by K. Rea
“I have the feeling you skipped a bit of detail,” Lady Cleo murmured, fiddling with the long chain around her neck. Her eyes turned from cerulean to milky white as she became unnaturally still.
“Nothing that matters, I assure you, Lady Cleo, no matter what you might have seen in your visions,” Aiden said and frowned. He sat down in his chair, a bored look on his face again. Alex moved away from me and sat down as well. The Kensley men and the High Council all stared at me, all but Lady Cleo. She was frozen, unmoved by the monsters around her.
Father always said to see the future or look back on the past, you had to miss the present. Magic always came at a price, even if you didn’t know what it would cost or what was lost. A love potion could cost your soul mate, a prosperity spell could steal your health, a curse could circle back seven-fold on a person. If you traded your soul, even your death was not your own. Clearly, to see the future, Cleo could not see or be present in the moment, a common ailment of seers.
“So, High Council, what do you suggest?” King Gaius asked.
“She can’t be allowed to wander, even if she looked harmless to your vampire houses. Some members of the Court remember the revolution and the Shadow Wars. They will want revenge for her recent actions and her ancestors’ old ones. She needs to be placed with someone strong enough to stand above or against the more rebellious subjects. Someone who won’t exact revenge and decent enough to keep her alive,” Mistress Tessa stated as she paced, little bells tinkling with each step. “She could join the woodland fae.”
“The werewolves will shelter her,” Sir Michael declared. King Gaius frowned at them both.
“She will not join the fae, and the werewolves will not shelter her. The risk is too great. We cannot leave her alone with a werewolf, much less allow her to live among them,” King Gaius answered. “You remember when the moon shadows hid within your packs, taking over from within. No, she is not joining the werewolves.”
“She belongs to and with the wolves, you see that. If she is not allowed to join a pack of her own, she should be with us,” Sir Michael argued; Alex laughed.
“She belongs to no one, if not the vampires. She has two blood debts already, nobility or not,” Alex stated, and Mistress Tessa frowned. “Even if Aiden will forgo his, I will not.”
“You would you have her be a blood concubine? Another plaything in the Kensley household, or scrubbing stone in your kitchens? She is a Wolfrik! She would be queen if it weren’t for the revolution,” Sir Michael yelled. His hands became claws, and his face elongated.
“Michael! It is not for you to decide. The mutt is no queen. Leave us. We will inform you later when you are more yourself,” King Gaius demanded. Michael visibly calmed and nodded at me solemnly before leaving again for the shadows. My only genuine hope of escape left as the click of his heels grew fainter.
“Werewolves,” King Gaius muttered, Alex snorted, and the women remained silent. Any of them could be queen if they wanted. Lady Abigail clearly aspired to be, if her proximity to the king was any sign. I suspected Gaius’ revolution was based on a river of lies and corruption. That he kept a High Council of would-be queens under his control this long was suspicious, I wondered what Gaius had on them or if they were all as twisted as him.
“She has only one blood debt to your family and specifically to Prince Aiden. Even then, that is debatable considering your family brought death upon her parents,” Mistress Tessa calmly stated.
“At the very least, she belongs to Kensley by blood debt. We will not argue that point any further. If she wasn’t a Wolfrik, we wouldn’t be having this discussion at all,” King Gaius declared. Lady Cleo moved, her hand running along the pendant of her necklace back and forth. Her eyes no longer the color of fresh cream. The Council turned to her, used to her behavior.
“Lady Evelyn, if I may be so bold, how old are you?” Lady Cleo asked, and I startled. I hadn’t expected to be addressed directly anymore.
“I’m not sure how that matters,” I stated, narrowing my eyes at her. She knew tomorrow was my birthday. I don’t know how, but she did. Maybe she saw something in her visions. Tomorrow would be my best chance to escape. I would come into my full strength once the sun set, if I lived that long.
“Oh, I think it does,” Lady Cleo disagreed with a knowing smirk.
“Answer her, girl,” King Gaius commanded.
“Twenty-five tomorrow,” I answered. I choked on the words as I fought to keep them in; my fingers dug into my palms as I curled my hands in frustration.
“Oh, Goddess take her,” Alex muttered under his breath. “Aiden, you were right.”
I looked to Aiden, his hands resting on the table; he appeared calm. Yet, those stormy eyes told a story of malice and anger. He was angry, but I didn’t understand why.
“Has an intended bond-mate come forward?” Lady Cleo asked. She looked around the table and then to Aiden, a smile on her lips.
“No, and we found no trace of one. I thought it best not to reach out to the other moon shadow alphas. Last I checked, we didn’t want to start another war over a woman,” Aiden responded tersely.
“Interesting, I wouldn’t be so quick to assume.” Lady Cleo said. She turned her blue eyes on me. “Do you have a bond-mate?”
“What the hell is a bond-mate?” I asked, confused, and merely King Gaius laughed.
“Wonderful. The poor girl has no clue. Gaius,” Lady Abigail crooned, “She needs to be bonded, and soon. Before the Court gets out of hand, or the moon shadow alphas find out. A power like hers shouldn’t be squandered. It’s a gift from the Goddess. Clearly, she supports your plans against the Court of Light. She would make an excellent addition to the blood harem, perhaps.”
Lady Abigail’s voice was raspy and smooth, reminiscent of waves against the shore. Her voice was nearly hypnotic; I didn’t realize what she said at first. Join a blood harem? I stepped back from the group, tripped over something behind me, only to fall into a solid body. Hands tightly wrapped around my arms as the smell of woods and citrus engulfed me. I hadn’t seen him move behind me.
“Steady little wolf,” Aiden whispered as the group looked at me, some smirking, others scowling as he guided me back toward the table. His thumb stroked my shoulder, just out of sight, and it distracted me. It anchored me.
“We could send her to the abbey, away from the menfolk. We can bind her powers until she finds a suitable mate. She would be practically human, isolated from vampires and wolves,” Mistress Tessa suggested, frowning at Lady Abigail. “Our Goddess would not bring her here to simply join a blood harem.”
“I agree with Tessa. The Goddess sent her here, not for a harem, but for a husband. She’s strong, young, and reckless—well impetuous, but the right husband would settle the unrest and her powers. She needs a guardian, a protector, an equal,” Lady Cleo decided.
“How dare you? You have no right to tell me who to marry. I’m not a broodmare ripe for the picking,” I said. I felt Aiden’s hand drop away from my shoulder. “I won’t join a harem. I will not marry. Send me to the abbey if you must,” I declared, almost stumbling over my words. Cleo frowned; her eyes turned milky white for a moment while Alex snickered.
“If you go to the abbey, they will bind your wolf. The only way to unbind her is if you find your true mate. You won’t find him there; you would spend the rest of your days as a human until you’ve gone mad. I’ve seen it happen,” Lady Cleo said.
“Is there someone you have in mind for a husband—or a wife? Either would do,” Lady Cleo smiled at me gently. Mason flashed through my mind, but he was not mine, not really. If he was, he would have come to Washington for me long ago. I glared at Lady Cleo.
“I thought not. Moon shadows are loyal to their lovers. It is the only time they forsake their duty to the pack. You would not be here if there was a would-be mate at home. It’s why you ran off to avenge your family, and your d
ear brother stayed with his lovely Jane,” Lady Cleo stated. “While your brother may want to come for you, he will not do it at the expense of his mate.”
“You leave them out of this. He has nothing to do with this! I acted alone,” I growled. Aiden’s hands returned to my shoulders, a gentle reminder to behave.
“Don’t get spunky with me. I only want the best for you and this Court,” Lady Cleo snapped back.
“Let’s give the girl an option at least,” Mistress Tessa suggested. Her lips tugged down at the turn in the conversation. “She does not want to marry.”
“Mistress Tessa, she will not be sent to the abbey. She can wed, or she can serve out her blood debt in House Kensley. If she serves her blood debt, then House Kensley will see that she is marked and bonded with a member of the house,” Gaius declared darkly, gazing at me as if daring me to disagree. For the briefest of moments, Mistress Tessa looked at me with pity before her court composure hardened her face into neutrality.
“It is decided then. Lady Evelyn Wolfrik, tomorrow you will marry a Council appointed husband or honor your blood debt to House Kensley. Both are life sentences. I warn you, choose wisely,” King Gaius suggested. “Council, we will meet in three hours to discuss acceptable suitors.”
“It is not decided. I am not a part of this Court,” I argued, shrugging my shoulders out of Aiden’s grasp. I heard Mistress Tessa tut and Lady Cleo sigh, but Lady Abigail, the mermaid, remained silent. King Gaius’ expression darkened.
“Ladies, this council meeting is over. Leave, now,” Gaius ordered, the harsh timbre of his voice revealing the depths of his wrath. Aiden brought his hands back to my shoulders once again. His warm breath tickled my ear, one of his thumbs brushing back and forth across my shoulder blade distractingly.
As one, the ladies turned and left. I watched them disappear through the hidden door they had emerged from. The door clicked close behind them, leaving me alone with the king and Kensley brothers. The room seemed colder now; the king larger. For once, Alex didn’t laugh, his face schooled into careful blankness, his eyes trained behind me on Aiden.
The only warning I had was the slight tightening of Aiden’s hands on my shoulders. Even then, I almost missed how quickly the king moved to me. I darted my eyes to look at the floor to avoid his gaze.
The king ever so lightly placed one finger beneath my chin and raised my head to look into my eyes. I tried not to meet his gaze and looked aside, but he gripped my jaw with enough force to bruise and turned my head so my eyes would meet his gaze. His eyes were black as night.
“As your king, I can lock you up behind stone and granite. Some members of the Court would complain at first, but they would forget you in time. They always do. I’ve done it before. I’ll do it again. You would not see the light of day, or night for that matter until you learned to lick my boots on your hands and knees. Your spirit would crumble, do not think yourself to be so special, so protected that I could not do it!” Gaius bellowed before his charm forced its way into my mind.
I could feel phantom chains around my body, smell the wet stone, and feel cool darkness. Despair and panic that was not my own welled up inside me as the weight of phantom chains tried to bring me to my knees. I whimpered as my knees gave out. Aiden wrapped an arm around my waist to hold me up and growled softly.
“Remember, I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. You have no protections here. No coven. No family. My household owns you for your blood debt until we can find a husband. Even then, I will own him too,” Gaius whispered, the chains and darkness disappearing. “I’ve seen to it there is no one at this Court that can oppose me.” The sob I held back almost escaped my lips in relief as the chains lifted.
“Enough, you’ve made your point,” Aiden snapped.
“Hardly, let her go,” King Gaius ordered. Tentatively, Aiden loosened his hold around my waist and stepped back. I took a shaky breath before the king’s hand caressed my neck; startled, I looked into his eyes. I couldn’t move even if I wanted to.
“Do you know what a blood debt is?” King Gaius whispered softly. His breath reeked of metal, stone, and blood.
“Slavery,” I whispered. He chuckled into my ear, a hand firm around my neck. Faster than I could see, he spun me around and forced me to bend over the council table. He pressed my face into the wood.
“This isn’t necessary. She knows her place,” Aiden stated, his voice flat and cold in the throne room.
“She might; you don’t. A blood debt is not slavery though you may think it so, you would be a concubine. Then you would pay your debt with blood, body, and soul,” King Gaius whispered, as one of his hands grabbed at me while the other hand harshly pulled my head to the side, baring my neck. I heard the fabric of my blouse rip.
King Gaius pushed closer against me, pressing his cold body hard against mine as he lowered his lips to the flesh he exposed. Kissing me there before I could feel his fangs elongating against my skin, my pulse rapidly beating beneath his fangs. I pushed up against him and struggled. His grip bruised my body, he paused, and I trembled.
“You’re nothing but a lamb,” King Gaius whispered just below my ear. “I expected more bite from you.”
“The girl is scared and alone. She acted in fear, not rebellion. Best not give her a reason to hate us further,” Aiden suggested. Damn him for saying anything. The king would surely bite me now. I shuddered beneath Gaius as his fangs returned to my throat. I ignored the tears in my eyes, the wolf within locked silently away by the silver around my neck.
“She may choose to marry. We wouldn’t want to send a bride already bitten and damaged to her wedding night. As it is, Mistress Tessa is waiting for her,” Alex said stiffly.
“The boy is right,” the king said. He released his hold on me and stepped away. I flinched as he wiped a stray tear away. “We may make a lady out of you yet, so long as you continue to be agreeable.”
“Take to her to Tessa,” Gaius ordered before turning his back on me and walking away from the council table. “Aiden, come see me after. We have much to discuss.” Neither of the brothers moved. The oily vampire charm that coated my mind and senses drifted away as he left. In its place, exhaustion and a seething rage replaced it. Equally, I wanted to fight someone and disappear into the floor. I looked to Alex; he backed away slowly, his hands in the air.
“She-wolf, you should know better than to pick fights with a vampire king more than ten times your age,” Alex stated.
“Aiden, what in the darkness were you thinking?” Alex questioned Aiden. “Get your shit together for her sake before she ends up dead or like Lara. The king would happily send her to the Court of Darkness once he’s bored with her.”
“Don’t bring Lara into this, not here. Not now,” Aiden hissed. I turned to face Aiden, his face grim, and his eyes smoldered.
“You’re all monsters,” I whispered. Aiden’s face hardened even further as his eyes took in my disheveled appearance. My blouse was torn, the curve of my breasts exposed, and my heart raced in fear. He shrugged out of his blazer and set it on my shoulders. It was still warm from his own body heat. I clutched it closed to hide the torn blouse and exposed flesh.
“Some more than others. Don’t provoke the monsters if you can help it,” Aiden warned before he walked toward the doors. “Mistress Tessa is waiting for you.”
Aiden paused, waiting for me to follow. He opened the doors before I reached them, revealing Mistress Tessa. She stopped pacing on the other side. Mistress Tessa looked to us expectantly; her face turned pale once she saw me and my state of dress. Her eyes turned a steely shade of green. She was livid.
“Aiden! What in the Goddess’s name happened in there?” Mistress Tessa admonished. She quickly wrapped an arm around me. She gently inspected my jaw, where I still felt the king’s hold. I suspected there was at least a red mark, if not a bruise.
“You know how the king can b
e; he needed to prove a point. Mistress Tessa, please see she is cared for. I have business with the king,” Aiden stated harshly, then walked away, fury in his countenance. Mistress Tessa watched him walk back into the throne room. I couldn’t make out what Alex told him as the door closed behind them. Aiden appeared to be in trouble. Mistress Tessa quickly escorted me away from the throne room.
“The king does not handle insolence and wolves well. Frankly, I’m surprised he has not killed you outright. He is not merciful with moon shadows. Given what your family did to him, you’re lucky he hasn’t stripped you of your nobility status. It would give him pleasure to break you just for being what and who you are,” Mistress Tessa said in a huff.
“He still might,” I admitted before I processed what she said. “What do you mean, what my family did?” I asked as she ushered me into Aiden’s apartment.
“Your great-grandparents burned his wife, Afriel, and firstborn son Ares, at the stone mere hours after she gave birth to Ares and Aiden. My husband delivered them himself. Aiden barely survived the same fate before Gaius pulled him from the flames. The civil war that followed was ruthless; you may know it as the Shadow Wars. And you are the spitting image of your great-grandmother with those blue eyes and raven hair.” Mistress Tessa paused as she locked the door to the apartment behind her.
“I don’t believe you; we revere children and mothers. Children are so rare, and twins even more so,” I said.
“As do we all, and twins especially are always Goddess blessed and fated for more. King Wolfrik was mad with grief. The day before, the king’s youngest daughter turned twenty-five. She was not bonded, she was supposed to meet her mate, but she never arrived. Many assume that she changed her mind, refused the bond, and ran. Drawn by the bond call, vampires overtook her in the woods. It was horrific. Rumor suggested Gaius led the group of vampires that killed her,” Mistress Tessa explained. We sat on the bed, side by side, the sapphire bedspread soft and cool beneath my fingers.