Chapter 37 #2
She sighed and dropped her hand. “It’s okay. I’m pretty sure I would have done the same thing if you tried to touch Cora.” She paused. “Well, maybe not the same thing because I can’t pick you up off the ground.”
“Truly, I am sorry.”
The angry expression on her face faded. “It’s okay.”
She planted herself at my side and put an arm around my waist. Resting a hand on her shoulder, I looked to the king.
“My deepest apologies, Sire.”
The king waved his hand. “I completely understand. We should dispense with the formalities. Call me Fane.”
“Please come into the house, and we will have tea.”
At my invitation, the king looked to his guards. Since I had trained most of them myself, I watched with approval when four of them entered the house while four more remained at the king’s side.
A few moments later, the guards returned and one of them nodded to the others. After that, I led the king and Cora into the house and to the rarely used parlor. I was on my way to the kitchen to ask Masu to make us tea when I met her in the hall.
“Master, I have the kettle on to boil. I will also bring some treats.” She smiled and clapped her hands. “So exciting that the king is visiting!”
“Thank you, Masu.”
The king’s guards were spaced throughout the house, inside and out, but the king had insisted that they wait outside the parlor. He said that the male who trained the guards would likely be able to protect him just as well.
Once the door was closed and I sat on the sofa next to Leda, the king explained why they were here.
“My apologies for arriving unannounced,” he said. When I opened my mouth to speak, he lifted a hand. “I know you are about to say that it is fine, but I know it is not. No military male likes surprises. I trained with your former commander enough to know that.”
I had forgotten that Fane and I had been through military training in the same years. I rarely saw him because he was being taught to lead armies, and I was being taught how to kill.
“I heard from the magistrate that you had taken a human female as a mate. I had hoped she and Cora might enjoy a chat. I also needed to discuss something with you.”
He got to his feet. Taking my cues from his actions, I rose as well.
“I’ll call the guard in,” he said.
“Fane, I would prefer some privacy,” Cora said. “And I’m sure Leda would agree.”
The king started to argue, but Cora just shook her head. “No guard in the room.”
I leaned toward him and murmured too softly for the humans to hear, “Leda is a trained fighter. She is fast, strong, and vicious. If anyone manages to get past your guards, she will be able to handle them.”
His answering look was incredulous.
“She has taken me down during sparring sessions more than once. And she is armed.”
The king seemed indecisive. Cora was the deciding factor, though.
“Fane, go talk to the general. Leda and I will be fine.”
The sound of his sigh was familiar. “Very well. We will only be gone for a few minutes.”
When we stepped out, I offered, “Let’s speak in my office.”
The king gestured for the guard to remain by the parlor door and followed me to my office. Once we were inside, I moved to the chairs in front of my desk.
“Please, sit.”
He settled in the chair but did not begin speaking right away.
“Sire?”
“Bokkan, we are the same age, and we trained together in the military. For the last time, call me Fane.”
“Very well. Fane, what did you want to discuss with me?”
He hesitated, but finally said, “I fear this is of a very personal nature, but you are the only daemon male I feel I can ask.”
“Ask me anything,” I invited.
The king leaned forward. “How did you convince your female to mate with you?”
My mouth opened, but I could not think of an answer.
The king studied me and got to his feet, pacing back and forth in my office. “I find myself… drawn to my human companion. Yet she seems completely unaware of me. Sometimes her scent changes, and I think I smell her interest, but she has not approached me.”
My skin suddenly felt hot and tight. I honestly had no idea how I convinced Leda to mate with me. I had only counted my blessings that she had agreed to have me.
The king paused. “I apologize. I know this is deeply personal, Bokkan, but I am desperate. My mating instincts are screaming at me to bite and brand her, but she seems completely uninterested. Yet she will not outright reject me the way a daemoness would. I do not know what to do.”
“It is not that I do not want to answer,” I explained.
“It’s that I have no idea how I convinced her to mate with me.
I cared for her the way I would a daemoness and a guest. Although she slept in my room rather than having one of her own.
Humans are much more sensitive to the cold than we are, and she would have been too cold on her own, even with furs on the bed.
” I shrugged. “I understand how difficult it is to fight your instincts. Perhaps you should speak to Cora about it. I found that honesty works well with human females. Apparently, their males do not often talk about their thoughts or emotions.”
“That is how we interact with daemon females. Does that mean—”
I shook my head. “They don’t have our instincts.
You should show her why you are worthy by doing some of the things we do for our females.
Pay attention to what she likes and tend to her.
But our natural aggressiveness will frighten most human females.
And don’t hunt her without explaining what happens during the event.
” I paused. “That’s actually the most important thing…
talk to her about what it means to be courted by a daemon male.
She can’t consent to a mating or reject you if she doesn’t understand what’s happening. ”
“What about…” the king paused, a wince forming on his face. “What about bedding human females? I don’t want to harm her.”
“If you bring her pleasure two or three times before the act and go slowly, she will be fine. As far as I can tell, her body has adjusted to me.” I hesitated to say anything, but I didn’t want him to say something he might regret.
“Human females aren’t quite like daemon females.
They have hair on their mounds, legs, and beneath their arms. And their bodies are soft rather than thick with muscle.
From things that Leda has said to me, commenting on their bodies makes most human females uncomfortable and can drive them away. ”
“I see,” Fane said. “Thank you for your advice.”
“I am here if you ever want to discuss courting human females again. Perhaps I will be more help in the future once I understand them better.”
The king laughed. “Perhaps I will be able to help you in the future as well.”
“Actually, that is something I wanted to discuss with you… the status of humans in Penumbra as property unless they are mated to a daemon.”
“I am already in the process of changing that. Unfortunately, it will take time because the High Council will have to approve the status change, and a few of them are proving… resistant.”
“Perhaps I can be of service to you on that matter as well,” I offered.
He immediately understood and nodded. “I will keep that in mind.”
“Leda’s safety is imperative to me, so please don’t hesitate.”
Fane nodded, his expression growing somber. “I won’t.”
We sat in silence before he spoke again.
“I do have one more question,” the king said.
“Of course.”
“I noticed the mating mark in the center of your mate’s palm, but you do not have one. Is the bond incomplete?”
I hesitated. “Yes, it is incomplete.”
The king appeared concerned. “I have heard incomplete bonds are difficult for daemons. How are you doing?”
“You saw how I behaved when she tried to shake your hand,” I pointed out.
He winced. “I see. Do you think you will ever be able to complete the bond?”
I shrugged. “It matters not. I would not change what happened.” When the king merely raised his brows at me, I sighed.
“I hope someday it will be so. While she is not a witch, she is absorbing the magic of our realm at an accelerated pace. It is possible she will possess enough power at some point to brand me in return.”
“You realize you are not the only daemon to bond with a human female, correct? Why not ask one of the others?”
I chuckled. “You have seen how possessive I am of my mate. How do you think other daemon males would react?”
With a nod, the king answered, “I see your point.”
No, I would have to wait and see how Leda’s magic developed. And hope that someday she would be able to brand me in return.