CHAPTER SIXTEEN
WINTER
“How do you feel about that, son?” Winter’s father asked, amusement dancing in his stare.
Winter’s jaw tightened. “There are other ways to unite the court.” He wanted to fuck Sterling, but to mate with her? Not once had he fucking considered that.
“You’ll do as I say, or you’ll be the one to kill Red Riding Hood in front of the court. Make no mistake either—if that happens, it will be widely known that you’re the reason the wolves and humans couldn’t come together for peace.” His father smirked.
Beside him, Sterling sucked in a sharp breath, but he refused to look at her, to let his father realize that he wasn’t ready to watch her die yet. The king now knew that Winter had let Sterling go free after murdering her grandmother, and that wouldn’t be something forgotten by his father.
“I don’t give a fuck what happens to her.” He shrugged. “Or what the court thinks about me.”
“You cared what your mother thought about you,” the king purred. “You will unite the court, so, if it helps, tell yourself that it’s being done in her honor.”
Winter only glared, and the king seemed to take his silence for agreement.
“And you, Sterling? Do you accept?” his father asked, his gaze raking over her in a way that made Winter’s blood boil. Still, he kept his expression neutral. If King Valco realized how much it bothered Winter, it would only make matters worse.
“I accept,” she said.
“Perfect.” He turned to the crowd, raising his voice so everyone’s attention focused on their king. “I have wonderful news,” he bellowed. “In two nights, we’ll have another mating ceremony. This time, a royal event.” He paused as cheers rang out.
Winter held back a wince, knowing the reactions would soon change, all while he struggled to accept that this was happening.
“Prince Winter will mate the victor of his games. He and Red Riding Hood will unite the court.” The king’s words sounded joyous, but the guests quieted.
They still clapped and nodded, keeping Valco happy, though Winter noticed their lips parting in surprise and the strained glances they gave one another.
The king returned to General Rawling and Caston, speaking to them in a low voice before strolling off to choose one of the women to suck his cock, and Winter’s fingers dug into Sterling’s upper arm.
“Come with me, and don’t say a fucking word.
” The king was up to something. Not once had he ever desired to unite the court, and Winter knew his father hadn’t suddenly had a change of heart after his near-death experience.
One thing was for certain—his father wanted to humiliate Winter.
And the way he had been looking at Sterling told him there was much more to come.
Valco must’ve realized Winter had an interest in Sterling that went beyond toying with her, but the prince wouldn’t give him what he wanted so easily.
Sterling remained close to his side as they walked back toward the castle. Couples were already peeling off layers of one another’s clothing, eliciting pleasure through touches before they fucked. Winter glanced down at Sterling, the torchlight flickering across her face, illuminating her scar.
A guard drew open the castle door, and they walked through the gleaming hallways.
For years, he’d thought about the girl from the woods, had wanted to fuck her even though she’d been born from enemy blood.
But to mate with Red Riding Hood? It was unfathomable.
Wanting to fuck her was one thing, but this?
Once they reached Sterling’s bedchamber, he led her inside and kicked the door shut behind him. He released her arm and whirled to face her.
“Is your father serious?” she hissed, her eyes wide.
Winter arched a brow. “You can choose not to do it and find out.”
“You said if I won your games, you’d let Cyan go. This isn’t a game.”
He’d told himself that he wanted her to die in his games, but if he were truthful with himself, he never would’ve allowed it to happen.
Which was why he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to save this human, his enemy.
Even if it was keeping her prisoner in his room until her last breath.
“This has nothing to do with your brother. Would you prefer to rot in a cage? Hang in the corner of my room until you die of old age? This seems a step up, don’t you think? ” Winter said.
“Is it?” She crossed her arms.
He smirked. “Well, now you get to be a princess instead.”
“By marrying you...”
“Mating, not marrying. I’m not human.” He closed the distance between them and lifted her chin between his fingers.
Her apple scent washed over him, and this woman, this human, made it so fucking hard for him.
Why couldn’t his father have told Winter to put her in another game?
Why were the gods toying with him, making him feel things for a human when he shouldn’t?
He shouldn’t want to slide his cock inside her as much as he did, and now he would.
.. His lungs grew tight in his chest, and he dropped his hand back to his side.
The king’s games weren’t only for Sterling—they were for him. A prince didn’t get free reign just because he was the king’s son.
“Think of all the power you’ll have over those you hate most,” Winter continued as Sterling scowled at him.
“The ones I hate most are already dead.”
“Oh.” He chuckled and trailed his thumb over her bottom lip. “Does that mean you don’t hate me anymore?”
“If you allow my brother to go free, then I won’t.” She narrowed her eyes.
“Nice try. We’re in this predicament because of you, so I think I’ll hang on to him to ensure you continue to behave.” He cocked his head and waited for her reply. She simply stared at him with daggers in her eyes.
As he turned away from her, she leapt on his back, and he easily got out of her hold, pressing her against the wall with her hands over her head.
“It took you longer than expected to try that.” Winter grinned, his lips so close to touching hers. “You’re lucky we’re about to be mated and I can’t harm you anymore. As for your brother, we’ll see.”
Winter’s manor was quiet with only a few servants roaming the halls. It had been near impossible to sleep despite wanting to rest. He’d tried, but it proved impossible as thoughts of mating Sterling plagued him.
The guard outside Cyan’s room pushed off the wall and stood straight at the sight of Winter. “Your Highness,” he stuttered. “You’re back.”
He didn’t answer, only opened the door and walked inside.
The room, which had been sparsely decorated when Cyan first arrived, was now a paper paradise.
Strands of folded flowers hung from the ceiling and were draped across furniture.
Sterling’s brother sat cross-legged in the middle of the faded carpet among dozens of new floral creations.
Cyan looked up at Winter and blinked. “How’s my sister?”
“She’s alive. I see someone brought you string,” he commented, tapping at one of the strands.
“Amalli said I could use it for my flowers,” the boy said. “She helped me hang them since I couldn’t reach that high.”
Winter made a low hmm in his throat. String was a potential hazard if Cyan ever got too tired of being held prisoner. Though, he supposed, the string wasn’t sturdy enough to hang himself with, and the boy seemed happy enough.
“So you’ve charmed Amalli, have you?” Winter plucked up one of the flowers and leaned against the wall. “I’m not sure how to feel about that.”
Cyan shrugged. “She doesn’t mind my questions. I like her very much, but she’s not my sister.”
Winter nodded in agreement and spun the paper rose in his palm, examining each carefully made petal. “No one is quite like your sister.”
“Is something wrong?” Cyan asked.
“What?” The flower dropped from his fingertips back to the floor. “Why do you think something is wrong?”
“I can tell by your face.”
Winter chuckled. “Wise for your age, aren’t you?”
He tilted his head. “Does that mean there is something wrong?”
“I didn’t come to discuss my troubles with a child.”
Cyan set aside a completed flower and picked a new sheet off the stack beside him. “So you came to work on another creation, then?” When Winter blinked, he added. “You took a sheet of my paper when I moved rooms. I assume you tried to make something.”
He had, and the one Sterling found in his pocket was pitiful. “I only came to see that you’re still in one piece,” he replied. “Since you’re my leverage over your sister, I needed to make sure my father hadn’t harmed you.”
Not a hint of fear shone in his face as Cyan slid a sheet of paper toward Winter’s boot. “Here. Try another.”
“Is he in there?” demanded a female voice on the other side of the door. Talia. “What are you doing? Let me in!”
Winter pursed his lips. “Perhaps another time…” He stormed to the door and flung it open to find the guard barring his rejected mate from the room.
Rage rushed up from where Winter kept it locked away.
“I forbade you from ever setting foot in my manor again. Yet here you are, not listening to your prince.”
“Winter,” she breathed with a smile. “Someone said they saw you return without Red Riding Hood, so I thought—”
The prince stepped out of Cyan’s room and closed the door behind him. “Thought what?” he seethed. “That you would disobey an order from your prince?”
She paled, her voice a whisper. “I heard what happened at the ceremony. Does the king really want you to mate Red Riding Hood?”
Winter brushed past her and strode down the hall, Talia following on his heels. When they were out of earshot from the guard, he spun to face her.
“What do you want?” he snapped. “I rejected you three years ago. Whether or not you accept, that is your problem. I’ve washed my hands of you.”
“Winter, please,” she begged. “I never told you the full truth about the night with your father.”
“I don’t need an explanation. You were riding my father’s cock the night before our mating ceremony.” The memory of it turned his stomach. Walking in, seeing her face full of bliss, her back arched in pleasure, his father’s fingers grabbing onto her hips to guide her to grind harder against him.
She grasped his wrist. “I only did it because your father said it was necessary. That before the mating ceremony, he needed to make sure I was fit to become a princess, that I knew how to please a man well.”
Winter scoffed. While he didn’t disbelieve her, whatever test his father gave her, she failed. Or perhaps it was a success. She wasn’t fit to be a princess nor his mate if she would fuck anyone else, no matter what the other person claimed. Mates were sacred.
“You could’ve left his room and come to me.
You didn’t need to prove yourself worthy to anyone but your mate,” he said, pinning her with a stare.
“Fate thought you would make a good queen of Bloodstorm one day, but even destiny makes mistakes. As a mate, you’ve proven yourself unworthy of even the lowest wolf.
A part of you wanted to sleep with my father, or you wouldn’t have. Do you think I’m that foolish?”
“It doesn’t matter if I wanted to or not. I regret it now.” Tears welled in her eyes and her lower lip trembled. Her hands shook as she held them up, pleading. “You can’t mate with that bitch. She’s human.”
“I’d rather mate a human than you.” His lips curled up at the edges as he angled his head to the side “Move on, Talia. There are plenty of widowers and rejects that you could settle for, but I’m never taking you back.”
She collapsed to the floor and released a sob. It did nothing to Winter’s resolve. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with Talia and would die content if he never set eyes on her again.