"So this is where you hide," Ryleigh said, slipping into the library. Her guards stationed themselves beside the door, pretending not to be there. She planted her hands on her sides and looked around. "There's so many books here."

"It's a library," Austin said, without looking up. He was sitting in one of the comfortable chairs placed in front of the fire place, an old book with yellowed pages spread open in one of his hands, the fingers of the other tapping the armrest.

Ryleigh inclined her head in silent acknowledgement of that fact and progressed. It was a large space, with ceiling-high bookcases lining most of the walls and more cases dispersed at regular intervals throughout the room. She let her fingers trail over a row of books as she walked past one of the cases. All the books were leather-bound and undoubtedly very precious. There were more chairs placed randomly here and there, and a few desks too.

"I wonder how many books are in here," she said, returning to the front of the room where Austin was sitting – still unmoving and with his eyes fixed on his book. "Must be thousands. I don't think I've ever seen this many books before."

His gaze briefly flitted up to her, but he made no attempt to further the conversation and Ryleigh gave up, dropping herself sideways across the chair, her legs dangling over one of the armrests and her head resting on the other. She craned her neck to look at the flames dancing in the fireplace. Austin turned a page, drawing her attention back to him.

"What are you reading?" she asked, wiggling her feet.

"An overview of the greatest battles fought among werewolves in the past five centuries."

"Ah," Ryleigh said, "good stuff."

"It is."

Ryleigh chewed her bottom lip. "You like history, then, huh?"

"Yes."

She nodded slowly, clacking her tongue, then adjusted her position so she was sitting cross-legged on the chair, facing Austin. "Is the one between Midnight Moon and Golden Dawn in there?"

He shook his head and closed the book, keeping a finger between the pages as a bookmark. "No, that battle was too recent. This book is easily fifty years old. The one between the Royal Wolves and the Crimson Claws isn't in there either. Nor the Shadow Walker battle."

"Shame, those are good ones."

"Yes, though the one of the Shadow Walkers can hardly be called a battle. It was more of an execution. I don't think much has been written about that one yet. The Shadow Walkers tend to be very secretive. Tended."

Ryleigh nodded and turned her head back to the fire. "It's funny, you know. You all love King Alder so much and everyone's always saying how kind and just he is, but at the same time he massacred an entire pack. You never hear anyone talk about that. And if they do, it's praise."

Austin looked up at Ryleigh's guards standing in the entrance and dismissed them with a nod. "The Shadow Walkers were dangerous. He had a reason."

"He had a reason to act, maybe, but kill everyone? Men, women, children? I mean, I might be biased because he tortured me for a month, but that doesn't sound like a great man to me. And if I'm not mistaken, lots of people died in the Crimson Claw war too. They were so vastly outnumbered it was laughable. And then I haven't even gotten started about the Night Howlers. I've heard Alder made a pretty big dent in their numbers too. You'd think those packs would stop rebelling. With Alder's numbers, it's really clear that he's not a benevolent king, but a tyrant with enough men to stifle anyone who dares utter a differing opinion. You know, I've heard that King Alder is the king with the highest death toll resulting from war of all werewolf kings the past millennium."

"That could be," Austin said. "I don't know the statistics. But I do know he's not the kind of man that takes decisions like that lightly. I'm sure he thought it through."

"That's easy for you to say. Midnight Moon has never stood against the Royal Wolves."

"Has your pack?"

"Let's just say I've seen enough useless bloodshed to understand there must be better ways to handle disputes."

"So have I, but once one party decides war is the only way, there's little the other side can do but go with it." He closed the book fully and put it on a low table standing beside his chair. "So, what are you doing here? Do you like reading?"

"Never had much opportunity, really. I used to like it."

"Well, feel free to read anything here."

"Thanks." She cleared her throat. "Are you still angry with me? I sense that you are. Is it because I ditched my guards or are you still hung up on my... moment yesterday?"

"I am not angry," he said. "And they're not 'moments'. They're attacks."

She waved the comment away. "That makes it sound so serious."

"It is serious, Ryleigh. Sky is not easily fazed by anything, but when she linked me about you, she sounded really thrown-off. Said it looked like you were forcefully shifting."

Ryleigh stared down at her lap, tapping both her hands on her knees. "I was," she said, slowly. She sucked her teeth, then looked back up at Austin. "I was forcefully shifting. You see, the problem lies with my wolf."

His brow furrowed slightly, but he didn't say anything.

"I'm sure you've noticed that I'm a bit intense at times. My wolf is worse." She slipped her legs out from under her, sitting up straighter. "She's very dominant, always trying to enforce her opinion on me."

His hazel eyes were pinned on her with intense curiosity. Still he didn't speak, merely listened.

"I don't know if you know this, but silver doesn't only influence the body," Ryleigh said. She clasped her hands together and rested them in her lap. "It also influences the mind. My mental state took a real hit during my time in the Royal Prison. My wolf's mental state, especially. You know I was in my wolf form for most of it, only turning back when the silver forced me to, so I suppose it's safe to say that my wolf took the brunt of the torture. She hasn't been the same since. She's been very antsy. Very aggressive, actually."

"Really?" Austin said, his frown deepening. "I didn't get that impression when I met her."

"She's good at hiding it. It was actually her fault that I fled – she made me. I told her it would be better to wait a few days, but she just went completely crazy, and I couldn't fight her. I've learned the hard way that when she gets like that, it's better to work with her. If I work against her, people get hurt."

"So what about yesterday?" Austin asked. "What happened?"

"Well, I haven't figured it all out yet, but it seems that those, uh, episodes are brought on when my wolf is feeling threatened or upset. She doesn't like Nate and Seth following us all the time – even though they're good men that I really get along with. It makes her feel watched and paranoid. And, well, I guess that yesterday she was pissed you wouldn't let us fight. Add to that the perpetual annoyance we already feel at our situation, plus the pain, and I suppose it all got too much."

"So your wolf tried to take control? And that's the same thing that happened in the infirmary that night?"

"Yes, and also when I broke out the first time and fought with Sky. She just panics and wants to shift and escape. More than that, she just becomes unpredictable. If she just wanted to shift, I would let her, but I'm afraid she'll hurt someone." She shrugged. "Your presence helps her snap out of it."

Austin lapsed into silence. Ryleigh watched him, waiting for the pieces to click together in his head.

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" he asked.

"Honestly, I'm embarrassed. Telling you means admitting I'm not in control over my wolf, and I'm far too proud for that. But you're right – you deserve to know. It's really nothing to worry about, though. She just needs some time to process everything that has happened the past five weeks and then everything will be fine."

"You really think so? Because it sounds to me like she's wild. If you're not careful, if she gains the upper hand, you might turn feral. That's serious, Ryleigh. People don't often come back from being feral. You already seemed half-feral when you broke out."

"I know," she said. "That won't happen, though. I'll sort her out, put her back on the straight and narrow."

Austin still did not seem convinced so she leant forward a little, putting on her best fake façade. "Look, as long as you're near when it happens, there's nothing to fear. I still have almost three weeks before we reject each other, and that should be plenty of time to figure it out."

"What if it's not?"

"Well, then that's my problem. Don't worry your pretty little head about it. I'll go far away and if I do turn feral, your pack has nothing to fear."

"You ought not speak so lightly about turning feral. You'll lose your human side."

Ryleigh dismissed it with a wave. "I'm already half-wild anyway, ask anyone." 

_____

A/N: Ryleigh finally gave an explanation for her 'attacks'. Took her long enough ;) 

Thanks for reading!