Chapter 12
BELENUS
“...and in several days the soldiers will head out of the city again and run scenarios in the field, which I usually supervise since I’m still the general,” I said after sipping my tea, a brew currently flavored with irritation and impatience. Eislyn insisted on refreshments today to get to know me better. She also insisted on having it in the garden where she somehow knew to make snide comments about the small forest I’d grown for Hekla.
“Fascinating,” Eislyn replied, obviously not paying attention. “So, have you rejected the dog yet?”
I took in a slow breath and held it to keep from striking her across the face. I couldn’t let her rile me up; that was what she wanted. If she got me into a position where she could demand compensation, my fated mate would suffer her hand. Simply put, upsetting Eislyn meant hurting Hekla.
“As I said before, Eislyn, it would be best if you left my personal matters to me,” I replied calmly. There, I did it. I said something without ripping her head off her shoulders. Oh gods, how much longer was this dreadful tea going to go ?
“Oh! Belenus! There you are!” Koray’s voice came from down the garden trail.
I looked over my shoulder at him and flashed a brief, world-weary smile. “Koray,” I acknowledged with a tilt of my head, grateful for the interruption.
“Belenus, I n—” he began, but Eislyn cut him off as expected.
“These humans have no sense, interrupting royal tea,” she said with an aggrieved sigh and looked kindly at me, as though I had the hardest job in the world managing just one.
“Hey!” Koray snapped. “Shut up!” He mimed locking his lips and turned to face me. Eislyn’s eyes grew wide, exposing a murderous countenance. I was a bit shocked myself. I’d never seen him this upset.
“I need your help, Belenus. Hekla…” He looked askance at the fae woman and became more discreet with his wording. “Hekla is not well. I need you to come with me.”
Eislyn snapped a warning. “Absolutely not! You can’t just order the prince about! I will go to the queen about this.” Though she spoke to Koray, her words were directed at me. I couldn’t be seen caring about Hekla.
“Take whatever resources you need for this person,” I instructed dismissively, keeping a wary eye on Eislyn. “I need to remain here.”
What was wrong with Hekla? Was it her heat? Should I send my sister?
Koray’s hands dropped to his sides, and I finally met his stare. Then he straightened and tilted his head like he was seeing me for the first time. I scrubbed a hand over my mouth nervously and raised my brows in question.
He remained stunned for several heartbeats before he curled a lip in disgust and said, “I’d tell you to not forget who your real mate is, Belenus, but it seems like you already have.” The young man turned and jogged off to get help elsewhere. Mollified, Eislyn began chatting about something else in a chipper voice, but all I could think about was that I’d just made a huge mistake. Again.
HEKL A
The first thing I noticed was that I was wet and thirsty. How could I be both? Certainly, whatever had made me wet would quench my thirst.
Where are we? Eventide asked groggily, her voice nudging me from my delirium. I turned my head, licked my dry lips, and slowly opened my eyes. Oh, back in our windowless cage, she said with disappointment.
“When did we get back?” I croaked and tried to untangle my sweaty legs from the blankets so I could get up and shower.
I don’t remember. There’s a big ol’ blotch of black in our memories.
“Are you here, Arse?” I called weakly while shuffling to the bathing room.
Ah am, he answered, and I heard him crawl out of the closet.
“Are you ok? Did someone care for you while I was gone? How long was I gone?” I asked, rubbing my throbbing temples.
Wee Bidelia fed me, aye. Ye cam back twa days ago. Day ye left, Arse said with a surprising lack of sass.
“Two days? I was unconscious all day yesterday? Oh gods. It’s only nine days til the wedding now!” I fretted and jumped into the shower. I scrutinized my body and winced when I found little bruises peppering my skin.
What did the Moon Goddess do to us? Eventide gasped.
“I don’t know…” I murmured, studying them while scrubbing gently. “We should find Koray…”
I put on a clean dress, buckled on the mac-talla’s leather perch, and let him climb onto my shoulder. I strolled out of the castle and wandered toward the training grounds, hoping to find him there. The fresh air was welcome, but I was a little worried about attracting the men’s attention. I’d have to be quick.
A familiar little bird landed on my free shoulder, and I growled quietly. “Do you need something?” I asked it, really not wanting to deal with Emer right now. A swirl of light told me she was now strolling by my side.
“What I want is to look after my dumb brother’s mate while he’s off making horrible decisions. He’s dumb, I mean. Not you,” she said wryly and lifted my arm to study the little bruises. “Rumor has it you went to the Realm of the Gods a couple days ago.”
“This Rumor fella seems to be correct,” I returned, searching the sea of soldiers for someone with long black hair.
“Glad your wit didn’t get bruised along with your skin. Augh, tch! Stop moving, bi—I mean, she-wolf,” she said and tapped lightly along my arm. I stared as the bruising cleared, and she repeated the process on my other arm and legs, although she only tapped along my ankles for ‘modesty’s sake.’ I was less shocked about what she’d done than the fact it was her who’d done it. Emer’s personality had more depth than I thought.
“We’ll have to do the rest in private,” she informed with a shrug and followed along, not bothering to ask about my errand. Occasionally a soldier would approach and try to get handsy, but before I could even say anything, Emer got rid of them with a well-placed foot to the butt.
“Men. This is why I won’t get mated. They’re all after one thing,” she grouched.
“Male wolves are very honest about their wants. I think you’d find it refreshing,” I said with a small grin. “None of these stupid fae games.”
“I’ll tell you what,” she began with a scowl, “if Eislyn becomes queen, I’ll just follow you back to your realm. The soul of the Summer Court will be gutted in weeks. Maybe I’ll just let a male wolf-shifter ride the pain out of me. That sounds nice.”
Tears brimmed in my eyes, and I angrily wiped them away with a palm.The princess couldn’t win. She just couldn’t!
“Looking for your human? I don’t see him,” Emer noted, scanning the crowds.
“He did say he was going to study magic. Maybe he’s with an instructor right now,” I said with a sigh and turned back to the castle.
“Awww! A human man learning magic? That’s terribly cute. I like that!” Emer exclaimed with a wicked grin. It was almost feral enough to be a wolf’s grin.
“Well, I’m sure he’ll find a way to do something with i—”
“Best get a move on, General Hekla,” Emer interrupted in a militant voice. “Horny enemies on our tail!”
I looked over my mac-talla-free shoulder to find a handful of curious and eager fae men approaching at a pace faster than our walk. I grimaced at Emer, hauled Arse, and we broke into a run, making a mad dash for my room. We fled into the castle halls, and upon reaching my room, I slammed the door behind us and fell laughing to the floor, high off adrenaline. Arse, properly ruffled, wobbled off to drink some water.
Once I caught my breath, I looked over at the snorting, giggling Emer, and asked, “Do you know who cared for me while I was out? Did Belenus ever visit?”
She sobered and grew uncomfortable, a side of her I hadn’t seen thus far. “He said he… didn’t have the time. He sent me to check on you and report back to him when he was alone. I believe he’s also assigned Bidelia to be your full-time maid. She’s not a basic servant anymore, which is nice. I always thought she was a good, hardworking folk fae. She said your human stopped by a couple times, just to see if he was needed.”
With each word, my heart sank deeper, and when she was done speaking. I placed my face in my hands and held back a gasping sob.
Emer’s hand patted my back—gently this time. “The court is a bitch. It chews fae up and spits them out… alive but wishing they were dead. But where is that wolf who’s an even bigger bi tch? I want to see that one, the one who shredded my arm. That was amazing.”
All I could do was laugh at her absurdity as I wiped mucus from beneath my nose. I was so tired of crying.
“Speaking of shredding, get that dress off so I can treat the rest of those bruises, you mad adventurer.”
She scanned me from head to toe, healed all the bruises she could find, and took off, promising to make her report to Belenus. That wasn’t what I wanted, but I’d have to accept it. Why couldn’t he visit me? I frowned and sat down on my bed, fanning myself miserably and wishing my room had a window at the very least.
A while later, a key scraped inside the lock, and Bidelia stepped in with a hesitant smile. “Oh, I’m so glad yer awake! I have to get ye ready for dinner…” she said, shuffling forward and moving to look through the options in the closet.
“Dinner?” I asked, worried. Was this another wretched banquet?
“Yes, there’s a banquet tonight in honor of the new royal courting couple, ye know,” she answered sadly and glanced back at me while chewing her lip.
Damnation. I can’t do this.
“Why am I even invited? It makes no sense.” I worried at my hands, which were already sweaty. “And I’m in heat! Surely, they know that. I’d be a distraction!”
“I can’t speak for Her Majesty,” Bidelia replied in a gloomy voice. She pulled out a dark green gown and looked questioningly at me. “This would look lovely. Hide yer sweat too.”
“That’s clever, yes. Thanks, Bidelia.” The words left my mouth before I realized what I’d said. We both froze and stared at each other like we had no idea what to do. “I… it just came out,” I whispered and clapped my hand over my mouth.
She suddenly rushed forward, terrified, and said, “Ye cannot say that to anyone else, m’lady! Ye have to be more careful! Just wish them well! Ye must!”
Taken aback by her aggressiveness, I nodded rapidly. She blew out a breath and said, “Ye scare me with how little ye know! Ye must be more careful!” She helped me into the gown, and I kept waiting for her to drop her demand, but she never did. It floated there in the room, unspoken but not forgotten.
Bidelia pinned my hair and put some larger curls into the locks she decided to leave untucked. She did a rather nice job, and I tousled her hair before leaving with Arse. “No one’s… coming to escort me, are they?” I asked quietly and Bidelia shook her head, looking down to scuff her worn shoes on the stone floor. “Are you sure I have to go?” I pressed.
“I’ll get in t-trouble, m-m’lady.” Her eyes glittered, moments from weeping, and I crouched to pull her into a hug. I knew she hadn’t wanted to say that.
“Ok! Ok! I’m going! Don’t cry. I won’t let anyone hurt you!” I kissed her on the forehead a couple times, making big smooching sounds to get her to laugh, then I stood with a determined face, and marched toward the banquet hall.
I took a deep breath.
What would Hekla do?
BELENUS
Eislyn had been here for five days now, and I was about ready to murder both her and the queen. I’d finally received a copy of the marriage contract, and I’d been poring over it with my experts to find a way out, but so far, we’d made no progress. Some information was ‘need-to-know only’ and was heavily blotted out with ink. As the groom-to-be, I was certain as shit that I was someone who needed to know.
The worst part—the part that I’d feared—was the section that outlined the retaliation agreed upon by the two parties. What I’d read had shaken me, and I was constantly fending off panic attacks. I didn’t know how I’d sleep for the rest of this blistering war. The section for retaliation was heavily redacted but specified that an execution would occur if I were to break the marriage contract. If I didn’t find a way out of this and broke the contract by trying to run away with Hekla, someone would be executed. If my name was in that redacted section, they’d hunt me down, even in the other realms. Hekla’s name could even be in there.
So, what were my options? Kill the princess? Start a war? Lead my people to die over a marriage? Should I try to kill my mother? She was stronger than me. She was more dangerous, and she had the resources as the queen to do what she willed. No… none of those seemed feasible. There had to be another way. Shit!
There was also the question of why this union was so damn important to ‘the court.’ We didn’t need anything from any other court! Aside from the rare drought, we were fine, so why force me into a lifetime of misery? That seemed pretty need-to-know as well!
Koray had come to assist today with some of the other experts, but he was aloof and didn’t talk to me more than necessary. On top of disappointing my friend, hurting my mate by trying to save her, and struggling to get out of a wedding, I still had an army to run and fulfill my duties as a prince. I was under pressure, and I felt like I was several strikes short of crumbling.
I swirled through my thoughts like I swirled the contents of my glass. I didn’t feel like drinking tonight, not even to drown my sorrows. There was too much at stake, and nothing could cut the misery. Eislyn chatted excitedly with the queen, but her annoying voice was as muted as the rest of the voices at the banquet table. I wasn’t present; I didn’t want to be.
I set my glass down and pushed it away from me, not even wanting to smell the hard honeysuckle. The sweet wildness reminded me of Hekla, and I ached for her presence. I began to smell what I could only assume was her natural scent when she went into heat, and it was the perfect aroma of sweet honeysuckle mixed with something... warm and woodsy. The scent of flowers wrapped around a sunbaked garden lattice was much more sophisticated and mouthwatering than the drink before me. Perhaps if I was a wolf, she’d always smell like honeysuckle nectar. I wouldn’t be able to keep my lips off her if that was the case.
Every day without her was miserable, and somehow there was always someone watching me when I wasn’t in my chambers. Eislyn waited for me to slip. Maintaining my distance from Hekla was the only way to keep Eislyn’s attention off her. It only solved part of the problem, and my fated mate continued to suffer.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, wishing to speed up this farce. “Are we waiting for anyone?” I asked Emer in a bored tone.
“Only the designated virgin sacrifice,” she uttered under her breath, annoyed.
A chill dripped into my bloodstream. “What?” I hissed.
“You heard me.” She took a huge gulp of hard nectar.
One of the banquet hall doors opened and Hekla—beauty personified—strode in wearing a velvety, forest-green gown and her potent heat. I cursed under my breath as her pheromones reached my seat, instantly stimulating me. I stared at the queen, who appeared unperturbed and only raised her glass the moment Hekla seated herself in the last chair. Every single unmarried man in the room stared lustfully at her, forcing her to drop her gaze in discomfort. I ground my teeth in anger and jealousy. She was not their female to look at!
The queen’s voice was barely able to rip my attention from Hekla. “I would like to make a toast to my son and his lovely bride-to-be! It may have started a little rough, but it truly has been a pleasure watching them grow closer by the day. I admit I was a little shocked by what I saw in the garden yesterday, but that is young love for you!” She gave a believable, reserved titter, and my gaze shot to her in bewilderment. Several of the guests chuckled. The easy reception of such a personal lie disoriented me, stunned me.
“What in the shit is she talking about, Belenus?” Emer hissed, snapping me out of my thrown state.
“I don’t know! She’s lying!” I protested under my breath. I glanced over to try to deny it to Hekla with a gesture, but her gaze was fixed on her hands. Her face flushed, and her hands shook beneath her heat and humiliation. The mac-talla had his prehensile tail wrapped around her neck, as though providing an emotional shield for her. Shit! This was bad.
Emer snapped back at me. “Well, I know that, but you need to say something!”
“I can’t! She’ll lash out, and you know who she’ll target! Why do you think she was brought here? You always forget to look five steps ahead, Emer!”
My younger sister deflated, knowing that what I said was true. She didn’t like it. She didn’t have to like it, but there was no denying that we both knew what the queen was capable of doing.
“And since Belenus is the only male heir, I’ve given them both my blessing to attempt to conceive before the wedding. It is a rare exception, but one I think is acceptable,” the queen said, and I felt as though I’d been slapped in the face. This entire situation was well out of control. That made no blisterin’ sense! Was Eislyn really unable to wait a little more than a week? No, this was something entirely different, an obvious attack on Hekla, but at least I couldn’t be forced into it. I restrained a gag at the thought of Eislyn in my bed.
At least one lie was something I could address. “I don’t recall agreeing to that… Your Majesty,” I said, loudly and clearly.
The queen chuckled, encouraging more members at the table to laugh with her. “You have ever been the shy thing, my son! No one here judges you for asking, especially with someone as pretty as our sweet Eislyn, yes?”
“Pretty like a muckie’s muddy ass,” Emer mumbled.
“I did not a—” I protested between my teeth.
The queen wouldn’t hear another word. “So, a toast to our happy couple and our blessings for a swift conception!” she declared, and the courtiers toasted, shouting their good wishes. Eislyn tapped my shoulder, smiling shyly and lifting her glass to clink with mine. I ignored her stupid act and turned to Emer.
“Can you please, for the love of all things good left in my miserable existence, check on Hekla for me when the food gets here? Subtly?” I whispered to my adopted sister, and she nodded, downing the last of her nectar and summoning a servant to pour a second—or a third. It looked like Emer was prepared to get drunk on my behalf as well.
I glanced over at where my fated mate had been seated. It was obvious the queen knew she was in heat and had placed her by unmated men to further distress her. My blood started simmering when Hekla had to tactfully fend off a fae who’d attempted a groping under the table. I half wished she would ignore all the warnings I’d given her and scratch him because the mate in me was trying to claw its way out to protect her. I was disgusted, jealous, and dying to rip the man’s hands off for touching her. On top of it all, her pheromones almost made me not care about the repercussions.
But I had to care about them.
Another fae man stopped by her side of the table and offered her an appetizer off his plate. As he leaned over, his hand tried to creep toward the side of her breast, but the mac-talla executed a perfectly timed sneezing fit and sprayed mucus all over the handsy fae, who departed quicker than he’d come. Arse continued to be vulgar in the very best way, but something vulgar was still trying to claw its way out of me now.
I was near shaking with rage, and the longer I was around her pheromones, the harder it was to focus on anything. The primal creature that I never realized was inside of me wanted to correct everyone’s idea of who was going to be mated to whom. I had obscene thoughts of bending Hekla over the dinner table for everyone to see and thrust my cock into her until I flooded and marked her. I wanted to have my way with her the way I wanted to and show all these other men that she was not theirs. The additional slap in the face to the queen and the wretched princess would be a beautiful bonus. Perhaps it’d be the perfect, utopian moment that would make the penalty of my death so worthwhile.
After the fae on her other side tried to whisper in her ear and kiss her neck, she got up and started to leave the banquet hall.
“I did not excuse you, mutt,” the queen said shortly, and I snapped my head around to glare furiously at her.
“Do not call her that!” I hissed under my breath. The queen ignored me, and Eislyn’s countenance turned into one of annoyance, not appreciating my outburst.
Hekla paused for a moment, but she didn’t look back. After a heartbeat of hesitation, she continued out of the room, ignoring the queen’s order completely. A handful of fae discreetly left the table—one by one—to follow her out as quietly as possible. I stood to intervene, and the queen said, “I did not dismiss you. It’d be wise for you to stay, my dear, sweet son.” Her eyes gleamed with a promise, but I narrowed my eyes at her.
“I am a general, and I see about a half-dozen men about to assault a woman. It’s my duty to interfere. I don’t tell you how to do your job; don’t pretend you know how to do mine!” I snapped and rushed out to help my mate.
Shit, shit, shit, shit!
I stormed down the hall, caught up, and roared at the stalking men to get their asses back to the banquet. They scattered like mice, and I hurried to a panicked Hekla. I couldn’t get a word out to my wild-eyed mate before hearing the slapping of slippers behind me. Emer appeared, obviously concerned about her, so I grabbed Arse and handed him to my sister. I snapped, “You keep watch!” Then I opened the nearest door—which turned out to be a supply closet—and dragged an emotional Hekla inside with me.
I summoned a ball of light to keep us from the pitch black of the closet and grabbed her arms to steady her. “That was brutal,” I said to my shaking, sweating mate. “The queen is a monster, and she lied about everything, Hekla. You know that!”
“So, why haven’t you visited me, then? I’ve been unconscious for days!” she cried, looking up at me with her dark, hurt eyes.
“Eislyn’s got eyes on me! I can’t go anywhere without being watched! I told you we’d receive injuries in this war! I told you we’d have to be strong!” I reminded her, passion swelling in my chest. Her pheromones were quickly filling up this closet, and I was starting to have a serious problem with my desire. I backed her into the wall, caged her, and leaned in to take a deep breath. “Gods! Stop smelling so good!” I snapped. I couldn’t think! I fisted my hands and thumped one against the wall.
“So, what do I do?” she protested. “Put myself in a box until you have this all figured out? I’m being tortured! I almost believed what she said because it feels like you’ve forgotten about me!”
“I haven’t!” I yelled in frustration and smacked the wall again, making my palm sting. “Shit, Hekla! You have to hang in there! This is going to get ugly! This is how fae do war at court!”