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“Oren, would you mind looking into that more if you can? In case Darla isn’t able to pick it up mentally.” I asked, pausing in my pacing yet again. I needed to stop working myself up. It wasn’t going to accomplish anything, and I’d just stress Ayla out whenever I finally got to visiting her.
“Yes, sir. I can absolutely do that.”
“Yvonne and Euthalia have been good friends to us. If they’re in trouble, we should help them, and if they’re off enjoying themselves… well, it would be nice to have good news.”
“Absolutely, sir. We’ll find out whatever we can.”
“Thank you.” I heaved a heavy sigh. “All right, you’re dismissed. I need to get started on a court position for this Tomas fellow.”
They both gave me a nod and headed out together, leaving me to get started on first drawing up my letter of commendation and then a letter of recommendation, which couldn’t be the same thing. There was a lot of overwrought prose, and it wasn’t something I’d had to do since I’d elevated Oren from his low-level servant status to my righthand man. He wasn’t a noble, and unfortunately, I’d never managed to get that approved, but he was higher ranked than a standard citizen and had certain privileges that were supposed to ‘help’ him serve me. Really, they just aided in his skulking around for stealthier tasks.
But all of this would be worth it if I got information about the Shrouded Shriek. So, even if I hated the entire bureaucratic process, I settled in for a long evening.
It was far later in the night than I’d hoped when I finally finished everything I needed to start the process for a royally designated court position. This included getting a signature from my mother, which naturally opened me up to about a thousand and one questions, as well as her pleading for me to sit with her while her scalp was washed by one of the spa workers. I found the process a little weird, but she liked it, and I didn’t resent the comforts my mother used to soothe being near my father.
Still, that took two hours, then there was summoning a notary to my rooms, and issuing several requests for necessary forms from one of the palace’s administrators. It all blended together into a boring, draining slog. Especially since my inner wolf kept bugging me because we weren’t at our mate’s side, protecting her, tending to her every need.
I knew that I should just go to sleep, to lay in my room and rest while giving Ayla her own space. But as soon as I was sitting in my room, staring at the same bed where I’d been attacked, I knew that wasn’t an option for me.
Not for the first time that day, I snuck out of my room and made my way toward Ayla. I appreciated the sound proofing many of the quarters had in the palace, yet I wished I could hear her heartbeat to know if she was sleeping softly, or if she was up and busying herself to try to distract herself from her worry. But if I were able to do such things, it would mean our enemies could too, and practically every shifter in the entire wing would be able to hear us every time we were intimate.
Thankfully, there were no more roving servants to interrupt when I made my way to Ayla’s door and quietly rapped on it. I tried to push out soothing, happy pheromones so that she not only would know it was me but would know I was visiting with good reason.
But a split second after my knuckles knocked on the door, I picked up on a scent that made my hackles rise. A beat later, my brain recognized it as Aodin, the fae my little sister had a thing for.
I couldn’t help the immediate surge of jealousy and possessiveness that rushed through me. The civilized part of my brain told me there was nothing to worry about. For one, Ayla was loyal, and secondly, she’d told me she had no interest in Aodin.
Yet my inner wolf was practically growling, his lips pulling away from his fangs. Luckily, I managed to pull that instinct back and get my own scent under control before Ayla quietly cracked the door.
“Hey there,” she said, her voice soft as she stepped to the side and let me slip into her room. Quickly looking around, I was relieved to see the fae I was smelling wasn’t there, which meant I could finally pull my mate into a kiss.
So, I did, soft and sweet. It didn’t last as long as I’d have liked, but one day we’d be able to make up for lost time.
“You know you shouldn’t be creeping through the halls late at night to visit your healer,” Ayla murmured, sounding completely uninterested in actually following her own advice.
“While I admit you may have a point, that means I couldn’t kiss you, and I think you can feel how much I need to.”
She let out a little sigh like she was going to answer, but I was already capturing her lips again. It felt so good, so right to have her form pressed against mine, all relaxed and open. While I loved it when we were feral and demanding with each other, when we were all teeth and primal instincts, I also cherished the softness of her. The tenderness she trusted me with. I knew just how high her walls were, so her vulnerability would never be lost on me.
It was a gift I reveled in, that the alpha part of my head took great pride in, and I wanted to savor every moment.
But as much as I wanted to enjoy it, eventually that little bit of niggling jealousy began to seep in, and I gently broke off the kiss.
“Wait…” Ayla gave a strange look. “Why am I feeling… envy through our bond?”
Well, it looked like I was caught out. “I can smell Aodin all over your room,” I said. It would be easier to just lie to her, but I never wanted to do that.
For a moment, I thought I’d genuinely upset her, but no, she was holding back some laughter. Oh, so it was going to be like that, was it?
“Do I amuse you?” I said, catching her chin in my hand and tilting her head upward. I could look at that sweet smile on her face forever. I loved seeing her happy and full of mirth. If I had my way, she’d be like that all the time.
Well, except when I had her moaning and whining on my cock. Oh, what I’d do when we finally had all the time together we wanted without the curse or the stupid palace politics in the way.
“Only when you’re being adorable,” she said back.
Me? Adorable? No, I was a Prince. I was a warrior. I was a wolf, and I was so utterly besotted by my mate.
“But to answer the question you’re not asking: he came by to ask about conversation points that may interest Princess Seraphina.”
