Castle of the Wolf by Sandra Schwab

a woman. He should know. After all, it had happened before.
    “I cannot marry her,” he said very quietly.
    For a moment, Johann was quiet. “If you say so. But we can light the fires again, can’t we?”
    Fenris smothered a laugh. “Yes, you can.” He turned his head to look over his shoulder at his valet. “There’s no need for all of it any longer, is there?”
    ~*~
    The firewood reappeared mysteriously, and no rats could be found in the upstairs rooms ever again. In addition, Fran Häberle apparently managed to convince Cissy’s new maid that, except for the demon wolf, no beasts lurked in the corners of the Castle of Wolfenbach. As a result, young Marie stayed on despite any initial misgivings she might have had. Cissy was glad, for she missed Evie, her maid at home in England, and their intimate chats in the privacy of her bedroom. She had always loved to giggle over the latest gossip and scandal with Evie, and she was delighted to find that Marie was not adverse to doing the same, albeit with the latest Kirchwalden talk. Furthermore, she introduced Cissy to the intricacies of the Badener dialect, and soon Cissy knew how to say “thank you”— vergelt’s Gott ; “goodbye”— adee ; “would you please”— dädsch ; and, most importantly, “moron”— dummi Nuss .
    The latter was certainly an apt description for von Wolfenbach, who turned into even more of a bugbear than before: he usually wore the most thunderous expression, his brows drawn together in a perpetual frown. His moodiness soured the atmosphere during meals and his contribution to conversation consisted of monosyllabic snarls.
    No, Cissy did not want to see the castle fall to the Altertumsverein and the horrid Geheimrat Haldner, but on the other hand, she most certainly had no wish to marry a snarling demon wolf without even the hint of basic good manners.
    She started to pray for a miracle.
    And then the miracle happened.

Chapter 7
    One morning in early November, when Cissy came to the dining room to have breakfast, she found him sitting—no, lounging —on one of the chairs in all his golden glory, one leg thrown nonchalantly over its arm. His teeth flashed white in a broad smile when he turned and caught sight of her. Green eyes, like von Wolfenbach’s, but sparkling with life and laughter, regarded her from under tousled blond curls. “ Ma chère .” Lithe and graceful, he swung his leg to the ground and stood, his fashionable clothes slightly rumpled, his necktie loosened, and a faint golden stubble covering his jaw. And still, he looked so beautiful Cissy’s breath caught in her throat.
    Like a golden Greek god, deliciously mussed up…
    Mussed up?
    Heat spread over Cissy’s face.
    “ Ma chère .” He came toward her and bent over her hand to kiss it, while he flashed a mischievous smile up at her. Hot tingles raced up her arm. “You see me thoroughly enchanted. You must be the daughter of our dear father’s old friend.”
    “Miss Celia Fussell.” Automatically, she bobbed a small curtsy, then became aware that he was still holding her hand.
    Her blush deepened.
    What did a rumpled golden god want with the likes of her? Next to him with his stylish jacket and the gaily colored waistcoat, she felt drab and uncomfortable in her old dress of bleakest black.
    As if he could read her thoughts, a small smile flickered across his face, and he released her hand to throw his arms wide. “I am truly enchanted.” Then he executed an exact, formal bow. “Leopold von Wolfenbach, your servant.”
    Leopold? Cissy frowned. After Fenris, she would have expected something more…exotic.
    This time, ruefulness tinged his smile. “Actually, it is Loki Leopold von Wolfenbach.” His eyes twinkled merrily, inviting her to share the joke. “But who would want to run around with such a ridiculous name as Loki?”
    Tap-dam, tap-dam tap-dam.
    His smile twisted into a grimace. “Well, let’s say who except my big brother?” he