Chapter 32 32

Chapter 32 32

Oberon's POV

I was hoping to brush off the call. He wanted to slam Yamal away and tell Morgana to come back in the morning. I'd wanted to claim my mate finally, finally without being interrupted.

But Morgana was not a person she could ignore or put off. Hell, she was an Alpha, strong enough to stand up for her own. What mattered most was that she was Eudora’s family. Her protector.

And if she was here asking for Eudora to leave, that meant a political showdown I could not avoid. One that could shatter the delicate truce between our packs.

I felt Eudora stiffen under me and the disappointment that mirrored mine. The moment was broken again. Reality making a mockery of what was meant to be sacred.

“We have the worst timing,” she said, exhaling a frustrated laugh that was not funny.

I kissed her again, fierce and claiming. Staking her mouth like I staked her body. “This isn’t finished,” I promised against her lips. “Tonight, I’m locking that door when I take care of your aunt and leaving it locked no matter who it is. I don’t care if the palace is falling down around us.”

We dressed in a hurry, tying and buttoning each other up. Little intimacies that felt larger than they were. My hands brush her skin as I zip up her dress. Her hands smoothing my shirt.
When Eudora was troubled by her hair and strove to have oirs presentable, I insisted on herself and suffered with me. My fingers were clumsy, yet surprisingly sure as I plaited the silver hair, muscle memory coming to my aid.

”Where did you learn to braid?” she asked, surprised.

The question left me feeling tight-chested. "I had two younger sisters. Before everything happened. Mother used to do their hair every morning, so I would just braid it while she made breakfast.

The offhanded reference to my lost family resonated with him. A pain that we’d become almost comfortable sharing.

Eudora came around and gave me a soft kiss on the lips. “Thank you for sharing that memory with me.”

We walked to the throne room where Morgana was. The Alpha was strong and commanding, her silver streaked hair pulled back into warrior braids. Marjah was by her side, appearing very uncomfortable.

"Aunt Morgana," Eudora greeted formally. "This is unexpected."

His purple eyes sharp, Morgana saw all. How Oberon and Eudora were pressed close together, my hand at her lower back. How Eudora’s lips were still a little swollen from kissing. How our scents had mingled.

“I’ve come to bring you home, niece.” Morgana stated without so much of a greeting. “You literally just arrived and this palace has been attacked multiple times. Infected wolves. Ruminants. Explosions. You are not safe here."

I felt my jaw tighten, offense bristling. “The princess is quite safe in my care.”

Morgana's gaze was challenging, assessing. “Really, Lycan King, are you sure about that? And would soon learn she’d been threatened, assaulted and almost killed in the process, I will gather. All under your so called protection."

The words stung more than I cared to admit. Because they held truth. From the time we were married, Eudora was in constant danger. Had nearly died multiple times. And I hadn't stopped it at all.

“I'm not leaving," Eudora said solidly, before I even had a chance to reply. "This is my home now. These are my people."

Morgana’s face softened just a bit, but her heart remained firm. "I know you believe that. But you are thinking with your heart, not your head. Circumstances dictated to you this marriage. You don't owe him anything, or this kingdom."

Some coldness settled in my stomach. Was that what Eudora believed? That it was only duty that brought her here? That she would leave if she could?

She moved toward me, out of reach. I felt a moment of panic overtake me. I felt she would now side with Morgana. Proceeding to put security and family ahead of us.

The thought made my heart contract with pain.

"You are correct," Eudora agreed with her aunt.

The chill spread in my stomach freezing my lungs.

"This match was not of my own choosing in the beginning. It was political necessity. A treaty obligation."

I had to grit my teeth not to react. To hide the pain her words had caused. “Like a king should be, to keep my composure.”

“But that is no longer the point,” Eudora continued, and I felt a glimmer of hope in my chest. "I'm doing it because that's what I want to do. Because I love him."

She glanced at me and her purple eyes spoke loudly. Raw and honest and beautiful.
“For he is mine and I am his. And I’m not going to walk away from what we’re building.”

Relief and love coursed through me so powerfully I thought I might not be able to take another breath. Could barely stand under it.

Morgana looked both of us over critically, her professional eyes reading far too much. "You really love him? You're not just suffering from the mate bond being in your head? Trauma bonding isn’t it or Stockholm syndrome?”

"It's a little bit of both," Eudora confessed frankly. "The bond and genuine love. And I make no apologies for either. Can't pretend one diminishes the other.”

Morgana was silent for a long time. The entire throne room held their breath as they waited for the Alpha’s ruling.

Then she nodded slowly. "Very well. If the would be genuinely of your choosing, lyingly freely entering it with full knowledge of what is likely to occur I'll not have failed you there.”

But she turned on me a steely glare that threatened violence. “But I am never going to leave here, Marjah. Not as a spy or watchdog. But as family support. What are you to Eudora?! A friend she can trust, one who isn't in the thrall of this court.”

She edged closer, her voice becoming a deadly whisper. Of course, shouldn’t anything happen to my niece. If she is harmed in any way. If she is hurt or killed on your watch. You belong to me and to the whole Night Fang pack. We’re going to burn his kingdom to the ground and salt the earth on which we stand.

I move forward, taking my battle directly to Morgana. "Your niece is my mate. My wife. My queen. I never would have allowed her to come to any harm. I’d die for her. That’s not a promise — or a threat. It is simply fact."

Morgana’s lips twitched into nearly an expression of approval. "Just make sure you remember that, Lycan King."

And with that I turned to Eudora and enfolded her in my arms. "You meant it? What about all those things you said to me? About choosing to stay?"

She grinned, her arms snaking behind my neck. "Every word. I love you, Oberon. Completely. Irrevocably."

I pressed my lips to her mouth, paying no mind if Yamal and the guards were there. Love for propriety without the appearance of it. Just needing to taste her. To mark her lips and let everyone know she was mine.

When we pulled back, both of us gasping for breath I called to the room in general. ‘The queen and myself must retire to rest. We are NOT to be disturbed, under ANY circumstances. Anybody that knocks on that door will be assigned to the farthest border patrol that we have. For a year."

Yamal smiled knowingly, he knew precisely what I was talking about. "Understood, Your Grace."

Sweeping Eudora into my arms in silence and floating her up to our chambers like I was carrying air, I heard Marjah say something under her breath to Yamal, "At last. I felt like they would never not be being wormholed into.”

“Ditto that,” Yamal said and I could hear the smile in his voice.

But then Marjah said something that made all of us freeze in our tracks.

“I mean, just before you run off, I should probably tell you I found something in Esmeralda's room while I was looking for this map. Letters to her from someone she nicknamed J and J asked, discussing various ways to ensure the king and queen never got together again.”

I gently placed Eudora on the floor then I mental-whiplashed into tactical mode. "J?"

Marjah nodded grimly. “The letters refer to inside information about the lay-out of the palace. Guard rotations. The king's schedule. Whoever J may be, he or she has a privileged position in relation to this court.”

My blood ran cold. A traitor. In my own palace. You and Esmeralda get together and break the bond between Eudora and I.

“Let me have a sight of these letters," I demanded. "Now.”