Chapter 9
Alice
I look up at Darian. “Is it true? Your father told you to reject me?”
Darian’s lips press into a thin line. “Don’t worry about it. I’m dealing with him.”
“How can I not worry about it? The king of the Wolf Kingdom doesn’t want us to be mates. Be honest with me, Darian. I won’t blame you if you have to obey him.”
“I don’t have to obey anybody,” Darian says fiercely. “And stay away from Jason. He’s trouble.”
“He was just helping me—”
“Because he’s interested in you!” Darian explodes before lowering his head and running his fingers through his hair, frustrated. “I can’t be with you at all times, Alice. There’s a lot I have to deal with right now. I assigned Jimmy to stay with you, but my father keeps interfering. Make sure you don’t go off with anybody other than me or that friend of yours.” We both glance over at Mary, who has subtly drifted away in order to give us some privacy. “You are not safe in the royal palace as long as my father wants you out of the way. I know I won’t be around a lot, but don’t get close to anybody else, Alice.”
I’ve never seen him look so insecure and tense. “I don’t think Jason meant what he said, Darian.” I try to make him feel better, but I fail.
“He did mean it,” Darian replies. “Promise me. Don’t dance with anybody. Don’t accept anything from anybody. Only look at me. Focus on me. That’s all you need to do.”
My hands lift to touch his face, a strange ache in my heart at the desperate emotion in his eyes. “How can I look at anybody else when all I can think about is you?”
His eyes soften. “You mean it? You think about me?”
“More than I want to,” I chuckle.
He closes his eyes and leans into my touch. “I hate that I can’t be with you right now, but I’ll make up for it. I promise.”
“It’s fine. Really. To be honest, I’m not a fan of this whole gathering. I don’t know what to do with myself.”
Darian laughs lightly. “I figured you wouldn’t be, but once you and I are mated, you will be hosting such things every year, so you best get used to them now.”
Seeing him talk about our future together makes me feel warm inside. Even though I am not somebody who likes being in the limelight, for Darian, I might just bear it.
“There is something I wanted to tell you.” He’s no longer smiling now. “Jimmy will come for you just before the hunt ends. I want you to return to your suite with him.”
I blink, confused. “Why?”
“Just trust me. My father and I are facing some conflict, and I’m trying to protect you. I just want you to leave before the hunt ends.”
I feel uneasy, and remembering what Mary told me about this event, I ask hesitantly, “What about the prey you catch?”
Darian presses his lips together. “Don’t think about it, Alice. All these events are meaningless to me. I don’t want my father to insult you, and he fully plans on doing so. Go with Jimmy. And tonight, after dinner, send your little friend away. I want to spend some time with you.”
I watch him leave, but my heart doesn’t settle. His back gets smaller as he walks away from me, and I feel a sense of unease. He wasn’t with me this morning, and what little time he has right now, he’s still not choosing to spend with me, in public. My body feels cold.
“I’m overthinking things,” I whisper to myself, rubbing my arms. “He cares for me. I can tell. I should trust him.”
As the hunting event begins, all of the males with fated mates approach their partners, who tie ribbons around their wrists. However, Darian does not approach me. He’s by the king’s side, and not once does he look at me. Mary casts me a concerned glance from the seat next to mine, and I give her a tense smile.
A voice in my head is warning me to be careful, but I feel that I am in too deep. I want to trust him. I have to. As the males shift into their wolf forms, I watch in awe as Darian follows suit, revealing a stunning gray coat with amber eyes that turn in my direction.
My mouth feels dry.
“He can hurt me,” I whisper to no one, my heart squeezing in my chest. “I gave him the ability to hurt me.”
“Are you alright?” Mary asks, looking a little upset. I see the question in her eyes and give her a reassuring look.
“I knew he wasn’t going to come to me. His father isn’t happy with the idea of me entering the royal family.”
My friend bristles. “What’s his problem?”
I slap my hand over her mouth, glaring at her. “There is a time and place to speak. This is not it. Let’s go somewhere else.”
I can see Willow approaching us, and the last thing I need is to be taunted once again. Her father isn’t far behind. I get to my feet, realizing they must have been waiting for the opportunity to corner me.
To my surprise, Jimmy casually steps in front of us. I don’t know where he appeared from, but he must have been lurking nearby.
“I think it’s time to leave, Miss Lane,” he says quietly.
I look in Willow and her father’s direction before saying carefully, “Darian told me to leave just before the event ends.”
“It would be best if you leave now and avoid a confrontation that will give His Majesty a reason to force Prince Darian’s hand.”
It would be nice to get out of this ridiculous dress. “Alright. Thanks.”
We start to go, and as Thomas and his daughter pick up their pace, I see a few guards blocking their path.
Jimmy takes Mary and me all the way back to our suite. “You can rest now. I’ll be keeping guard outside to make sure nobody disturbs you.”
As the door closes behind him, I don’t know why I feel so defeated. “My life is not going to be easy, is it, Mary?” I sigh heavily.
Mary loops her arm through mine. “Even the hardest of lives becomes easier with the right partner. Your life is going to be as hard as Darian lets it be, which I don’t think is going to be very hard. Don’t worry too much. This is just a moment of hardship in what will be a wonderful life together with Darian.”
I laugh lightly. “What would I do without you?”
After an hour, Jimmy delivers lunch and also brings us some board games to help pass the time. I ask him if we can go outside to the grounds just to stretch our legs and am met with a stern “no.” Being cooped up like this makes me feel like a prisoner. But it seems I have no say in the matter.
What a surprise.
*****
I’m floating underwater.
It’s dark, but I can breathe. Now there is sand under my bare feet, and when I look around, I realize I’m standing at the bottom of the lake. I don’t know how I know it’s the lake, but I do. I take a few steps, and then I see a figure just a little bit ahead of me. It’s a woman.
Her back is to me, her hair floating behind her. As I approach her, she turns to look at me. I go still.
I know her. She’s the dark witch that I saw in the lake, the one who grabbed my wrist.
This time, her eyes are not white but a light blue. She smiles at me, and her expression is gentle, almost warm.
My feet are frozen to the spot, and she glides toward me gracefully. Her hand presses on my chest, and she says something. I can’t quite make out the words, but she repeats them, bubbles of air floating out of her mouth. She pushes her hand against my heart insistently, and I begin to feel a strange sort of pressure. Nervous, I try to move back, but I can’t budge. Her smile does not waver. Then, she points to the surface.
As soon as I look up, I hear someone calling my name.
“Alice.”
“Alice, wake up.”
When I look back at the witch, she shoves me away lightly. As soon as she does, my eyes fly open.
I stare at the bedroom ceiling, disorientated.
Wasn’t I just in the lake?
“Alice?”
Darian’s voice prompts me to sit up. The room is dark, and when I look to my right, I see Darian standing beside my bed, staring at me.
“If this is your idea of a joke…” I begin, my heart pounding in fear.
“Your little friend let me in,” he replies, sitting down beside me.
“My little friend has a name,” I say in a snarky tone before turning on the lamp. “What are you doing, creeping around in my room at night?”
“I wasn’t creeping around,” he protests. “I wanted to see you.”
I study him for a moment. “How did the hunt go?”
He shrugs. “How it goes every year.”
“Who got the most prey?”
He shifts uncomfortably before admitting, “Me.”
“And who did you dedicate your prey to?” I demand. This is starting to feel more like an interrogation rather than a simple question, but I can’t help myself. I’m not a petty person by nature, unless I really hate somebody, but the idea of Darian presenting his prey to anybody other than me makes me uncomfortable.
“My father.”
He seems a little too prepared with that answer, but I let it go. After all, why would he lie to me?
“So, what are you doing here?” I ask, watching him intently.
“I wanted to see you,” he replies, playing with a strand of my hair. “Everyone gets to be with their fated mate but me. It’s not fair.”
I slap his hand away. “That’s because you’re too busy to come see me.”
Darian gives me a delighted look. “Did you miss me?”
I swing my legs over the side of the bed to get up. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
I don’t know why I’m so angry right now. I can’t explain to him how small I feel when every other girl with or without a fated mate gets to be with her partner except for me. It’s like I’m being punished for having Darian as my fated mate. My thoughts are irrational, though, and he shouldn’t have to suffer just because I can’t be an adult about the situation.
But Darian isn’t one to be ignored so easily. One tug on my hand and he pulls me into his lap, wrapping his arms around my waist to stop me from escaping.
“I take it you did miss me.” His grin is infectious and charming, and I find myself conceding.
“There’s no need to look so happy about it,” I grumble.
“How can I not?” He presses his lips to mine sweetly. “I missed you, too. If my father didn’t have me running around, making sure that our paths don’t cross, I would be glued to your side. Unfortunately, he still has the title of king, and I am his subject before I am his son.”
His lips curve up slightly, but I can see the hurt in his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head. “It’s not—”
“Don’t say it’s not important,” I warn him. “If it’s upsetting you, it’s important. Just tell me.”
I can see Darian struggle. For a moment, he reminds me of myself. Before Mary, I didn’t have a way to express my feelings to anybody, because there was nobody there to listen to me. Even now, there are things I cannot tell my only friend because I know she won’t understand. And sometimes, I simply don’t want to overwhelm her with my problems.
“It’s hard to share your troubles with other people,” I say lightly. “But I’m not other people. I’m your fated mate, and if that means something to you, then you should learn how to tell me what’s bothering you.”
Like a child, Darian buries his face in my neck, muffling his words. “I don’t want you to think I’m weak.” His voice is quiet and oddly vulnerable.
“No matter what happens, I doubt that’s what I’ll ever think of you. ‘Weak’ isn’t on my list of adjectives if I were to describe you. You are very annoying, though.”
He lets out a bark of laughter. “Of course you would consider me annoying. How could I expect anything different from you?”
“I also think you’re very handsome,” I add defensively.
That has him grinning. “Handsome? You no longer think I’m pretty? Should I be offended? I don’t know where handsome and pretty rate on your personal scale.”
It’s my turn to laugh. “Take what you can get.”
He kisses my neck before resting his chin on my shoulder. “I have never once gone against my father. For the first time, I’m taking a stand against him, and he doesn’t like it.”
“It’s because of me, isn’t it?”
Darian makes a small sound. “Yes, but if my father thinks he can rule through me, he’s wrong. I am willing to sacrifice everything for this kingdom and my father, but not my happiness. He has never once acknowledged anything I’ve done. I feel like he sees me as more of a tool than his child.”
“Is there someone specific he wants you to be with?” I ask hesitantly.
Darian grimaces. “It’s not important. My father has always been a fair man, Alice. Members of the royal family have always chosen their fated mates. What he’s asking me to do is to break tradition. It’s very unlike him. Even if you are without a wolf spirit, that doesn’t change things. It shouldn’t impact anything because the females in the royal family don’t have much to do with the ruling aspect. Their main task is to carry on the bloodline.”
His words make me cringe. “So, they’re just breeding machines?”
Darian frowns. “Now you’re being unfair. What I was trying to say is that they don’t deal with matters of the kingdom. They are still important in their own right, though. It is the queen who hosts delegates and provides support to the king. But when it comes to politics and dealing with the wolf packs, they don’t interfere. That is what I meant.”
I don’t reply, so Darian continues.
“I can’t understand my father’s stubbornness in this matter. This is why I want you to stay away from most of these events, or simply come and then leave, because he might try to stop you or do something to you, and I don’t want to take that risk. The east wing of the palace is under my control, which is why you are staying here. Even the grounds around this wing are safe for you. But in any other part of the palace, I would not be very confident about your safety.”
“You think your father might kill me?”
“No, nothing so drastic.” Darian chuckles, as if amused by the idea of his father killing anybody. “But there is every possibility of him pushing you into a situation where he can publicly denounce you. My father is a very clever man. Don’t underestimate him. There’s a reason why I have appointed my right-hand man to guard you.”
“So, you and I won’t be able to interact at any of the events?” I ask dejectedly.
“He’s forcing me to stand with him during all of them so that you and I don’t spend time together. I’m asking you to avoid all the events over the next couple of days. Otherwise, he’s going to make things even harder for you.”
“You want us to just stay here?” I look around my room. “Isn’t there anything—”
“There’s nothing I can do.” Darian looks tired. “I just need you to trust me, Alice. Everything I’m doing, I’m doing for you. If my father gives me an order during an event, I can’t disobey him publicly. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
A cold realization forms within me. “He’s not making you spend time with other females, is he?”
His silence pierces me in the heart.
“That’s it, isn’t it?” I breathe, my chest aching. “That’s why you don’t want me there. You don’t want me to see you with other women.”
“My father is trying to humiliate you,” Darian says quietly. “He’ll be very angry with me that I’m not letting you attend these events. If you’re not there, and I accompany another female, it says nothing about you. But if you are there and I do that, it will be seen as an insult to my fated mate. He’s playing politics, Alice. I’m trying to counteract his every move. I don’t want you to become a laughingstock because my father wants to be petty.”
“No disrespect, but I don’t like your father all that much.” I try to hide my hurt under my light tone. At times, I wonder if I’m weak. I should be getting angry. I should be telling Darian that he needs to stand up to his father and not escort anyone other than me. But I can’t say any of that to him. A part of me is worried he may get annoyed by my clinginess.
Aside from the fated mate bond tying the two of us together, if anyone were to ask me why Darian should choose me as his mate, I wouldn’t know how to answer. Deep down, I can’t understand what Darian sees in me. But these are the secrets and questions I hide deep inside my heart.
“I am not a huge fan of his, either, at the moment,” Darian chuckles. I feel him sniff my neck, and then he presses his teeth against me lightly, grazing my skin.
My body trembles. “What are you doing?”
“You smell nice,” he murmurs before pressing a kiss against my nape. He’s holding me to him, his chest against my back, his arms secure around my waist.
“I always smell like this,” I counter, but when I feel his lips trail down the side of my neck to my shoulder, I go still. “Darian?”
“Mm-hmm?”
“W–What’re you doing?” My eyes flutter shut when his teeth press against my shoulder. I feel a stab of pain and realize he’s broken the skin. His tongue laps at the blood from the small wound. This should annoy me, but a breathy moan escapes my lips.
His hand reaches under my shirt, ghosting over my skin.
“I’m very firmly against any hanky-panky,” I whisper, trying to make my voice firm and failing miserably.
I hear him laugh now. “Hanky-panky? I assure you, I’m not planning on any hanky-panky with you.” Before I can say anything, he gets to his feet, and after spinning me around, he pins me against the bed. “I’m planning to drive you crazy. Hanky-panky implies something else.”
“W–What?” Flustered, I try to think, but with his hand under my shirt, it’s not the easiest task. His fingers are leaving a trace of heat across my skin, and everything feels unbearably sensitive. “Darian!”
His hand cups my breast, and my face heats up. But when his thumb brushes against the hardened peak, I let out a wanton sound, and my lower body clenches.
“Look at you,” he murmurs in awe, hunger and desire in his eyes. “It’s like your body knows whom it belongs to. It reacts to my every touch.”
Before I can protest, he pulls down my shirt, revealing my chest, and his mouth descends onto one of my nipples. My back arches as his hot, wet mouth envelops the hard nub.
My fingers dig into his hair as I feel streaks of white-hot heat course through me, all the way down to my pussy. I can feel the wetness forming between my legs. Darian’s other hand begins toying with my other nipple, and all reason escapes me. I can’t form a single coherent thought in my head.
Nobody has ever touched me like this, and I’m dazed and overwhelmed. My legs twist and press together as the desire builds. Someone is whimpering, and I belatedly realize that the sound is coming from me. Darian laps at my nipples, teasing me, making me gasp, and when his teeth sink into the hard flesh, I cry out.
He growls under his breath, and his hand dives into my shorts.
“Open your legs.”
The order is absolute, one I don’t even think of disobeying. I throw my head back in a drawn-out moan when he runs one thick finger against my slit, rubbing back and forth, gathering the juices. His fingertip brushes against the sensitive bundle of nerves, and I whimper at the shock of electricity that shoots through me.
“Darian!” I gasp out his name when I feel that same finger wiggling its way inside my hole. It’s an uncomfortable stretch but not painful. Once he has fully pierced my pussy, he moves the finger around. I moan at the strange sensation, my toes curling at the invasion that’s making me feel all sorts of things.
“Do you like that?” he whispers against my ear, his voice husky. When I don’t reply, he moves his other hand from my chest to my neck and wraps it around it. “Alice, I asked you a question.”
“Yes,” I breathe, feeling his fingers press against my neck in a possessive hold. My mind is foggy with desire. He’s touching me in all sorts of ways, forcing me to experience things that are foreign to me and progressively driving me insane.
The feeling of invasion inside me changes into a devastating form of pleasure as he moves his finger in and out. When he adds another finger, my nails dig into his shoulder desperately, needing to hold onto something to combat this intense pleasure coursing through me.
“Darian!” I half sob as the pleasure intensifies into something so dizzying that I can’t breathe. It’s climbing and arching, and his fingers are pumping in and out of me at a pace I can’t keep up with. My own hips are moving, seeking the crescendo, and when I reach it, Darian’s hand tightens around my neck. My body is completely under his control, and it destroys me. I crash, my vision blurred, a dazzling electricity scoring through my veins.
I hear myself screaming, and then the cry is swallowed by Darian’s heated kiss. His fingers are still moving inside me, and I ride out the orgasm, his mouth invading mine, forcing me to feel every inch of his tongue. He’s all I can see, smell, and feel. My whole world has become centered around him. Nothing outside of him exists.
I have lost myself in Darian.
His mouth trails down my neck, biting my shoulder, leaving sharp stinging sensations that are as pleasureful as they are painful. When he finally pulls back, I look at him with dazed eyes as he takes off his shirt, revealing hard abs and a toned, muscular body. With his clothes on, he presents a lean physique, but Darian has been hiding his dangerous body this whole time. I feel my lower muscles tense with need as I watch those muscles move while he’s removing his pants. Without thinking, I reach out to touch them, and he stiffens.
“Careful, Alice,” he warns, his hand curling around mine in a tight grip. “I’m having a hard time holding myself back.”
“That was you holding back?” I choke, recalling what he just put me through.
He chuckles darkly, leaning down till his arms are on either side of me on the bed. “Do you know what I want to do to you every time I see you? You make me want to consume you. I want to see you ruined in my arms, only my name on your lips. I want you sweaty and trembling, my essence carved on your very breath. I want my marks covering your skin, from my teeth, my claws. I want to devour you, Alice. You drive me wild.”
His words rob me of my ability to speak, the sheer darkness of his desires both terrifying me and arousing me.
When he kisses me, I close my eyes, leaning into his touch. He’s supporting himself above me with one forearm still on the bed. His other hand is gliding over my stomach and into my shorts, which he promptly pulls off. My arms wrap around his neck, and suddenly, he’s pulling me upright. He sits on the edge of my bed, positioning me in his lap once again. Only this time, the difference is that his ramrod-hard cock is poking at me, and he’s spreading my legs to accommodate him.
When he enters me, my first reaction is to turn stiff. The size of his cock is much different from his fingers, and at my slight resistance, Darian goes completely still. “Alice?”
“It–It’s fine,” I breathe, clutching him. It doesn’t hurt, but there’s a burning sensation that is uncomfortable.
“You’re a virgin?” Darian sounds so shocked that I laugh through my tears.
“No shit.” I can feel him beginning to panic, but I don’t want to let go of this moment. I grab his cheeks, forcing him to look at me. “By choice, Darian. I’ve never trusted anybody to be this vulnerable with them. You’re the first because I trust you.”
His eyes heat up, and I decide to be the one to kiss him this time. Darian smiles as I do, and I wrap my arms around his neck as he begins to move slowly inside me. The uncomfortable sensation is replaced by a pleasurable one that has me moaning. His hips rock against mine, and I press against him, delirious and wanton. He’s so thick, his cock rubbing every sensitive nerve.
“Come on,” Darian murmurs against my lips. “You can start moving.”
My shirt is now bunched around my waist, and as I begin to bounce on his fat cock, sounds leave my mouth that I would otherwise be too ashamed to make. He’s watching me, a ravenous hunger in his eyes. His mouth latches onto my nipple as I move on top of his shaft, fucking myself.
I shatter within minutes, but Darian is just getting started. Still impaled on his cock, I feel him spin me around and then press me into the bed.
“Hold on tight,” he orders. I’ve barely gotten a grip on the bed when I feel him start pounding me. Sharp, long strokes that have me howling.
The pleasure is intense. My whole body is trembling as he chases his own release. In the process, he pushes me over the edge once more. I claw at the sheets, burying my face in the bed, trying to muffle the sounds of my cries. But Darian’s hand grabs my hair, pulling my head back, and his voice is hoarse and demanding. “I want to hear you.”
I scream out his name as he fucks me through my orgasm. I feel him spill inside me, and I go limp on the bed, exhausted and trembling, strung out from the multiple orgasms he has forced out of me. Darian’s hands are unsteady as he picks me up and pulls off my shirt. Depositing me back on the bed, he’s about to lie down next to me when I feel him pause. Dazed, I look at him and catch him staring at my ankle.
“Darian?”
He looks at me and grins.
When he pounces, I know he’s nowhere near done with me.