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“Which part?”
“Oh, the whole thing, I would say. You being in love with someone else who isn’t approved for you. The idea of love making my skin crawl after all these years. Both of us denied things that every human, cryptid, and sentient being should have a right to.”
“It’s not ideal,” I said. I had more to say, but a familiar scent drew my attention.
“Your Majesty, I was told I could find you out here?”
The voice belonged to none other than Mad Dog, and I heard him a couple of beats before he opened the latticed doors to step onto the balcony.
“Ah, there you are. Apologies for interrupting. I…” The grizzled soldier stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes going wide as his breath stilled in his chest.
“Mad Dog, are you all right?”
I stood up, concerned until I realized that Felicity was frozen as well, her spine straight, her gaze homed in on Mad Dog.
The first thought in my head was that they were somehow bitter exes, but Mad Dog only rarely came to the capital, and as far as I knew, Felicity had never been.
But then the swell of pheromones hit me like a full military troop, and I realized exactly what was happening. Felicity and Mad Dog were in the process of their worlds violently shifting with no warning, turning inside out, and flipping everything they knew.
They had just found out they were fated mates.
Although I’d been through it myself, it was fascinating to watch happen to someone else in real time. I could hear their heartbeats racing, a frenzied crescendo that was more excitement than fear. They started off on opposite beats, but as they continued to stare at each other, those dissimilar rhythms slowly began to syncopate until they were one unified song.
“Well,” I said when this grand climax seemed to pass and the two were still locked in place. “Isn't this an interesting development?”
It was like they were in another world only occupied by the two of them. Thoroughly amused, perhaps even moved, I wondered if this is what it looked like when Ayla and I first felt our fated connection.
It’d been such a visceral experience, and life-changing for certain, but part of me was always sad Ayla had experienced it three years earlier and fought it for so long just to protect me. I still didn’t approve of her approach to handling it, but I understood why.
“My Lady,” Mad Dog said finally, giving the deepest bow I’d ever seen from him. It was outright impressive how low he dipped without a tremble. Where was that court manner the rest of the time?
I supposed it’d been waiting for his fated mate.
But Felicity, who’d been so composed and charming before, was practically shaking, her eyes wide, and her blush showing even through her makeup. “Who… who are you, sir?”
“Not a sir,” he said, approaching slowly. Reverently. “Just a soldier.”
“This is Maddox, actually,” I said as I rose from my seat. “And he is one of my most loyal men. I’ve trusted him with my life and would gladly do it again. Maddox, this is Lady Felicity Rathson.” I took in how they were gazing at each other: Mad Dog as if he were seeing the stars for the first time, and Felicity as if she couldn’t keep her eyes away from the man in front of her. It was definitely a case of opposites attracting, but fated mates were mates for a reason.
Incredible to think I’d be able to witness such a thing. True, I’d had my own, but such things were still so rare. It was lovely to get an outsider’s perspective of the phenomenon happening in real time.
“I’ll give the two of you some privacy. I’m sure you have a lot of things to talk out.”
Smiling to myself, I headed back into the main ballroom, making sure to shut the latticed doors behind me. They wouldn’t block the couple completely from sight, but it could afford them a few minutes before concerned attendants butted in with questions or even concerns.
Standing at just the edge of the ballroom, I took a moment to catch my breath. But even then, that was enough for people to spot me and start heading in my direction. Wanting to buy Felicity and Mad Dog as much time as I could, I strode forward and accepted that I was about to be surrounded.
“Prince Nikolai! I must say, you’re grown into quite the impressive figure since you departed.”
Since when was it fine to comment on a stranger’s body? I knew they thought they were being complimentary, but it just made me feel like something on display. Not a person, not Kai, just a figurehead to be devoured, lusted after, but not truly known.
That was something I could always count on with Ayla. She saw me, and only the true me. She wasn’t blinded by my royalty or angling for some political advantage. It was one of the things I valued so much about her.
“Goodness, you really are taking after the king. Such a strong alpha presence for our kingdom.”
“Your Majesty! I would love the chance to introduce you to my daughter. She’s just joined the court, but she is quite eager to—”
“Your Highness!”
