The castle was in a buzz preparing for the princess's birthday celebration. Robert and Onyx weren't speaking so the kitchen was laced with awkward tension. By the time the guests began to arrive, the ballroom was expertly decorated and the buffet tables were prepared with elegantly covered dishes. The staff were all dressed in ducktail tuxedos, clad in black and white, and some were already circling with silver trays of orderves.
Onyx, however, wasn't in the ballroom like the rest of the staff. Instead, he was sneaking through the hallways of the palace, careful to remain unseen. He ducked into a darkened room when he heard the voices of Alpha Fox and his children, Lili's siblings, Alphas Lexi and Levi. He noted how similar Lili looked to her twin older siblings, but not even Lexi matched his mate's beauty.
Once they had safely passed by, Onyx continued sneaking down the hall. With the grand staircase in view, he hid behind one of the grand marble columns and waited for the princess to arrive.
In a matter of minutes, the sweet floral scent of roses filled the air and he knew she was close. He heard the sound of heels clicking down the steps and then her voice filled the air.
"Where's Dad?" Princess Lili asked.
"He's waiting by the doors to escort you in, along with Bay." Former princess Luna Marigold replied.
Onyx took his chance and ducked out from behind the column.
Lili had just reached the bottom of the steps when a mouthwatering scent filled the room; warm, fresh baked bread and spice apples. She froze and her eyes went wide as a familiar man appeared from behind one of the white, marble columns. It was the same sandy haired, green eyes server that she had run into last night. This is why he was following her, this is why she was so drawn to him. The server was her mate.
"Lili?" Marigold tugged her daughter's arm, looking at her with concern.
Her gaze followed Lili's and she noticed the man standing in the hallway.
"Oh boy." Marigold giggled, putting two and two together.
"You?" Lili gasped, finally able to speak.
"Perhaps I'll give you two a minute." Marigold said but her words fell on deaf ears, "Don't take too long. Everyone is waiting." She added before excusing herself.
"Princess." Onyx bowed before her, keeping his eyes locked with hers.
"What's your name?" She asked.
"Onyx Bell at your service." He answered proudly.
"You knew at the dinner, didn't you?" She accused him and Onyx smirked.
"I did. I'm glad that I didn't have to wait too long for you to find out as well. I'll admit to being quite impatient." Onyx said in his deep, raspy voice.
"You work in the kitchen." Lili said and Onyx felt his cocky composure begin to falter.
"I do. My father is the chief." He replied, "Is that a problem?" He asked as Lili took a few more steps towards him.
Lili circled the man before her, looking him up and down.
"You gave me the rose." She said, ignoring his question.
"I did."
"So is that your ability then? Levitation?" She asked,
"It is."
Onyx's eyes followed Lili as she slowly walked around him, her hands folded politely behind her back. He took the time to admire her outfit. Of course she wasn't wearing the traditional gown, instead she was wearing pants with a mock skirt. He couldn't help but notice how the leathery fabric clung to her delicious curves and how the feathers on her bodice seemed to tickle her snowy skin.
"Why didn't you say anything before?" She asked curiously, stopping in front of him.
"Would you have believed me?" Onyx arched his eyebrow and a small smile teased Lili's lips.
"No, probably not." She confessed, "I thought perhaps there was another reason."
"Like what?" Onyx shuffled forward, ducking his head to make eye contact with his mate.
"You were hoping I wouldn't sense it and you could pretend you didn't know." Lili said,
Onyx was shocked at Lili's confession. It was almost like she had heard their conversation in the kitchen the day before.
"Why would you think that?" Onyx's eyes pinched together in concern.
"Are you intimidated by being mated to a princess?" She answered his question with a question of her own.
"No, should I be?" Onyx continued to creep closer to her, carefully watching her expression for any signs of retreat, "Are you ashamed of being mated to the help?"
"No, should I be?" She echoed his answer and he couldn't help but laugh.
Lili clung to the sound of his laughter. It did things to her insides that she wasn't prepared for. She was watching him closely as he moved closer to her, unable to fight off his advances but too frozen to return them. Finally, Onyx completely closed the distance between them and held out his hand.
"Permission to hold your hand, princess?" He asked in a husky voice.
Lili swallowed nervously, forcing down the lump in her throat. She nodded and flinched at the sparks that scattered up her arms as their skin touched. Onyx bent down and whispered in Lili's ear,
"My princess." His lips brushed softly against her earlobe, making her shiver as his warm breath blew across her skin.
"I suppose anyone would be happy to mate with a future queen, seeing as it would make them the future king." Lili said, recoiling from his touch.
She shook herself out of whatever trance the matebond had put her in and hardened her face, glaring at the man in front of her. She had to keep her wits about her. Obviously he wasn't intimidated by being her mate, he wanted to be the new king. Honestly, who would give up that opportunity? He would do whatever he could to get her to trust him, she was sure of it.
Onyx looked taken aback by her new accusation.
"You can't believe that." He said,
"Why not? It's perfectly believable." She removed her hand from his and crossed her arms over her chest.
"My affection for you has nothing to do with your title." Onyx said,
"Well what else could it be from? You don't know me." Lili replied stubbornly.
"Now, that's not true. I've known you your entire life, princess. Just because you don't notice me, doesn't mean that I haven't noticed you. I see how you watch the men who ignore you, how you carefully calculate your response because you know it has to be better than whatever comeback they make. I see how the elders and men in power ignore you, and how you handle them with grace and strength. I see how powerful you are, how smart, how stubborn, how strong," He captured one of her silky curls and rubbed it between his fingers, "How beautiful."
Lili didn't have a response. Not a single word. All she could do was search his eyes for any sort of dishonesty. His warm, comforting, kind green eyes. Lili knew she was in trouble, deep, deep trouble.
"Lili!" A voice called out and Lili jumped, moving away from Onyx, "What are you doing?"
It was Levi, her older brother.
"Who are you?" He glared at Onyx.
Onyx looked between Alpha Levi and Princess Lili, cocking his eyebrow at her in question. Lili released a heavy sigh and turned towards her brother.
"This is Onyx Bell, my mate." She confessed and Levi's eyes went huge.
"No kidding." He snorted.
Lili rolled her eyes,
"Shut up." She grumbled.
"I'm Levi, nice to meet you." Levi extended his hand towards Onyx who shook it, surprised by his reaction, "I'm so sorry about your luck, you poor bastard." He added.
Lili shouted at him and shoved his arm, putting some of her power behind it so he actually lost his footing and stumbled.
"Everyone's waiting for you." Levi said once he had contained his laughter, "Should I tell them you're otherwise occupied?" He said with a suggested wink.
"I hate your guts." Lili scoffed, "Let's go." She said, glancing back at Onyx.
Onyx's eyes went wide and he pointed at himself wordlessly.
"Yes, you. I'm not going in there alone, especially now that big mouth over here knows. The whole realm will know in a matter of hours." Lili grumbled.
"Does this mean you accept me?" Onyx was, admittedly, shocked.
"It means I'm not rejecting you at the moment. But, don't get too excited, I'm throwing you to the sharks." Lili said, nodding her head and indicating that Onyx should go ahead of them.