The Wolf King (The Wolf Kings #1) (MLM)

CHAPTER SEVEN.

                Jack waited for Everett to start laughing. He didn't.

"You're not joking?" he said, and before Everett could respond, said, "No, of course you're not. Of course there are witches here."

Everett handed him another piece of bread. "Jam?"

But Jack had yet to take a bite out of the one he was already holding. "And a witch has those two panicking? They're werewolves! I've seen Tiberius as a wolf, who'd he be scared of?"

"Werewolves are hardly the strongest of the magical creatures," Everett huffed impatiently. "That right is reserved to elves. Some might say wisdom is the truest modicum of strength." He held up a small bowl on the tray, clearly testy now. "Strawberry?"

Jack took that along with the two slices of bread, but instead of eating them, he just set them on top of his piles of books, to Everett's indignant whimper, and gathered the whole lot in his arms. "You said her name was Violet Hailwind?"

Everett gave him a cautious look. "And that had been a mistake, hadn't it?"

"Don't look so worried," Jack told him. "I'm just going to look into her a bit more. Hell, maybe all witches. I can't go back into the library now, they'll know what I'm doing," he mumbled more to himself. "Maybe I can just check to see if the coast is clear later –"

"Will you please eat something," Everett snapped, "and stop worrying about witches?! They're none of your concern! Now. Have a cookie."

Jack took the offered pastry, and caught the sunlight pouring in as it reflected off Everett's silver fang earring. Silver. He gestured at it with his cookie. "You have a werewolf mate with that thing on?"

His expression turned grim. "My mate was the one that gave it to me. Sometimes . . . well, some werewolves just can't . . . control themselves. It's for protection."

Jack's fingers twitched on the cookie, just the very thought of what that might mean another weight on his chest, and like the other unwanted thoughts, he shoved it down and crammed the cookie into his mouth. He paused, just long enough to moan under his breath and for him to remember that he was starving, and as he turned back in the direction of his bedroom, he asked, "Did you make these?"

"Did I not tell you elves are powerful?" Everett said with a raise of his chin. "Better let me lead the way, we don't want to get lost."

"No need," Jack smiled indulgently. "I have a strong memory."

Jack spread out his work on the floor in front of the fireplace. It was noon by the time Tiberius knocked on his door, the breakfast tray empty at his side with books opened around him, charts, and more of Jack's notes. It probably wasn't a good idea to write down plans and escape ideas, but Jack was stuck in a castle with werewolves and elves and there was talk of fairies and evil witches, and he needed some kind of solid plan laid out in front of him. His mind could only take so much.

"I'll just let him in then, shall I?" Everett said slowly, pushing himself off the floor where he'd offered to butter Jack's toast and insist he take a bath. Jack had accepted the first with a thank you and ignored the latter.

He ignored Everett now, too, as he got up to open the door for Tiberius. He didn't know why he didn't object, why he didn't insist that Tiberius never be allowed into his room. He chalked it up to knowing that Tiberius's requests were nothing more than an empty gesture and that he could easily come into any room he wanted.