JessamineI stab at my food, the fork piercing the tender meat and hitting the plate. I am seated at a long polished table, the light from the chandeliers glittering on their glossy tabletop.The King is at the head and I am next to Darrock at the other end. The meat falls off my fork and I stab at it again, frustrated, and the plate breaks in five different places. Everyone is staring at me, and I stare right back, widening my eyes for effect. "What? You want mine too?"Nymeria scoffs, a perfect picture of grace as she slices into her food neatly, bringing her fork to her lips. "Peasant," she murmurs, before parting her lips to take in the food.My fingers tighten around the metal, bending it and my wrist snaps as I throw the fork, aiming for Nymeria's head.Queen Tara's eyes widen with fear and she pulls Nymeria out of the way before the cutlery can pierce through her left eye. "Have you lost your mind?!"I scratch the back of my head. "Sorry, my fingers slipped."Darrock hides his
JessamineHe blinks. Twice, and then he angles his head strangely, staring at me with the oddest expression. "You would...gift it to me?" Goddess, he almost sounds normal. Like a nervous child. He sounds like how I feel around him.I smile a little. "Not for free, of course."King Hunter nods enthusiastically, and his hand sudden wraps around my wrist, swerving me in the opposite direction. "Anything you want." We pass by a crowd of courtiers and they stare at us like they've seen ghosts. It could be because I must have paled. He's holding my hand, and his hand feels warm to touch today. It makes me feel oddly comfortable, but I know it's an illusion. You see similarities between yourself and a stranger, and you automatically want to let loose around them.I stare at our joined hands as he takes us up the stairs to the second wing. He has such pretty fingers. Almost feminine. Smooth, too smooth, unlike Kier's calloused hands. Usually, things like that heal with every shift, becoming
I feel a little giddy. Happy even. It has nothing to do with the engagement, and everything to do with meeting back with the King later to read another page from mother's journal that has nothing to do with me finding sex toys.We have finally found level ground and it feels like we're bonding. I feel good about it. He stayed in my room all day, settling in my bed as he read page after page to me. He asked me why I couldn't get along with Nymeria, and I told him everything. His expression seemed to change, but it was so brief, I thought I'd imagined it.I fell asleep at some point, and woke up tucked in, a pillow underneath my head and an odd warmth on my forehead.I'm on top of the world, walking on the freaking moon and not even Nymeria or her mother's blatant look of hate could bring me down from here.Okay, maybe that isn't all of it.It could also be the wine. I mean, it's absolutely delicious. I had no idea something so sweet could make me...drunk. I really should have listened
Jessamine A month later...One more hour, and I'll be with the council. I can totally wing this and not throw this boiling hot tea in their faces. Why father saw the need to include tea parties in my schedule is a mystery to me.He thinks I need more friends. He thinks I'm depressed.I have no idea why he thinks that. I'm doing well. I've been great. I have excelled in every part of my training, except for one. Shifting. I'm a terrifically quick learner, the scholars said. Bored is what I was. Eager to get out of my head and far away from my thoughts, I'd stayed busy the whole time. Learning what I could of every and anything. Seeing my progress has Father pleased. He's never pushed or forced me to make decisions I don't want to. He just watches and gives his approval.Saying I love him would be a stretch, but I do admire him. And maybe I want to please him a little more. Is this what every daughter feels around their father? He's made me his Emissary and Darrock his adv
KierLong nails coated in red drum against the table in an odd rhythm. Once. Twice. Thrice. I stare at them. She’s always looked lovely in anything she wears, but there’s something about her wearing red that undoes me.She takes her hands if the table, folding them against her chest. That. Damned. Corset. Plush, succulent skin rises and falls, and I tear my gaze away before she can catch me staring at her breasts. “King Kier, your request is not one to be taken lightly. The relationship between our kingdoms has been strained, and Neredia's actions have not always been honorable. It is simply illogical to form an alliance with you that doesn’t benefit us in anyway. My answer is still no.”Since when am I King Kier? My fists clench underneath the table. “Us? Until two months ago, Neredia was your home—”Jessamine holds up a single finger, hushing me in a manner that absolutely baffles me. It’s something about the gesture that yells regal. Every movement she makes is necessary, every shi
Scoffing, I turn to my dresser, pulling the door open. “Take your boots off before you lay on my bed. And you’re not allowed to do that either.”“What? Lay in my wife’s bed?”“You sure love to dream a lot, Darrock. Take off your boots or get out.” I hum to myself, my fingers grazing the soft yellow fabric. Too much for dinner, and I look terrible in yellow. “I take it your visit went well?”Darrock sighs heavily and I hear his boots thud against the floors. “They were ready to ship me off and drown me in the sea, but their mortal queen intervened. Lovely woman. Nerf. She had such succulent—”I turn, wide-eyed. “Please tell me you didn’t sleep with her.”A charming grin spreads across his handsome face. “No, but she did ask. I was trying to remain faithful to you—”“Liar. You did, didn’t you?” I start laughing when he shoots me an apologetic look and says, “In my defense, I was trying not to die, and I did secure the routes using her. She loves me. All the women do, except you.”A perf
JessamineI chuckle. "This is your new ploy to get rid of me? I refuse to believe you're stupid enough not to notice when a man isn't being honest. There are always signs. I refuse to believe you would sell your family out for a man's attention. And it's highly unlikely that Rogue King Atticus would cross into our borders without being detected, and all to seduce you. You must think me a fool. What might you say next? That I should come with you so that you can murder me and hide my body?"The moment the words leave my lips, I feel terrible. She's what? Eighteen? A child. I stare at the wild panic in her eyes and her small, trembling frame, and there is a war going on inside me. A war between that side of me that wants to look past how terrible she has been to me, and the part of me that wants to damn her to hell.Nymeria falls back by a step, red-rimmed eyes squeezing shut. "I didn't want to come to you. I don't even like you. But I had no choice. If I told anyone else, they would ta
I feel him staring at him, and unwillingly, I turn my gaze to meet his for the first time since I came into this hall. The emotions in his eyes steal my breath and his voice drops into my subconscious, “Are you happy?” My smile shakes, but I don’t dare let it drop. “Of course, I am.” His eyes search mine for a moment, and the rest of the world dissolves into dust. “You lie. Only I can give you that.” “All I see is a bruised ego and an entitlement that stinks.” With that, I shove my mental walls back up. Kier rises, inclining his towards Father and Queen Tara in a curt nod. “Thank you for hosting me. Dinner was amazing, but I’m afraid I must call it a night. It was a long day.”The hall is silent for a while after he leaves, and my emotions are tumultuous. No one notices. I’ve gotten better at hiding them. Darrock keeps caressing my thigh softly, and I swallow my snarl. At some point, I’ll have to surrender to him in bed. At some point after our wedding, it’ll be e
Az rubbed his eyes tiredly. It’d been days since he last had a peaceful night’s rest. Lord of Grimstone. He often found himself laughing at the title. He wasn’t lord of anything—at least not yet. His people didn’t seem to think so with their constant rebellion of him and stealing from him, no matter that he tried his best to ensure even the darkest parts of Grimstone got ridded of their poverty.They didn’t warm up to him. They called him a freak. It was pathetic and he should have known Jessamine was lying the moment she started batting those long lashes of hers and speaking to him sweetly.He left Dawn after the wedding and he’d been at Grimstone for a total of seven months now. And in that time she’d come to see him thrice, with her twin boys, Wren and Alder. They both had their mother's eyes, but that was where the resemblance ended. The rest was all Kier. From their red hair down to their angry growls whenever Az didn't give them what they wanted.Of course, Jessamine had come to
Jessamine If you’ve ever been away from home for too long, you’d understand the feeling of your stomach plummeting at the most familiar scents, the urge to breathe in deeply, feel everything, reacquaint yourself with every single detail—details that suddenly seem more vivid and…and intense. That is all I can call this—coming home. Somehow, between punching Kier and telling him I hate him and I’ll return to my father’s castle and find me a man who isn’t quite as infuriating as he is, he’d kissed me. Concussion be damned, Kier’s lips heal me in more ways than any physician could. I walk Kier back into the throne room, pushing off the remains of his shirt. His fingers tangle in my hair as his lips on mine reminds me of the first time…the first time I saw him. His eyes looked like a tear from an ocean of peridots. His hair was shorter, not long enough to run my fingers through, but I was fascinated by the rich hue of it. He rarely smiled then, but when he did, it was bright as starlight
My fingers shake and I hide them behind my back as I round the corner. Slowly, I approach, the large oak door standing ominously in the distance. I wipe the sweat from my wrist against my light skirts and grip tightly as my chest thumps. Once. Twice. The closer I draw, the heavier the dagger under my skirt weighs. The maids behind me chatter, but I barely hear the words they say. I try to hide it behind a show of boredom but the fear creeps up my spine and it is all I can do to keep going. It takes an eternity, but I reach the door eventually. “He’s not in,” the guard tells me when I start to open the door. There usually aren’t any, but after this morning, I understand why he has his chambers guarded. My fingers still by the door. Not in? This is when we have dinner. Every night. I didn’t factor his possible absence into my plans. Gods above. “Where is he?”“Throne room. The reports from the prisoners came back. He’s off attending to it and said to tell you to wait for him.”Oh no.
Jessamine“I didn’t do it,” Killian growls for the umpteenth time. His gaze darts to me. “She did. This is her attempt at trying to get rid of me. Tell me what motive I would have to set the freak free. I’d gain nothing from it. I wasn’t even in the castle!”His argument would seem solid enough to Atticus if he wasn’t also accusing me of framing him. Darrock got out last night. Kier didn’t. When I heard the news, I bawled for hours in the bathroom, keeping the water running to drown out the sound. Why didn’t he leave? Because he’s mad at me? He claimed that I destroyed him last night. His eyes were hurt and broken. Why didn’t he just fucking leave?Atticus’s head tilts left. “Where were you last night?”Killian hesitates, his jaw grinding. I ponder on his reluctance to tell Atticus where he’d run off to. The bonfire. His gaze cuts to Raya and his fists clench. “The queen informed me of Raya’s plans to leave. I had to go bring her back.”Raya gives me a look that is equal parts be
JessamineHe’s drunk. I should have known serving him glass after glass would lead here. My hands trapped in his, held above my head, and his body a cage above mine. His long lashes flutter as he breathes in deeply. “Say it again.”The lie comes as easy as breathing. “I’m yours.”His canines gleam as he gives me a smile no one else has seen. “Youknowwhat intriguesme themostaboutyou?” His words tumble out together and it takes only a second to pull them apart as he leans in, his hot breath tickling my nose. “That I can’t tell your lies apart from your truths.”“Now, that is a terrible lie,” I whisper, reaching up to brush my lips against his chin. He shudders, a strangled noise building in his throat. “You like that you never know what I’m thinking. You love the danger I present. It excites you. It is why you keep me close, despite knowing I have a dagger strapped to my thigh, especially made to kill you. You romanticize with death, and death I will be, for you.”His response is a hea
JessamineKier might have been in chains and covered in dirt and blood, but there will never be any man as beautiful as him. He hasn’t noticed me yet, his teeth bared at the guards fighting to put him on his knees. The humans gasp, the smell of their fear filling the room when his bound arms ram into the side of a guard’s head, knocking him out.That earns him a growl from Killian who doesn’t hesitate to draw his sword and ram it into the back of Kier’s head. My mate stumbles, his blood spilling down his torn brown shirt, and he falls on one knee. I start to stand from Atticus’s lap, a growl traveling up my throat, when Atticus breathes against my neck, “Does his discomfort trouble you? You forget that he abandoned you, left you to rot here while he chose them again over you.”Kier would never, but I don’t say that. My mind is whirling in so many directions. How could he surrender? How could he let them…take him? How…my eyes widen when Lloyd walks in next and bows low, to the hip as h
JessamineI’ve been involved in an unhealthy number of ceremonies, and each time, it’s even less eventful. That isn’t to say that our wedding wasn’t a large affair. I’m fairly certain nearly all of Ashbourne was in attendance, all eager to see the werewolf princess with eyes like precious stones. Yes, someone said that as she delivered gifts to me, wishing me a long, happy marriage—a duchess, maybe. If only she knew.The castle couldn’t contain all of the guests and the guards around me were triple the normal size, like Atticus half expected someone to disrupt the ceremony. Someone who I can bet is Kier. Nervous, the entire time, I’d waited, staring at the door, hoping for a commotion that would bring a special redhead to me.But Kier never showed up and the ceremony was sealed. I was the puppet queen of Ashbourne. I was Atticus’s dove, his pet. I was thankful that nothing else was expected of me, other than sitting still and looking pretty. Unlike Kier, Atticus didn’t entertain the
JessamineI get a visitor a few minutes to my…wedding. My gaze lands on Darrock’s and nothing could have held me back. I launch myself at him with whatever little strength I have garnered in the past hour—which is close to nothing and he snatches my wrist before I can impale him with the butterknife I’d stolen from my dinner tray earlier.“Violet, please,” he rasps. “Listen to me—”Reaching up, I slam my head into his. He groans, retreating a step back and I see that I have caused no damage except the ache spreading through my head. I stumble in the bid to attack him again and he steadies me before I can fall. “Take your hands off me—” A firm hand clamps down on my mouth, silencing my scream of outrage before it can escape. “I’m trying to help,” he whispers. “We’re leaving. Now.”I let him see the response to that in my gaze; Over my dead body will I follow him anywhere.Darrock glances over his shoulder and when his eyes return to me, they’re troubled. “I know you have questions, an
Kier“It can’t be breached,” Lloyd explains and a disgruntled sound from the man seated beside me, whose aura rivals against mine greatly seems to set us all over the edge again. “Do not speak in absolutes,” King Hunter murmurs, his grimace turning darker. “He doesn’t have enough of us to guard his foothold. Surely, an army of humans can’t be that lethal.”Lloyd laughs, and it is nothing charming. He’d been the first I’d gone to for help after Randale convinced me that I’d get myself and Jessamine killed if I headed first into Ashbourne without a plan, and it had taken a lot of convincing to get him in here—the council room. “They have weapons and banes that’d render you useless in the twinkle of an eye. If you wish to bring him down, you must do it from within. An outright attack will if anything, help him kill your daughter quicker—and believe me, there is no level of relevance that would prevent him from doing that once he decides he has no use for her.”Pain flickers behind Lloyd