Instinctively, all of Nikolai's muscles locked into place as Friedrich leaned over her. Nikolai's fierce protectiveness of her was a primal urge, even when he knew the duke was a friend.
"Should I summon a human healer?"
"No," snapped Nikolai. "She will be fine when she wakes."
Friedrich's gaze swiveled to him. "Careful, friend. I mean her no harm."
Nikolai turned away and set his empty glass on a side table stacked with books. He sank into the wingback chair beside it with a sigh, the plush black leather squeaking as his weight settled. "I am her guardian for this mission. She is my charge."
Friedrich ambled closer, hands in his pants pockets as he leaned against the mantel again. "I'd say she's much more to you than that. Did you know you just growled at me?"
"What?" Nikolai hadn't realized it at all.
Friedrich's gaze drifted back to Sienna. "Though I can certainly see the appeal. Lovely creature. If I am allowed to say so."
Nikolai ignored his jab. Friedrich was flirtatious and charming and bold. He couldn't help himself. "She is … special."
"Of that, I am sure. Marius told me."
Unnerved that Marius should speak of her to Friedrich, he bristled at the thought. "What do you mean Marius told you? Told you what?"
Friedrich smiled, which held more pity than true warmth. "If you'll relax and not rip my head off, I'll tell you."
Nikolai realized he'd gripped the arms of the leather chair, his fingers white-knuckled on the arms, his own claws itching to come out. His beast was riding him hard since the attack. Forcing himself to breathe evenly, he relaxed his shoulders and leaned back into the chair, waiting.
Wearing his usual cavalier expression, even though Nikolai had been poised to attack him a moment before, Friedrich launched ahead. "In recent correspondence, Marius told me you would be coming with Sienna, the lovely woman who lives alone in Silvane Forest." He paused and took a seat in the chair opposite Nikolai, made of the same fine black leather as the one where he sat but smaller in size. "He explained your mission and asked if I would be a safe haven should you need it."
Nikolai leaned forward again, this time out of curiosity to hear more not on an instinct to attack. Clasping his hands together with elbows on his knees, he said, "Yes. He told me you offered your home before I left Cutters Cove. We appreciate the risk you take with King Dominik so near."
Friedrich gave a nod and an easy smile. "If truth be known, I hate my Uncle Dominik. I've always hated him. Arrogant, ruthless bastard that he is. And from what Marius has told me, the crown has abandoned its own laws for selfish gain. I would never be a party to that."
"Good to hear. We need all the allies we can get," said Nikolai, still wondering if Friedrich's help had more to do with avenging his mother's life and her death. But he'd never broach such a personal topic. He turned back to what had started the conversation. "You didn't tell me what Marius said of Sienna."
Smiling as if he had a secret, Friedrich said, "He told me she was unique. That she was a friend of the enchanted Silvane Forest and all the creatures there. He said she carried some of its magic inside her."
Nikolai knew this to be true from the moment he met her months before. Her beauty had punched him in the gut, but the aura of magic that haloed her every step had lured him like a lost wolf to its den, seeking the comfort of home. Her healing touch, her giving heart, her comforting smile, her alluring beauty all spoke of potent magic, kept locked up tight just beneath her skin. But they also spoke of the essence of Sienna. She was beautiful in every way.
"It is true," said Nikolai. "Do you know that there are four hart wolves who protect her as if she were their own?"
"Hart wolves?" asked Friedrich in disbelief. "Those wild beasts have befriended a girl?"
Nikolai shook his head on a laugh, softening his posture and the rigid tension in his back. "I was shocked myself to see it. I'd never heard of any befriending a human. Arabelle told me that the white female she calls Duchess and her two brothers were saved as pups by Sienna's grandmother. Hunters had killed their mother."
"And what of the fourth?"
"That would be the she-wolf's mate. A fierce black male. He steers clear of me. One of the brothers is a mean-looking brute, too. He keeps a keen eye on me as well."
Friedrich leaned back and crossed an ankle over his opposite knee. "I can't believe they haven't torn you to pieces. They hate vampires. Or so the legends say."