Chapter Twelve
LYSANDER STILL WASN'T back yet. He had excused himself after dinner, saying he needed to shift and look around the property to see how secure it was.
The words seemed plausible enough, but she just wasn't buying it, even with the tender way he had placed a kiss on the top of her head before leaving, and not even when the gesture had the twins shaking their heads with disbelief.
It just shows how cold and reserved the prince used to be, Aluin had remarked dryly, that soul fusing with an ancient beast actually made him more human.
And maybe that was true, but...she just couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something more to it. After all, if it were up to the beast inside him, Lysander would be glued to her side day and night. So him choosing to be alone...something was definitely up. Her wifely intuition-—
*insert internal squealing*
You'll have me deaf before the year ends, ma belle etoile.
Lysander's murmur in her mind had Estrella gasping and she whirled around just in time to see his beastly form climb up the balcony before shifting mid-walk as he strode inside the bedroom.
Estrella still couldn't help fanning herself as her husband stood naked in front of her.
He had already been impossibly gorgeous and sexy when she first met him, but now he was a thousand times hotter, and it wasn't just because he had grown stronger and more powerful.
In the past, his grief and bitterness over his family's demise had created a vein of vulnerability inside of him, and his attempt to bury it under his stiff pride had only served to weaken and isolate him.
But now...he was different.
It was as if all those days he had spent battling against Ammon had brought him to his knees, humbled him to the point that he was forced to accept all his flaws - and claw past it.
Even though she and the twins hadn't spoken about it, Estrella knew the two men had also noticed the changes in him.
The old Lysander would have very much minded that the world knew Estrella to be the ruler of Faes now, not him.
The old Lysander would have felt insulted that the twins wished more time to test his hold on his beast, and the old Lysander would have certainly baulked when the twins also suggested that he keep a low profile for the time being.
But most importantly of all, the old Lysander would have still been hung up over Misty...
Lysander's growl in her mind startled Estrella into jumping back just as her husband's fingers clamped around her waist.
Violet eyes blazed down at her in a mixture of annoyance and exasperation. Stop distressing yourself over such nonsense.
S-sorry—-
Another growl cut her off, one that made clear Lysander didn't find her apology sufficient at all.
Do you not see that I am the one man in the world you would never have to worry about being unfaithful?
I am literally and physically incapable of it, and the beast inside me would rather yank my cock back into my ass before he lets us harm a single hair on your head.
Estrella couldn't answer right away, her mind caught up by the picture his words painted. The beast could do that? Grab his cock from within and then tear past flesh, muscles, and bones to push his cock out through the back exit—-
Lysander groaned out loud. Focus, wife! But despite the reprimand, he himself couldn't keep his lips from slightly twitching. I was rather graphic with that, wasn't I?
You think? Estrella was doing her best not to laugh, but the moment she saw Lysander grimace, she could no longer help it.
The sound of her laughter filled the room, and a smile briefly softened Lysander's handsome face. This was how he always wanted her to be. Happy and content, without a worry in the world. But because she had chosen to be his mate...
Estrella was surprised when Lysander suddenly cupped her face. "Husband?"
"Let this be the last time you worry about your brother's wife."
The imperious tone of his voice made Estrella feel like a rookie soldier being ordered around by his commander.
"She is in the past, and whatever attraction I initially felt for her was obliterated the moment you became mine. Do you understand?"
Only this time, the commander was the sexiest beast in the planet...and he was all hers.
She just had to find the courage to believe—-
"Ah!"
Without any warning, Lysander had reached for her hand to place it on his cock, which was of course already straining and twitching, and so monstrously thick with arousal that it had her gulping hard.
"Here is your proof," Lysander drawled.
Proof?
"So you may finally believe that the sexiest beast in the planet—-"
OH MY GOD, HE HAD HEARD THAT?!
"—-is yours."
Estrella's wail of embarrassment easily drowned the words out, but with Lysander smirking in front of her, she could only wail again, and in her mortification her fingers involuntarily tightened around his cock to give it a squeeze.
A moment later, she saw Lysander's eyes widen, and she realized too late what she was doing.
EEP!
Even though Lysander made love to her several times a day, Estrella's innate diffidence had made her shy away from touching him first in any way.
Until now.
"I'm so sorry!" Her words came out faint and stilted, her cheeks still pink with mortification, and she was about to yank her hand away when Lysander's hand covered hers. His fingers fitted over hers, and then he was guiding her hand...into tightening its hold.
"This sexy beast..."
She couldn't help letting out another moan. Oh my God. Did he have to keep saying that?
"Just to be clear," Lysander murmured wickedly, "the sexy beast you're referring to is this, isn't?"
"Lysander!" A choked laugh escaped her when she realized he was talking about his cock.
"And now that you've mentioned it..." His voice then switched into a seductive purr inside her mind. It is rather sexy, isn't it?
Deep and gravelly, smooth and seductive...everything designed to make a woman ache was inside his voice, and so that was she ended up doing.
The way this sexy beast could rub against the walls of your pussy because it's just too big and thick...
She ached.
The way its head could reach all the way down, butting against the door to your womb...
She ached so, so bad.
Don't you think it's time for this sexy beast to be rewarded?
Fingers cupped her chin.
The beast and I find ourselves also needing proof, my Star.
Estrella gulped.
We want to know...are you ours, too?
She didn't even have to think, and it distressed her that he even had to ask. "You know I am." She had been his, always his, the moment they met.
Are you willing to prove it?
Estrella could feel her mouth going dry. "H-How?"
His hand tightened over hers, and her fingers reflexively tightened around his cock.
Oh.
When Lysander let go, her hand stayed around his cock.
A moment later, and her fingers began to move.
Her touch was tentative and awkward at first, but feeling his arousal grow increasingly slick within her grip soon had Estrella feeling heady and breathless.
She found herself stroking faster and gripping him more tightly, and when she heard his breathing turn harsh, it only seemed natural to sink into her knees and take him into her mouth.
It was almost two hours later when Lysander carried his wife to bed.
She was already half-sleeping in his arms, and she only stirred slightly as he pulled the covers over her.
For several moments, he simply gazed down at her, his chest clenching hard at the sheer loveliness of her.
Her lips were still tender and swollen, unused to having to pleasure a man's cock for so long a time.
But she hadn't spoken a single complaint and had seemed to enjoy every second of it.
Because she was perfect, Lysander thought broodingly.
Too perfect for someone like him, with his kingdom still in disarray and danger and betrayal threatening Lysander at every turn.
He hadn't been lying when he had told her he needed to shift into Ammon's form to take stock of the property and sniff out any potential lapses in security. But she hadn't been wrong either, for Lysander had caught the tail-end of her thoughts while he was climbing into their balcony.
Something definitely was up.
And her wifely intuition, as she called it, had sensed things correctly.
Over two years ago, she had come to him after Domenico and Misty's wedding, shy and nervous but somehow still finding the courage to propose to him.
But because she had caught him at the lowest point in his life, pride had prevented him from saying yes, and only the memories of their time together when she was eighteen had kept him from selfishly lashing out.
Even as a bitterly furious voice inside him had taunted Lysander about Estrella offering herself as his bride out of self-pity, he had forced himself to ignore this and somehow found the strength to keep his voice gentle as he told her she was too young for what he needed.
But after his visit to the jinn, the twins had delivered his letter to Estrella...
His jaw hardened.
She must've thought he had changed his mind about her, and it was why she had been working so hard all these years to rebuild his kingdom. Their kingdom.
But the problem was...that hadn't been the case. He still thought her too young for all the burdens that came with being his princess, and the fact that she had been doing well didn't change that. How could it when the changes had come at such a great cost?
Because of him, she had been forced to play nice to asshole politicians and turn a deaf ear to her conscience when negotiating treaties with other races.
Because of him, she had to publicly defy Domenico Moretti, and while it had not destroyed the relationship between the siblings, it had nevertheless required the Lyccan prince to formally declare its neutral stand towards his sister's affairs.
If Lysander had the power to break their bonds, he would have long done so, the moment he realized how the Fae crown had turned her personal life into shambles.
But he could not. The only one who could destroy this bond was Estrella, but he knew, even without asking, that she would rather kill herself than do so. But as to why that was...
Could it be self-pity? Some other motive he didn't yet know? Or perhaps it was because of those words she sometimes cried out helplessly, when she seemed unable to contain herself?
Did Estrella truly love him?
He wanted so fucking badly to believe in that.
And he would've...if not for the prophecy.
A wall that breaks his heart
This one was literal enough, since Misty's maiden name was Wall.
The one that shines to make it beat once more
The second line couldn't be anyone else but his Star.
A beast to overcome
This line foretold the role that Ammon would and have begun to play in his life.
And a betrayal that may ruin all
The last line was also the last puzzle to solve. Who would betray whom?