At work the next day, Wendy met us, getting off the elevators. She looked like she wanted to latch onto Theo and instead held herself back.“I’m so glad you’re feeling better,” she said, lowering her lashes at him more than a little suggestively.He smiled at her, ignoring her hints. “Glad to be back,” he said. “That was a nasty bout of whatever. I don’t look forward to doing anything like that again anytime soon.”I crossed my fingers and said a silent prayer to the goddess that I wouldn’t have to sacrifice him like that again. But the fact that he was always around me definitely made it more difficult.“So,” Wendy started, hooking her arms through mine and drawing me into the office. “Have you decided what you’re pitching this morning at the meeting? ““I have a couple of ideas,” I said.“Wanna share?” she asked.I shook my head. “Not a chance. Sorry, but I’m going to have to keep these secrets,” I pronounced.She eyed me. “Hard-hitting news already?” she asked, giving me a gentle e
By the time I got home, I had a few appointments for interviews. And I had tried some of the best food I’d ever eaten for lunch and some absolutely amazing ice cream for an afternoon snack, thanks to recommendations of the individuals that I had interviewed.At dinner, Charles kept squirming like a squirrel who sees a cat. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.“What is wrong with you?” I asked. “You’re acting like you’ve got prickles in your pants.”He laughed. “No prickles, just news.”“News?” I asked.“My mother is coming out to visit us.”“Well, that’s great. Wait. Why do you look so nervous?”“Because she’s not particularly happy with me. She wanted us to come back to Brindle Cove to spend the moon goddess festival with her. But I told her that with the bodyguards and everything, there was probably no way to make that happen.”He let out a sigh. “That’s when we decided that she would come out here. She’s going to try and get my sister and her family to come out as well.”“And you’r
For the next four days, I tried to say something to Charles, but my attempts always seemed to get cut off by something else.One night, Charles got a phone call from his co-workers and came back beyond annoyed. Another night, someone in the building tripped the fire alarm, and we all ended up outside.All those feelings of being lucky and blessed that I found at the moon temple were quickly slipping away. We were inching closer to the moon festival and Gwen’s arrival, and I hadn’t had a chance to open the subjects that were most important to discuss between Charles and I before his mother got her hands on everything.Not that I would mind the wedding to Charles, but if Gwen was feeling the need for grandchildren, what if she talked Charles into it before I had a chance to talk to him? It would just make the conversation that much harder.Two of those four days Charles ended up out of town, making talking impossible. He had to leave to go take care of some things before the interviews
A gentle touch woke me, and my heart skipped a beat. I rolled and found myself nose-to-nose with Charles.“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t handle last night very well.”Fresh tears leaked up and out. “I don’t think I did, either,” I said.He shook his head. “No. I shouldn’t have implied you cheated on me. You would never, and I know that.”My lower lip trembled. “And I could just as easily have said the words that you wanted to hear, that I didn’t cheat on you and never could. It just hurt that you would even go there.”He kissed my forehead and wiped my cheeks dry with his thumbs. “It was the middle of the night, and I was kind of shocked by your request. If I had been in a better frame of mind, I would have handled that much differently.”“I would still want to know why you need me to wear a condom, but I don’t think I would have let the accusation in. It was defensive and stupid of me. I’m sorry.”I grabbed his face and kissed him. “Forgiven. Because I love you.”“And I love yo
Charles woke me early, making sure that we used another of his new condoms before work. However this time, we focused on quick pleasure to connect, at least briefly, before we parted ways.I went out and did another interview with Theo tagging along. If he knew what had altered my mood, he didn’t bring it up, but he didn’t mention how happy he was to see me smiling again.My exuberance lasted all day, turning into pure joy when I came home and heard childlike voices through the door. Charles’s family had arrived.I hurried inside to find them all sitting around the living room with Charles, talking. Soren and Emily jumped up and ran to greet me, each giving me a quick hug.My heart fairly melted. This was what having a family was like. This is what I had missed out on my whole life. And when things were safe and my career was settled, this was what I wanted for Charles and me.I was so glad to have a partner who understood my need to wait. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if his mother pre
I took the plate to the door and knocked on it. David answered.I held the food up to him. “We’re really sorry that you’re missing the meal with your family just to keep an eye on things here, so we made dinner for you.”He sniffed the plate and grinned at me. “That is amazing. I was all prepared to make something from the freezer. I didn’t think I’d be able to get takeout on a night like tonight. Not from any place I want to eat at.”“I’m happy that we could do at least a little something for you,” I said. “I’d invite you out, but since we’ve got the entire extended family here, that would be a little awkward. I hope you don’t mind?”He shook his head. “It would be just as awkward for me as it would be for you guys. But that’s okay. I’m going to make a video phone call with my parents tonight. And maybe I’ll do that while they’re eating dinner and eat my plate with them. It’ll just be a different sort of family meal.”I reached out and gave his shoulder a little squeeze. “I’m really
Jennifer’s gaze was sympathetic. “I know we dropped a lot on without much warning. Although I think Mother had this discussion with Charles earlier this week.”“They did,” I said. “And Charles warned me she might bring up stuff like this. But this was just a shock to the system.”“You’re okay with all of it, right?”“W-well,” I stammered. “I don’t know.”“You do want to marry my brother. Don’t you?”“Of course,” I said with no hesitation at all.“And you intend on having his children, right?”I bit my lip.She tipped her head back in understanding. “So that’s where the hang-up is. You do know that he’s an alpha and if you intend on being his wife, you will eventually have to give him children?”“That’s just it,” I said. “Eventually.”“You’re in your late 20s. And Charles is the same age. How much more time can you afford to take? Even if the alpha thing wasn’t a factor.”I crossed my arms, resentful. “I can take as much time as I want.”“No, you can’t,” she said. “We’d all like to thi
Charles flopped down on his bed, letting his arm cover his face. I sat meekly on the other side, acutely aware that I was the one who had caused all of the tensions in his family.I didn’t like being a source of trouble, especially between family members. “Charles?” I started.He drew two deep breaths before removing his arm from his face and looking over at me. “I’m sorry, Elena.”“For what?” I asked.“That you had to see us argue.”“Then I have to be sorry, too. Because you are arguing over me.”“It’s not just you,” he said. “It would be any woman I was with seriously. And my mother did not heed my warning to just mind her own business.”He patted the bed beside him. “I want to know your heart,” he requested. “Don’t tell me what you think will spare my feelings. But I want to know how you truly feel about all of this.”The truth slammed against the inside of my ribs, making my heart beat faster, and it slammed the inside of my skull, giving me a headache. This truth is what I should
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