Chris
After throwing Henry out, dinner finishes in awkward silence with everyone dispersing shortly after. I know Sara wanted to handle his ass-backward ways by herself but I couldn't stand listening to him a moment longer.
The only saving grace was being able to turn in early with Jess. She kept insisting she was fine, but I could feel her tension and exhaustion.
She's trying to hide it, but I can practically see this place sucking the life out of her.
She snuggles into my side when I turn on the TV to destress and before I even settle on something to watch, she's out. Just spending time cuddled together on the couch is enough to relax me.
I can feel her worry when she looks at me. She knows I'm stressed and offers constantly to help, but it's the things that keep me awake at night that are really weighing on me.
Stakes are higher than ever now.
I'm used to the responsibility of making sure a pack is taken care of and I like to think I was good at it.
But now I have my mate and growing family to worry about in a place I can't fully trust.
Almost every night I dream about 'what ifs,' like about being a bad king, making some political misstep that has far reaching repercussions, or that my pup is going to harm Jess... The last one makes my blood run cold, she nearly died at Dimitri's hands which was only compounded by her surprise pregnancy. I made the decision to hide her wolf from Doc, which resulted in Jess being on the wrong birth control.
I don't think I could live with myself if that happened...
As I lay here, sprawled on the couch with Jess, I find myself thinking back to our simpler and happy times. The harvest party is among the top, seeing her so carefree and happy with her friends yet she only had eyes for me. At our impromptu pool party, when Jace threw her in the pool and she dragged me in after puts a smile on my face.
There are so many happy memories and yet there have been too many bad ones too. I've nearly lost her three times now, the helpless feeling of watching my mate fight for her life on a hospital bed is crippling.
My whole job is to protect her, but we seem to be destined for a challenging life.
I sigh looking down at Jess in my arms. How I wish we could just stay here, in this moment. Not wanting to let go, I lay down, gently tucking Jess half beside me and half on top, and throw a blanket over us for the night.
-----
"So much for bed," Jess laughs with a sleepy smile. She stretches out like a kitten after a nap, playfully scratching my chest. The feel of her soft curves rubbing up against me has me swallowing hard.
"Morning beautiful," I whisper, my voice husky from sleep as I plant a soft kiss on her forehead. "How'd you sleep?"
"Very well, Sire," she teases, amusement dancing in her honey gold eyes.
"You do love teasing me, little one, don't you?" I warn with a crooked smirk.
And what a tease she's been, not that I don't love every second of it.
Jess purses her lips for a moment, looking deep into my eyes. "Is it considered teasing if I give in? Sounds more like motivation to me..."
Well then!
"Shower?" I offer, quirking a brow.
Jess is only too eager, slipping off of me, locking eyes as she bites her bottom lip and backs to the bathroom. Her sleepy, sexy grin has all of my attention as I follow her blindly.
Jess peels her sweater off just as I walk in the bathroom, leaving her in a thin tank top with her nipples clearly on display. Quicker than I can comprehend, she pushes me against the door and starts to slide my shirt up.
God, I love feisty Jess!
I pull my shirt the rest of the way over my head but when I can see again, Jess is at the shower, turning it on high. Steam surrounds us as I pull her against my chest, bringing my lips to her neck and inching towards my mark.
"Chris," Jess whimpers, baring her neck fully to me. I stop only long enough to strip her the rest of the way and lose my pants. She's already in the shower curling her pointer finger to call me in by the time I step out of them.
My seductive little minx is pulling out all the stops this morning and I love it!
Done with her teasing, I pin her against the wall, locking my lips with hers. Instantly, she throws her arms around my neck, pressing her breasts into my chest. A growl of approval rumbles deep in my chest as I thread one hand in her hair while the other drops to her voluptuous ass.
Jess moans into my kiss and lifts her leg to hook it around mine giving me better access. In an instant, I'm buried deep with both of her legs wrapped around my waist. Jess whimpers and moans, tightening her arms around me as her head rolls back against the tiles.
I groan, feeling her tighten around me, knowing she's so close. Picking up the pace while licking and sucking on my mark sends her over with a strangled cry. Her walls clamp down and quiver, triggering my own release.
We stay there panting for a moment more, the water cascading over us as we pant and try to catch our breath. When Jess stops trembling, I let her down, admiring my sexy mate in her post orgasmic bliss.
"Now that is worth waking up for," she murmurs, grinning as she steps fully under the water.
I can't hold back my chuckle and grab the shampoo for her, gently massaging it in. Jess practically purrs under my attention, melting into me as I take care of every inch.
After a thorough shower, we dry off and get ready for the day. No sooner than I get dressed, Barron links to ask where we are meeting, his office or mine.
At least my day started off high...
"You sure you're good today?" I ask, stalling.
"It's shopping with Mira, Chloe, and Sara," she sighs, rolling her eyes. "How bad can it be? Oh and Jenna..." Jess knits her brows and looks lost in thought.
"What is it?" I ask, hooking a hand around her waist and pulling her to me.
"Nothing... just that she's different than the other two," Jess mumbles more to herself.
"Mmm-hmm," I reply. "Merrick was saying she was looking forward to you coming... He said she's always been a bit of an outcast, had a hard time connecting with Rebecca and Leah, though apparently was close to the Queen."
"Doesn't surprise me," Jess mumbles bitterly. "Their mean girl vibes are exhausting." She sighs and pulls my hoodie on before reaching up on her tippy toes for one last kiss.
"I want you to link if you need me, don't hesitate," I press on, a frown tensing my forehead.
Jess laughs and pushes off my chest heading towards the door but pauses. "You're stalling... The sooner you and Barron hash things out, the sooner we can sort this-" she gestures wildly around "-and hopefully we can get settled... As is we have the big rank tournament this weekend. We really should do something to pull everyone together afterwards... I wonder how they feel about pig roasts?"
"Yes, my Queen," I drawl, raising a brow. Jess cocks her head to the side, giving me a pointed look that makes me laugh. "What?"
Jess bites her tongue but walks out with me. She instantly tenses at the bottom of the stairs when she spots Ryker leaning against a column. As always, his expression is unreadable except for boredom. My gaze is so fixed on him that I nearly don't notice Aiden until he starts to walk towards us.
'Do you want me to get rid of him?' I link.
'Nah... This is his job, like everyone else we have to adjust,' Jess sighs.
"Ah, Highnesses," Aiden greets warmly, a big smile on his weathered features.
"Captain," Jess nods respectfully. "Ry-"
"All set?" Ryker asks Jess, not bothering to let her finish.
'The fuck is with everyone here?!' Cyrus snaps in the back of my mind. 'Everyone talks over her like she's not even here!'
As hard as controlling my temper has been lately, Cyrus is going rabid. Viewing Sara much like his little sister makes her treatment even worse. Trying to reason with him that she doesn't need nor want us to fight her battles for her is next to impossible...
Cyrus has always been act first, talk later, though I think those days are pretty much over now... Everything here feels like a mind game.
"Try and have a good time, baby," I murmur, pulling her to me for one last kiss. "Take good care of her," I say directly to Ryker.
"Of course, Sire, though the town is quite safe. How much trouble can shopping be?" Ryker chuckles.
I watch them head off down the hall and see Mira and Chloe join them before turning the opposite way to go to my office. Already I can feel the tension building in my shoulders just thinking about dealing with Barron.
The veteran is a challenge to say the least. In the king's absence, he kept the place running but unlike a normal pack where the Beta would become Alpha when the Alpha is lost, but only a royal could become King. In a way he seems only too eager to get me up to speed and hand over the reins, but on the other hand, he can't let go.
I get wanting to make sure we're competent, but I'm not a rogue from the backwoods. Still Waters was a very prosperous pack before the war, even still we will be able to rebuild it to its former glory and my pack members believe in me enough that they didn't abandon us when they had the chance.
As expected Barron, Evans, Merrick, Jace, and Jude are waiting, having a silent standoff outside of my office. Inwardly I groan, feeling like this meeting is a lost cause if everyone is already dug in. Half of the problem is everyone's choosing sides instead of looking for middle ground. Granted there are some things that I will not compromise on, Sara being my Head Warrior is one of them because she has more than earned her place.
"Gentlemen," I greet everyone all at once, trying to lighten my tone from how I feel. "Guys can you work the training field today with Nex, warriors are stopping by intermittently for skill brush up," I direct to Jace and Jude, who exchange confused looks before complying without complaint.
My eyes lock with Barron's briefly, hoping he will take the hint and send Merrick and Evans away too without me telling him to. His frown deepens slightly but he does just that, sending them to the training field to help with the rank trial prep.
"Probably best if it's just us," he agrees, shutting the door behind us. I skip the large oak desk and instead head over to the two sofas.
"The last thing I want is endless bickering," I admit with a sigh. "But we need to figure this situation out, whatever the problems are..." The fact that the man is sitting there with a file folder is unsettling but we've got all day.
"Agreed... I have to say this, you may not agree with me or want to hear it but you handled Henry wrong," Barron starts, his frown deepening by the second. Before I can dispute anything, he raises a hand, stalling me and continues. "He might be a bit of an ass but under his old-fashioned ways, he's a good man and a good warrior. Throwing him out on his ass in front of everyone sets a bad precedent..."
"So I should have let him disrespect my mate and Head Warrior?!" I snap back, feeling Cyrus' frustration only add to mine.
"No, but he would have come around eventually... It's not Henry that I'm referring to," he grumbles, shaking his head. "You're not an Alpha any more, you'll be crowned King soon. If you fuck up, the entire race can pay the price."
"But no pressure," I mutter bitterly.
"For over a decade now, this pack was expecting AN heir to show up... not an entire pack, nor one larger than them. You guys come in like a wrecking ball, you want too many changes too soon," he warns with a flicker of something in his dark eyes that leaves me unsettled.
"Understand it from my side," I say, trying to find middle ground. "After all, my pack has sacrificed for this war they never wanted... I can't send them back to the dark ages. You made it clear both packs need to be integrated, but my people have already been through so much... What are the specific issues?"
"The two biggest I know you won't do anything about, so why waste my breath?" Barron asks, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the sofa.
"Let me guess," I groan, knowing exactly what he's bringing up... again. "Sara and Mira."
"I've seen her in action, I can tell why you chose her for your Head Warrior, but feelings aside, she's a shewolf!" Barron practically hisses.
"How does not having a penis make her any less worthy?!" I snap, irritated that this is STILL an issue.
"You know why! She's mated, so it's only a matter of time till she's in pup and then what?!"
"I've seen the woman drop a warrior while wearing a skin tight dress and stilettos, don't underestimate her," I warn. "Her Job is to train, she sees things that others miss, I'm telling you her results will speak for themselves."
Barron sighs but slowly nods. "The larger problem is that she will be viewed as a weakness, our enemies will think we've slipped," he warns.
"Let them," I reply with a shrug. "If they think we're weak it will be a hell of a shock when they learn better. We've more than doubled your ranks, not to mention every member of my pack has basic defense and many were in the ranks before their current roles, AND they are all battle hardened."
"And Mira?" he asks, shifting the topic to even more dangerous territory.
"What about my BETA female," I growl.
"You know what!" he snaps. "You think I'm an ass for bringing it up but you know how wolves feel about witches."
Unfortunately I do. Even after everything, Kane was only too happy to see us leave and take her with us, though I imagine a lot of that had to do with her always standing up to him. After we won the war, Mira and her sister Sasha were invaluable in the hospital, tending to our wounded and thanks to their skill and magic they were able to save many we would have lost otherwise.
Sasha being polar opposite personality-wise was easier to win her new pack's hearts over, but Mira has clearly been through more than her share of trials, leaving her jaded and on the hostile side of things. Our first meeting was less than ideal, where she tried her damnedest to kill me, Jace and Xavier, but in the end turned out to be Jace's mate. I see a lot of the same responses from her that I saw from Jess... Mira hasn't opened up about her past yet but I can imagine it's not all sunshine and rainbows.
The fact of the matter is aside from our rough introduction, she has done nothing to make me question her allegiance and never once given us any indication that she is unsafe. If anything, having Jace seems to be mellowing out that fiery temper and she's bonding very well with Jess.
"She is a wolf too," I reply, understanding his point of view but not being able to do anything about it. "Mira is my Beta Female, my best friend's mate... Thanks in large part to her help, we were able to win the war. You can't expect me to exile her for a part of herself... She is nothing like her ancestors that revolted."
'Chris?' Jess links hesitantly.
"You know her, we don't, the people-"
I cut Barron off with a raised hand and focus all of my attention on my bond with Jess. 'What's wrong?!' I link back.
'It's probably nothing... But I'm lost and having a hard time linking anyone-'
As soon as she says the words, I notice just how strained our link feels it should have been crystal clear and easy at this proximity. Under the strain, it suddenly ends and I'm blocked off. I can't reach her but I can feel her still.
Nothing is wrong with her but something is off...
"We need to go!" I shout, jumping straight up and heading out.
Warning bells start to ring out from below the palace, in the town that surrounds it, and my blood runs cold. One by one, more bells start to ring out and palace staff start running while Guardians and Palace guards flood out like ants.
"Highness!" Adrian calls, running over, brows knit in concern. "We need to keep you secure, there's been a breach."
"Is Jess back?" I ask with a sense of dread forming as the panic and chaos around me rises.
She would have come straight for me if she was...
"No, the Queen is missing."