I stand at the back of the line of harem consorts, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with Gwen as she keeps looking back to glower at me. Blessedly, after a time, the line starts to move forward and I am saved from continued awkwardness. Yet, as I move closer and closer to the front of the Hall, I am
Well, that’s a concern for a later time. Right now, I only need to concentrate on surviving the night. The other consorts are mingling, so I attempt to as well. As far as I can tell, Caleb has yet to enter the room. I use this newfound freedom to weave through some of the Hall, mingling, but also
My irritation at my sister forces words from my throat that would have otherwise stayed lodged there, mostly from my shock at seeing Samuel again. “I wasn’t chosen for the King’s harem by some pitying fool, but by the King himself,” I say. Leah’s good humor immediately sours and she glares at me
I snap my mouth closed, remembering when Caleb had pulled me into that separate room and made me scream so loud with pleasure that everyone in the Hall could hear him. I do not want a repeat performance of that scenario, especially with Samuel in the room. He would be forced to listen. One by one,
Samuel’s face turns even redder. So does mine, I imagine, from how hot it feels. I can’t reprimand Caleb from saying such things – especially not when he’s sitting on his throne, in front of so many people watching and listening. Still, before he walks away, he does somehow manage to speak up. “
Samuel leans in. “I have to speak with you,” he says. I must have misheard. After his display with Leah, there can’t be anything in the world left for us to talk about. “Whatever you think you need to say, you do not,” I tell him. “Trust me. Giving Leah my necklace told me everything I need to kno
I flush the note down the toilet. When I leave the bathroom, Caleb is there in the hallway just outside the door, as if he’s been waiting for me. “Where is it?” he demands, a growl in his voice. “What are you talking about?” I tell him. He storms toward me, anger in his eyes. “You think I’m
Bethany has permission to walk these halls, even this late at night, yet she still moves quickly and cautiously. She’s on a secret mission to scope out the secret location to see if Samuel arrives and what his reaction is to Harper not meeting him. Harper hasn’t been herself since arriving back
That’s… odd. I was expecting more fight from him. At the very least, I thought he might just storm off and leave me alone. But now he wants to… help? Maybe my words got through to him. Does he now see how important it is for us to work together to survive? Containing my pride, I return to my wor
For a brief moment, Caleb’s entire face goes slack with shock. In that instant, I feel vindicated, like maybe he’ll learn something now. However, in the next second, his face hardens instead. His words like ice, he says, “What did you just say to me?” Any other day, maybe I would have backed dow
My main worry is for Tristan and his safety on his dangerous mission. My second worry, however, is for myself, as I’m now alone with him in this farmhouse. There are no other slaves, or servants. No cooks. No cleaners. No other harem women to sate his needs – although that makes me more pleased than
Tristan and Caleb, talking lightly. I also notice that the clothes I left on the coffee table for Caleb are gone. Standing from the couch, I cross the room, closer to the door. “You can’t just go back storming through the gates,” Tristan says. “We don’t know the state of anything right now. Geor
Bethany keeps her head down, completing her work scrubbing the blood from the balcony while trying to not to panic about the very clearly bear soldiers still in the capital, posing as King’s guards. All the while, she waits for her chance to come forward and warn the Gamma about what she’s seeing.
Eventually, once the shooting and the screaming ends, Bethany crawls out from under her bed. There are so many safe rooms in the capital but each one she tried was taken with people of higher rank than her, unwilling to share their space with her. In the end, with nowhere else to go, she retreated b
Caleb pats his thigh like he wants me to come sit on his lap. He can’t be serious. The man could barely walk across the room on his own and now he wants to have sex? “We should wait,” I start to say. His eyes narrow. “You dare deny your king?” He adds a frown. “Or do you think your king incapabl
Caleb gently twists his body this way and that, feeling each poke of discomfort. “That explains why I feel like swiss cheese. Help me to the couch then, damn it.” Tristan and Harper both help Caleb to his feet and together they shuffle toward the floral-pattern couch against the wall. “A bed wou
Caleb’s vision is red as he closes his hands around the traitor’s throat. He has her up against the wall, her feet dangling, kicking wildly. She claws at Caleb’s hands with her dull human fingernails, as if that would ever be enough for him to not see justice done. “C-Caleb…” she gasps, the villai