Page 38 of Rejected By the Shifter King

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.Theirkingdom.

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