Protecting the Wolf Prince

Chapter 22

Two weeks had passed since Elijah's birth and the renovations to the house were almost complete. The last of the work was being done to the remaining bedrooms as they were way down on the priority list. I was in the lounge, Addison had remained with me while Finn was with his father at the castle. She decided that it was a good opportunity to discuss wedding plans, bringing Esken with her. Esken thought Elijah was the best thing until he screamed for his feed, clasping her hands to her ears she whined for me to hurry up and feed the brat. Elijah was already crawling, tugging at my skirt as he tried to lift himself to his feet. He was still wobbly but was one determined little wolf. Big blue eyes stared up at me with the sweetest grin that was surrounded by chubby cheeks. His hair was thick and brown, waves of soft shiny hair was growing fast. Elijah lifted his leg, straining to pull himself up. I smiled when he protested at my help, mister independent was determined to do things for himself. He happily settled down for his feed, Addison rose from her chair to close the door allowing for some privacy. There were still many workers here and of course we had several guards. Nothing more had happened since the note, there had been no more threats or anything to indicate that it was just a one off thing. Someone had even suggested it was a joke, maybe by someone who thought it was funny to threaten the son of their leader. The detective wasn't going to give up though, the castle and our house was always under scrutiny, our movements shadowed by guards.

Elijah settled into his sleep reasonably quickly, settling into his cot with no fuss. While the work was still being carried out, Finn and I were camped out in the lounge room, a mattress on the floor, a lounge, Elijah's cot and little else. Lorccán and Addison were appalled at the way we were living, insisting that we return to the castle until the house was complete, but Finn wouldn't hear of it. He loved the house and didn't care if he had to sleep on a mattress for the rest of his life, so long as he was here, he was happy. Addison rose to a knock at the door as I pulled the blanket over Elijah.

"Your highness, a delivery for Lady Aaliyah."

"Thank you." she nodded and closed the door again.

She handed it to me as I sat back onto the lounge, opening the rectangle box. Inside was dozens of large photos, all black and white and made me feel sick. I rose to my feet and raced out the door searching for which guard had delivered it.

"Did you receive this parcel?" I asked the younger of the two guards in the dining room.

"I did. A delivery fellow left it."

"Did he say who it came from?"

"No, is there a problem?"

"Yes, send word to the king that I must speak with him urgently."

He nodded and left through the back doors, I raced to the front of the house to find the delivery fellow had been gone for some time. There was no lingering smell of another wolf on the wind.

"Aaliyah?" Addison called from the door "What ever is the matter my dear?"

I ushered her to the room opposite the lounge, this was not for young ears to be listening to. I knew Esken was far too curious and if I started showing her mother photos, she would want to see them too. One by one I passed them to Addison, keeping the more intimate photos clutched to my chest. She understood my concern, she could rival me for fear. These were surveillance photos. Finn was in every single picture. Some would contain me or another member of his family. There was a photo of time in mid jump when we were talking to Patrick and Lilly, another arriving at Lucian's party. Outside his place in Elm'nyth, at the park near it. The image of the alley was kept in my pile of intimate photos, no mother would want to see her son like that. But it got worse, photos of when we were at the lake, a supposedly safe environment. Photos of us in Faldrid, riding into the town, walking around, playing in the water. More intimate photos, Finn and I having sex on the bed in Faldrid. Whoever this person was had gotten so close to the hut they had a picture that was close range. It was like they stood at the window and took the picture. Addison gasped with horror as I passed the photos of Elijah to her, tears brimming in her eyes. Then there was the most shocking of all. I didn't think it was possible to out do the intimate photos but this person had. It was a photo of Finn holding Elijah, somewhere in mid jump. Also in the photo was one of his guards and Alina. Finn had leaned in to kiss her.