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My mate was obviously keen and had a sharp mind. She should be able to ask whatever questions she wanted, to soak up different stories and factoids without worrying about someone shutting her down.
I knew I couldn’t rewrite her past for her, but maybe over time I could encourage her not to hedge her bets so much.
“There were a lot of reasons I had to get away,” I said honestly. It was a complicated answer, but I felt no compulsionto keep any more secrets from my mate. “For one, I got sick of the pretentious court politics. A fucking waste of energy. Our people are fighting an inter-generational war that’s taking the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocents, and yet my aunt is offended because my nephew wore her favorite color to her birthday, so she started a rumor to get him removed from court.”
“Wait, really? Because he wore a color she liked?”
“Her favorite color, but yes. That’s one of the more banal examples. There’s so much bullshit in life, and usually everyone else pays the price. I couldn’t just stand by, but when I attempted to change things, I always ended up being outmaneuvered by my father, or the other patriarchs in my family who had more allies, back-ups, and political experience.”
“Holy shit, yeah. I can see why you wouldn’t want to return to that.”
I sighed in agreement as I took my uniform out. I stared at it before putting it on, thinking of how hard I’d fought to rise through the ranks as a nobody, to prove I could be an actual alpha and not a leech on society like most of my family. I’d probably have to give it up soon now that I’d been found out.
I’d lose a huge part of myself, and I didn’t know how to avoid that. Maybe I could negotiate something with my father, as he didn’t want me around, but I knew if I wanted to lead Camdaria into a better future where we wouldn’t be locked in an eternal war with Vekas, I’d have to start integrating myself into the court again.
Considering I’d just won a massive battle and proven the prowess of Fort Canid’s forces, despite everything stacked against them, it was probably the best time to start.
Even if I really,reallydidn’t want to.
“Hey, wanna just run away from all of this?” I said half-jokingly as I finished putting my outfit on. “Get some new identities and just be a couple of nobodies on a small farmsomewhere? You can have a huge apothecary garden, and I’ll start hunting more.”
“That does sound rather idyllic, doesn’t it?” Ayla said as she, too, got dressed in her healer’s robes. They were left over from the previous day, still covered with the grime and rust of the battle. Everyone who saw her would know she hadn’t spent the night in her room, but she didn’t seem to care.
Maybe it was selfish of me, though I didn’t tell her. I liked the idea of people knowing she’d spent the night with someone and then maybe scenting me on her. As much as I shouldn’t have been territorial, considering we were in a huge military base required working in close quarters, it soothed my inner wolf knowing some people would suss out exactly where she was and who she was with.
“But you and I both know you could never abandon your men or your people like that. You’re too noble.”
I grinned cheekily at her, which just made her roll her eyes. “So, you’re saying you think I’m noble?” I teased.
“Don’t make it weird.”
“Make it weird?” I parroted, crowding her. She backed up a step, but I followed her. Once. Twice. Three times, until her back hit the doorframe led into my bathroom. I smirked, fully aware of what I was doing as I leaned over her, supporting my weight with my arm against the wall above her.
“You learned this in a book, didn’t you?” Ayla accused, and even though her tone was cool, I could smell the rise in her pheromones and hear the escalation of her heart rate. Oh, and then there was the slight blush to her cheeks, the interest pouring through our bond.
“I may have.” I dropped my voice even lower, letting my alpha rumble bleed in. “But can you honestly say it’s not working?”
Her eyes narrowed, and it was so easy to see the brat in her rise to the surface. Ayla still had a lot to discover, experience, and learn about herself, but it was becoming clear she had plenty of spice to her.
“You’re distracting me.”
“No, I’m not, but good to know I have a distracting effect on you.”
“You’re impossible.”
“Maybe, but I’mnoblyimpossible. You said so yourself.”
She laughed and ducked under my arm. I let her pass without any trouble. As much as I loved the thrill of sexuality between us, I also loved the joking back and forth, the casualness of everyday conversation. It was fulfilling in a way empty one-night stands or heated trysts could never be.
“Fine, fine, but can we get back to exactly how you, the actual crown prince, could ever elude them for so longandbecome a captain in the military without anybody noticing? I mean, surely someone should have recognized you. I haven’t heard about one of the royal children disappearing for four or five years.”
“Hah, would’ve caused quite a stir, wouldn’t it?” I chuckled. It was nice to think back to those first months when I’d finally slipped away from my family. I’d thought I was a rather worldly person but, no, it turned out I had a lot to learn about regular life without untold riches and power.
“So, what did you do, Mr. Reed?”
“I can’t take credit for most of it. My father, while egotistical, maybe even a megalomaniac, isn’t an idiot. We’ve had, uh, I guess you could sayissueswith assassinations and coups while this insane war has been going on, so he’s kept most of the private affairs, the comings and goings of the entire royal courts, outside of the staff. If they’re found leaking info, they can even get accused of a crime against the crown.”
“Huh, doesn’t seem entirely plausible.”
