Читать книгу The Wolf Princess - Karen Whiddon - Страница 8

As soon as Her Royal Highness Princess Alisa of Teslinko opened her mouth, Dr. Braden Streib knew he was in Trouble with a capital T. Because his wolf reacted strongly to her voice.

Strongly being the understatement of the year. Throughout his thirty-eight years, he’d periodically fought with his lupine half. Everyone did. When the wolf wanted out, he wanted out. The place or time didn’t matter to the beast. Most times, subduing the urge to change was a simple matter, using a light touch and a firm resolve.

Not so, this time. This time, his wolf fought like a caged, wild thing driven mad by a long captivity.

At first stunned, Braden successfully battled the beast back into submission, trying to understand what had just happened.

For some reason, whether from the sound of her voice or her intriguing, feminine scent, Princess Alisa affected his wolf, intensifying his urge to shape-shift.

This made absolutely no sense. Braden had no scientific rationale on which to base this supposition. Yet simply being in the same room with her resulted in an epic battle between his human and wolf natures.

Something about her mere presence in his proximity spoke to him on a subconscious level. Something primal, compelling. And completely without reason. The scientific part of him abhorred such illogic.

But the part of him that was wolf didn’t care about reason, or logic, or even common sense. The wolf inside him reacted simply to external stimuli, which in this case was her. Princess Alisa was, for some unknown reason, the catalyst. His wolf reacted to her with a violent certainty.

Making him at war with himself.

Not good, especially since his first impression of her wasn’t a good one. The woman was stubborn and arrogant. He could hear it in the impatient, irritated tone she used.

Of course, he supposed that was to be expected. She was royalty, after all, not used to mingling with common mortals like himself. Presented with an opportunity to do something that might help not only her own country but shifters around the world, she’d balked. No doubt she planned on sulking like a spoiled child and making things as difficult as possible when they worked together, hoping to shorten the amount of time he would require her.

Her ploy wouldn’t work. He’d tough it out. He might not like her, but he had no choice. If he could have chosen another subject to use in his research, he definitely would have.

But her kind was rare. In fact, she was the only one he’d heard of who could go so long without changing and continue to exhibit no outward signs of madness. So he would have to use her, whether he or she liked it or not. Life wasn’t always a bowl of cherries, something that had been proven to him over and over.

She’d imperiously demanded he remove his dark glasses. He’d complied. After he’d done so, he waited for whatever pithy comment she’d come up with.

He heard the sharp intake of breath that indicated she’d only just realized the extent of her rudeness. Waiting for the inevitable apology felt a bit anticlimactic, so he decided to head her off at the pass.

“Now, about the experiments … I was thinking four hours in the morning before lunch, then if you can spare the time, another two hours in the afternoon. Will that work for you?”

His rapid change of subject worked as a distraction. She sputtered, whatever half-hearted apology she’d been about to utter forgotten. “Six hours a day? That’s impossible. I have way too much to do to be able to agree to that large a block of time. I was thinking more along the line of an hour a day.” Her tone made it clear she thought she was being generous.

Braden bit back a retort. He couldn’t help but wonder if the king and queen enjoyed watching them spar the way spectators did at a tennis match. Whatever they were doing, they were awfully quiet. He didn’t like quiet people—silence made it difficult for him to visualize them.

“Dr. Streib?” The princess touched his hand, sending an odd frisson of electricity through him. “Are you listening to me? I cannot possibly work with you for more than an hour—or two at most—a day.”

“Ah, so we’re going to barter for time?” Facing in her direction, eyebrows raised, he gave her a look plainly meant to tell her what he thought of her. To strengthen the effect, he left his sunglasses lying on the table in front of him, right next to the bowl of what smelled like fresh salad that the servers had just placed in front of him.

When she didn’t immediately respond, King Leo cleared his throat. “I think we’ve had enough discussion for now. Let’s enjoy our lunch, shall we? And then surely you two can work something out afterward.”

The reply Princess Alisa made to her father’s barely veiled command was unintelligible. Braden hid a smile as he fumbled for his fork, glad he finally would get to eat something more substantial than the dry breakfast bar he’d taken from the meager supply of snacks he’d packed for the trip. Across from him and next to him, he heard the clink of silverware on china as everyone began to eat.

Funny, how he pictured this place and these people. Judging from his booming voice and jovial tone, King Leo would be a robust man, with a full head of wavy hair and maybe even a short beard. Queen Ionna would be blonde and tiny and petite, with the kind of regal beauty found only in the movies.

While Princess Alisa … He puzzled briefly over her. No doubt she resembled a Barbie doll, all curves and plastic perfection.

Still pondering the images, he turned his attention to the meal. The salad was fresh and crisp, the dressing delicious, melting on his tongue. He barely got to enjoy the amazing explosion of subtle flavors before he finished the last bit of watercress and the servers began whisking away the bowls. Hurriedly, he put his fork down and instantly, someone removed his empty bowl. A second later, someone else placed another plate in front of him.

The next course, some kind of baked fish and evidently the main luncheon, smelled so good his mouth watered. He didn’t want to continue stuffing his face like a cretin, so he let himself savor the smell. “What kind of fish is this?” he asked politely.

“This is nase, one of our native fish and our chef’s specialty,” Queen Ionna said softly. “It’s a particular favorite in our country. I hope you like it.”

Her lightly accented English was pleasing to the ear. Thanking her, he nodded, well aware that even if the nase tasted like baked sawdust, he’d have to choke it down with a complimentary smile on his face.

Luckily for him, the first bite proved as wonderful as it smelled, which was no small feat. These days, since losing his vision, he was all about the scent, even as human. This had the added benefit of making him feel much closer to his lupine nature.

A companionable silence fell while they all dug in. Though ravenous, Braden couldn’t help but be über-conscious of the princess, or as he preferred to think of her, his subject, seated directly across from him. Even though he couldn’t actually see her, the odd pull he felt toward her was quite strong. He listened for some sort of signal that she’d finished her meal so he could once again bring up the subject of their schedule.

One of his flaws—and to be honest, he was aware he had many—was his absolute devotion to routine, especially these days. After all, maintaining a sort of precise order was the only way he could keep control of his now dark and sightless world. If he was to have a prayer of completing his research in the time the king had allotted, he had to make certain Princess Alisa would consent to more than a mere hour or two a day. Perhaps if she understood that at that rate, the testing would take months rather than weeks, she’d be a little more generous with her precious time.

As if his was worthless.

A light touch on the back of his hand made him start. “Did you enjoy the fish?” the princess asked, her dulcet tone sweet enough to constitute a warning that she was up to something. He didn’t know her well enough to know what, exactly.

Instantly alert, he murmured a polite response. Carefully keeping his posture relaxed, he waited for her to drop the bomb.

“If I am to spend copious amounts of time in your laboratory, then it’s only fair that you return the favor,” she told him. “I have need of an escort to attend several formal affairs with me.”

Sensing her parents listening with interest, he pretended to give her words serious thought. “While I would be honored, of course, are you sure you’ve carefully thought this out? I am unable to see, after all. As such, my usefulness would be quite limited.”

There. Sitting back and folding his arms, he waited for her response. No one, especially not a beautiful princess, wanted to walk around with a blind man on her arm. Now let her try to back out of that one gracefully.

“Don’t worry. I’ll help you,” she said, barely missing a beat. “As long as you know how to dance, I can keep us pointed in the right direction. Other than that, your main duty will be holding my arm and trying to look interested while other people babble inanely to us.”

Surprised, he barely suppressed a snort of laughter. “Sounds like one of a hundred faculty gatherings I have to attend at CU, the university where I occasionally teach.”

“Then you agree to do this?”

Against his better judgment, he found himself nodding. “I’ll be your escort. That is, if you can agree to spend at least four hours in the mornings at my lab.”

Her affirmative reply, edged with amusement, made him duck his head so she wouldn’t see his smile turn into a grin.

Interesting. Something about this princess intrigued him, something beyond the fact that she was an anomaly. Being around her made his wolf restless and made him … what? Curious to know more? Of course. That was why he’d come here, after all.

Yet, in his analytical way, he knew it was more. He liked that she could keep him off balance, something few had ever been able to do despite his recent loss of sight.

Oddly enough, for reasons he’d yet to fathom, the princess was dangerous to his equilibrium. He’d have to try to keep his mouth shut and work as fast as he could. Because of what she was, who she was, he couldn’t risk offending her too badly. The quicker he could conduct his experiments and analyze the data, the better.

The reason why she wanted him to act as his escort escaped him. But he’d do it, if doing so meant she’d consent to spend more time in his research lab. But even there, he had to be careful. Too much time alone with her and he just might pop off and say the wrong thing. Or worse, grab her and plant a hard kiss on that smart-ass mouth of hers.

Shocked at the thought, he shook his head at his own foolishness. That wouldn’t be good on so many levels it boggled his mind.

Still, something about her …

“Penny for them?” the princess asked, startling him out of his thoughts.

While he searched his brain for something safe to say, his wolf half began to stir, inexplicably restless.

“Dr. Streib?” Her voice again, slicing through his thoughts. “Are you all right?”

“Call me Braden.” His response was automatic as he prepared to lie. “I’m just mentally reviewing some of the tests I need to run on you in the morning.”

“I see. Have you finished with your fish?”

It dawned on him that one of the serving staff stood at his elbow, ready to remove his plate. “Yes,” he answered. “It was very good.”

Immediately, someone whisked his plate away.

“I’m particularly looking forward to today’s dessert,” King Leo pronounced.

“Dessert?” Startled, Braden rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m stuffed. I couldn’t possibly eat another—”

A light touch on his hand shocked him into silence.

“It’s his favorite.” The soft warning in Princess Alisa’s voice made his wolf even more restless. “You can at least have a taste, can’t you?”

His mouth had gone dry, so he nodded, hoping he successfully masked his expression. Unfortunately, as though sensing weakness, his internal wolf chose that moment to go on the offensive, fighting to be allowed to surface, to break free.

Damn. Braden did a quick mental calculation. How long had it been exactly since he’d last changed?

After a quick internal struggle, he wrestled his beast back under control, all the while keeping his head down so the Teslinko royal family wouldn’t know.

He usually was more careful. Changing often enough to keep his wolf satisfied. This level of discord had never happened to him before. His wolf felt nearly out of control. Why this furious need? Why now? Was it them? Or her? He suspected the latter, though it made no sense. Why would being around this woman affect his beast in such a visceral and urgent way?

As scientist, he desperately deduced that one reason had to be simply because being blind, he experienced everything more sharply in his lupine form. He didn’t miss his vision nearly as much as he did while human. With wolves, scent was the dominant sense. Scent told him almost everything, as much as vision did for humans.

And Princess Alisa smelled perfect. Feminine and flowers and vanilla, all in one.

Hellhounds, this wasn’t good. Counting back, he tried to calculate how long it had been since he’d changed. Ruefully, he acknowledged that too much time had passed. He’d been so occupied with his research and securing the permission of King Leo and Queen Ionna, and then traveling here and getting settled in, that he’d managed to completely ignore his own needs. His own wolf’s needs.

He needed to change. As soon as humanly possible. Perhaps, since he wasn’t going to work with the princess today, this afternoon would be a good time to find a secluded, wooded place to shape-shift and let his caged wolf run free.

Even thinking about this brought his wolf back, roaring to life. The beast inside him rushed the invisible barrier, testing the mental bounds Braden had imposed.

Finishing the fight, he raised his head, suddenly aware of the yawning silence. No doubt they were all staring at him, wondering if he’d completely lost his mind.

“Dr. Streib?” Queen Ionna asked gently. “Are you all right? You haven’t even touched your dessert.”

Forcing a shaky smile, he turned in the direction of her voice. “Yes, I am. My apologies. I was thinking of all that must be done. I am very eager to begin.”

On his other side, Princess Alisa made an odd noise in the back of her throat. “Try your cake,” she said, her tone perfectly level. “You do not wish to disrespect the king, now, do you?”

Put that way, what could he do? Fumbling for his fork, he finally located it and managed to scoop up some of the king’s favorite dessert. Not sure what to expect, he was surprised to find it melted on his tongue. In addition to chocolate, he tasted peanut butter and a hint of something else. Cinnamon. And a lot of sugar. A whole lot of sugar. So much that he felt vaguely queasy.

“Excellent,” he lied, taking a second bite and manfully choking it down.

“I told you.” King Leo sounded pleased. “There is a reason this is my number one sweet.”

Nodding, Braden continued to eat, shoveling the cake into his mouth as quickly as he could while still having some sort of table manners.

“Take it easy, dear,” Queen Ionna admonished. “You’ll choke if you continue to eat so fast.”

Polishing off what felt like the last bite, he swallowed, before taking a large gulp of his now lukewarm coffee. “Very good. I’m sorry if I seem to be rushing, but I have much to do to get ready to begin testing the princess tomorrow. If you’ll—”

“Our daughter is eager to begin as well,” King Leo interrupted before Braden could get out the words excuse me. “Isn’t that right, Alisa?”

“Of course,” she said, sounding about as sincere as he felt when forcing down the sickeningly sweet cake. “Where is your laboratory? I will meet you there in the morning.”

Braden took his time answering, figuring King Leo would interrupt and tell her the rest of it. Not only had the royal family allowed him the rare privilege of analyzing their youngest daughter, but they had set up a fully functional laboratory down the hall from his bedroom. This was on the same floor as hers, though in a completely different wing.

But neither the king nor the queen spoke. Apparently, they were leaving it to him to relay the news.

“Well?” she repeated, her rich voice curious and mildly exasperated, all at once. Once again, just the sound of her had the same effect on him, like a jolt of raw energy sending his wolf into a frenzy.

Again, damn it. Gritting his teeth, he battled back his other half. This had not happened since he’d been a teenager, full of raging hormones. It took him a moment to get his beast under control, luckily. Though this time, he lost more ground more quickly. If the beast kept fighting him, he’d have to do something quickly or there’d be a major embarrassing incident. He could only imagine that it’d be in extremely poor form to shape-shift in the palace while lunching with Pack royalty.

He had to get a grip on this thing, whatever it was. Taking a deep breath, he wondered how much longer he’d have to wait to manage to politely excuse himself.

“Your laboratory, Dr. Streib?” Princess Alisa repeated, speaking slowly as though she now thought him a simpleton. “I asked you where I might find it.”

Lifting his chin, Braden explained the situation in a few short sentences. “My understanding is that I am actually working on the same floor where you also reside.”

“At the opposite end,” King Leo put in. “This is a very large palace, Dr. Streib. Your living quarters and your laboratory are in the west wing. Princess Alisa occupies most of the east.”

Thankfully, the princess didn’t comment. Braden wasn’t sure he could take another assault of her voice on his wolf self. Now if he could just get out of there until he got his beast under control.

“I’m glad we got that settled,” King Leo said, amusement warring with preoccupation in his voice. “We have also provided you with an assistant, Dr. Streib. Katya will be there to help you first thing in the morning.”

“Thank you,” Braden said, pleasantly surprised.

“You are most welcome.” The king heaved a satisfied sigh. “Now, if you two will excuse us, the queen and I will leave you to finish your discussion. Come, my dear.”

Braden pushed to his feet as well, standing politely as the King and Queen of Teslinko exited the room. When he finally took his seat again, he sensed the princess studying him. He wanted nothing more than to bolt, but knew he had to do something to satisfy his wolf.

He had no choice but to enlist her help. He needed to change badly and he had no idea where to go.

The servers offered more coffee. They both accepted, waiting while the beverage was poured.

She sighed. “You are different than I would have expected.”

If she wanted to make polite small talk, he thought he could manage, as long as he kept a death grip on his wolf. “How so?”

“Well,” she mused, “despite your generally ruffled and disheveled appearance, you are actually a very attractive man.”

Heat suffused him, which both infuriated and intrigued him. “Though a bit backhanded, I’ll accept the compliment.”

She laughed, a low and musical sound that sent a heated shiver through him. He felt his grip on his wolf slipping and frowned, concentrating on regaining control. “Now it’s your turn,” she said, a smile making her voice light.

“My turn?”

“To compliment me.”

Was she flirting with him? He could think of no reason why someone like her would do so other than to mock him. But why? They were alone. Did she mock him for her own amusement? Considering he knew absolutely nothing about her personally, such a thing was entirely possible.

Taking a deep breath, he considered his options. Even when he’d been able to see, flirting had not been his strong suit. Fleeing would not only be cowardly, but slow and ungainly since he was unfamiliar with the path he’d need to take. In reality, he knew he could withstand much from her, considering how badly he needed her for his research.

Rapidly searching for a vapid, non-offensive bit of frippery, he settled on the first thing that came to mind. “You have a sensuous voice and a beautiful laugh.”

The instant the words left his mouth, he knew he’d made a huge mistake. Too personal and too true. Not at all the purpose of light, playful flirtation. He should know this—intellectually, he did. But because he sucked at flirting, abhorred it in fact, he’d given her truth when she wanted falsehood.

As if she knew this—of course she did—she inhaled sharply. Any moment now, he suspected she’d let fly with a bit of scathing commentary, merely to point out what kind of social pariah he was. And if she did, he knew he wouldn’t be able to rein himself in. He’d respond in kind. While he wasn’t good at flirting, he was excellent with cutting retorts.

Which would only make things worse between them. He needed to get along with her if he wanted her cooperation for his experiments.

His tenuous grip on his wolf slipped. Out of his depth, he took the only option that made sense. Leaving before he either said something truly awful or worse, before his wolf broke free and he shape-shifted right there in the dining room of the royal palace.

Pushing to his feet, he murmured a quick excuse and headed out. She made no move to help him, despite the fact that he’d forgotten his cane.

Halfway in his struggle toward the door, he turned in her general direction. “Please come see me in the morning in my laboratory. I’m eager to begin my work.”

Without waiting for her to answer, he left the room, cursing his social ineptitude and cursing the fact that he hadn’t managed to ask her to assist him in finding a place to change.

Once again, it appeared he was on his own. He and his wolf, both blind, sharing the same, desperate need.