Page 52

MARLOWE

Alaroth had ripped Ezra off me, and we both shifted back. I lay panting on the ground. Completely naked.

His pupils dilated, and then he sighed, taking his shirt off and handing it to me. I put it on quickly, thankful for a minute that our size difference meant it went well past my ass.

He helped me back up and clicked his tongue disapprovingly while he picked leaves out of my hair. “Now, now, is this any way for the future queen to act?”

“I don’t know, maybe you should tell me what you did with my scarf?”

He turned his head slowly towards Ezra, who averted his gaze and fell to one knee.

Suck up.

Alaroth vocalized his displeasure, and then face me again. He placed a hand on my cheek and dipped his face low into my neck, inhaling deeply. “Can you really blame me? I wanted to know if the prophecies about your potency were true.”

I really wanted to slap him across the face, but I’d be undoing all my work from the previous night, and I needed him happy to protect my pack.

So instead, I gave an exaggerated pout and batted my eyelashes. “No, I suppose not.”

He patted me patronizingly on the head and then scoffed at Ezra, still kneeling on the ground. “Well, at least you’re here together, it saves me some time. We need to leave within the hour.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Where are we going?” I asked.

He blinked away his fleeting agitation at having to explain himself. Apparently, His Majesty wasn’t used to being questioned.

“To inspect the alphas. By the way, there was a disturbance early this morning at one of the havens.”

He eyed me suspiciously. Knowingly. “Would you have heard anything about that?”

That must have been my guys. We hadn’t spoken since late last night, since I was afraid of distracting them, but I’d wondered what exactly they’d gotten into. At least I could assume they were safe for the time being. If they’d been hurt or captured, I would probably not only feel it, but the king would be gloating.

I shrugged. “Beats me. Can I take Wasabi?”

Alaroth scrunched his face in confusion.

“My vryscral?”

“Oh, right. As long as you can keep her under control.”

I turned to head back towards the barn when he grabbed my arm and pulled me into his chest, taking my chin to force me to look at him. “And as long as you stay under my control.”

He closed his eyes and breathed in, his pupils once again fully dilated when they reopened. “The sight of you wearing nothing but my shirt also wears my patience thin, beloved. Do not think for a moment I am not aware of the games you are playing with my affections. As long as you obey me and behave, I will entertain them.”

I swallowed nervously. “Yes, Alaroth.”

“Good.”

He let me go and walked away, my heart nearly beating out of my chest.

Ezra finally stood up and took a step towards me. “Marlowe, I’m…”

“Fuck off,”

I replied, shoulder checking him as I called for Nantier. He’d been milling about the barn, not quite sure what to do with himself.

“Can you take me back to my rooms? I need to get dressed. And Matgar?”

The beastmaster yelled back from inside. “What?”

“I’m taking Wasabi.”

“Marlowe? It’s time.”

I’d luckily found a pair of pants in my wardrobe, along with a loose blouse and fitted velvet jacket. With my braided hair I looked like one of those fancy dressage riders, minus the helmet.

I sent another wave of love to my pack, and then readied myself for whatever this trip was going to bring.

Nantier and another guard greeted me when I opened the door. “Marlowe, this is Bohun, another one of our cousins.”

Bohun was a little shorter than Nantier, with blonde hair like my mother and our shared hazel eyes. His were a touch lighter though, like spring honey.

He grinned and bowed his head quickly. “It’s an honor to serve on your queensguard, cousin.”

I couldn’t keep my bottom lip from trembling. Even if I knew that push come to shove, these were Alaroth’s guards, it was still nice to imagine I had a few more people in my corner.

Not just people.

Family.

“So which one of you handsome gentlemen are going to escort me to… wherever it is I’m supposed to go?”

They both held out their arms and I laughed, taking them and sniffing back my tears. “Okay, so Nantier didn’t get to tell me nearly enough family gossip this morning. I need to know all of it.”

Bohun hummed as he thought. “Well, your mother running away with your father was quite the scandal.”

I squealed and jumped, gripping their arms tighter. “Yes, tell me everything!”

He looked around quickly and spoke in a hushed tone. “Thistle was engaged to Captain Nivardi, one of the heads of the alpha division.”

“Alpha division?”

“Yes, the alpha shifters have their own military unit. I believe the king is taking you to see them today,”

Nantier explained.

Wow, I would finally get to meet some of the OG shifters before they came to Earth. Would they be nice like my pack? Or giant douchebags like the Conclave?

“So before the wedding, she was brought to his home near their garrison. Jaelis was a lieutenant and met with Nivardi quite frequently.”

“Jaelis?”

Bohun arched an eyebrow. “Your father?”

“Oh, gotcha. He went by James on Earth.”

I should have realized James wasn’t a very ‘Vesperan’ name. I nudged Bohun to continue.

“Then apparently, on the morning of the wedding, Thistle went out to collect flowers for her bouquet and just… didn’t return.”

He stopped talking as a group of courtiers passed us, sniffing the air.

“Wait, was this like, a consensual non-return, or…?”

Nantier cleared his throat. “We don’t know how it started, but by the time they were discovered by her sister, Thistle was already pregnant with you two and refusing to go back. Her sister reported the pregnancy to His Majesty, who was deeply interested in the half-shifter twins she was carrying. However, they disappeared soon after. We had long assumed they were dead, to be honest, until His Majesty brought Ezra to court and announced he was Thistle and Jaelis’s son.”

I wondered how they’d managed to escape. Had they found a portal that hadn’t been closed from the war? Or did they create a new one themselves?

“So how does the fam feel about the two of us, then? The bastard half-shifters?”

We made our way down the stairs, the front door in view. I saw Alaroth, Ezra, and a few other guards waiting.

“I loved Thistle,”

Nantier whispered. “As her daughter, I believe I shall love you too.”

My heart felt so full. I was about to give him a hug when his expression soured.

“But I do not think I’ll be able to forgive Ezra for what he did to her.”

I nodded. “I know, he was a real jerk to her growing up.”

Nantier shook his head. “No, I mean he killed her, Marlowe. Her and Jaelis both.”