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A Beggar
"I can't wait for you to meet," Franco said, pacing before the hearth in his foyer as he had been doing for close to an hour, "I think you'll like her."
I hummed in agreement, sprawled out across his settee, legs on the armrest, head dangling over the side. It wasn't very dignified, but I was past caring. Besides, it was only Franco.
And he had just spent an hour babbling on about his mate.
Our dinners sat on the coffee table between us, hardly touched. He didn't seem to notice.
I didn't have the heart to stop him; not when he was clearly so excited, even though it was by far one of the strangest conversations I had ever had. One I had definitely never intended to have. Ever.
He pivoted again, "She's quite a timid thing, but I'm sure she just needs to warm up. It must be very confusing for her, after all."
"So you've mentioned," I muttered.
He didn't get the hint, prattling on like a protective mother hen as if I hadn't spoken, "I worry about how she'll get on in the castle, but your mother was shy as well and she turned out just fine."
I hummed again.
He groaned, running his hands through his hair in frustration, "I'm getting ahead of myself, she was hardly even willing to agree to see me again. She looked like she might faint the entire time. You know the reputation we still hold with the humans."
"For good reason," I murmured under my breath, but sat up to study him. Only one brief conversation with her, and he was already a worried wreck. How the mighty fall.
I stood at last, striding to intercept his path and placed a hand on his forearm, "It's going to be alright."
"You can't know that," he said, stubborn as an ox.
"I can't," I agreed. I did, however, have quite a bit of first hand experience in the futility of fighting the mate bond. I only wished that I could tell him that. Instead I said, "But she could have run away from you."
He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes, "That is true, but even that story had a happy ending."
I tried for a reassuring smile, "Exactly."
~*~
As soon as I could think of an acceptable reason to flee Franco's rooms, I took it. Guilt ate at me for leaving him in such a state, but there was only so much that I could take.
I used the servants corridor to sneak from the castle, much to the dismay of the actual servants I encountered along the way. It was a precaution, just in case he had chosen to take a walk to try to expel that endless energy. His pacing certainly hadn't helped.
Angelo was nowhere to be found when I arrived at the willow. I tried not to pay any heed to the disappointment that flooded through my body at the sight.
I settled for pacing along the inner perimeter of the hanging limbs, similar to the way Franco had been pacing before his hearth back at the castle. I only hoped that I looked half as crazed while doing it.
I peered up at the darkening sky. Franco had kept me for so long that I was already running out of time before Ava would come to my room to assist me in preparing for bed. Not to mention, I was attempting to meet him so much later than I've ever tried before. What if he has already turned in for the night?
For some reason, the thought was funny. He didn't seem like the type to retire with the sun.
Angelo finally showed up after more laps along the dangling branches than I cared to count, as if he had some kind of sense for when I would be there and knew to come late. Or, perhaps he really spent all of his free time under the beloved tree as I wished I could. A bright smile found his lips upon seeing me, only to fall a beat later as he took in my restless state.
He stepped in front of me, taking my arms into his gentle grasp to keep me in place, "Are you alright?"
"I'm splendid," I replied with a tight lipped smile, "Why do you ask?"
He frowned, "No particular reason." His eyes were narrowed as they took me in, slower this time, as if he was determined to get to the bottom of whatever it was I was keeping from him.
"You smell like him," he noted, "the beta, that is." He was eerily calm as he pulled away from me to take up my usual spot against the tree.
"Is that so?" I continued my pacing, only at a slower stride.
He was doing his best to appear nonchalant, "Are the two of you still... involved?"
"And if we are?" I asked, knowing I shouldn't taunt him with such matters, but unable to contain my curiosity. "Will you steal me away and never let me out of your sight again?"
"No," he said, gaze piercing, "not if that is your choice. If you truly love him, and would rather be with him, then I will have to respect it. However, if I were to find out that his scent was on you for other, less friendly reasons..." his voice trailed off, tone a dark rumble.
"Then what?" I pressed, "You'll challenge a beta to combat? Or, is that when you'll steal me away forever to do whatever it is you expect a mate to do."
His head tilted to the side at the same time his lip twitched up, "I don't expect anything from you."
I scoffed, arching a brow, "Don't you though? Why else would you stick around for so long, even after I made it clear I had no interest in a mate?"
"Don't worry, princess," he said casually, still leaning back against the trunk of the willow, "I won't lay a finger on you until you want me to. That includes abductions, and any other nefarious thing your clever little mind can come up with."
I couldn't help but notice his word choice. Until.
"And what if I never want you to?" I challenged with my favorite smirk, feeling a bit cheeky. It was a pointless question. I already did want him.
He didn't need to know that, though.
"Oh, you will," he said, ever confident, shifting forward to ensnare me in those bright eyes, then leaning back into his spot once he was sure he had my attention. "But I won't touch you until you explicitly ask for it."
I didn't respond, instead turning my attention out over the water. The air shifted as he pushed off the tree to step closer. He leaned down to whisper, voice husky, warm breath fanning over my ear, "And when that time comes, I'm going to make you beg for it."
Heat rushed to my face before I could stop it. I tried to turn away, but it was too late. He faked a dramatic gasp, pressing a hand to his chest, "Either I'm getting better at this, or I'm beginning to grow on you."
I shot him a glare over my shoulder as I turned to leave. Crunching leaves sounded behind me, signalling his pursuit. He grabbed my arm, leaving sparks dancing along the skin, "Wait, don't leave."
I allowed Angelo to pull me toward him. He must have anticipated resistance, tugging on my arm so hard that I was suddenly directly in front of him, mere inches separating our bodies. I watched in fascination as his pupils dilated. From this close, I could see tiny flecks of orange around his iris, nearly imperceptible from a distance. He licked his lips, and my eyes flicked down to study the action. "Wait for what?" I breathed.
I wasn't sure if he would respond. Flecks of grey began to color his eyes, a sign that he was fighting off some instinct. From the war waging within my own body, I knew that my own eyes likely mirrored his in gold. We stood there a moment longer, so close I could barely keep my thoughts straight, our breaths mingling in the twilight air. I could hear my heart thundering in time with his. He swallowed, gazing down at my mouth, "Kiss me, please."
I didn't reply at first, letting his face slowly draw nearer. Inches separated us, then centimeters, then less. I waited until I could nearly feel his lips against mine, waited until he was so painfully close.
Then I steeled myself and pulled away.
"Remind me again which one of us will be begging whom?" My smirk was back in place, if only to distract from the flush that lingered on my face from the close contact. I watched the striking blue return to his eyes.
He let out a dark chuckle, slipping back into his cool façade. "Such a wicked mate," he cooed, but I could still hear his heart pounding away in his chest.
I gave him my most courtly curtsy in reply. "I really should return to the castle before they send out a search party."
He nodded, leaning back against the willow once more. I turned without another word, beginning my trek back to my home. "Goodnight, princess," he called out behind me.
I smiled, but didn't dare look back, feeling his eyes on my retreating form the entire way.
When I was sure that I was out of sight, my hands raised to my lips, body still burning from our near-kiss.
How much will that cost me?
~*~*~
Oof.
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