Alliances Be Damned
Kane
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Queen Olga leads us to the adjoining throne room. At a long table sits the majority of our allies, old and new. Half of them have been ruling before I was even born, and the other half came into power with me around the same time. There are a few new faces, no doubt hoping to raise their cache through associating with more experienced monarchs.
I nod to several of the people at the table as I take my seat at one end. Queen Olga sits at the head of the table comfortable being in charge of this meeting. There is not much time for small talk. We launch immediately into discussing the war with Scarlett Thunder, the expense and potential casualties.
1 don’t see why I have to help fund another war you’re embroiled yourself in, Kane,” King Matthias remarks. “That pointless battle of wills with the wolves didn’t do you any good. It was a waste of time and
resources.
King Matthias was a peer of my father’s. He still tends to see me as the young king I used to be, despite my age. His kingdom is smaller with fewer resources than the others. I can understand his hesitance.
“I would prefer to avoid more bloodshed,” I say. “If King Peter would agree to stand down, we can avoid having to lose more warriors and assets.”
“Peter will not back down.” King Cyrus speaks up. “He’s stubborn as a mule. You’d have an easier time with an actual mule.”
“As long as I have known Peter, he’s never been good at compromising,” Queen Olga agrees. “You will need to offer him something he can’t refuse.”
“I heard he wants you to marry his daughter and claim her unborn child as yours,” King Matthias says, his blue eyes piercing into me. “I have also heard you’ve refused his demand and refuse to acknowledge the babe.”
“Princess Opal’s child is not mine,” I explain. “As much as she claims that I fathered her baby, it wasn’t me. I’ve never touched her.”
“Why does it matter who’s the father? You have an easy solution to avoid war. Marry the chit and play happy family with her. It’s not difficult.”
Telling them about Lex being the father of Opal’s baby will not help me. It will only serve to show how I have no control over the situation. It’s my word against King Peter’s, and he truly wants to believe that I’m the father of his unborn grandchild.
“I heard you got another woman pregnant,” Queen Desdemona joins the conversation. She’s a younger queen, having come into power a few decades ago. “Is it true you impregnated a feeder? A wolf shifter no less?”
1 stiffen and watch as the royals all whisper amongst themselves, a cacophony of noise that only ends when Queen Olga slams her goblet onto the table like a gavel, a bit of blood sloshing over the side. Her familiar blue eyes look into mine, and I can’t make out what she’s thinking.
“If you would answer the question, Kane,” she says. “Is it true about the feeder?”
“She was never truly a feeder, more like a political prisoner.”
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“But she is still a wolf shifter?” Desdemona asks.
I can’t lie, and I don’t want to. I’m not ashamed of Emory, but I know the people at this table. Most of them were raised to distrust wolf shifters and only see them as a source of blood. Even the most tolerant of them won’t consider a shifter as an equal.
“Yes,” I answer. “She is the new Alpha of the Moonraker pack.”
King Matthias’s blue eyes are wide in disbelief. “Isn’t that the same pack you’ve been at war with for the past decade?”
“I was warring with the previous Alpha, Bernard Moonraker. He is no longer in charge of the pack.”
“And his replacement is related to him?” Matthias questions.
“Emory is his eldest daughter.
Whispers erupt amongst the royals again. I feel out of control, unable to find my footing in this landslide of accusations. None of them will understand about Emory as they hadn’t been there to witness everything that had happened between us. From their perspective, I had shacked up with my former enemy’s daughter and gotten her pregnant.
“How are we supposed to believe you when you say you never touched Princess Opal when you clearly can’t keep your hands off any whore that comes your way-
I move before I even think about it, getting up from my seat and rushing toward King Matthias to grab him by the neck and slam him against the wall. “Don’t you dare call her that!”
King Cyrus grabs me by the shoulders and pulls me away. “Kane, o
don’t.”
I struggle in his grasp and another royal, King Basil, helps him keep me from lunging at King Matthias again. Anger makes my blood feel heated like it’s boiling under my skin. I want to rip King Matthias’s head from his neck.
“If you speak about Emory like that again, I’ll kill you myself,” I promise him. “Alliances be damned. You don’t get to talk about the woman I love like that.”
King Matthias rubs his neck, his face stony. “Alliances be damned then, Kane. You will not have my support from here on.”
He walks away from the room, leaving without looking back. King Cyrus still hasn’t released me, and he whispers in my ear, “Calm yourself before you burn every bridge in this room. Don’t be a fool.”
I look at my uncle’s familiar face, and I will myself to calm down. He has known me since I was born. If there is anyone in this room that has my back, it’s him. I glance past him at the royals seated at the long table, their pale eyes of red and blue staring at me curiously. Some of them are looking at me in accusation.
“I apologize for my behavior,” I say more to Queen Olga than anyone else. “It’s been a tense time.”
She nods and gestures to my seat. “I’m sure no offense is taken, Kane. Please tell us more about this Emory.”
I take my seat again, trying to hide my discomfort. “I would prefer not to talk about her. I want to keep my relationship and my unborn child as my own business. My personal life has no bearing on the war.”
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Queen Desdemona raises a blonde eyebrow at me. “From what we’ve seen, Kane, this war started because of your personal life. If we as your allies are to continue supporting you, we need to know what we’re getting into.”
“We have our own people at stake,” King Basil points out. “As much as I consider you a friend, Kane, I have to put my kingdom first, especially if this is going to be another senseless war.”
King Cyrus nods. “They are right, nephew. Blood and gold runs dry for everyone eventually. And with no allies, this could mark the end of your rule.”
“And that is why I ask you again to tell me more about this woman you are fighting a war over,” Queen Olga tells me. “She must be extraordinary to be worth all the trouble.”
Emory
I wake up in the middle of the night. The room is shrouded in darkness, and it takes my eyes a moment to adjust. There’s someone in the room. I sit upright and turn on the lamp on the bedside table to see who it is.
I let out a sigh of relief when I see it’s Kane. “You scared me.”
He walks over from where he’s standing by the doorway and sits at the foot of the bed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“You’re back already?” I ask. 1 thought you were going to be in Sardonia for the rest of the week”
“Plans changed.”
The vagueness of his reply spurns me to ask, “Did something happen with the meeting?”
He takes my hand in his. “There’s nothing you need to worry about. Everything is fine.”
“And yet, you’re back early so either everything went really well, or it all went really bad with the royals.”
“I’ve been doing this for a long time. Things never go really well for me, but I succeed regardless of whatever happens.” He brings my hand up to his mouth and kisses my knuckles. “You know what Dr. Martin said about stress. Please don’t worry yourself over this.”
I’m always tired or unwell. Some days, I can barely do anything but lie in bed. I feel like an invalid as my body betrays me. I’m not used to feeling so weak, and it frustrates me. “I keep wondering why I don’t have that pregnancy glow they talk about,” I tell him. “I feel like a wilting plant.
Ok like it too.”
“You’re beautiful.”
“You need to get your eyes checked. I haven’t showered recently. I haven’t even brushed my hair.”
He smiles and gently runs his hand through my messy red locks. “You’re beautiful to me, always. Even when you don’t feel like you are.”
I swat his hand away and lie back down in bed. “It’s unfair for you to say that. You look perfect all the time.”
I glare at his handsome face. He always looks good whether he has just woken up or is sweaty from
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Allances Be Damned
sparring with Rainer. He is even more attractive when he’s in disarray, less god–like and touchable. If there is ever an example that the world is an unfair place, Kane’s good looks are proof.
He looks amused as he lies down beside me, wrapping his arms around me. “I’m sorry?”
“Don’t you dare apologize for being hot. That doesn’t help anything.”
He laughs, his warm breaths tickling my skin. “I can’t help it.”
“Whoever made vampires really made sure you could entice victims by being so pretty. It’s ridiculous.”
“We have to eat somehow.”
I roll my eyes as he laughs again. I watch the mirth on his face and let myself bask in the relief of having him back with me. He was gone for less than two days, but I missed him like a widow whose husband had been lost at sea. Even Lola commented that I was moping around the castle.
“I missed you,” I confess. “Never leave me again.”
He smiles and kisses the top of my head. “I missed you too. My trip might’ve been better if you were with
- me.
“Are you allowed to take me with you next time?”
“Allowed?” he repeats. “I’m a king. No one ‘allows‘ me anything. I can do as I please.”
I roll my eyes and slap his shoulder. “You know what I mean.
“I’ll take you with me next time,” he promises. “My Uncle Cyrus wants to meet you. You’d like Cerise Port. It’s a coastal town and very picturesque.”
“Queen Agatha told me about her birth kingdom. Did you spend a lot of time there when you were younger?”
“My mother would take Lex and me to visit, especially in the summers. It’s a smaller kingdom, and they’re less formal there. We could be amongst the common folk without anyone batting an eye.”
“You just got to be like everyone else,” I tease him.
“It was nice. When we got older, I would send Lex there when he was being a bother here in court. Uncle Cyrus was good at keeping him out of trouble. Lex actually listened to him.”
The reminder of Lex makes me wonder how Kane’s brother is doing at Scarlett Thunder. Kane has told me that Lex is keeping his head down, and I hope he is safe.
“You said your uncle wants to meet me,” I say. “Does he know about the pregnancy?”
“He knows, and he’s supportive,” Kane replies. “We should go visit him soon. He’s always been one of my most loyal allies.”
smile. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
