Michael carney's Arc

Chapter 4 of 4

Michael followed Luna into a front room with pale walls and a cold hearth. She waved him to a chair and stayed standing. The book pressed against his ribs. He set it on the table between them so she could see the wolf stamped on the cover. "I did not ask for the claim," he said. "I went in for a flower. The wolf came out with me." Luna touched the blue stone at her throat. "I believe you. That is not the trouble." "Then what is." "The trouble is that a fae claim does not care what you asked for." She almost smiled. "You are bound whether you like it or not. And I find I like the look of you anyway." He opened his mouth to answer and heard the shouting outside. A man on the drive. A dog handler's voice. Then hooves, then the thud of a large body against gravel. Luna went to the window. Her hand froze on the curtain. "There is a silver wolf on my steps," she said. Michael was already moving. He knew before he looked. The kennel was three streets away. The wolf had broken loose and found him again, the way the herb woman said it would. He reached the door before the steward could bar it. The silver wolf stood on the top step, chest heaving, a length of chain dragging from its collar. It saw him and its whole body eased. It walked past him into the hall as if it had lived there for years. Behind him, Luna laughed once, sharp and surprised. He turned, ready for the door to close in his face. She was crouched in the hall with her hand held out. The wolf pushed its head under her palm. Luna looked up at Michael with bright, delighted eyes. "So this is her," she said. "I tried to leave her at the kennels." "I can see how that went." She scratched behind the wolf's ear. The wolf leaned into her hand and closed its eyes. "You cannot keep trying to put her away, Michael. That is what the rumor smells. Not the claim. The hiding." He stood in the doorway with the afternoon light behind him. The steward was watching. Two grooms were watching from the drive. By nightfall the whole street would know a silver wolf had run three streets through town to reach him on these steps. "I will not send her back," he said. "Good." Luna stood. Her hand stayed on the wolf's shoulder. "Then we have a different problem. My cousin will hear about this at the coast within the week. So will everyone she means to marry you off to. You came here to save one courtship. You just ended it." Michael looked down at the wolf pressed warm against Luna's leg, and understood he was standing in a different house now than the one he had entered.