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Chapter 55: Just The Nanny
Last Updated:
2022-11-29 15:39:09
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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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
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After brunch, they retired to the bridal suite. Delia sat at the back of the room, refusing to help Laurel, though it didn’t seem as though she was expected to help. It didn’t matter to her other than to irritate her. There should have been news about Adolph being ill by now, but since there wasn’t, she could only imagine that Adolph would fall to the poison before the ceremony. She’d used the entire vial after all. She didn’t know what Tina was planning, but she doubted that Laurel would make it long after the ceremony either. With both of them out of the way, she would be the luna. Basil would be king, but the entire plan would be complete. Would Eden be happy? Would he reward her? She grimaced, thinking of Tina. There was no way the woman wouldn’t remember her hint about Basil’s heir. Maybe she should have saved a bit of poison for her as well. Raven watched Delia out of the corner of the mirror as she helped Irene do Laurel’s makeup. Lily and Sarah managed the curling of Laurel
Last Updated : 2022-12-01
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His stomach churned but he nodded, walking into the room. Fear filled him, but as he entered the room he started to relax. “You’re so beautiful… you take after your father.”Laurel lay among the sheets, dressed in a loose gown and cradling the baby to her chest.At the distance, he could only see a tuft of honey blonde hair in the swaddling blanket. The wetnurses bowed and stepped aside as he approached. Laurel smiled up at him, “Want to meet him?”“Him?”Laurel beamed at him, “Him… Nimue told me before, but I wanted it to still be a surprise for you.”Another boy. Adolph sunk onto the bed beside her, kissing her cheek before looking down into her arms. He had Laurel’s nose and hair pattern though the coloring was all his. Maybe when he grew up he’d take after his grandfathers, but he wouldn’t be able to tell that for a while.“Can I hold him?”Laurel nodded, offering the child to him. He smelled like fresh water and clean skin as Adolph took him, and held him close. He was so smal
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Nimue took a deep calming breath as Basil let out a mournful sob. The air began to warm slowly around them as the path between their world and the afterlife closed. She should have known when her first evocation yielded nothing that Olivia was going to be another troublesome spirit.She hoped Basil would be able to recover and accept the truth in time.“No… mother…” Nimue’s heart twisted with grief as she calmed her powers and Basil’s hand tightened on her ankle. “Why? She… She lifted it.”“She was prepared to sacrifice you,” she said solemnly.“She lifted the curse, Nimue! You didn’t have to!”Nimue looked down at him, “She only did so to save her existence, Basil. That was the test. It wasn’t about remorse towards what she’d done to your father… it was about what she did to you.”His eyes welled with tears as she set her staff aside, allowing it to hover in the air. “She was never your mother.”She kneeled beside Basil, placing a glowing hand near the dagger in his chest as he fell
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Adolph’s voice was sure and even, but Basil couldn’t believe what he was saying. Didn’t he understand that they had no way of knowing how long that would be? A few months? A few days? His father was the strongest man he knew, but he wasn’t indestructible!“But father—”“You’d let Basil be king?” Olivia scoffed and laughed, “You know he’s not ready. He won’t ever be ready!”The twinge of pain that went through him took his breath away. He pushed it aside. This wasn’t the mother he’d imagined his whole life. He expected his father to say those things, not the woman who died giving birth to him. He winced at the thought. She hadn’t died giving birth to him. She’d died giving birth to a curse. There was no other choice to make.“Nimue, end the séance.”Nimue said nothing. Whether that meant she couldn’t or wasn’t going to, he didn’t know.Adolph shook his head, “Your father tried to make that true, but it’s not. Basil isn’t an idiot. He’s young and inexperienced, but that’s fixable. He h
The Returned Luna Chapter 171: Love and Obsession
Adolph narrowed his eyes down at Olivia. She was just as pretty as she had been before, but he saw the wicked light in her eyes. “Shouldn’t you be greeting our son whom you’ve never met?” Adolph asked. She smiled at him, poisonous and vicious, “I would never put anyone before you dear husband.”“You are dead,” Adolph said, “Speak to Basil.”“… very well.”Olivia turned her head and looked at Basil. Adolph was about to retract his statement at the hopeful look on Basil’s face, but it was too late. “You asked them to kill the man who raised you,” Olivia said, “You asked for the death penalty.”“Mother, they—”“Don’t call me that!” Olivia hissed at him. “All of them. Murdered and for what? What of your loyalty to me?”Basil’s eyes widened, “To you…?”“After what your father did to me?” Olivia said, “What is a bit of money?”“You… You knew?” Basil asked. “But—”“I love your father,” she said, her eyes glimmering with tears. “But… that wasn’t good enough. My love was never good enough f
The Returned Luna Chapter 170: Olivia
Laurel didn’t expect Basil to come quickly, so when the door closed, she was grateful that Nimue made herself a cup of tea and smiled at her. “You were once someone else,” Nimue said. “I am glad that the moon saw fit to bring the white wolf back to us.”Laurel blinked and sat across from her, “You’re… not much like Eden.”Nimue chuckled, “Eden and I have different gifts… He is what we would call an elemental Wiccan. Lightning strikes, fire, flashy shows of power that most associate with real magic. I’m a spiritual mage.”Laurel blinked and made herself a cup of tea, “What… does that mean?”“It means I have a connection to the living and the dead. Hence, I know the body you’re in right now is one you were reborn into. I can only guess how you died, but I assume that Basil knew you in your past life.”Laurel winced, “This… isn’t how I expected this conversation to go.”Nimue shrugged, “You make plans and the spirits laugh, but I’m not concerned about your aura. It’s more than healthy a
The Returned Luna Chapter 169: Mates and Fated Pairs
Adolph watched Basil leave. Nimue winced.“I… would like a moment to speak with my wife,” Adolph said slowly. Nimue nodded, “I’ll… go after him.”She left wincing. That had been a fucking disaster if she’d ever seen one. As she exited the room, she followed the trembling confusion, fear, and anger down the hall and around the corner. The thing about magical compatibility between fated matches was that it worked like a homing beacon. She found him in a parlor sitting on the couch with his head in his hand. He lifted his head and shot to his feet as she entered. “You—You can’t just say things like that!” Basil said, “You can’t just accuse her if you—You’re a healer! How would you know something like that anyway?”Nimue watched him, his shoulders heaving as he held himself still. “I am a healer,” she said. “But I am not just a healer. Sit down and calm yourself.”“Look me in the eye and tell me the truth,” Basil said, glaring at her. “Tell me you know for sure my mother did it. Tell
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Basil had tried to keep his mind focused on the path ahead the next morning, no matter how Nimue’s scent had seemed to take over his senses and make him dizzy with need and desire. She smelled like fresh blooming flowers, fresh earth, and a hint of fresh sweet bread. It was a distracting, comforting, and maddening scent. His wolf growled in contentment and want whenever she grew near, so he took to riding further ahead to try and keep his mind clear. *I hate you*, his wolf huffed and growled. *You and your stupid pride and fear and…**Not now*, Basil thought, stubbornly. *Focus on getting back to the capital, okay?*He huffed, *And your need for distraction instead of facing the truth…*Basil sighed, tuning out his wolf’s whining. This wasn’t the time for thinking about such things. Adolph and Laurel were supposed to be staying at the temple until the baby was born. There was no reason they should have called him back unless the baby was early or something had happened to his father
The Returned Luna Chapter 167: Forgiveness
Taliesin sent the message off with a heavy heart. While his judgment was sound and he knew he wasn’t wrong, the likelihood that it would all go to plan was slim. Curses laid by the dying or the dead were harder to get rid of than living curses and he was not an expert in such dark magics. He had no affinity for creating or breaking them. His late brother and twin, Merlin, had no such limitations, but he had gone into Eternal Repose after his wife, Viviane, had been killed in the war against Morrigan. Merlin could not help them.Taliesin couldn’t blame him. The war had taken so much from all of them and raising the barrier had taxed them both greatly. There was little hope that he would ever wake up, and Taliesin had accepted that centuries ago, focusing on raising Merlin’s daughter as if she were his.“Nimue?” Taliesin called as he returned to the meeting hall. She was seated on the old stone bench, looking up through the canopy of the ancient oak trees that were always in bloom. Hi
The Returned Luna Chapter 166: Cursed Last Moments
Laurel woke up, frozen in terror in bed. The last time she’d had a vision of the moon goddess, she’d been pushed off a cliff. She wasn’t sure if hearing that her husband’s late wife put a curse on him was better or worse. How bad was the curse now? How much longer did they have? Could she break it? If she couldn’t, what would happen to him?Her stomach turned as she turned over to see Adolph sleeping peacefully beside her. The days of his insomnia seemed to have caught up with him all at once. The strain of the days seemed to be gone now as he slept.His scent was just as bloody and lovely as ever, but that blood that she had once found just a bit sexy seemed tainted with danger now. It wasn’t just the scent of someone who had seen a great deal of war, but it was affecting his mind. An alpha werewolf like Adolph could be dangerous if they lost control of their strength. She knew that Adolph was much stronger than the average wolf. Was it anything like going rogue? Would it kill him?
