Chapter 7
BELENUS
I looked around the suite for a moment and asked, “Where’s Bidelia? Did she go back to her duties?”
“I’m back here, Yer Highness!” a young voice squeaked from the office, and when I walked in, she hastily explained. “He went after the linens, so I’m tryin’ to set him up here!”
She was placing sheets of cotton on the ground for the mac-talla, who scraped at the fabric to shape it to a nest of his liking. A bowl of water and some fruit were also shoved up against the wall. Seemingly appeased, the mac-talla idly gnashed on the edge of a sheet, staring up at me.
I gestured back at the main entry door and said, “I see, Bidelia. Right now, I need you to run to the stables and tell them to get my horse readied and brought to the front. Fast, Bidelia!”
I watched her scamper out at top speed, then I squatted in front of the mac-talla to stare into his unnervingly intelligent eyes. He slowed his chewing as he returned my gaze. The black eyes contrasted sharply against his facial fur, which was a shock of white, paler than his previous cage mates. He finally stopped chewing altogether, as if waiting for me to speak.
“Things are about to get really dangerous, mac-talla, and I’m relying on you to help keep my future queen safe. That woman—I mean—that female in that bed,” I said quietly, pointing to Hekla’s unconscious body, “is Hekla, my fated mate. I don’t believe you’re as undesirable as what we’ve been told, and I need you to pull your weight. You’re never going back to the pet shop, so I’m—”
I was interrupted by the mac-talla heaving a lethargic sigh, standing, and crawling up my body to swing onto my shoulder. He dug his teeth into my ear, and I hissed at the unexpected pain. My ear turned hot for a moment, then seemed to go back to normal. The mac-talla then jumped off and lay back down on his nest of fabric.
Ah’ll believe it when it ne’er happens, the mac-talla said darkly.
“You bonded with me.” I grunted and felt around my ear for punctures. There was a little blood, but I’d take care of that later.
Sae ah can talk, ye big numpty.
“Right…” I murmured, rubbing my ear and processing the sass I’d just received. “One cannot prove a negative, mac-talla, so you do your job, and I’ll fulfill my end of the bargain. I suggest you stop wasting your energy on waiting for us to abandon you.”
I stood and walked away from the creature, who seemed to have nothing left to say. Giving Hekla one last worried look, I left for the castle’s entrance where my golden stallion, Haul, waited. I mounted and hurried him along to our door to the Realm of the Humans. The guards, ever at attention, watched me guide Haul up the stairs, and we traveled across realms to the hill where I’d collected Hekla.
A surge of emotional pain struck my chest the same time the autumn air met my lips. I almost wished I’d never brought her back to my realm. Perhaps it would have been better had we stayed here. I could have renounced my claim to the throne and led a simple life… but I knew Hekla wouldn’t have liked that. Al phas didn’t abandon their packs; that was what she had said. I sighed, haunted by everything I couldn’t control, and encouraged Haul to run the several miles to the castle of the lycan king and the wolf queen.
Lycan guards ran to meet me, and I slowed Haul down to address them. “I’m Prince Belenus from the Realm of the Fae. Can someone please announce my presence to King Zorian or Queen Ragna? This is in regards to an urgent medical matter of their friend, Hekla Himinn, vessel of the Sky Gods,” I stated, trying—yet again—to appear relatively calm. On top of everything distressing me, I also did not enjoy going places where iron metal was commonly utilized, and it seemed to be everywhere here.
One of the guards gestured for another to deliver the message while I was escorted to the castle entrance. I waited nervously and stared at the massive doors, white-knuckling the reins. When I saw Ragna wave me in from the doorway, I released a held breath and hopped off my horse.
“What happened?” Ragna asked, gesturing me along as she brought me to a sitting room. “Is Hekla sick?”
“I have a doctor with her now,” I informed in a rush, “and she’s stable, but the doctor thinks she may have been poisoned into something called a…” I snapped my fingers together, trying to remember the term through my distress. “False heat. Have you heard of this? He told me he needed a medical expert on wolf-shifters to verify and help make medicine.”
Her green eyes widened, and she looked away for a moment while holding up a finger. After a second, I realized she wasn’t pondering but talking to someone. Ah, the enviable mental link wolves and lycans had within a pack. If only fae could communicate that efficiently outside marking.
“I’ve summoned our doctors, and hopefully I can urge someone to go with you! I-I’ll order if necessary… but I don’t like doing that. I’m still not used to feeling like… such an alpha,” she said, whispering that last part like a confession. I laughed, but it came mostly from my shattered nerves. Ragna then inquired, “How do they know it’s a false heat? I mean, heat is heat. I’ve learned it starts about a month after recognition, though it depends on the she-wolf’s cycle and how much they’ve been together or apart. I didn’t get mine because I already was pregnant. Anyway, the female… well, she gets excitable, and the male goes a little crazy because of her pheromo—”
“What do you mean by the male goes crazy?” I interrupted, trying to wrap my head around all this breeding information. “I have not felt an ounce different. It’s probably a wolf nose thing, yes?” It seemed a lot more intense than fae women, but perhaps that part of my education was left wanting.
“What’s a wolf nose thing?” an older female doctor asked, walking in with two male doctors.
“I think he wants to know if—because he’s a fae—if he should be able to sense Hekla’s pheromones if she was in real heat,” Ragna answered for me. “You know Hekla, our vessel for the Sky Gods.”
“I doubt he’d smell them the way we do, but there’s no doubt he’d be stimulated by inhaling them. He’d notice something was different for certain,” a redheaded doctor said, sitting between the taller male and the female.
“So, what happened?” the tall one inquired, opening a notepad.
I explained everything the doctor had told me, and they discussed between themselves while I turned to Ragna. “So, can you really loan me a doctor, just until she recovers? I need to have someone train our doctors on wolf health too. I really should have thought about this in advance!” I lamented, scrubbing my hands over my face.
“No one saw anything like this happening so fast!” Ragna consoled. “I can’t blame you too much. You both have huge adjustments to make for each other.”
“I’m trying, I really am. She’s so lonely, and the cultural differences ar—” I began and looked up to see King Zorian enter the sitting room with his beta in tow. I rose to greet him, and he joined us at the table, looking cold and slightly murderous .
“Ragna caught me up. Poisoning? Assassination attempt already?” he interrogated.
“No, not if someone is trying to trigger her heat.” I sighed, needing to explain something. “A thirty-day courtship is mandatory if the intended is from outside the Seelie Court’s territory, which includes spring and summer. It’s a paranoid trust issue. Since Hekla is not from our realm, it’s what we must do. In addition, we cannot mate or mark until the marriage ceremony. If sex occurs, Hekla will be sent back home, and she’ll lose her right to marry me.”
“What is the point of that? That’s absurd!” Ragna protested, aghast. “Oh, poor Hekla!”
“The point is to avoid manipulation from anyone outside seelie territory. Sex is legally considered a form of manipulation in official engagements,” I explained bitterly. “I wanted to introduce her to all this over time. She’s already so overwhelmed.”
“So, if someone gets a drugged Hekla to tempt you into a disallowed act, they’ll be able to get rid of her. That means someone else has designs on you,” Zorian said, toying with an abused pen.
“My mother has already interfered,” I hissed and further explained what she’d done. “So, you see, it could either be her or someone else.”
“It’s someone else,” Zorian said with finality. “The queen already has her solid gambit. She doesn’t need to find another way to remove Hekla from your kingdom. She won’t muddy the waters. I don’t think it’s your forced intended either. If she’s signed a magical contract, she’s probably feeling confident. I suggest you look into others who may be interested in you. Past lovers can be a thorn in one’s side.” He growled out that last sentence, and Ragna leaned into him, offering her comfort.
“I can’t believe your own mother would have you reject your fated mate,” Ragna mumbled, staring off and tapping her lower lip. “That’s atrocious.”
Zorian leaned forward and folded his fingers on the table. “I recommend a regular delivery of letters between our realms. Send someone to the stump circle every day at noon to swap any letters that are ready. Have them present the password, ‘Because King-Fucking-Zorian says so.’ The messenger will provide a different password every day. Does that sound good? Also, we’ll send a doctor back with you. Have them train yours.”
Ragna melted in relief at her mate’s words and turned to see if the doctors were done discussing. “Thoughts? Volunteers?” she asked hopefully.
“I’ll go,” the female doctor volunteered, gathered the notes the other doctors had written, and introduced herself. “My name is Doctor Egres. Allow me to pack, and I will return momentarily.” All three doctors took their leave, and that was when two more individuals walked hesitantly into the sitting room.
“General Belenus?” Koray asked as Soley peeked out from behind him. I waved an invitation, and they joined us at the table. “We got word that someone poisoned Hekla, and I was wondering if—since you’re here—should I go back with you today? I can help keep watch after training. Soley and I already discussed it...”
Soley leaned over to land her head against her mate’s arm with a thunk, looking despondent.
“Oh, Soley…” Ragna said sympathetically to the wolf-shifter with the ember curls.
Casually, I said, “That’s up to you, Koray. I have guards assigned to her.” I avoided mentioning how lonely Hekla was. I didn’t want to guilt him into coming up early.
Koray looked down at his fated mate and sent her a questioning look.
“Go…” she whimpered miserably, like she was sending him to his death. “She’s my dear friend. Go make sure she’s ok…”
He took a deep breath, exhaled, and turned to face me with his determined, royal blue eyes. “Alright, let me grab my things, and I’ll meet you at the entrance.” He quickly stood and helped up his depressed female.
Zorian shook his head. “Had Hekla been human or fae, I would have told you to bring her back, but as you can see,” he noted, gesturing to the departing couple, “wolves loathe to be separated from their mates. Soley will be a weepy she-wolf for a while.”
“Was Hekla really struggling waiting for me?” I asked, furrowing my brows and looking over to Ragna.
“Oh, you got her doubting everything,” she said with knowing, wide eyes. “She was certain you were going to reject her.”
I sighed and scrubbed my hands over my face again. “So much I don’t know about wolves,” I muttered.
“If she’s a fraction as forgiving as Ragna, you’ll be fine,” Zorian said, looking down at his queen thoughtfully, who returned his gaze with a bright smile.
HEKLA
I woke to a warm, soft kiss creating little sparks on my hand and forced open my dry eyes. Several people waited by my bedside; Belenus was the closest, and I scented the next person before I looked at her.
“A lycan!” I croaked and sat up enthusiastically but became light-headed as a result.
“Slow, slow,” Belenus cautioned.
“Don’t get up, sweet one,” the older female ordered kindly and moved to my side. Belenus provided a chair and hovered next to her. “I’m Doctor Egres. King Zorian and Queen Ragna asked to have one of their doctors attend you. I’ve spoken with… Doctor Elisedd,” she said, gestured to the fae doctor—who sat at the foot of the bed—and cleared her throat uncomfortably. “And I just want to ask a couple questions. First, how are you feeling?”
I turned my attention inward. “I feel a little more alert after resting. I’m still hot, though,” I said, pulling at my nightgown to unstick it from my body.
So sweaty… we need a bath ,Eventide complained .
Oh, there you are. You’ve been quiet, I remarked, perking up to hear her voice.
Don’t feel right… pay attention to the doctor, she replied, then went quiet.
The fae who’d hummed to me before I’d fallen asleep brought a bowl of cold water and began to wipe down my forehead, arms, and neck. I sighed from the cool relief while the doctor went through her notes.
“And do you give consent for your mate to be here or should we send him away?” the lycan doctor asked, making the three maids gasp. I tried to hide a smile. It was good to have a lycan here who wasn’t intimidated by royalty. I supposed being Zorian’s doctor would toughen up any healer.
“I give my consent,” I answered.
“Ok, good. And are you still feeling sexually aroused or has that dissipated?” she asked next. Belenus shifted uncomfortably and averted his eyes to stare out the balcony windows. His face had gone completely red, and his mouth moved silently in what I suspected was an ardent prayer.
“A little,” I admitted, chuckling quietly at Belenus’s prudish reaction.
He didn’t stay that virtuous and proper when you rubbed him out in that office chair. Eventide smirked. She wasn’t wrong…
“And have you experienced a higher fluctuation in emotions?” the doctor inquired.
“Yes… actually,” I answered, kind of relieved there’d been a reason for that… aside from moving to a new realm and discovering that my mate was the crown prince.
The doctor asked a series of other questions that made Belenus more embarrassed by the second. Finally, she turned to him and asked, “And you have noticed no change in your libido around your mate? No additional sexual response?”
Belenus, mortified, shook his head aggressively. “Nope. Nope,” he said quickly. “Nooope. ”
Oh, if he wasn’t so upset, I’d be dying of laughter ,I said to Eventide.
Trail will eat this story up. She snorted.
“So, I’ll have to agree with”—she cleared her throat and jerked her thumb back toward the fae doctor—“Doctor Elisedd. I checked some bloodwork while you were asleep, and it does seem like you’ve been dosed with hormones to trigger a false heat.”
My jaw swung open at the news. “I… didn’t think it was heat because Belenus wasn’t affected!”
“Normal heat produces pheromones; this false heat only affected your hormones, so he wouldn’t have noticed a thing.”
“Oh…” I replied, a sickening dread coming over me. “So… someone poisoned me?”
“It’s the only explanation for the levels we found in your blood,” she said simply. “I will work with… Doctor Elisedd to sort out a medication to help ease your symptoms until your body returns to normal. Speaking of which, have you had your first heat yet since recognizing your mate?”
I shook my head.
“Ok, well, you’re due for that too…” she said, writing something down.
“What do I do for that, though?” I asked, suddenly realizing the implication. “I can’t have sex for a month!” It came out sounding more desperate than I would have liked, but the doctor seemed to have expected my intensity.
“You may have to find alternate means of release to get you by.” She looked back at Belenus. “As her fated mate, you will have to assist her.”
“What if I can’t?” he asked, visibly wary.
Doctor Egres answered in a clinical manner. “She will experience similar symptoms to this. It is obviously your choice, and should you choose to not assist, I suggest you maintain your distance so you’re not exposed to her pheromones. It will affect your ability to reason.”
This courtship is getting worse by the minute, Eventide groaned.
“One last thing before I leave,” Doctor Egres said, closing her notebook. “I know this place is new with a lot of different scents. Even I am overwhelmed, but try to get familiar with the scents of those you trust. I recommend attempting to find traces of a scent of anyone you don’t know in this room. They probably administered this in your sleep. If you find someone who matches that scent, I recommend you report it to authorities.”
I frowned and shuddered. The thought of anyone being in my room while I slept was horrifying to me and had me feeling more vulnerable than ever. I got out of bed slowly and walked toward Doctor Elisedd. I’d already memorized Egres’s and Belenus’s scent. I trusted those two completely.
At first, I couldn’t quite figure out what kind of fae Doctor Elisedd was. The slightly older man had several white whiskers poking from his brows and streaks of black in his brown hair, which was tied at the nape of his neck. He didn’t have any claws…
I leaned forward and took a deep breath to memorize his scent, getting a whiff of cat. I realized his ears did look a little fuzzier than Belenus’s. He was definitely a folk fae.
I moved to smell the maids, getting a faint deer scent from Talam, a subtle fishy scent from Ushka, and something avian from Spayr. I nodded in satisfaction, having memorized everyone. Perhaps I’d subtly sniff my guards later…
“Bidelia?” Belenus called out, and a small smile tugged the corner of his lips. “Are you here?”
An aggrieved sigh came from my study, and the young fae teenager trudged in guiltily, hugging a cranky, but freshly bathed, mac-talla.
“Are you shirking your duties?” Belenus asked, raising a blond brow.
She opened her mouth to protest, but then looked at her toes and nodded. “I thought maybe I could be the royal pet assistant…” she mumbled, turning pink at the cheeks. I bit my lips, finding this to be the cutest scene I’d ever witnessed.
“We’ll talk about that later,” he replied dryly and shook a reprimanding finger at her. “In the meantime, let Hekla smell you so her wolf can recognize you.”
“Wolf! Like the Sky-Blessed!” Bidelia exclaimed and skipped toward me. “If ye want, ye can call me ‘pup’ too.”
Oh my gods, let’s adopt her, Eventide gushed, instantly won over by the small thing.
“Ye don’t smell like a pup!” I said, making fun of her accent and sniffing the top of her head as she laughed. “Ye smell like a bug!” I tickled her sides, making her squeal and run away with the mac-talla. I tapped my nose and warned, “But now I know what you smell like, Pup, so you can’t hide from me!” I grinned a feral grin, and she moved to hide behind the fae doctor, giggling.
“Alright, well, that seems to be everything,” Doctor Egres stated, standing and grabbing her large medical bag. “I’ll check on you later, Hekla. Get rest and hydrate.” She turned to leave, and Doctor Elisedd rushed to open the door for her.
Belenus gestured to the maids and Bidelia, saying, “If you can please give us a moment. I have something important I need to discuss with my… mate. You be on your way, Bidelia.” The maids left, dragging the pouting ‘pup’ out with them.
“I’m relieved it’s only a false heat,” I said as he sat down next to me. “I could have been poisoned with something much… worse.” I rubbed my dry eyes and took a sip of water. “I may have nightmares for a month.”
“Hekla…” Belenus began, sounding strained, “we must talk about something that occurred recently.”
I winced, horribly embarrassed about my earlier behavior. “I’m so sorry about what happened in your study. I hones—” I said, but he cut me off with a wave of his hand.
“It’s not that. I met with my mother and…” He slapped his hands down on his knees and looked out the window, as though he still debated whether he should tell me or not. Maybe he was just trying to find the right way to say it.
“What happened?” I asked, scooting over so I could lay my hand on his.
He hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose with his other hand. He stayed like that for a while, and dread nestled in my belly.
“Belenus? You’re scaring me. What happened?” I repeated slowly, squeezing his hand. My heart started to pound, adding to my discomfort. Was he going to reject me?
He took a deep breath and released a whirlwind of bad news. “My mother doesn’t want me marrying you and has arranged a marriage behind my back with a princess from the Spring Court, who will be here in a matter of days. The contract was signed without my knowledge, and my wedding to this fae is to be in two weeks, but I will fight this with every resource I have! I swear, Hekla! I will get out of this somehow!”
I felt like I’d been slapped in the face. “What…”
What! Eventide screamed.
“But… we’re fated…” I said blankly, stating the obvious.
“She doesn’t care,” he replied in a broken whisper. He still couldn’t look at me.
“But… the Moon Goddess… She put us… together…” I was simply too stunned to sort out what I was feeling. “A goddess… Belenus…”
“She… she doesn’t care.” He leaned forward and covered his face.
“I don’t… I don’t…” I kept repeating, frigid shock coursing through my body. “Am I having a nightmare? This can’t possibly be real.” I hugged myself. I was so cold now...
“I promise,” he croaked, “I swear to every god in the sky and on the earth that I will get out of this somehow. I don’t want anyone else but you, Hekla! Do you believe me? I need you to believe me! ”
I nodded, emptiness eating at my insides. “I believe you,” I whispered to the man who now felt so very far from me. Everything felt far, even the tears on my face. They traced the contours of my cheeks to fall from my chin, and Belenus wiped them away with his calloused thumb. Despite his efforts, they kept appearing.
“Wh-what happens if you break the contract?” I asked, staring at Belenus’s guilt-ridden face.
“It’s a serious offense in fae society to break contracts; they are magically binding. As the offended party, the Spring Court could ask for anything of equal value. Something this large… they could also demand torture or execution as a worst-case scenario. You’re basically in their debt until their injury is balanced out with something else.”
My face went cold at the implication. Could Belenus be facing execution if he didn’t marry this fae? That brought out a rage in me. Something meaner than a furious Eventide threatened to claw its way out and murder everything within a mile of us. My possessive she-wolf instincts wouldn’t allow this. I’d go mad if Belenus mated with someone else.
“But you’re mine!” I growled, my canines lengthening. “This is blasphemy! They can’t do this to us!” I dug my claws into the sheets, fighting the intolerable, itchy urge to mark Belenus this very moment. “I won’t let them hurt you! I won’t let them take my mate!”
“Then fight it with me,” he begged in a thick voice, placing his hand on the bed to reach for mine. “Be strong and fight for us, ok?” His eyes brimmed with tears as well.
I white-knuckled the sheets and snarled, barely able to keep my mind intact. My gaze locked onto his with a predator’s intensity, and my voice came out cold, layered upon a heavy growl. “I confessed my fears to my previous alpha, and he told me that the fae should be afraid of me instead. I will make it very clear that there’s a wolf in their woods now, and she. Will. Not. Be. Denied!”