The Tyrant's Pet novel · Chapter 6 of 32
Chapter 6: At the Gate
By the time we reached the north gate, half of Coldharbour was in the street.
The bells had dragged them out of bed in nightshirts and shawls.
Torches burned along the wall.
Under the arch stood a muddy carriage with the Tarrow wolf painted on the door.
In front of it stood my mates.
My former mates.
Blaise had his right wrist strapped to a board. Corran held a lantern.
They both looked like they'd ridden without stopping.
Blaise saw me and his whole face changed.
Not to relief. To ownership.
"There she is," he called to the crowd. "There's the runaway."
The guard captain looked at the Emperor, then at me, then at the paper Blaise was holding up.
The Alpha's seal hung off it on a red cord.
"By order of the Alpha of Tarrow," Blaise read, "Ione Thistle is a mated wolf of the Tarrow pack. A mated woman cannot be tribute. She is to be returned to her mates at once."
People in the crowd turned to look at me.
I heard someone whisper, "Wolf's wife," and someone else, "Thought he ate them."
The Emperor stood at my shoulder.
He didn't say anything.
I waited for him to break another wrist.
He didn't. He folded his arms and looked at me.
"Your gate," he said quietly. "Your answer."
I walked out into the torchlight.
"I cut both bonds in the square on Tribute Day," I said, loud enough for the back. "The whole pack watched."
"You were out of your mind," Blaise said. "A bond cut in madness doesn't count. Everybody knows that."
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