Page 28 of Alpha's Magic

He had to explain to me then what that was, since I’d never heard of it before, and it made me a little sad. A trousseau, according to Rory, was the clothing, household goods and heirlooms of a newly married bride or omega. But I had nothing. Not even a single heirloom, nor one piece of clothing other than what Rory had loaned me.

I got a little sad over that, and Asher had to remind me that we were on our way to the capitol of Morovia, where they had a fine marketplace, where he promised that he would buy me an entire new wardrobe, including hats, if I just stopped crying. He said he was my husband now, and it was his responsibility to clothe me and buy all my headgear.

I was still really nervous, even though Asher held my hand tightly in his. It was mostly because of the priest who came in, dressed severely in black. He had a bald head mostly, but though the top was bare, there was a row of thin, longish blond hair stretching from just above his ears all the way around his head. He had mean little eyes and a long, beak-like nose that curved way down toward his chin, and all of that made him look like one of those big birds who perch on trees, waiting for animals to die. They made me shudder, and back when I lived in the cave, I used to throw rocks at them until Grimora made me stop. Then he’d give me the lecture again about the circle of life.

Anyway, the man or priest whose name Asher said was Latuma, said the words of the ceremony over us and read from the big book he held in front of him. I was afraid the words of the prayers would sting me like they had before, but Asher said some of his own words over me before the ceremony started, so that even though the words from the book did rise up and swarm over me as soon as they got the chance, they couldn’t find a way past Asher’s shield. They bounced off it and fell to the floor instead, where they made little popping sounds as they blew up. I was learning that it was handy to have a husband who was such a fine wizard.

Afterward, we drank a glass of champagne in Lex and Rory’s room—it was dry and bitter, and I didn’t like it much—and then all of us went down to the front entrance of the castle, where Asher’s horse was saddled up and ready for us. He hugged Lex and Rory and then he swung up in the saddle and picked me up to put me in front of him. I waved as we left the Igellan castle, and Rory called to me that he’d come visit me soon. A group of six soldiers fell in behind us to accompany us to the Igellan border.

I snuggled back against Asher’s warm body, and he wrapped his fur cape around us both. It was comfortable and warm, and I was still exhausted from my recent adventures, but I was excited and happy too.

After all, it wasn’t every day that a person was married to the handsome lord of their dreams, who then took him to Morovia to see the king.

****

Asher

We rode all day and stopped at an inn not far from the Morovian border to spend the night. With the recent improvements to the roads, we might have been able to make it all the way to the Morovian border if we’d kept going, but I knew Leo had some discomfort in his bottom—mostly because he kept shifting around on my lap trying to get comfortable, which left me hard and aching for him.

Finally, in an act of self-preservation, I suggested to our guards that we stop for the night. He had fallen asleep, so I just carried my omega in, rather than try to rouse him. He woke up quickly and was embarrassed. He fought me a little at being carried like a bride, but I simply took him straight upstairs, with the innkeeper running along after us, telling me he had his best room available, and it would take only minutes to get it ready for us.

“It’s ready enough,” I told him, and he bowed obsequiously and left us to it, while he found rooms for the rest of our party. After checking to make sure the sheets were clean, I put Leo down on top of the mattress and quickly got a blazing fire going in the hearth, hotter than anything the innkeeper could have done. Then I came back over to sit beside Leo and take his hand.

“I’m sorry if I made you unhappy, but it’s my responsibility to take care of you, and I intend to do that.”

“But I could have walked in on my own.”

“I didn’t want you to.”

“Oh. Well…I don’t know what to say to that, except…it’s very high-handed.”

I leaned down to kiss him, rather than keep arguing. “Do you want a bath?” I asked and he shook his head.

“Not tonight. Too cold.”

“But a bath will warm you up. And help with any soreness.”

He flushed dark red with embarrassment over that remark and turned his head. I kissed his cheek and went to the door to stop a passing maid scurrying past with an armful of bedding.

“As soon as you can, please send up a meal for us, along with water for a hot bath.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied with a quick curtsy, and I went back inside the room. I noticed Leo was trembling, so I sat down in a chair by the fireplace and patted my lap. “Come here, Leo.”

Darting quick looks at my face, he came over and sat down on my knee, close to the fire.

“It’s a cold night, but some hot food should help and then the bath. By morning, you should feel more like yourself. You’ve had a traumatic few days.”

“I never asked about the chimaera. Did you kill it?”

“Yes. It was young and there was something wrong with it. I think the practitioner who made it didn’t know what he was doing. He’s learning, though, if the wolves came from the same source.”

“But did they? Why were the wolves trying to kill me and Rory?”

“I don’t know, unless someone has a grudge against Rory. Or because someone has found out about who you really are and doesn’t want you talking to King Harrison.”

“You mean that someone knows I was cursed?”

“No. I think it’s more likely they found out who your father was and that you’re the rightful heir to the throne of Sudfarma. That’s what we need to talk to Harrison about. He needs to be aware of a dark practitioner operating in this area and about what happened to you and your family.”

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