again, lady. I made a promise, and a Silverfang always keeps his word. So hold your tongue.”

“This entire fight was completely pointless,” Damon says, making Theo’s teeth click together in anger.

“You are right,” Theo snaps, his chest rising and falling fast as he struggles to keep his wolf inside. “All you had to do was keep your dirty paws off her arm. You do not touch what does not belong to you.”

“If she cannot even carry a jug without falling over, she should not be working in the Moonlight Feast Hall,” Damon says, looking over at Callum with a sly grin. “This big girl is a total danger to your business, don't you think, Callum?”