"What happened," he inquires, still stroking her hair, but her lips fail her.
He permits her to hug him for a while until he finally heaves away and without warning scopes her off her feet, carrying her bridal style. Slowly, he saunters to her room with her, tightly fastened in his arms.
After setting her down on her bed, he veers around to leave, but she doesn't let him. She clasps his hand, giving him pleading eyes, and parts her lips to speak. "Please I want you to stay here"
Lucan is awestricken beyond words by her new demeanor. She has never been this communicative before. Amaya has always been the kind of lady that would do every other thing than plead with him to stay.
"Are you sure you are okay?" he asks again in astonishment and she nods incessantly.
After that affirmative nod, he strides to her closet to fetch a silk night dress. He ambles back to where she lay and instructs her to sit up. "Relax," he mumbles to her. "Let's get this off" he points at her dress.
Amaya doesn't resist as he pulls her already sagging sleeve down. It is slipped off her shoulder. He then does the same to her other sleeve, sliding it down until she is bare-chested. Immediately, she notices how his eyes darkened.
Lucan originally thought changing her clothes would be easy, but as he gapes at those full bosoms, he can't help but swallow hard. Reluctantly, he looks away to gather enough self-control, before looking at her again.
He returns his gaze to her after a while. Her eyes has changed from the melancholy ones he observed before. It is radically different. He's never seen such a sight in her eyes before; a look he can't decipher.
His hands find a way to her dress again and he pulls it off completely. At this point, she is entirely naked, and the idea alone immensely turns him on. It takes the last self-restraint in him to aid her in wearing her silk night dress without touching her.
"Do you still want me to stay?" he asks once more. He wants to remain, but won't until he gains her consent.
A nod from her brings him to the bed and he settles just beside her after taking off his shirt. She places her head on his bare chest, eyes wide open.
He notices this and speaks. "You don't want to sleep?" his voice comes out more gravelly and strained, due to the heavy work he is doing to bear the arousal she caused for him.
"No" she mumbles inaudibly.
"Okay," Lucan nods. At this juncture, he realizes he will have to suffer this torture for an extended time.
"Lucan" she calls out again and he humphs a response. "I want to take a walk tomorrow" she announces.
"The palace garden is ..."
she doesn't let him finish before cutting him off. "Not at the palace garden. Inside the kingdom" she blurts out and instantly notices how he stiffens.
When he doesn't say anything, she looks up at him to ensure he isn't sleeping. No, he isn't, but he chose to ignore her request.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"No you did not" he guides her head back to his chest as he strokes her hair delicately. "I can't let you take a walk in the Kingdom?"
"Why?"
"The people" he hesitates. "They can be dangerous"
"During your coronation, you didn't meet with the people?" She asks in confusion because she doesn't understand what he meant by dangerous.
"Briefly," he mumbles. "You see, my father was a cruel king. He turned the people into rioters. They have not a single respect for the royal household. They despise us, just as you do" he states the obvious and Amaya finds herself nodding in agreement. "If they find out the king's mate is out on a walk, they might not be so friendly"
Amaya raises her head once more. "A king who is afraid of his people is no king at all. You are not your father. You are nothing like your father and if you want the people to see that, you need to communicate with them. Let them see the kind of man you are" Amaya can't believe she uttered those words, but they are words of truth and she doesn't feel any inch of regret after saying it.
Lucan doesn't say a word for a while but he eventually speaks. "I'll go with you" he strokes her hair and she nods against his chest. "Now go to sleep," he tells her in a whisper.
********
Amaya flicks her eyes open. She yawns tiredly as she looks around, but can't find Lucan. Her hands rub her weary eyes as she slips off the bed. The moment her feet grazes the floor, there's a knock on the door which causes her to groan in bitterness
Just as she expects, the door opens even without her giving a response, revealing Lauretta. She bows in submission before opening her mouth to speak.
"The king demands you to join him for breakfast" Lauretta announces, but Amaya plops back on her bed, instead of honoring the king's request.
"Is eating the only thing that is done here?" she sighs in frustration.
"Eating is vital for.... "
"I know that, you don't have to lecture me on the importance of food" Amaya cuts her off and Lauretta bows again.
"I'm sorry Milady," she says with her head still bowed.
"Let's do something different" Amaya beams as she gets up from her bed. "Staying in here gets so boring and I know I'm not the only one this affects. Let's stretch our legs"
"I don't know what you want milady," Lauretta says feigning ignorance.
Amaya walks to where Lauretta stands with a perplexed look on her face. "Did I tell you, I am a skilled archer?" She asks and Lauretta shakes her head negatively.
"Then today, I shall show you"
"I don't think that's a good idea Milady. The king wouldn't be happy if you don't have breakfast"
"The king can wait"
"But...."
Amaya narrows her eyes and speaks before Lauretta can complete her sentence. "Would you say no to your future queen?"
"Of course not milady"
"Then do as I say" Amaya hates the way she played with the young maid's head, but those words felt too good, slipping off her tongue. "Where can I find arrows?" Amaya asks gaily as she walks to the door.
"At the training ground" Lauretta replies with an uncertain look on her face.
They both slip out from the palace walls and grab the arrows from the training area, which was seldom utilized. Werewolves prefer claws and fangs over sticks and swords, but Amaya is the polar opposite. Her passion for the bow and arrow is inextinguishable. It's her method of channeling her inner wolf.
"Milady, do you think this is a good idea?" Lauretta panics with fear visible on her face.
"The palace is over there, we are not far, so you have nothing to worry about" Amaya consoles as she fastens the arrows on the bow. The bow in her hand isn't as strong and well crafted as the one she earlier owned, but she can manage.
She is about to fire her first shot when someone whispers her name through the mind link. Amaya halts and lowers her bow. She hasn't heard anything from the mind link since she left the pack and the voice she heard was unrecognizable. It is easy for her to point out that this person isn't from alpha Armani's pack.
Amaya waits to hear another call but doesn't hear anything. She brushes it off and raises her bow once more. As she is about to shoot her arrow, she hears the voice again. This time, she is certain it isn't just in her head. She looks behind her. No one, but Lauretta stands there with an anxious look still on her face.
"Did you call me?" that voice sounds nothing like Lauretta, but Amaya asks anyway.
"No milady"
Amaya looks around in confusion but doesn't dwell so much on it as she returns to her bow. This time, she isn't allowed to raise the bow before she hears the voice again
"This way" the crooked voice mutters. Amaya turns to the direction she presumes the voice came from and begins to walk towards there.
"Milady!" Lauretta calls her from behind, trying to meet up to her fast strides, but that doesn't make Amaya slow down a bit. At this point, Amaya is as curious as a cat and won't stop until she satisfies her inquisitiveness.
As soon Lauretta recognizes the path Amaya was heading, she gasp in fear "Milady, we aren't allowed to go through this place"
"why?" Amaya asks, not bothering to turn around. She is afraid if she stops walking, the connection she has with this person may be broken.
"Milady!" She calls out, this time chasing after Amaya who is incredibly fast. Before she can get to where Amaya is, it is already too late.
Amaya gasps when she arrives at the place the connection is the strongest. Now she understands why Lauretta said this place was out of bounds.