The advisors badmouthing me haven’t seen me yet, hidden as I am behind the brush. Their words sting me, but they aren’t anything that I haven’t heard before. The advisors might have the king’s ear, but they’ve never been kind to me. So I’m not particularly alarmed by thing insults, more annoyed by
I freeze as I look to the door. Caleb stands there, glowering at me. Bethany looks nervously between us. “Uh, please excuse me,” she says and quickly makes her way to the door. She slides around Caleb, whose gaze is fixed solely on me, and escapes. With Caleb looking right at me, though, I have no
“You are being ridiculous, Harper.” I don’t want to be in bed with this man anymore, even if that meant I had to stand in the room naked to be away from him. So be it. Rolling out of bed, I place some space between us. Fortunately, I have a robe draped over a chair nearby. I quickly shuck it on.
“As your wife, it would be incredibly disrespectful and purposefully hurtful for you to still require the services of a harem,” Annabelle says. “As such, I expect you to entirely dissolve your harem, releasing all of the girls – including Harper.” Caleb’s annoyance intensifies the longer Annabelle
“That is a terrible idea,” Bethany says, not holding back. “What could you even hope to gain by doing that? Best case scenario, Leah has no way of delivering the message. Worst case, Samuel lures you out somewhere and has you killed.” “He won’t kill me,” I say. Despite his threats, he cares for me,
Seeing Caleb rush towards me, fury in his gaze, I already know what’s happened here. Bethany. She might have seemed compliant when I told her to stay behind, but I should have known she wouldn’t just sit idly by while I placed myself in danger, even if I instructed her to do so. She is my friend b
Much, much later, after Caleb ravaged me on the stairs again and then twice more in my bedroom, once we are relatively cleaned up, though I still carry his scent all over me, Caleb sits on the edge of my bed, staring at me as I recline there, jelly-like and sated. We need to have a talk, and I know
I awaken the next morning to a loud, confident knock on my door. Rising up from bed, I pull on my housecoat and walk to the door, opening it. I’m half-expecting Bethany, though she doesn’t usually knock quite that loudly. Instead, I find the Pitmaster there. Her expression is severe as always but d
A growl rumbles from the back of Caleb’s throat. With his arm wrapped firmly around me, he leads me the rest of the way down the stairs where we approach Gladys directly.“Ah, the guests of the hour,” Gladys says with a humored smirk. “Please, make yourselves at home. Do the rounds, meet the other g
Bethany, in shock over what she was hearing, emitted a tiny gasp. Though she covered her mouth in an instant, it was unfortunately enough of a sound to draw the attention of Gladys and the butler in the kitchen.“What was that?” the butler says, just as Gladys calls out, “Who’s there?”Bethany, real
“You’ve cast aside your harem, denied a bond with a very nice werewolf Annabelle… You’ve thrown every other perfectly acceptable wolf woman to the side… All so that you can stay with a human?”As she lectures, I freeze a little. I didn’t realize this is such a point of contention. I’d thought Caleb
The next morning, we receive an invitation from Gladys to accompany her for a walk in the gardens while the ballroom is being prepared for the gala. As we need to gather information anyway, and can’t do that tucked away in our room, we decide to take her up on the offer.The gardens are tucked behin
“This was more than a mere slight,” I snap. “Your butler shot the King!”Gladys gives me a vague sort of look, like she’s not apologetic or sympathetic at all.Caleb wraps his arm around me, placing his hand on the small of my back.“It’s alright, Harper,” Caleb says. Though he has been more calm th
The loud pop of a gunshot makes me jump. Unfortunately, I’m very familiar with that sound, from far too many close encounters at the palace.I look toward the door. Caleb still isn’t back yet.“Wait!” Cameron calls. Stepping toward us, his hand is raised. “It’s too dangerous!”I don’t have time to w
As Bethany talk, I learn more about her than I ever have before. It makes me feel like a truly awful friend. Bethany has stood by me through thick and thin, yet I still knew so little about her. I’m determined to rectify this oversight, and dive into her life here and now as much as I can.Yet, whil
Holding the note, I moved toward the bed and sat down on the edge. Caleb, finished with his shower, comes out of the shower looking relaxed as can be. The moment he sees me perched on the bed, he tenses again.“What happened? What’s going on?” he asks, his voice all business.I hold up the small not
The stare-off continues for an uncomfortably long amount of time. Around us, I see Gladys’s servants take notice, and my own worry sets in. If this continues, will they attack Caleb? Is Caleb willing to go to war to keep me safe and by his side?I fear I already know the answer to that.Yet, before