Once Upon A Pack (Royalverse #1)

Chapter 28

twenty-eight

I’ve never had a boyfriend before, so you’ll have to tell me:

Is meeting the parents always this terrifying?

Or is it worse because these “parents” are the king and queen of our country… and we happen to be approaching their palace ?

The fact that I’m still practically comatose from our car ride doesn’t help. I expected the guys to put me back in my own seat after we finished, but Dair stayed firmly wedged between my thighs, purring, with his head on my abdomen for the next hour.

Asher held me in his lap the entire way. Even after he fixed my bra and retied my dress, his hands never left me. Idly skimming over my arms, shoulders, and sides while he explained some of the ins and outs of palace life I’ll need to get used to.

Bast claimed the seat that used to be mine, sending me eye-rolls and amused grins whenever Asher said something he deemed pompous. He also had a lot of useful information to drop into the conversation; since, apparently, he knows everyone’s names, life stories, and pet peeves.

Dair, on the other hand, collects secrets. He’s also much more aware of the staff than Asher seems to be. While Bast happily chatted about the groundskeeper and the valets, the duke added an occasional grumble of dissent or a begrudging nod of approval.

He only out-and-out disagreed once, growling to inform everyone that one kitchen assistant in particular is never allowed to be alone with me. When I asked why, he scent-marked my belly and kissed it softly. “Nothing for you to worry about, baby. I’ll take care of it.”

Between the deluge of information and, you know, the fact that we’re about to walk into a literal palace , I’m already nervous by the time we hit the capital.

Driving through the city doesn’t help much. Crenmore’s capital, Lyledon, is a sprawling metropolis with a population thousands of times larger than Maytown. The streets are a bustling maze—some hodgepodge of cobblestone and new construction, all blended into a tapestry I’ll never be able to learn.

Part of me breathes a sigh of relief when we pass right through it, to the opposite edge of the city. Stone walls appear, guarding what appears to be a park. Really, though, the acres of manicured landscaping are a lawn .

Their front yard.

While the cars surrounding ours have to pause at a security gate, our plush limo sails right past, winding through a thickly forested band. Once the tree line breaks, my eyes bulge.

Oh. My. God.

I’m not sure why I never imagined the palace being… well. A palace .

But it is. An enormous structure stretching five times as wide as it is high.

And it is tall .

Smooth white stone stacked into impossibly large walls, all matching the paved path winding up to equally impressive pillars and an ornate entrance. The front area must serve as some sort of facade, though, because we drive by without stopping. Our car takes a smaller track around the right side of the palatial building instead.

“The central structure faces north,” Asher explains. “The wing is staged for visitors and closed off from the residential sections, where we’ll be. My parents occupy the western wing; all the common areas, like the kitchens and entertaining spaces, are in the southern wing. Ours is the east wing, here.”

He gestures to the endless expanse of large ivory blocks and shining windows blurring outside the car window. About halfway down the side of the palace, we make a sharp turn, darting into an archway tunneled through the first floor. It spits us out into a large circular area with similar paths carved into the south and western walls. A troupe of valets trots forward, swarming the cars around ours.

Asher leans to the side and raps on the privacy partition three times. It’s clearly some sort of signal; the engine cuts off, but no one approaches the doors.

Bast cups his hands around my face, grinning with excitement as he scent-marks my forehead. “You're going to love it here.”

Is there any other choice? And what happens if I hate it?

I glance out at the endless stretch of pristine lawn. The maze-like “garden.” Stables that seem ornamental and far too still. There isn’t so much as a squirrel chirring or a duck quacking.

Dair’s expression reflects my resignation. He gives a harsh sigh and shoots a baleful look out the window. Asher ignores him, smoothing a hand over the back of my hair to capture my attention.

Swirling hazel eyes plumb my depths for a long moment. His brows dip behind his glasses. “Are you ready? We can wait here as long as you like.”

I want nothing more than to beg him to hold me a little longer. But his parents are waiting… and we’re already going to make quite an impression, with all three of them drenched in my perfume.

I bite my lower lip, and Asher makes a soft sound just for me. “Goose, we don’t have to go in yet. I’ll stay out here with you all day.”

My nickname puts a catch in my throat. He remembered , I think for the dozenth time, awed by the way he recalled our story without skipping a beat. And how he kissed me afterward… how he held me and touched me.

It was every dream come true.

Things between us have finally taken a turn today. I won’t lose whatever progress we’ve made by causing him undue anxiety now.

I choke down the whine scraping my throat and force a nod. “I’ll be fine, Ash.”

His nickname brings a quick, dazzling smile to his face. He drops one last kiss on my mouth and slides toward the door.

Ignoring Dair’s probing gaze, I move to follow him, repeating the assurance that feels more like a lie.

I’ll be fine.

How bad could it be?