“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
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
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
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
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
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
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
On the day of her wedding, Laurel found herself unable to stop smiling. Raven, Irene, and the rest of Adolph’s cousins had come to her chambers to get her ready for the traditional luna’s brunch held with the female members of the family. They brought the sash of gold embroidered with lunar flowers, smiling as Raven fastened it over her shoulders and explained the significance of the sash and the brunch. “It’s to be the last meal you eat as just a gift to the king from the moon goddess,” Raven said. “Hence the lunar flowers. Once you’re married, you’ll wear a sash with both azaleas and luna flowers.”She chuckled, “I can see why you told him this all might be a bit much to take in.”Raven grinned, “You’re taking all the pomp, circumstance, and tradition well.”“… is it too late to change something?”“What sort of change?” Irene asked. “I was thinking that…” Laurel’s face burned. “Maybe I could have nine roses if it’s not too late?”Irene’s eyes twinkled with mischief and Raven smil