Chapter 0074
That night, my cold had healed enough that I could finally be reunited with Elva. I ran to her, and she ran to me. When she came close, I scooped her up into my arms and held her. Her arms came around my
neck and she held me right back.
“I missed you, Elva. So much.”
“I missed you, Mommy.
Mark and the nanny eventually joined us and I thanked them both profusely for watching my daughter.
Thank you!” Elva said. “Thanks, Uncle Mark!”
I blinked.
Uncle Mark?
I looked at him and he looked embarrassed.
“I didn’t teach her that, I swear. She started doing it all on her own.”
I had been surprised, but I supposed I shouldn’t have been. After all, it had been a similar sequence of
events that had led Elva to calling Anna, Auntie Anna.
“Don’t worry,” I told him. “Elva has a mind of her own about some things.”
Mark seemed relieved.
“Mommy,” Elva said. “Are we going to meet wolves tomorrow?”
“We?”” I looked to Mark for explanation.
“Prince Nicholas personally invited Miss Elva,” he said.
“It could be dangerous.” I didn’t have an inner wolf so couldn’t speak to the wolves like the others could.
I would have limited warning if a wolf was growing annoyed and might snap.
“Prince Nicholas is aware of your situation,” Mark said. “He’s asked me to relay to you that neither you
nor Elva have anything to fear.
“I want to meet the wolves, Mommy!”
Nicholas wouldn’t purposefully endanger Elva. Of that, I was certain. If he said we would be safe, then
we would be safe.
“Okay.” I told her. “We’ll go and meet the wolves tomorrow.”
“Yay!” Elva cheered.
Despite Nicholas’s reassurances, my nerves continued to be heightened as I carried Elva out past the gardens and into the grassy fields beyond, where the wolves were lined up, ready to greet their partners.
“Down, please,” Elva said.
Slowly, I lowered her down. “Now don’t run off. We have to hold hands.”
“I don’t want to hold hands.” She stubbornly crossed her arms.
“Elva,” I said, stern.
“Mommy.” She mirrored my tone.
“You don’t want to go back inside, do you?”
“No.” She pouted now.
I held out my hand and waggled my fingers. She sighed dramatically but finally took my
Together we walked across the field.
Nathan directed each girl to their assigned wolf as they approached. I was no exception.
hand.
The wolf he led us to was sitting politely on the grass. It watched us approach, then tilted its head
curiously.
“Hello, Mister Wolf!” Elva announced.
I held her back at a safe distance.
“Mommy, don’t be rude.”
“Hello, Mister Wolf,” I said with much less excitement.
Around us, the other girls were flourishing with their wolves, talking as if having a full conversation. Only
a few were too impatient, and earned a growl. Nathan made note whenever that happened, likely lowering
the score of those girls
My wolf laid down in the grass. It blinked slowly, like it was bored.
I had to make a good impression or I wouldn’t last long.
Keeping Elva safely behind me, I inched closer to my wolf. I held out my hand for the wolf to sniff.
I’m sorry.” I told it earnestly. ” lost my inner wolf a while ago. I can’t communicate with you
others.”
like the
I had no idea if it could understand me, but it made me feel better to talk. At the very least, it seemed to
calm my own nerves.
The wolf looked at me a moment, before focusing on my hand. Then it leaned forward and sniffed.
Pride shot through me. It was a small victory, compared to everyone else. But for a wolf–less like me, this was a huge step forward.
After sniffing me, the wolf looked away again, disinterested. I supposed that was better than anger.
Today’s Bonus
