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Chapter 53: A Wedge
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The Returned Luna Chapter 54: Minister Mirabelle
Laurel sank into her seat, still giddy from the picnic. They had been out there for several hours that morning, enjoying each other’s company until Adolph had to get back to finish up a few things before the ministry’s meeting. She smiled looking at the bouquet on her desk. Adolph told her that he’d had it replaced. The sight of roses still stung a bit, but she thought back to the picnic and found herself able to carry on with her work. She had a bit of paperwork to review regarding the orphanage and she still hadn’t gotten a chance to speak with Basil about the orchard. A knock sounded on her door. “Come in.”Gavin Mirabelle entered with a cold expression, sneering down at her. He wasn’t a bad looking man for his age, but his malice and greed had disfigured even the color of his eyes in her mind. He was nothing but a greedy man, pulling his grandson’s strings. As he walked in, he saw several other ministers standing outside Adolph’s office. He closed the door behind him and she wa
The Returned Luna Chapter 55: Just The Nanny
“Have you seen it?”“Yeah, it’s kind of hard to miss.” One of the women giggled. “How romantic. Who knew the king was so possessive?”Tina frowned, turning her head and straining to hear the rest of the conversation. “It makes you wonder how much is true and how much Tina made up just to seem important,” the other one said. “I mean, Maria has been here since before Tina and she said that Luna Olivia was never marked.”Tina gasped, covering her mouth. It was impossible! There was no way that tramp had been marked by Adolph. Her mistress had languished about Adolph’s unwillingness to mark her, bemoaning tradition and his sense of propriety. *He says it’s about tradition, but I know better. She’d said. He just doesn’t want to mar my perfect skin. He loves me so much. He’s so gentle…*Tina had had her doubts about it then, but Olivia had been so in love and Adolph was obviously in love with her as well, so she hadn’t thought about it too much. Tina had never been marked either, but she
The Returned Luna Chapter 56: The Issue of the Bouquet
Adolph led Laurel away from the ballroom into a nearby parlor and pulled her close with a sigh, nuzzling her. Her scent was as warm and sweet as ever, soothing in ways he hadn’t ever thought anything could be. The exhaustion that had been dragging him down for years had vanished practically overnight since he’d marked her. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered. Laurel laughed a little, “You saw me this morning.”“It was too long ago,” he said with a little chuckle, before dropping a kiss to her temple. “A gift.” She frowned as Adolph took her hand a put a chain of gold around her wrist with a few charms. One looked like a blue lake made of sapphires under a mountain. Another was a tree made of gold and tiny emeralds. The next was a rose made of rubies. Another was an azalea made of rubies. The last charm looked like a lunar flower made of diamonds so clear they sparkled in the dim light. “Y-Your Majesty, I…” He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. “It’s beautiful but…”“You can’t retu
The Returned Luna Chapter 57: The Rose, Azalea, and Luna Flower
Laurel gathered herself and the invitation samples and left the parlor. Based on the time, she was due to meet the Imperial Tailor to be fitted for her gown. She had never met the Imperial Tailor when she was Laura, but she’d heard about the woman from Basil. She fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist and tried to focus on the things she had to get done for the rest of the day. As she neared the parlor, she heard feminine laughter and froze. She lifted her head and approached the door slowly before knocking.“Come on in!” A bright voice called. She entered a bit hesitantly and gasped as she saw the group of women. They were all dressed as nobles, smiling at each other. She recognized some of them for her life as Laura, but not all of them. The oldest of them approached her with a warm smile, “Well, aren’t you a lovely young woman!”“Hello,” she curtsied. “A pleasure to meet you…”“I’m Raven, Adolph’s elder sister.”Laurel’s eyes widened and she froze. *Sister?*Raven laughed, a ligh
The Returned Luna Chapter 58: Less Roses
Laurel left the parlor after having a light meal and several stories about Adolph in his youth that made her reel. It was hard to reconcile a little boy chasing frogs in the garden with his sister with King Adolph the Vampire Destroyed. She had tried to avoid thinking any more about Olivia and Adolph's relationship, but Raven’s words were echoing through her mind. A marriage of convenience? How could a marriage of convenience have such a love story around it? What about the portrait in the office?*Easily made and easily broken…* It sounded a lot like her marriage and bond to Basil. When Olivia died, had Adolph felt it at all?She walked with Lynn quietly around the grounds, just trying to get some fresh air until she reached a pair of gates that hadn’t been there when she’d been in the castle as Laura. She looked up at the gates. They were heavy iron and new.“Where do these gates lead?” Laura asked. “To the late luna’s orchard.” Laurel gasped. She knew Basil issued a decree again
The Returned Luna Chapter 59: The Truth About Olivia
Adolph sighed. He hadn’t thought about the fiasco that was his first marriage in a long time, but he promised to tell her so she could set her doubts to rest. “I told you that my sister, Raven, had a son before Basil was born… She had him when the war was starting to get rough.”Adolph was the only heir to the throne. He’d been young, not even in his twenties when Raven had her first child and Adolph had ascended the throne. His father had left him his crown and the war when he died. That much fighting had a way of pulling at a werewolf’s sanity without a mate of some kind. “I was… losing time,” Adolph said, shuddering. “Not fully days, but hours at a time. As you know it’s one of the first signs of going rogue.”Laurel nodded, shuddering at the thought. To be so young and already pushed to the edges of what his mind could take was heartbreaking. “While I was on the front lines, Olivia Mirabelle fell in love with the idea of me,” he said, his lips twitching wryly. “Whether it was s
The Returned Luna Chapter 60: Between Father And Son
Adolph kissed her cheek before standing and offering her his hand. “It’s getting late, darling. Let me escort you back to your room.”She nodded and took his hand, warm and giddy. The cool air of the night felt warm around them, cozy and romantic. The moonlight that spilled through the tall windows filled the night with an ambiance that made her draw closer to Adolph. When they reached her door, Adolph pulled her close. Her breath stuttered as she got close enough to share air with him and pick out every strand of blue in his eyes. “I don’t… want to let you go, just yet.”She worried her lip, “O-Okay.”He smiled, dragging his lips against hers and whispering, “Is this okay?”Laurel nodded, her stomach flipping and filling with butterflies as he kissed her gently and leaned into her. He groaned, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. She gasped and he slipped his tongue between her teeth, licking into her mouth with a ticklish zing of pleasure that went straight to her stomach and poo
The Returned Luna Chapter 61: Grandfather or Puppeteer
Basil frowned into the distance. He’d been sitting in the same position for at least an hour, thinking and letting out little frustrated sighs. It had been a full day since the confrontation in the ballroom. She knew that he went to talk to Adolph about Laurel again after that, but he hadn’t said what they’d discussed. It was unnerving and only added to Delia’s current stress. The vial Eden had given her was burning against her skin, tucked safely in the bust of her gown. She hadn’t dared to leave it in her room where someone could find it and get suspicious. “I’m having doubts,” Basil said softly. “About… my mother and father’s relationship.”Delia slid closer, seizing upon the chance, “Why?”“… a feeling,” Basil said, making Delia’s stomach jolt in fear. “Just… an instinct I guess.”He sighed as Delia tried to calm her heart. Adolph had impeccable instincts. Was there a chance that Basil had inherited some of them and they were waking up now? Why now? She thought of Eden’s cold
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