Chapter 46: Ferrin

Three glorious days.

Willa and I had been locked away in our apartment for three glorious days.

I wasn’t sure what time it was (a particularly… vigorous coupling had rendered the bedside clock non-functional on day two). I was still finding it hard to care, but the sun starting to come through the windows told me it was later in the morning than I thought. Willa was still fast asleep beside me, her back pressed against my side as she clung to my arm that was wrapped around her.

I hadn’t told her, but it didn’t escape my attention that the moment we marked each other was exactly two weeks from the moment we had set eyes on each other. I looked down at my mate, amazed at how much my life could change in just two weeks. Within two weeks, she had become the center of my whole world. It wasn’t planned, and I took it as another sign from the moon goddess that we were completely meant for each other.

The thought bolstered my faith in our bond, and I knew it was time to return to the real world. I had too many responsibilities that I couldn’t keep pushing off on my friends and family or my other staff. And even though she hadn’t said anything, I could tell Willa was eager to step into her new role.

That would begin with her meeting Dante.

She had told me why it was important to her. How her mother’s death was something that she felt still tied her to the negative parts of her past she needed to let go of. I understood what she needed, and I would give it to her. But I still needed to make sure Dante knew what he could and couldn’t say.

I mind-linked Austin to prep him accordingly. Damen wasn’t shy about the reservations he still held, so I didn’t want to ask him. Dante was scheduled to come to our apartment at noon today. I knew Willa would want to shower and clean up before then. Plus, Miranda would be there any minute to clean the apartment since she and the housekeeping staff had been locked out of it for days.

I thought about the state of the place and told myself to give her another raise.

I rolled over and nuzzled my face into Willa’s neck, running my hand up and down the length of her body to gently wake her. She quickly began to stir.

“Mmm,” she hummed, wiggling her ass against me, instantly making me hard.

I groaned. I loved how insatiable my mate was and that she couldn’t get enough of me, but that wasn’t what I had intended. She just made the morning that much more difficult.

“Sweetheart, you’re killing me here,” I said with a soft laugh.

She grinned smugly. “It’s not my fault you smell so good.”

“Yes, well, I’m happy to revisit this position later, but we really should get up.”

“I’m sure we have some time,” she purred, grinding against me.

I grabbed her hips with a grunt, holding them still as she laughed seductively. I had still not managed to be inside of her without knotting her. A fact that led to a rather awkward situation on the patio the other night. So, no, we absolutely didn’t have the time.

“If you don’t behave yourself, my little wolf, you’re going to find out exactly what your king will do when you disobey him.”

She chuckled. “Is that supposed to deter me?”

I growled, pushing my aura out slightly and nipping her neck.

“Okay, okay,” she said while laughing. “I’m getting up.”

While she climbed out of bed, I grabbed my watch from the nightstand to actually check the time. We were cutting it closer than I thought.

“If I take a shower with you, will you behave?” I asked, throwing my legs over the edge of the bed.

“Of course,” she called over her shoulder in a tone that wasn’t entirely convincing.

She did not behave, something I made a note to address later that evening. But at least our activities didn’t make us too late. I had dressed and left her to finish drying her hair, going out to the living room to find Miranda already there. She was standing with her hands on her hips, gazing around the place.

It wasn’t exactly messy, per se. Willa had insisted we could at least wash our dishes and generally pick up after ourselves. But there were a few pieces of broken furniture that would need attention — or thrown out entirely — and she was definitely working out how to sanitize every surface of the apartment.

She looked up when she noticed me entering the living room, and I gave her a sheepish expression. I opened my mouth to say something, but she raised a hand.

“Just know that I’m happy for you both,” she said. “And we’ll never speak of this again.”

“Deal.”

I went to the kitchenette and started making coffee. By the time I had gotten the pot ready and it was brewing, Willa exited the bedroom with a full laundry bag in tow.

“Good morning, Miranda,” she said brightly. “I went ahead and stripped the bed for you. I figured the least I could do was save you the impact of the bedroom.”

She blushed a little, but for the most part, she didn’t bat an eyelash at Miranda, witnessing the aftermath of our mating. I was grinning from ear to ear when she came up and grabbed a water from the fridge.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing. I just thought you would be a little more mortified with someone seeing the evidence,” I chided.

She scrunched her face a little. “Yeah, but I figured the whole country knows what we were doing in here, so it’ll be a little pointless for me to be a shrinking violet about it.”

“I suppose so.”

“And it’s not like it’s anything I haven’t seen before,” Miranda said as she tossed the laundry bag into a cart by the door. She pulled a tote of cleaning solutions and scrubbing tools from the bottom and came to set it on the island. “In fact, I think Marcus and I managed to break more furniture.”

“Miranda,” I exclaimed with a grimace as I actually blushed.

Willa burst out laughing next to me. Miranda’s husband had passed six years prior. It was hard on her, but being fated mates, they had forty-two great years together. However, while it always made me glad she was able to have that kind of love in her life, the woman was like a mother to me, and I certainly didn’t need to know that kind of information.

“Oh, please,” she waved off my reaction as Willa took the cleaning supplies from her. Willa had insisted that she clean the place herself, stating she still wasn’t comfortable with the idea of being waited on at that level. “You can keep these if you like, and if you decide you want help, you just call me, dear.”

“Thanks, Miranda,” Willa replied.

“Oh, and may I say, you’re looking quite… strong today, Luna.”

Willa looked a little confused at her wording, but I knew exactly what Miranda was talking about. Marking each other had apparently removed all the suppressive effects on Willa’s aura. She was practically glowing with it. I was worried at first, but then I figured it would be the perfect way to break the news since the most plausible explanation was now the truth.

I waited for Miranda to leave before telling Willa.

“Your aura isn’t suppressed anymore,” I said calmly as I set a coffee mug in front of her.

“Oh,” she said, her understanding and concern crossing our bond. “What does that mean?”

I shrugged. “That everyone finds out. They would eventually, at least this way still fits with our story.”

“Okay,” she said. She was still a little unsure, but I could also sense the relief she felt.

“Dante is on his way,” I said, kissing the side of her head. “We may want to move some of this furniture into your room before he gets here.”

It was quick work for the two of us. We had everything stacked, but Willa was convinced she could fix the leg of a small end table and told me to go ahead when I heard Dante knocking on the door. I shook my head but acquiesced.

“Dante, thank you for coming up,” I said, shaking his hand.

“Not at all. Not many of us lowly commoners have had the chance to meet the Luna yet,” he said, the humor evident in his voice. “Who am I to turn down the honor.”

I clapped him on the shoulder. I really did like the man more and more every time we met.

I heard Willa calling to us as she came to the living room. “I apologize I wasn’t here to greet you, Detective Rhodes…”

She stopped in her tracks as we both saw the look on his face. His eyes were wide, and his mouth had dropped open. I don’t even think he was breathing. Suddenly, he dropped to his knee, his hand going over his heart as he bowed his head.

“Your Majesty,” he said reverently.