The King’s Tainted Mate
Chapter 46

my very essence. I longed to surrender to him.

I'd tied myself to him. In my quest for revenge, I'd done the very thing I had set out not to do. And now I could not get out. Wasn't even sure I wished to. Not when the mere thought of him made me feel things. Deep in the crevices of my soul, I longed for him to stir "Your tea is getting cold, child." It was by no means a scolding, but I jolted all the same when Liira spoke beside me. "Do you wish to talk about it?"

"Forgive me, my lady, but talk about what exactly." I stared at Liira, feeling a little confused.

"Whatever it is that has been the object of your obsession."

Obsession? I could hardly call it that. Perhaps intrigue or curiosity. Two things that I would never have thought would be the result of my dreaded encounter with my mate.

After barely being able to keep our paths from crossing, I'd been awakened by his ferocious growl. Even when sleep still assaulted me, the anger in the sound that erupted from deep his throat had stirred my wolf and I had wished to fly the few doors down to check on him. But then he'd appeared right in my chambers, eyes glittering a fiery gold that sent me bowing in an attempt to escape his piercing gaze.

"Please rise." He'd said. So softly I would have missed it had it not been accompanied by his own clear actions to help me with the task. "Do not bow to me, ever. Such is reserved for my servants and subjects. You are neither of those things." He'd said next, his tone more stern than soft and I'd only nodded. That had seemed to pacify him, if the ghost of a smile to grace his face after my little nod was anything to go by. I'd hoped for it to grow into one of those easy smiles I knew he possessed, but his expression had morphed into something else I did not recognize. And as he led me back to my bed, my heart had hammered furiously in my chest. Thoughts of what might happen at the end of that short journey to the piece of grand furniture had left me feeling uneasy. Having him help me get comfortable on the large soft bed had done nothing to ease the hammering either. If anything, it made it worse the longer he worked at such a mundane thing with the utmost care I had witnessed from him yet. And by the time he was done, hammering was not the only thing my heart was doing.

When his warm hands had rested on my cheeks, cupping them gently, my eyes had fluttered closed in anticipation of what was to come again. What came however, was as much a surprise to me as it was to him.

"How are you?" Of all the things I had expected it was not that. The most mundane set of words that had my eyes widening in surprise.

He'd merely sat back and laughed at my reaction. A hearty laugh that had wrapped me in untold warmth and unearthed a strange desire in me. That desire had been partly fulfilled by the longest conversation my mate and I had shared for the rest of the night. "How was his majesty's childhood like?"

"Elian?" Liira studied me as if shocked that that question had proceeded out of my mouth. I couldn't blame her however, as it had caught me by surprise too. I had had no intention to ask so openly.

"I'm curious." I answered Liira's unspoken part of her question honestly. Having awakened to an empty but warm space beside me and to the most beautiful memories of a real conversation, a part of me wished to know more.

"That is one strange request."

"Strange?"

"I mean, many only care about knowing how much gold in the royal vaults belongs to him." Liira reached for my cup of tea. "I'll take that."

"I do not think I would know what to do with so much gold." I let out a chuckle.

"And that just adds to how special you are for him. Now come over here and lie down so I can check on my other grandson."

Special. My belly fluttered as I lay down and let Liira do what she needed to.

"Speaking of satisfying your curiosity, I prefer showing you than narrating." "Oh?"

"This is something I think you will appreciate more than my old crackly voice boring you to death with tales of your mate." Old and crackly were not the words I would use to describe Liira's voice, but in my time here I'd learnt that it was unwise to question the matriarch on such matters.

"Thank you." Tucking that away, my gaze shifted to my belly. I was beginning to show and somehow that had made the child I carried more real each day.

"I'm afraid I will have to ask lord quent to do a weekly fitting from now on and I might have to rethink those upcoming lessons." Liira scribbled something on a parchment, her expression thoughtful. Alarmed by the matriarch's demeanour, I shot up to a sitting position. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, gods no, child." Liira cupped my cheeks. "Everything is perfectly fine. You are both doing fine."

"But lord Quent..." I did not even know who that was, but knowing I would be seeing him weekly made me feel uneasy. Not to mention Liira's own change of heart regarding the lessons she'd insisted I needed to undergo now that I was to be by my mate's side. "Quent is nothing but the designer charged with creating your sacred gown for the banquet." "What banquet?" I frowned at Liira. I had not been invited to any banquet. Neither had I heard of any. None that would need me dressed in something sacred either. Whatever a sacred gown was meant to be.

"The banquet to welcome the child you carry of course. Hasn't he told you of it?"

"Perhaps he has not had an opportunity to do so." I did not know why I defended him.

"Oh?" Liira arched a brow.

"I have seen little of him." I answered sheepishly, knowing the reason why.

"Still playing cat and mouse I see."

"We are most certainly not."

Liira scoffed. "You should know very little escapes my attention around here. But that matters less, such is expected of young love."

Love? I sought to dismiss the very idea as just Liira's rumblings, but the fluttering of my heart and the warmth that spread in it roused questions. Those I did not wish to face...yet.

"But why would he do this? Isn't Myrna and her child more suited for it?"

"Child, have you not been paying attention?" Liira's eyes narrowed.

"To what exactly?" I avoided the matriarch's gaze, a familiar tightness forming around my heart. It loosened a fraction when warm hands cupped my cheeks once more.

"Shyla..." Liira's eyes were no longer narrowed. They were instead wide and at the same time filled with an emotion that spoke of something I did not know but should have known. I couldn't bring myself to ask what that was. Not knowing seemed to appeal to me more. "Perhaps it's time I satisfied your curiosity. Why don't you cover up and come with me."

If there was one thing I appreciated about Liira it was that she knew when to stop. And as she led me to wherever the satisfying of my curiosity was meant to happen, she dived into conversation that was miles away from whatever had been raised back in my chambers.

"Looking at him now, one would never think my grandson was once such an adorable child."

I could. After last night's unbidden conversation that had laid bare a side of him I'd not known, I knew I could. A guard unlocked and swung open two huge doors leading to a large room that suited the size of the wooden doors meant to guard it. The darkness beyond the doors had me turning to Liira.

"Where are we?" Liira only grabbed onto my hand and stepped in. The room flooded with light with each step we took and for a moment I thought it was magic. Just until I noticed more guards drawing back long drapes of dark curtains.

"Probably one of my favourite rooms in the entire palace." Liira's tone turned dreamy and following her gaze, I discovered why. "Here lives generations upon generations of the royals of Xatis."

I let Liira's hand go and floated deeper into the room, mesmerized by the amazing display of art. Potraits upon potraits of kings and queens standing beside their wolves, all the while appearing timeless. No introductions were necesary or perhaps I did not wish to have my show interrupted.

"But perhaps, this is what you are looking for." Liira pointed to a group of potraits that held an oddly familiar face. One look and I instantly knew why Liira had opted to show me. I drew closer, a smile splitting my lips with each step. He was definitely adorable. With a crown of unruly hair the young prince tugged at my heart.

In the first potrait an obvious frown spoke of one little boy that had been forced to stay still while the artist struggled to capture his image. He was sharply dressed in a small version of his current royal robes. In another potrait he seemed totally oblivious of the one who'd captured him. The little boy's attention was completely taken by something at his feet. In another he seemed to be tugging at his mother's gown, an unhappy expression pasted on his little face while Sarabeth remained poised. "He really did hate potraits, didn't he? I let out a chuckle while my heart warmed at the sight.

"Why are you intent on embarassing me, grandmother?"

Annoyance laced my mate's tone and when I turned to face him and spotted a familiar unhappy expression I couldn't hold the laughter.