The First Queen: A Shifter Romance

by K. M. Carnoky

  After a few more steps, I entered one of the most magical places on the grounds. Each time I scouted the gorgeous gardens from the far away windows, I would long to be outside. All of the colours, the textures, and the scents. It seemed like such a wondrous world, so far away from all of the heartache and confusion that filled the palace. It was the most stunning haven.

  I spent a good amount of time weaving around the grounds. I never strayed far, and I always made sure I was in the view of the guards. I knew the second I drifted out of their sight, there would be an alarm raised and every soldier would be galloping around the country looking for me. I didn't want to give the king another reason to be on edge. I needed him to trust me for any escape plan to work later on. Still, I enjoyed the gardens.

  Never in my life had I seen such a stunning assortment of flowers. Yellow buds were poking up beside beautiful purple flowers. It was all a whirl of pinks, reds, oranges, and greens. It was one of the most spectacular things that I had ever seen. Hedges were perfectly trimmed into intricate designs, and statues dotted the green grass. Stone paths guided me through the floral maze. Every time the wind blew, I breathed in as deeply as I could, enjoying the sweet smell of nectar. At one point, I was so happy to be outside in the open that I picked up the skirt of my dress and twirled myself around and around until I got dizzy. It felt freeing, though it looked childish, so I enjoyed every second of it, not worrying about a single thing. My mind was in a colourful whirlwind, and with my head spinning, I laughed at my own antics while unknowingly stumbling upon someone.

  “Oh my goodness. I am so terribly sorry.” I giggled, straightening up as I brushed my hair out of my eyes. And with my line of vision clear, I realized that I had stumbled on my dear husband. “Oh, it's you.”

  The king looked down at me with those intense brown eyes for a long time. I desperately wanted to squirm under his gaze, but I didn't want to give him the satisfaction. So I stared at him without uttering a word or batting an eyelash. I absently wondered if he knew how much he intimidated me or if I was actually capable of acting like I was unbothered by him. Then I was struck by the thought that he had gotten a little pale. Perhaps he needed to be spending more time outside as well.

  “I do recall giving you strict orders to stay in the palace until further notice,” he said sternly, offering me his elbow.

  I ignored his offering, but did walk beside him as he moved through the gardens. When he realized I was being defiant, he clasped his hands behind his back, appearing to be the epitome of self-control. It was far from the small outburst I had expected.

  “I was bored,” I answered.

  “You could've asked me for permission or at least allowed a guard to come with you,” he disputed.

  “I didn't want one of my guards to get in trouble. I made the choice to disobey, and I didn't want anyone other than myself to face the repercussions. And I didn't ask you because I knew that you would say no,” I explained hotly. I knew this man would overrule me every time, but I still hadn't learned how to go down without a fight.

  “Every one of the working staff knows the restrictions that I have placed on you for the time being. If I don't punish you, I will be viewed as weak and incompetent. Also, I did warn you that you would be punished the next time you broke the rules.”

  “I understand,” I stated, but dread was already pooling in my stomach.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “This has nothing to do with my maids,” I protested angrily as we entered my room.

  My heart began racing the instant he pulled me towards my bedroom, and I could only hope the venom in my voice was enough to cover it. The only true punishment he could deliver was attacking the people I had started to care for, and it made me sick to my stomach. I hoped he hadn’t learned my greatest weakness already.

  When I looked at my maids, I saw that Lydia was quite pale, but her head was still bowed respectfully. Isabelle was wide-eyed with horror and seemed to forget her place as she stared at me and my husband in terror. The third maid just stood quietly with tears in her eyes but no expression on her face.

  “You're right,” King Archer agreed. Then he snapped his fingers and pointed to the door.

  My maids didn't hesitate. They abandoned their tasks and darted for their exit. All of them rushed to curtsy to the king but didn't bother to spare me a second glance. I will admit that I was half hoping that one of them would stay and plead with the king, but I also fully understood their desire to be as far away from the situation as possible. This man could strip them of everything they owned in a second and could take away their life in a minute. I had to take the heat for my actions alone.

  And the king was not wasting any time. The second the door was shut behind my maids, he grabbed the back of my corset and started to tug on the satin ribbon.

  “What on Earth are you doing?” I snapped, trying to yank myself away from him. The dread was ebbed away by fury.

  My attempt was useless though—even if it had been fueled by rage—as the king was far stronger than I was. He held me in place before resuming his efforts to undress me. His hands were rougher now; apparently, he was frustrated with my act of defiance. I heard fabric tear and felt seams give away. I decided it would be best to remain still to prevent him from becoming more upset.

  “I am preparing to punish you,” he replied finally.

  “You're going to punish me with sex?” I demanded in disbelief.

  There was a brief pause at that. His hands stopped working for a fraction of a second, and if I hadn't been so focused on his movements, I would've never noticed the minor hiccup.

  “No, not sex,” he answered.

  “Then what?!” I growled in fear and frustration.

  Was he going to drag me out of this room and parade me around until I cried in shame? Or was he planning something worse, something I couldn't even fathom? I had taken my fair share of beating for my unrefined mouth from my master. I was strong enough physically, and my maids were safe now, but that didn’t mean that this beast-man wouldn’t find new and creative ways of making me scream.

  “If you ask me another question or raise your voice at me again, I will make your punishment last twice as long. Do you understand me?” the king hissed in my ear.

  “Yes,” I whimpered, the fight in me dying instantly.

  “Very good,” he murmured, his voice almost sickly sweet.

  In a few short moments, I was left in nothing but my dressing gown. I knew that I had been naked in front of him before, but not during daylight. So even though I still had a thin gown over my body, I felt more exposed than ever. I didn't know how to feel or what to think. He said the punishment wasn't sex, yet I was almost naked. And I felt like I should've hated him, yet the thoughts of our midnight encounter whirled through my head, making my chest heave and my heart rate increase with anticipation. I couldn't deny that I wanted it all over again, but I knew that I should've been furious. Instead, I was disappointed and frustrated. For now, I could only hope that he was as affected as I was.

  “Pick up that sash,” he ordered. My hands immediately went to a length of ribbon one of my maids had left strewn across my vanity. “Come,” the king ordered, seating himself on my bed.

  I didn’t know if it was his threat or my exposed state, but I couldn’t stop myself from being obedient to his wishes. I slowly shuffled over to him and stopped about a meter away.

  “I want you to lie across my lap,” he demanded. It was like he was asking me to bring him a cup of tea.

  “Absolutely not,” I gasped, horrified.

  “Don't make this harder on yourself and do as I say,” the king snarled.

  I gritted my teeth tightly but did as he asked, gradually moving my body until I was lying on my stomach, my lower abdomen and upper thighs across his lap. I felt foolish and embarrassed, and it was only going to get worse, I knew that much. And it did when he took the ribbon from my hand and wound it around my first wrist with such slow concern that the gest
ure was almost tender. Then the other wrist was bound, keeping my arms tied behind my back. I was splayed helpless across the lap of my husband, my king, and my master. Anxious, vulnerable, and tied.

  “If you do anything I don't like, I'm going to scream,” I warned.

  “Good, then the staff will know that I take my threats seriously,” he encouraged. But there was something in his voice. It sounded like he was affected by having me in this position.

  Then, without any warning, his hand came down in a furious slap on my bottom. A shriek of surprise and pain immediately poured out of my mouth. I understood now why he had tied my wrists as my hands dove towards the targeted area to protect it. Archer held on to the ribbon in a confident grip, preventing me from shielding myself at all. Once my brain registered what had happened, I tried to scramble away from my assailant, but the king pressed down firmly on my back, keeping me in place. I could do nothing to ease the stinging or to stop the next slap that came down with a loud cracking sound.

  “Stop!” I shouted. And though my body quivered, it wasn’t from the fear of what was to come. I felt electric all over again.

  Another hard slap was delivered to my ass, making me jerk in shock. The stinging was still there but there was also a pleasure-filled, warming sensation as well. I was so very aware that I was nearly naked, lying across my husband’s lap. So wonderfully exposed to him while he was limiting my movements, doing as he pleased to my body.

  “What did I tell you, Willow?”

  I bit my lower lip hard and said nothing because I wasn't sure if I was going to beg for more or beg for mercy.

  The king grabbed the bottom of my dressing gown and yanked it up, exposing my bare reddened skin to his view. But before I could protest, he delivered another slap. And instead of gritting my teeth against the sting, I found my mouth falling open in a silent moan. I sensed that the soft folds at my apex had become slick with juices, and I heard Archer suck in a deep breath, almost like he could smell it in the air.

  “What did I tell you?” he repeated, his voice coming out breathy and ragged. Was he enjoying this? Did he know that I was enjoying it? My god, could he actually smell my arousal?

  I stayed quiet, worried about what could come out of my mouth.

  Three more smacks were delivered, this time lighter than the previous ones which surprised me. I expected more force as a counter to my demanding words. But that meant that the stinging sensation was replaced with only pleasure. His hands on my bare skin were making me feel like I had a few too many glasses of wine. And when he paused to gently trace his hands over my backside, taking his time to sweep his cool hands over the warm skin, I thought I would lose all of my self-control and tell him to take me. I wanted him. I wanted him almost as much as I had after he initiated our first night encounter. I wanted that mouth and all the pleasure it could bring, and it was almost impossible not to tell him that. Thankfully, I managed to stay quiet.

  “Where did that smart tongue go, Willow?” the king taunted. “Aren’t you going to tell me you’ve had enough?”

  I didn't care about his words. I couldn't. All I could think about was his hands slowly sliding over my ass. The tips of his fingers were inching towards my apex, my core. My fists were now gripping the smooth ribbon that joined them.But, it was for an entirely different reason. And when those finger tips brushed against my delicate folds, I couldn't withhold my quiet moans any longer. And at my mewing, the king let out a small noise of satisfaction. My heart raced with the sexual thoughts that darted through my brain. He wanted this just as much as I did. I would have what I craved so badly.

  But then my dressing gown was pulled back down, covering my hot red skin.

  “Don't disobey me again,” the king whispered before he pulled me off of him and swiftly untied the ribbon.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “I heard one of the guards say that he could hear her screaming and shouting at him. Can you imagine, our Willow yelling at the king?” someone whispered before the sound of a door shutting was heard.

  My eyes were barely open. The sun was just peeking into my bedroom through the tiniest of cracks in my curtains. It was too early for any normal human being to be awake which meant it could only be my maids talking as they prepared my room for the day ahead. In my groggy state, I hardly cared. I just pulled a pillow around my head and rolled onto my back, ready to dive back into sleep. But in doing so, I pressed my sore flesh against the suddenly scratchy material of my bedspread, and my eyes burst open. It was then that I realized my maids were talking about me and my punishment. I shut my eyes and pretended to be asleep again despite my discomfort. I wanted to hear what they had to say about it, if they knew the true embarrassment of the ordeal, or if they had assumed the king had done something more wretched to me.

  “Poor girl, I can’t imagine what King Archer would do when confronted like that. But I spoke to one of the guards as well, and he claimed that many guards offered to go with her when she left. I wonder if she was trying to run away and that is why she refused them.” It was the third maid that spoke, the one who was kinder than Lydia and stronger than Isabelle. I believe her name was Jasmine. “If she had taken one of them with her, I believe her punishment would be lesser.”

  “No, she was in the gardens, the furthest place from escape. So, I certainly don't understand why she didn't take a guard with her. That surely would've calmed the king down,” Isabelle murmured in her usual kind voice.

  “Please, did you see the way the king reacted when he thought that someone had been in her room? I doubt that he would have male guards hovering all around her if it weren't proper protocol,” Lydia shot back. “From what I heard, the king was quite kind to her when he found her. He just punished her to make an example out of her. In all the time I have been working under the king, he had never punished anyone, and some feared he wasn’t one for action.”

  And with that, the conversation ended. The maids had no more gossip and all of their opinions countered one another. I had hoped for more. I wanted to know everything I could, even if it stemmed from questionable guards and gossiping. Hearing that some felt my husband was soft seemed impossible, and knowing that he had never made a spectacle out of a punishment comforted me and agitated me all at once. If he had never punished anyone, why start with me?

  But that was just another question I would never get an answer to. The king didn't seem terribly fond of talking about his ex-wife. Nor did he want to talk about his mysterious war that had been mentioned the first night I was here. He didn't offer to tell me about mates or the moon goddess, and my maids were under some kind of oath which forced them to keep their mouths shut—unless they assumed I was sleeping.

  However, the maids didn't talk anymore. They all began their duties in the early hours, and when I became bored of lying in that bed with my sore backside, I pretended to have just woken up and stretched my body with a theatrical yawn. I couldn't hide under the blankets forever. At least when my maids helped me into my gown for the day—a stunning burgundy dress that was embellished with fine gems—they said nothing about my red backside.

  The rest of the morning was uneventful, but as soon as noon hit, two men flanked me in the hallway on my way back from lunch.

  “Can I help you?” I asked, though I sensed it was the opposite way around.

  “The king's parents requested to meet you,” one of them answered gruffly.

  It was almost like he expected a fight out of me, which was fair. I doubted I had a reputation for being compliant in the palace. And in that moment, I realized that I had very little authority here, maybe over my personal maids and some sway over James because he liked me, but it was clear that the king gave all the orders, not me.

  “Oh,” I breathed, stunned. It seemed silly in retrospect, especially considering the king and I had talked about his childhood, but I never imagined him really having parents. And I never imagined I would have to meet them. And certainly not by myself. I didn't even know if these
people had been at my wedding or how much they knew about my life. Was I supposed to show them the scars on my ankles or act like I was born with enough status to be respectable?

  It didn't matter. The guards made it clear that they were following the king's orders, not mine. I was led out of the castle by the two men and taken to a small manor that took a few minutes to walk to. It felt good to be outside again, and knowing that I wouldn't be punished for it this time felt even better. The sun was glowing in the sky, warming my skin, and the air smelled like the flowers that grew nearby. It should’ve been blissful.

  But fresh air and sunshine were not enough to treat my anxiety, anxiety that only worsened when I entered the manor—which looked very similar to the palace from the inside. I immediately prepared myself to be processed much like I had been the first time I entered the palace. I knew, rationally, that I would not be asked to do such things by a burly man again. I also knew I wouldn’t be donated to someone new in another trade agreement, yet I couldn't shake the awful feelings from me. I was waiting for the worst. But what I expected was far from what I received.

  “Queen Willow!” A womanly voice cried out in sheer delight.

  A stunning woman seemed to materialize out of thin air as she moved down the hallway with outstanding grace and speed. Her dark hair flowed down her back, surprisingly untamed for someone royal, and the dark brown eyes that King Archer had inherited were locked on me. Her complexion wasthat of someone who spent their time in the sun, making her seem like the goddess of summer. . And her smile was the most heartwarming thing I had seen since I had arrived at the palace. She was the epitome of grace, beauty, and kindness. Everything a queen should be.