Wendy talked at me as we rode the elevators. She chatted while we were stepping off into the main lobby of the government building. Footsteps and general noise bounced off the marble floors and the vaulted ceilings, giving it a sort of stately echo. Wendy prattled right over the top of this. Near the front doors, metal detectors, and security guards monitored everybody who came inside. But on the way out, a single security guard simply waved to people, most of whom he greeted by name.So it was that sort of building. I could get used to working in a building full of friendly people. Wendy greeted the security guard, called him Chip, and hauled me out the door. She’d barely let go of me yet and somehow managed to breathe in between her continuous talk.Now she was giving me a rundown on building hours, and the pass that I would need for checking in, and what things not to try and even bring in, and what things to get special permits for.I finally understood why Chief Conroy put me tog
I buried my worries over the new phone I’d been given and my isolated situation and forced a smile at Wendy while she prattled on, explaining where the previous apartments had been sitting. I’m sure there were more things she explained that I just didn’t bother to keep up with.Theo walked along at my other side, sticking close to my arm as we approached the gathered crowd. Now, this was interesting to pay attention to. Brightly colored stalls offered everything from food to face painting to games. Children shrieked with laughter, chasing and dodging one another between the legs of the adults.Grown-ups chatted with one another with wide smiles on their faces. They held delicious-smelling snacks on sticks, sweets, and balloons. This looked like a full-blown festival or fair rather than a simple dedication.“The minister is going to do his address right over there.” Wendy pointed at a temporary stage that had been erected close to the parking lot and yet with a central view of all of t
Despite trying to keep my mind on work, all the thoughts Wendy had implanted nagged at my brain. A family with Charles? While he had mentioned this possibility, hearing it from someone else’s mouth made the expectation seem real in a whole different way.I shrugged this off and headed for my first target. I’d use my people-watching to zero in on a few that I wanted to interview. For my first interview, I chose a family with children who looked like they were in primary school and a mother just a little older than me. I figured this might be one of the best families I could relate to since I didn’t have any of my own children yet.“Pardon me,” I interjected myself into their conversation.She was having a discussion with her oldest child about which field to play on first.“Can I help you?” she asked.“Yes, my name is Elena Laurentia, and I am with the Palace Press. We’re doing a story about the opening of the playfields. Would you have a moment for an interview?”One of her children t
After several of the same sort of interviews, I somehow found myself at the edge of one of the playfields, watching a group of children. My mind was wandering at first. It was the predictable sort of wandering for a writer.I drew in the smells, the sights, and the sounds, translating all those sensations into the prose, which would become my portion of the story. My mind noted the contrast between the green space and the buildings of the city, how the trees along the outside edge seemed to dampen the noise of the cars, and even the very grass seemed to give a breath of relief from the outside hustle and bustle of daily life.Unlike Lupinton, where everything was so supposedly perfect it got creepy, numerous parents did mention that several blocks from here marked the start of a legal red-light district. Evidently, there wasn’t too much crime associated with the district. But it did house businesses that parents didn’t want young children witnessing. On the scale of a city’s faults, i
A touch on my shoulder sent me nearly jumping out of my skin. I almost screamed aloud but bit down on my lips so hard that I tasted blood.“What?” I snapped at Theo.He shot me a sheepish look. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “You had just drifted off. I’m not sure what you were thinking about. But I thought you wanted to be home in time for dinner.”“I did, um, I do. Yes.” I stumbled across words, trying to bring myself back from those horrible new thoughts.“What were you thinking about?” he asked. “Or is that too personal?”“It’s a little personal,” I said. “I start it off thinking about the kids and how nice the playfield must be to augment their childhood. And then I got lost in my own musings. I’m sorry.”“It’s Okay,” he said. “I don’t mind. I’m here one way or another. I just didn’t know if you wanted to be lost in that train of thought or if you wanted to interview anyone else. I know that Wendy said that she wanted you to get a variety of interviews.”He sni
After he left, I turned to Theo. “Is all of that true?”Theo pressed his lips together in thought. “There are rumors,” he confirmed. “There is definitely a city outside Packhaven that houses many of the workers who can’t afford to live within the more expensive parts of the city. But I honestly can’t speak about the living conditions there because I haven’t been there. And it doesn’t sound like he has either.”Theo looked in the direction the man had gone with his wife. “I realize that he wants to care for the less fortunate. But be careful what you put in your article unless you’re willing to go out to Southhaven and see for yourself. Everything he told you is just speculation.”“I know.” I nodded. “I’m aware of the risks of publishing speculation. But thank you for looking out for my reputation.”Theo touched my elbow and indicated a food truck nearby. “Would you like something to snack on?”“I’m just about ready to head home and have dinner with Charles.”“I know,” he said, “But si
Charles kept me pinned against the wall, hand across my mouth, pleasuring me until my knees gave, and I was glad for the wall because it helped support me. At that point, he picked me up, tossing me on the bed, rough enough that I bounced up but carefully enough that it didn’t hurt.I let out a gasp, and he smiled grimly. My instinct to hold back the conversation had been spot on. He clearly needed to hear only the soundtrack of our lovemaking. That look in his eye drew out new bravery. Even though David and Theo were in the other room, I let the sounds of my pleasure go freely.Charles hovered above me, tracing the tip of his cock along my slit. The sensation of him sliding against me sent shivers of desire through my whole body. He teased me the whole while his breathing grew ragged.Then he spun and straddled me, his face pressing between my thighs. His erection hung over me, and I placed my lips on the tip, sucking hard against the sensitive skin. Charles groaned into my folds but
The following day, after breakfast, I sent Charles off to work with carefully worded good-luck wishes. I’m sure David and Theo had heard everything that the other alphas had been accused of through work. But I wasn’t sure that we could trust either of them yet, and I didn’t want to reveal Charles’ true feelings in front of them.After Charles left, it was my turn. The previous night, I’d stayed up late working on my portion of the story, sending it off to Wendy for submission. By the time I arrived at work, our article should be back from the panel and ready for its first round of edits.The whole way to work, I thought over what exactly Charles and I were going to do to prove these other alphas weren’t guilty of the type of corruption that they were accused of. After having met some of the alphas in Charles’ company, and then meeting Governor Kruck, I was positive that the corruption in the government was stemming directly from the government.It seemed like horrible people were plac
For one moment after I arrived in the garden, the sun blinded me, and then my eyes cleared. Before me spread an amazing event: the wedding of our country's princess.It still hadn't fully sunken that I was that princess.The guests sat in orderly rows of brilliantly white chairs festooned in lovely shades of blue and lavender. I had chosen them because they most reminded me of the moon, and I wanted to honor the goddess at this event, as well. Without her, I would not only not have been at this wedding, but I wouldn't have been alive. She had done so much for me. The least I could do was throw a little recognition her way.I clutched the bouquet in my hand, and Theo hooked his arm through my elbow. “Are you ready?” he asked.“I'm ready.”We took a step toward the altar on the red carpet spread out in front of me, and the music swelled. The quartet played a beautiful melody full of promise and love.I didn't see the people looking at me, specifically, only that all eyes were on me. My
I signed and kept my head tipped back, inviting him to kiss my neck. Charles obliged, working himself inside me with the magic he always seemed to conjure up, driving my excitement higher. My heels fumbled for a place to rest, and finally, I settled for wrapping my legs around him, gripping his hips with my thighs and locking us together.Charles groaned and pulled us as tightly together as possible. And I wouldn't let him go. This left his movements small but the pleasure intense.His rubbing quickly brought me to orgasm, and I tried not to make too much noise and call attention to what we were doing. I really didn't want to be held in contempt for defiling the judge's bench or some such.A moment later, Charles got his release. He stepped back and tided himself, allowing me to do the same.“Now,” he asked with a grin, “Are you ready to go outside and face your adoring public, my princess?”“As long as you're by my side, I can face anything,” I agreed, hopping off the judge's bench.
“Of course,” Queen Yarrow said, “details like training successors aren't left to chance. The king and I already had arrangements made for a royal tutor, assuming that I would get pregnant one day. I'll connect you both with him. Hopefully, you can get started right away.”“So?” I asked the judge. How exactly does this work? What do you mean? She asked, looking quizzically at me. “I mean, what do I do with myself? Where do I go from here? When does all of this happen now?”She said, “The king will be escorted out of Orlune. They're probably already helping him pack. From there, he'll be on the next flight off the vampire kingdom. You get to move straight into the castle if you wish. It's essentially your house now.”“There's no, there's no legal paperwork or anything like that?” I babbled. “It just seems so abrupt.”The judge grinned. “I'll have all of that taken care of taken care of for you. So you don't have to worry about it, your majesty.”“Come, my dear,” Queen Yarrow said, putti
By now, the king’s lawyer had a hand on his shoulder, whispering furiously in his ear. The king gripped the arms of his chair so hard his knuckles were white. And if he could have turned people to stone with a look like a gorgon, the judge and I would already be statues.Still, the judge spoke as if unafraid. “The former king will serve out his sentence off the shifter continent, in the vampire countries,” she announced.A murmur went up from everyone in the gallery at that, but the judge held up her hands. “I chose that location specifically. It has been a standing tradition for generations upon generations that vampires and werewolves do not get involved in one another's politics.”“I would imagine he will find it very difficult to sway anyone into doing his dirty work for him in a country that holds itself neutral. Thereby providing anyone in Orlune that the king feels has wronged him in the safest position that I am able to leave them in.”Further murmurs rose up from the crowd, a
I hadn't even caught my breath when Charles scooped me up in the hardest hug I'd ever gotten from him. It was so hard that it almost drove the remaining air from my lungs.The rest of that morning flew by as Charles and Gwen helped me to avoid questions I couldn't answer from the press while Theo, David, and the other four guards pushed a path through the paparazzi so we could navigate our way back to the safehouse.We decided it was better to stay there than go back to our apartment, yet, at least until we made sure that any of the king's remaining supporters were under control.Gwen wore a mysterious smile on her face for the rest of that night and into the following morning. But I couldn't get her to confess to what she was up to. We'd barely finished breakfast when someone knocked on the door.Gwen hurried to answer it and admitted two people who took my breath away. One of them was Cathy!Since I didn't know the other, I ran straight to Cathy, hugging her as tightly as I could. T
It took me a long time to fall asleep that night, plagued both by worry and growing apprehension over how the next day was going to play out. It could end up being the longest, most brutal day of my life, if I had to spend it waiting and wondering what the jury was going to decide.Worse, what if they took weeks? Months? I’d go crazy before I found myself free from this mess.When we woke in the morning, Charles distracted me by teasing me in every possible way before bringing me to yet another overwhelmingly intense orgasm. I would never have thought that pleasure and pain could be such close neighbors, but he managed. However Charles and I were connecting in bed right now, it was certainly coming very close to more than I could handle.Theo must have told the chef what my favorite foods were because when Charles and I left the bedroom, breakfast was waiting for us. And it was one of my favorites. Belgian waffles with lots of fresh strawberries and whipped cream.I sat down and ate r
I kissed Charles, and he pulled back, eyeing me. “Should we be careful or anything?” he asked. “You know, for the baby.”I shrugged. “It's not like I've been pregnant before, but I would guess not. The doctor didn't say anything about that.”“And you haven't even searched things like that online yet?”I shook my head. “How could I? I've been so busy, not to mention the fact that I'm trying to keep certain people from finding out.”“Then we'll go slow and be careful,” he said.His kisses came soft and gentle, and his caresses all over my body were the same. Keeping secrets from him had been a bad idea. Now that they were out in the open, just these small touches made the connection between us feel so much more real as if I had closed some invisible distance between the two of us.This drove me to smash our lips together, desperately seeking the rest of the connection that I hadn't even realized I'd been missing.He chuckled and pushed me back. “What happened to taking it easy?” he teas
All of a sudden, a whisper of a breeze rippled through the courtroom and around my head, whispering reassurance in my ear. This breeze wrapped itself around me and then swirled out into the courtroom, where it produced an answering wind of murmuring whispers. Suddenly, everyone was shaking their heads, turning toward one another. Members of the jury shook their heads as if trying to clear them.Again, I heard a whisper in my ear, and I recognized the voice of the moon goddess. “Don't fear,” was all she said. And then her presence was gone. But the entire courtroom, everybody in the gallery, the jury, the judge, the lawyers, and even the king had all relaxed.The judge brought her gavel down and dismissed the jury to go deliberate. But this time, I wasn't frightened. The goddess had never steered me wrong yet. And she told me not to fear, that I needed to trust her and the fate surrounding her and me.I scurried out of the witness stand and back to my spot beside Mr. Wilcox. “What was
When I exited the bathroom, the importance of the day hit me in full measure. Today I was going to court. What and God's name was I supposed to wear?Someone knocked on the door, and I wrapped my towel tighter. “In a few minutes,” I called.“Elena?” I recognized Gwen's voice. “I brought you a suit for today. May I come in?”“Yes,” I said.She opened the door and entered the bedroom.“I'm just fresh out of the shower.” I bit my lip, feeling foolish. As if she couldn't gather that by my wet hair. But I seem to need something to fill the silence.She held up a garment bag. “You'll want to look your best today,” she said.I let Gwen dress me, taking comfort in the fact that she knew her way around important functions as a luna. When she finished, she grabbed my face and gave my forehead a kiss.“Do exactly what the lawyers, Charles, and I tell you to,” she said. “I don't want you to leave my son a widower before he's even officially married.”I patted her hands, which still rested on my c