“Are you really going to get married?”
I blink out of the memory of what was…one of the most complicated nights of my life as I look down at my daughter, riding ahead of me as we climb the steep final path up to the gates of the Winter Palace. Vivianna – a beautiful, golden-haired consequence of that very complicated night.
But consequence is too hard a word. Surprise. Gift. Yes, my gift. I drop a kiss to the top of her head.
“Yes, I’m getting married,” I murmur, hoping that it’s a lie and that I can find a way to explain it all to her later. “You know this. I’m going to marry the King.”
Vivianna frowns up at me. “But you don’t even love him!”
I burst out laughing, shaking my head at her. “Of course I do. He is our King and your grandfather. We all love him.”
God, she’ll have to forgive me for that blat
Mahl leaves me at the Queen’s Chambers with another big sloppy kiss.I wipe my mouth on my sleeve as I push the door shut, wondering how on earth Angeline ever liked that. But then again, if you’re in love with someone – or even just attracted to them – it is different.I sigh, leaning back against the door, looking around this room in which I have spent so many hours in years past. The memories come flooding back, hitting me like a rip tide and dragging me under into some very real grief.Angeline and I were so…happy here. I look over at the bed with its plum-colored velvet hangings, where we were sleeping the morning Angeline woke up with a gasp, realizing that she was pregnant. God, she was so happy – so excited…I let my eyes fall shut, forcing the memory away, because where that pregnancy lead her…No. I can’t go there. I have to keep myself together.I exhale slowly, opening my eyes and letting my gaze travel around the room, looking for a good memory to replace the difficult on
“Nice room,” Margot says, turning in a small circle and nodding appreciatively. “Yes, I think I’m going to like it here!”“You haven’t been in here before?” I ask, pressing the door shut and waving my friend toward the bed as I move to a little cupboard built into the wall next to the fireplace. As I open it, a little table conveniently unfolds from within, creating just enough space to mix a cocktail while the shelves above hold a variety of wine glasses and space for more bottles.Margot gasps, delighted. “This is so cute!” she says, leaving the cheese plate on the bed and scurrying over to me as I pull out a corkscrew and take the bottle from her hands. “And no, of course I haven’t been here. I wasn’t at court in your days, and Beth was…disinclined towards those of my profession.”I grin at her, opening the bottle with a pop. &ldq
Auden keeps his eyes on his father, ignoring the Alphas, knowing that this is a briefing, not a discussion. The King bangs his fist twice on the table. What murmurs there are in the room fade to silence.“Our armies will move to the Western border with Venda,” Mahl growls, looking around at his Alphas. “We’ll draw our troops back from the Eastern allies to move in force. We will take our time with this, let the Vendans sweat, think we’re moving slowly because we’re bullying them and intend to call for talks at the last minute. But no talks. We will strike.”It’s Auden’s plan, not Mahl’s – one the Prince dwelled over for hours on the road while the children slept. But the way Mahl speaks it with such confidence, he probably does think that he came up with it by this point.“In the intervening months,” Mahl growls, still looking around at all of his men, “we will celebrate our Kingdom’s power and imminent victory. This celebration will culminate in my wedding.”He gestures over to Everl
I’m about to turn to him and plead to be let go when Margot turns her face to me from across the room and gives her head a subtle shake. I hesitate for just a moment and then pause, considering that she may have a better plan than me.Margot laughs at one final thing an Alpha says before she detaches herself from his arm and saunters over to us, the silk of her dress flowing gorgeously over her hips. Mahl and I watch her come, his arm tightening around me, slipping lower so that his hand grips my ass – probably pretending it’s hers.“Highness,” Margot says, dipping into a curtsy and giving Mahl a coy look. “Thank you so much for this fantastic party –““Of course, Margot. I’m so glad you’re enjoying yourself. Though, I can imagine some ways for you to enjoy yourself more…”Margot smirks at Mahl and turns to me next, murmuring “darling” and reaching for me, pulling me into a hug. As she presses a kiss to my cheek, she whispers, her words falling swiftly from her lips. “Just go – I’ll h
“Are you…are you serious,” I whisper, snatching the pamphlet up and holding it close to my face like getting a better look is going to change the words or something. “He’s…is this true!? Is he coming here!?”“Looks like it,” Margot says. I lower the pamphlet to see her grimacing a little. “I can take it that…you and your ex didn’t leave things on pleasant terms?”I groan, dropping the pamphlet and again burying my face against the blankets. Because…bad terms is not an adequate phrase to encapsulate what happened when I called off my engagement to Alpha Wood.Catastrophe would be better. Brink of war? Threats of eternal damnation and the destruction of my family? Each of those is…closer to the point.“Oh, baby,” Margot murmurs, patting me softly on the back. “What could it possibly matter? You’re going to be a Queen now, and you’ve got Mahl behind you. No one can say a word against you. No matter what Wood says or does, you’re coming out with the upper hand.”I take a deep breath, real
I grin, thinking that they very much would. And that I’d die of anxiety watching them hurl themselves around on it, worried about them falling and breaking their bones.“Does it really get cold enough to freeze it solid like that?” After all, Mahl and his court come south to this winter palace because it’s more temperate than the north.“Oh, I’ve got methods to help it along,” Margot says. I turn back to her and she gives a little wink. “I’m a poor little winter girl at heart. I’ve got my methods of having fun.”I tilt my head, smiling at her, betting that she’s right.“So!” Margot says, giving me a bright smile. “How are you feeling about the Night of the Stag?”I groan again and she laughs.“Honestly, Everleigh,” she murmurs. “Don’t you enjoy anything?”“I enjoy peace, quiet, and…predict
Vivi’s eyes are wide as she watches the chocolate melt slowly in the little copper bowl that Auden holds out over the fire. He uses long tongs to keep the bowl suspended so that the flames just barely lick the bottom. Niall watches closely, his eyes moving between his father’s steady hand and the bowl itself.My daughter stays concentrated on the treat. “Can we eat it yet?”“No!” I say, laughing as I kneel next to Auden, likewise watching, loving this. “It has to get all melty, and then we can add some cream, and then dip the fruit into it –“I gesture over to the plate of fruits that I ordered up to the room, ready and waiting on a towel spread on the floor. Coco lays next to it on a pillow that Vivi set there for him, innocently pretending that he’s not sneaking a strawberry every time we turn our eyes to the fire.“Nooo!” Vivi moans, her hands balled into lit
I settle in next to Auden, handing him the glasses of wine we set on the bedside table forever ago and promptly forgot about.“This is nice,” Auden murmurs, glancing at me before taking a sip of his wine. “I used to do this with my mom. It’s…nice to do this again with them.”Warmth spreads through me at that idea – I love that this little activity lets him relive such a pleasant memory. And again, I wish quite desperately that I could tell him the truth…But. I don’t know. Even after my failure, a big part of me realized that opening that secret to Auden would be very complicated. How would I even convince him that my words were true – that he is their father – if he has absolutely no memory of that night?Would he just…write me off as some kind of madwoman? Or my attempt to convince him of his paternity as some kind of new scheme?I would
We lay there for a long few moments in silence, I think just letting our bodies learn the feel of each other in repose, basking in this new warmth. He ducks his head slightly, rubbing his stubbled cheek against my hair in a very fond, wolfish gesture. I can’t help my growing smile, raising a hand to his chest and letting my fingers spread out over his soft skin.God, who knew it would be this soft?Or maybe I did.Maybe I dreamed it.My wolf gives a scanty little howl of joy, curling up in a little crescent shape with her nose tucked under the edge of her tail, completely content.“I’ve thought about this,” he murmurs, letting his body curl around me more completely, pressing a kiss to my hair.“Really?” I whisper, lifting my face a bit to look up at him, grinning.He stills for a moment, frowning down at me. “You’re going to break my heart if you say you haven’t.”I laugh, smacking him lightly on the chest and lowering my face to press my cheek again to his nice warm skin. “So, what
My breath deepens as I keep my eyes on Auden, my fingers deftly working at the leather of his belt, sliding the end through the metal clasp and then tugging it, working it free of the pin. When I slide the buckle free, my hand moves to the button beneath, quickly popping it free of the fabric.Auden watches my face as my hand works, his expression very serious, very…solemn.Like this is some kind of great ceremony.Like this is…a point which when crossed we cannot go back. Which, I suppose it kind of is.But we’ve already crossed at least three of those points already. Honestly, I’m so far in with this man that…this tiny step? This last little leap?It just feels inevitable. Natural and right.Auden’s hand moves slowly up my arm as my fingers work at the series of little buttons on his fly, slipping each one free. He keeps his eyes on mine, even as my hand slips around to his side, my thumb again running along the waistline of his pants. When I reach his hip, I press the fabric down.
“What are you doing?” I gasp.“It’s easier this way,” he murmurs, settling down on top of my legs. He pauses for a second, but then his fingers wrap again around the edges of my dress, pulling it down a little lower so that half of my booty is exposed.“Auden!” I gasp, my head flying up.“Calm down, Everleigh, this is strictly medical. I just need to see the extent of the bruise.” His voice is low, entertained.“Oh, I hate you,” I murmur, tucking my head back down against my arms, my cheeks flaming.“No, you don’t,” he murmurs, making me smile. A soft scraping sounds, the lid of a jar being unscrewed, and the balmy scent of mint and eucalyptus fills my nose. “This will be cold.”I sigh and nod, consenting to it, thinking that sounds quite nice against the hot ache growing in my lower back. But I still gasp at the first t
Auden shuts the door behind him and I still in the middle of his room, looking around, quite curious.Everything’s lit only in the soft blue glow of night but still – I find myself surprised. All of the furniture is very finely made and neatly arranged, but it’s all very…sparse.Except for one little stuffed bunny rabbit, sitting on top of his pillow, one ear flopping down before its beaded eye. I burst into a smile, loving that a great deal.“What?” Auden asks, coming to stand by my side and seeing my smile.“It’s just…you live like a soldier,” I say quietly, turning my face up to him.“I am a soldier,” he says, frowning at me.My smile widens. “You’re a General, Auden. But still, I just…didn’t expect you to have a guest.” I tilt my head toward the pillows and he turns, his frown deepening before it spread
My fingers continue their work. His head just hangs.“What do we do?” he whispers.“I don’t know,” I reply, my tone matching his for confusion and sorrow. I sigh and take a step away, turning toward the window. “Let me go back to my room, I’ll sleep on it – and you’ll sleep on it – and we can –“But his hand reaches out and takes my arm again, gentler this time. I look back at him, frowning when he shakes his head.“Everleigh, you were here for a reason,” he murmurs. I stand straighter as I realize that he’s right – that I completely forgot that the castle halls are host to what is basically a gigantic orgy right now and that I was here in Auden’s rooms to avoid detection. “If, somehow, your fucking magical spell on Margot fails and Mahl storms into your room…”I grimace, turning back to him. “Yea
“I don’t know about you, Everleigh,” Auden says after a long moment of choosing his next words. I flash my teeth as I realize that he has apparently chosen very poorly. “But I can control myself.”I laugh at Auden, low and derisive, leaning forward to do it – an act that only makes me wince as the bruise on my back stretches. “Auden. No, you can’t.”He glares at me, clenching his jaw. “Yes, I can!”“No!” I say, laughing a little more and shaking my head. “You can’t! Your whole life is about control and keeping things in line – about trying to fucking – fucking harness the wind, or something impossible like that! Keep a fucking muzzle on Mahl – these impossible tasks that you tell yourself that you can do, that you have to, and then you let them eat you up and you loathe yourself when you fail &
Auden leans his elbows on his knees and dips his head like he does when he’s thinking. I watch, and as the seconds pass my anger comes back to me a bit. Not at him – not…not really. Or, maybe not at all at him?Or, well. Maybe a little at him.What the hell was he doing getting all high and running across the castle, anyway? What the hell was he doing fucking me like that – like our god damned lives depended on it – and then not pulling out at the end?He knows as well as I do that the consequences of a pregnancy that is not Mahl’s means…death.Death. Again, death! All roads in this fucking life lead to an abrupt and brutal death.But my anger at Auden is minor compared to my anger at myself for losing control. And at this fucking world for being a place where something as simple and natural as a pregnancy after a much-desired sexual encounter would spell the d
I shout, my muscles clenching, my head falling back. I hear and feel Auden groan as he pitches forward on top of me, pressing me hard back against the bureau as my inner walls tighten against him, squeezing tight against his cock. Auden thrusts forward one last time and I feel him come, feel the warmth of him spreading in me, delicious and soothing after such rough play –My whole body tingles and I cry out again, little moaning sounds, my arms finding their way around his shoulders as I start to shake all over, clinging to him, everything I know and understand grinding to tiny broken pieces.He groans and holds me tight as the last final jerks pulse through his body. He loses a bit of control, his knees weakening, and his weight falls against me for a moment in a way that makes me gasp –My eyes fly open and he steadies himself, cursing lightly under his breath as he gets his legs under him again, finding bala
Auden again shifts back, his cock withdrawing slightly, the sensation against my inner walls agonizing and fantastic at once, and then he starts to pound into me at a steady, punishing pace, fucking me hard and fast and relentless – just the way I want him to.My face turns hard to the left as my hands slam down on the wood of the bureau, balancing me as Auden wraps his hand around my back and pulls me further forward so that my ass is no longer on the wood at all. Instead, he holds my body tight against him, my lower back pressed painfully to the edge of the bureau as he picks up his pace, thrusting himself deep into my core again and again with a fervid need that makes me dizzy.My mind spins as my body tenses, as heat and some fucked-up need builds within me. Because this is all wrong – all of it is fucking wrong – I hid from this man for years, I’m keeping secrets from him that would break his heart, I’m engaged to his goddamn father –But none of that – none of that fucking matte