WolfeBlade: de Wolfe Pack Generations by Kathryn Veque (reading an ebook txt) 📕

He wondered if she was, too.

With a weary sigh, he headed out into the common room, confiscating a chair next to the hearth where he would sleep until dawn.

The day looked brighter already.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The Asher

“Where have you been?” Aurelia hissed. “Mother has asked for you this morning!”

Gavriella had entered the chamber she shared with Camilla, only to be faced with both Aurelia and Camilla, apparently in mid-argument. When they saw Gavriella, Camilla slammed and bolted the door behind the woman as Aurelia grabbed her by the arm.

Gavriella yanked her arm free.

“Where have I been?” Gavriella hissed in return. “No thanks to you, I have been wandering the streets of London trying to find my way home.”

Aurelia was incensed. “No thanks to me? What does that mean?”

Gavriella had quickly decided something about her cousin. She was a bully and the only way to deal with her was to bully her in return.

She wasn’t going to let Aurelia push her around any longer.

Having just walked home with Andreas, she was still lingering on the good conversation they’d had, one that revolved around some of the entertainments Andreas had seen in the past and how much he liked to watch plays. It had been a glorious conversation with a man she had mistrusted until he’d hauled her out of the river.

That had been the turning point.

Now, speaking to Aurelia was like throwing cold water on the pleasant feelings she had about the conversation with Andreas.

Pleasant feelings were so rare for her these days.

“Exactly what I said,” she said angrily. “You dragged me out of my warm bed in the middle of the night to take me to some clandestine guild where people fornicate for all to see, men are free to grab any body part they wish, and people engage in things better left unsaid. How dare you take me to such a place and then run off and leave me standing there alone. If I am home late, it is your fault!”

Aurelia’s mouth popped open in outrage. “If you cannot appreciate fun, that is your misfortune,” she said. “I knew it was a mistake to take you there, you little country chit.”

Gavriella’s eyes narrowed. “I’d rather be a little country chit than a big city whore,” she said. “You heard me correctly – I said whore. I saw what you did in that place and you probably did more that I did not see.”

Aurelia’s face turned red. “You’re such a child, Gavriella,” she snarled. “You know nothing about the ways of men and women. I would keep my mouth shut if I were you.”

It was a threat and Gavriella knew it. But she was prepared. “If you think to challenge or torment me in any way, know that your first transgression will send me to your mother with every wicked thing you have done,” she said in a low voice. “I’ll tell her everything, Aurelia. Do not test me.”

Aurelia was looking at her in shock. No one ever challenged her and most certainly not another woman her age. She could push people around with the best of them, but Gavriella was evidently sprouting some courage. She very much wanted to snap back, but she knew that Gavriella’s threat was a real one. She could see it in the woman’s face. She looked exhausted and angry and…

“Where is the dress you were wearing last night?” she demanded, abruptly noticing her clothing was not the dress she had worn last night. “That was an expensive dress!”

Gavriella wasn’t going to tell her the truth. “Some man from your vulgar guild ripped it off of me,” she lied. “This was the only thing they could give me to wear, so your ruined dress is your fault. And I am never going anywhere with you again!”

Aurelia was beyond shocked now. She had moved into the realm of outrage. Cheeks flushed and mouth working, she turned and stomped out of the chamber, leaving Gavriella standing there with a stunned Camilla. Gavriella knew she’d won the battle, but not necessarily the war. This wasn’t over with Aurelia in the least.

She could only imagine what the next confrontation would be about.

Once Aurelia was gone, she heard Camilla speak softly.

“Are you well?” she asked, concerned. “You are not sick or injured, are you?”

Gavriella looked at Camilla. She was sweet and young, but her sister’s influence over her was great. Gavriella knew she couldn’t trust Camilla because anything she said would get back to Aurelia.

“I am not sick or injured,” she said, her tone kinder than it had been with Aurelia. “I am well, I promise.”

She went over to the wardrobe that contained her clothing in it and opened the doors. As she began to remove the garments that the tavernkeeper’s wife had loaned her, Camilla came up behind her and started helping.

“I am sorry we left you,” she said sincerely. “I thought you would dance with us, but we realized you had not. I went looking for you but could not find you. We only came home about an hour ago.”

Gavriella pulled the surcoat over her head. “Cammie,” she said slowly. “Do… do you really like that place?”

Camilla helped her pull the shift over her head. “It is fun,” she said. “It is exciting kissing men and not knowing who they are.”

Gavriella took some precious oil she’d brought with her from home, oil that smelled of flowers, and rubbed it on her skin because it was dry after the scouring she’d been given at the tavern. “But you should not be kissing men you do not know,” she said softly. “You are young and pretty. How do you think a fine husband will feel if he knows you have kissed so many men before him?”

Camilla pulled forth a fine, soft shift from the wardrobe. “He will appreciate that I know how to kiss him,” she said. “He does not need to know how I learned.”

It was clear that she didn’t understand the seriousness of her