Emory
Kane’s mouth is smooth and warm as his lips move against mine. Once again, I’m surprised that they’re not cold, but the longer he holds himself against me, the more those thoughts fade from my mind, and all I can think about is how badly I want this man who is touching me in a more intimate way than anyone ever has before.
No fear resonates within me as his tongue taps against my bottom lip, prompting me to part mine. His tongue touches mine lightly, and my body is ablaze as tingles radiate down my spine and out through my limbs, causing a tightening in my core. He takes his time, his hand on my cheek as he steadies us, and I keep my eyes closed to savor the feeling of him, the taste of strawberries and cinnamon, not at all what I was expecting, the way his intoxicating scent wraps around me.
When he pulls away from me, I find myself leaning forward, unwilling to release him, but the moment has passed, and as I open my eyes, I see a very serious expression on his face.
“I need to go,” he says, but he’s not moving.
I nod. My lips are still prickling with energy from his touch.
“I need to go speak to Opal.”
The way he says her name sends a bolt of clarity through me, and I am suddenly aware of the fact that he has a fiancée.
He’s marrying her—not me. Opal. The horrid woman who does nothing but scream at me and make fun of me.
“Why?” I ask him, and I realize as soon as the word slips out of my mouth that it’s not only none of my business, it’s rude of me to ask. He’s the king. He can speak to whoever he wants to.
He tips his head slightly as he says, “I need to talk to her about what happened. With you. Outside in the garden.”
“Right.” I drop my eyes to my lap where I am absently rubbing the hem of my dress between my fingers. I don’t want him to leave at all, but I most definitely don’t want him to leave to go to her. “Why… are you marrying her? I mean, not that you owe me an explanation. It’s just… it doesn’t seem like the two of you have that much in common.”
“Unfortunately, we have a lot in common,” he tells me. “We are both born vampires, which is a rarity. We are both the oldest sibling, which means she will rule her father’s kingdom as soon as he is ready to step down. We’ve both been in aristocracy our whole lives. We both know the importance of alliances and staying strong against our enemies. There’s a lot more to this than meets the eye.”
I consider all that he’s saying, and it seems like all of his words are political, occupational, and none of them are personal. “But… do you love her?” I ask him.
He scoffs at me and pulls his eyes away from my face. “Do I love her? Do I love Opal? Fuck no, I don’t love her. I can’t stand her.”
The clarity his words give me makes me breathe a sigh of relief, as he has spoken with conviction, and it leaves no doubt in my mind that he most definitely does not have romantic feelings for Opaline.
“But you’re marrying her anyway? Don’t you worry about the unhappiness that will bring you? Do you even want to have children with her?” I can’t help but wrinkle up my nose. The idea of that woman raising children makes me sick.
The idea of the two of them having sex in order to make those children makes me even sicker. I wonder if they already have had sex.
He shakes his head. “It’s not that I necessarily want her to be my wife or the mother of my children, but my choices are limited, Emory. A born vampire can only mate with another born vampire, as far as we know. Granted, there aren’t a lot of us around to find out, and most vampires don’t particularly like children, in my experience. No, I would not want Opal raising my child.”
“How would you keep her from it?” I ask, remembering that he said he needed to go, but I am not ready for him to leave yet.
“I am hopeful that after the wedding, she will return to her kingdom, and we will only see each other once a month until… we have a child. Then, once she gives birth, the child will come here and live with me while she stays in Scarlett Thunder.”
“But….” I shake my head, trying to process. “Who will raise the child?”
“Someone who loves children,” he tells me. “Someone… who is not Opal.”
I want to ask him how he can even bear to have sex with that woman, but I suppose he is a vampire, and my understanding is that sex is such a high for them, they’ll screw just about anyone, or anything.
Maybe that’s why he kissed me.
But then… he did stop before more could happen between us.
And he didn’t have to.
“What about that man from the meeting yesterday?” he asks, changing the subject on me so abruptly, I’m not sure who he’s speaking of. I stare at him, unblinking. “The tall one who was standing behind you.”
“Oh. Darius,” I say with a nod. “He’s my Beta. Will be my Beta. Was supposed to be my Beta.” I take a deep breath, reminding myself that everything is different now, that the life I believed to be mine yesterday is gone now.
“Beta?” Kane repeats. “You mean… you were going to rule the pack?”
I nod. “That’s what I’ve been told my whole life. I am the oldest, after all, and Coit is… a loose cannon. But now, I suppose Darius will be Coit’s Beta, and who knows what will become of the pack. I wouldn’t care at all except for….” I have to stop talking as emotion overcomes me.
He squeezes my hand, knowing what I’m talking about. “Was he your mate?” The question is gentle, meant to steer me away from thoughts of Lola, I imagine.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I thought I might find out on my twenty-first birthday. Darius has already turned twenty-one, so sometimes we can tell if one mate isn’t old enough yet, but he says he wasn’t certain.”
“Did you want him to be?”
I want to ask him why he wants to know, but the words spill out of my mouth without time for a question. “At one time, I did. But now… obviously, I’d hate to be away from my mate for the rest of my life.”
Kane mulls that over for a minute before a slight grin forms on his face, and he says, “If you see him again and determine that he is your mate, maybe I can capture him for you. Make him a feeder, too.” He chuckles, and I feel it in my soul.
I shake my head, a smile on my face. “That’s all right. I think… I’ll start my new life without any remnants of Moonraker pack. It seems like my entire existence there was a lie. I hated you immensely until yesterday morning, but as soon as I realized everything my father had ever said to me about both himself and you were lies… you were able to show me that you’re not a complete and utter asshole who wants to kill all wolf shifters and rule the world.” I’d come to that conclusion in the dungeon, before the guards showed up, and it was a bit remarkable how quickly it had happened.
“So… I’m only a partial conceded asshole then?” he asks, winking at me.
“Something like that,” I tell him, my face heating up again.
“I was honestly surprised at how quickly we won you over,” he admits. “I thought you’d be angry and bitter, refusing to speak to any of us for weeks, maybe months.”
I can’t explain it either. It seems ridiculous when I stop to think about it, but I was wounded by my father and the rest of my pack, and Kane and Rainer were instantly nice and welcoming to me.
And then there was this heat, this pull, this magnetic connection I felt for the vampire king the moment I arrived here, as if we were meant to be together. It makes no sense. He’s a vampire; I’m a wolf shifter. It’s not as if he could be my mate, and even if he was, I wouldn’t know it until I turn twenty-one.
I think he must simply have that effect on everyone. Except for maybe Helga. She doesn’t seem very vampire-like when it comes to sex drive. Not that it’s for me to judge.
“Earlier, when you said you wanted to leave your old life behind completely, you didn’t mean your sister, though, did you?” the king asks me.
I swallow the lump that quickly rises in my throat and shake my head. “No, I didn’t mean her.”
He nods. “I’m sorry I had to send her back with your father. If I’d been thinking clearly, I would’ve gotten her, too. As much as he owed me, I would’ve been able to. I was just in shock that he was trading his children for drakes.” He pauses for a moment and then corrects, “Not that you’re not worth the sum and more by yourself.”
I hadn’t even thought of his statement that way. I can’t help but smile at him.
“Well, I will let you rest. If you need anything, send for it. Your head looks better already. You wolf shifters really are quick healers.” He pats my leg in a fashion that is incompressible to me. “And don’t worry about dinner. Tonight. I’ll have it sent to you.” And then he is gone.
I lay back down, trying to close my eyes, but I can still smell his scent in the air. I can still taste him in my mouth, and I can still feel his touch on my skin.
Maybe I’ll fall asleep and dream of him….