Chapter Eleven
TWO WEEKS HAD ALREADY passed since the consummation of the royal couple's marriage, and as the twins expected, their prince's mood had improved by leaps and bounds.
He spoke more often now, too, and spent less time in Ammon's form.
More importantly, he no longer seemed inclined to chew heads off anytime a guy's glance lingered on Estrella for more than a second.
Nowadays, men foolish enough to still persist in courting the princess, hoping she would choose one of them over the prince, only had their kneecaps crushed under Lysander's mighty paws.
It was all about timing, and in the prince's case, one had to wait until he had the look of someone who had most recently enjoyed his wife's.
..attentions. These were the times the prince would be in a more relaxed and generous frame of mind, and it was why the most idiotic of Estrella's suitors were still alive and in one piece.
A broken kneecap or two might hurt as fuck, but it was still reparable at least. Lost, spat-out body parts would've remained. ..lost.
Back in the day, Lysander had been the most uncompromising and staunchly traditional individual, and it was rather ironic that having an ancient beast rest inside of him would turn out to be the key to making the Fae prince more inclined to concessions.
That...and sex.
Lots and lots and lots and lots of sex.
And such things could happen at anytime of the day -
Like now.
The twins remained poker-faced while standing guard outside the van, which had been rocking for the past twenty-five minutes like it alone was suffering from a magnitude 10 earthquake.
On one hand, the fact that just about anything could make Lysander hunger for his wife's touch might pose a problem during formal occasions like the monthly assemblies at L'Alliance.
But if, on the other hand, this was all it took to keep Lysander's inner beast safely leashed. ..
Just one more week, Alain thought. If this one week could end without any incident, then they could finally submit their formal application to the L'Alliance and have the prince's request of membership put to vote.
Another ten minutes had passed before the van door slid open, and the twins along with the two other soldiers with them were allowed back in. Their prince was lounging lazily in one of the captain seats, one arm around a red-faced Estrella, who was seated on his lap.
The air inside the van was still thick with the scent of sex, but Lysander's men were now used to ignoring this.
Estrella, however, was not, and she still couldn't help cringing and squirming, knowing that everyone knew exactly why Lysander had suddenly ordered the soldier behind the wheel to pull over and got everyone out in the middle of the highway.
It wasn't that she didn't enjoy Lysander's attentions, but did they really have to do it every time his cock so much as twitched in her presence? At the rate things were going, she had a feeling she'd be barefoot and pregnant before the next full moon—-
I'd like that.
Estrella made a face even as her cheeks became flushed with pleasure at his words. Truly?
Lysander placed a hand over his wife's flat belly. I would love to see this round with my child.
Her toes curled. Oh, Lys. And this time, she couldn't care what anyone else thought. She just had to throw her arms around his neck because she was so, so happy. I love you.
Lysander pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Thank you.
It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but neither did the words make her sad. Lysander had chosen her to be his wife, and that had to mean something. She just had to be patient. One day, he would love her back.
****
THE ALLARDS' ESTATE in Coral Springs was over two centuries old, a small but handsome manor surrounded by red maples and hornbeams and with private access to a small, sparkling lake at the back.
Day or night, the home made an undeniably charming picture, but just as undeniable was how inadequate the place was to serve as the official seat of the Fae's ruling family.
One look was enough for Lysander to know that countless repairs had yet to be done, and the property was practically falling apart. A snarl of rage tore past his fangs, and Estrella turned to him in surprise. Lysander?
He had jumped out of the van upon his first sight of the property and landed on all fours, having shifted mid-leap.
After asking Estrella to climb on his back and hold on, he tore off, his limbs devouring the distance in breaknecking speed until they found themselves atop a small hill, and the full expanse of the estate spread out below them.
Estrella could feel her husband's displeasure growing by the second. Lysander? What's wrong?
This place isn't fit for a woman like you. Lysander's bitter tone reflected his inner turmoil. In the past few days, the twins had helped bring him up to speed about the strange new world they now lived in. And it was new, despite looking no different on the surface.
Like Estrella had once told him, preters were now a celebrity obsession, and even the fact that Lysander was more beast than Fae now wasn't enough to terrify humans into keeping their distance.
Preters of all kinds fascinated them, and media coverage that showed Lysander in beast form coming to Estrella's rescue had actually resulted into a 5,000 percent spike on Google searches for "dino porn".
Even the self-published author of Bigfoot erotica books had credited Lysander for the huge and sudden jump in her book sales.
The whole thing was absurd, but even so, he might've found the humor in it...if not for the periodic mention of Domenico Moretti in the very same reports. Pampered baby sister. Privileged existence. Never worked a day in her life. That was who Estrella had been with Domenico.
But the moment she had worn his ring on her finger, she had to publicly distance herself from her pack, move into an old, rundown manor and inherit a mountain of problems that Lysander's disappearance had left behind.
So fuck no, it just wasn't a matter of this place not being fit for her. He himself wasn't fit for her—-
Lysander? A warm rush of concern flowed into him with her thoughts. What's wrong?
Everything was wrong. This whole marriage was wrong. But he knew that was only his pride speaking. Instead, he focused on something more pragmatic. I left money for you. Did you not get it?
Estrella swallowed hard, realizing the time had come for her to confess. I did.
Lysander's gaze narrowed at the way his mate's voice had all of a sudden become small and subdued, almost scared even. Have you been hiding something from me?
Not deliberately, but... Estrella shifted in her feet as she tried to think of the best way to break the truth to Lysander.
I know you had plans for the money. The twins told me how it was supposed to take care for all my needs, and at first, I truly did intend to follow your instructions to the letter.
But?
Her mouth opened and closed. The words just wouldn't get out, and she stared up at him pleadingly.
A moment later, she heard him sigh in her mind, and she almost expired in relief.
It was just like the old days, and whenever Lysander found out she was in trouble, he would simply be exasperated in the end but never furious or, worse, disappointed.
Go on, tell me the lot of it, my Star.
His dry tone made her relax, and this time she found it easy to speak. "When the twins first introduced me to the people as your wife, I was able to talk to some of them, and that's when I learned that the money you gave me could be used for something else."
Something more important than putting your home to right?
Estrella found herself lifting her chin even though she still couldn't quite meet his gaze.
"Remember what you wrote? You told me to keep your kingdom safe for me.
" And because she was looking elsewhere, she completely missed the way Lysander stiffened and how the twins, having finally caught up with them, had turned white at her words.
"So that's what I did."
And that was how Lysander ended up being given the grand tour of what his princess proudly claimed as the world's first anti-vampire defense laboratory.
The underground state-of-the-art facility had been built within the secret chambers of an abandoned mine.
It was also 100% Fae-owned and its current value was expected to grow exponentially once it went public.
Questions raced in his mind, and Lysander shifted out of Ammon's form in order to speak to the twins directly. "Are there people still investigating the kidnapping attempt on my wife?"
It took Aluin more than a second to reply, having been slightly thrown off by the prince's sudden change of subject. "It's still an open case with local authorities and the FBI, and our own men are looking into it as well."
"I...see.' It was the prince's turn to answer in a similarly delayed fashion. Shrill, internal squealing had commenced the moment he referred to Estrella as his wife, and not only did it hurt his ears like hell, but all the high-pitched noise also had him struggling to hear Aluin's words.
Open case...FBI...local authorities...our own men...
Lysander's face hardened. It was exactly as he expected, but the knowledge that he was right didn't please him at all.
Alain noticed the suddenly harsh expression on the prince's face. "Your Highness?"
"This laboratory." Lysander's tone was abrupt. "Who else knows of it?"
"Outside the people in this room and a few other soldiers with the highest security clearance, the ony ones else aware of it are the immediate members of the princess' Lyccan family."
Shit. This was exactly as he feared as well.
Estrella was starting to feel nervous. "Why are you asking these questions?"
"Because this lab is no longer as hidden as you all think.
We either have a mole in our midst or one of us has had his cover blown.
" Lysander's tone hardened. "This is the reason why none of our investigations into the kidnapping have wielded results.
All of us were looking at the wrong direction.
The goal of the abduction wasn't to gain Estrella's hand in marriage and become her co-ruler.
They wanted to kidnap Estrella in order to find the laboratory—-"
Estrella could feel herself paling as she realized what Lysander was saying. "They wanted to destroy the laboratory," she whispered sickly. Because the ones pulling the strings were the creatures the laboratory had been designed to kill.
Vampires.