Only Wesley would know that.
So either he was Wesley, or he knew where Wesley was, and got the perfect amount of information out of him to prepare himself for the Ball.
She needed a moment.
The upstairs hallway already had a few giggling couples, heading to rooms before the nightly festivities had even begun.
Earl Simon, the serpent, was one of them. He nodded to her before he closed the door behind him.
How quickly he had moved on vying for her affection last night. She thanked herself for not giving in to the forward monsters, even if it would have been fun to play with them a bit.
Wesley wouldn’t do that.
Did she just think of the wolven as Wesley?
She opened the door to her room and gasped.
Ainslee was brown and withered, lying on her pillow. She picked up her little head, and Phillipa would swear a cloud of brown dust sprayed from her.
“How could you?” the little fae said. “The wolven—”
Her head collapsed on the pillow.
“Ainslee, no!” Phillipa didn’t know what to do. She should call for help, but she wasn’t sure anyone here was more powerful than Ainslee. Or that they would be familiar with fae magic. “He’s not who we think he is.”
“Magic.” Ainslee’s voice was weak.
“Did he take your magic from you?” That lying scoundrel. If that vile beast had tricked her…
But her heart wouldn’t believe it.
“No,” Ainslee coughed. “I’ve been trying to spell some sense into you but it’s no use. He’s got you under a much stronger spell than I can ever hope to break. You stink like him. Like wolven and sex.”
Phillipa squeezed her legs together, mortified that Ainslee noticed the scent. “The wolven claims that he is Wesley. My Wesley.”
The fae picked her head up. Phillipa stroked her hair, hoping that she could help Ainslee regain some of her strength, but she also worried that after spending so much time in close proximity to Wes—the wolven—that she could be harming her. Ainslee’s skin looked smoother, much less wrinkled than it did when Phillipa had entered the room.
“How dare he,” the little fae managed.
“He knows things that no one else would ever know. Things I only shared with him. I don’t dare to believe it, but—”
“Your heart knows.” Ainslee sighed.
“Yes.”
“Oh, Phillipa, I want to be happy for you, but how can you just forgive him for all the terrible things he did to my kin? We’ve lost so many good fae at his hands. He’s terrorized the forest. You came here to do something about it. Instead, you’re falling in love with him?”
“What if he really is Wesley? I know it doesn’t erase his wrongdoing, but my Wesley is not like that. He’s kind and just. He will do something to make amends. I will make sure of it.”
Ainslee sat up, and color, albeit pale, came back to her body, like she was readying herself to fight. “I refuse to wither away if this horrible beast will be rewarded for his reign of terror. Even if, by some miracle, the wolven is your Wesley, I can assure you, he’s not the Wesley you married. The man you described as your husband is nothing at all like the Wolven King. If I have to make him pay myself, I’ll see that he is held responsible for every single one of his sins.”
Phillipa was caught in an impossible spot. The fae deserved retribution, but if the Wolven was indeed Wesley, he deserved for her to give him a chance to prove it. “I’ve spent all this time hoping and praying that someday he would return to me. You cast a spell to make it so. And it might have worked.”
Ainslee shook her head. “He must be punished.”
“First, let’s find out if he’s telling the truth. Then we can put together a proper plan on how to deal with what he’s done. I promise you, he will make amends to the fae.”
“You’ve fallen for him,” Ainslee said.
“I may have.” It scared Phillipa to admit. “Will you be okay if I go back to the Ball? You gave me quite a fright when I came in here, looking like you’d already died. Maybe I can bring you with me?”
She wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if something happened to her best friend, especially while she was entertaining the Wolven.
“I will be fine. I might go outside to get some fresh air and collect a protection stone or two. You’ll need them.” Ainslee furrowed her brow, her gaze squarely on Phillipa’s bosom. “Where is your necklace?”
Phillipa brought her hand to her chest, then remembered that Wes—the wolven--had lifted it over her head and put it in his pocket. “The Wolven has it.”
Ainslee shook her head. “You’ve totally fallen under his spell.”
“I guess I have.” She couldn’t help her smile.
“I pray the cunning beast does not make a fool of us all.”
Chapter Fourteen
Wesley
“The party is about to start, and your lady seems to be absent.” Baron Martin took a drink off the tray as the waiter passed and raised it to Wesley. “I have noticed a pattern forming.”
Wesley growled, earning a laugh from the minotaur.
“I still expect to dance with her, wolven. You may have to fight a little harder to keep her than you think.” And with that, he disappeared into the crowd.
Fight, he would. But chase, he would not. He would protect her no matter what. If she didn’t choose him, he would have to make peace with that. He could not bear to spend his life with someone who found him grotesque.
And he could no longer rely on the fae’s magic for his transformation. He had to do this on his own.
But the last thing he would do was hand his wife over to the minotaur. This was a fight he would win.
The piano player took his seat, and the lines started to form for the dance.
A soft hand on his arm started him.
“I’m sorry I was gone longer than I anticipated.” Phillipa smiled at him. How was it possible she looked even more beautiful than before? She’d changed into a purple dress that accentuated the green in her eyes, and in the candlelight, they reminded him of a sunrise in the meadow near Phillipa’s house, the way the dew in the grass glowed in the early morning light. “Where did I bring you back from, Wes–Wolven?”
“I was thinking about what it would be like to kiss you.”
Phillipa gasped, and she lifted her chin as the music began to play. “It’s time for our dance.”
Even though Wesley had decided not to chase this woman, he damn well would not waste an opportunity to make her stay. He offered his arm, and she took it.
The dance began, and the steps came back to him easily. He let himself relax. If he could remember to dance, he could master being human in this body.
But maybe it wouldn’t matter. Phillipa’s bright eyes were on him as they swirled around the other dancers.
“You were awfully bold, wolven,” she said as they linked arms.
“In what way?”
She was lost to him, in the moves of the dance, but mischief played in those eyes.
“You said you wanted to kiss me.”
“I do.” He’d thought about it so many times, but now that she was here, speaking to him, entertaining the fact they could be beast and wife, his mouth watered at the thought of what she might taste like. If it would be different when he was like this.