Page 16 of King of Pride and Talons

Then Breya's own cock-eyed smirk spread over her face. Thorne glowered at her but only in jest.

"My, you certainly had me there."

Breya chuckled, covering her mouth as she rocked back and forth on the chair. It was the most angelic sound the king had ever heard.

“Jeez, you turned as white as a ghost!” she said, giggling through her fingers. “I didn't mean to bother you that much, I only wanted to play around..."

Breya's mood suddenly changed like the flick of a switch. "Oh, someone's coming," she murmured, a little alarmed.

Before Thorne had a second to respond, there was a knock on the door. They were eating in his private kitchen, and only a few of his most trusted and loyal housekeepers had access to the wing.

“Come in."

Leon was a sage lion shifter who had traded in his soldiering days for serving the king more personally. He was cordial and delicate, apt at reading the room with his quiet intensity. Especially when the king was entertaining a woman.

He stepped into the room with a regal stance, bowing his head momentarily before addressing his ruler.

“My King.”

“Leon, what do you have for me?"

"I apologize for the intrusion, My King, but the hour for your daily meeting with Samson has passed. Should I inform him that your attention is elsewhere?"

Thorne grumbled but there were a few things that needed taking care of.

“I will do my best not to be long,” he said, kissing the top of her head and taking a deep gulp of her fragrance. "Feel free to explore the palace as much as you want. Ask one of the housekeepers to show you around. You are free to look anywhere."

She nodded, her cheeks still deliciously rosy.

“Go. Be a king."

He pried himself from her and followed behind Leon with a long, gruff sigh.

“She is lovely," the servant remarked.

“She is beyond lovely. Possibly the loveliest thing I've ever seen.”

They walked down the corridors, slants of bright golden light leading their way over the parquet hardwood. Though his lion crooned inside him to make Breya his with a mark of matehood, her mere presence had brought a hush over his angsty nature.

Excitement stirred beneath that hush. He felt like a child wanting to brag about their latest gift. He needed to share it with his consults first in the proper format, then with his people. Then, he would trumpet it to the heavens above.

Thorne walked into his office brashly, his long strides drumming against the silk Persian patterned rug. Waiting for him inside were his assistant, Samson, his two royal consults, June and Beau, and his bulking enforcer, Vale.

Samson was talkative and shrewd, but the king relied on his blunt nature to keep from falling too hard upon the side of logic or emotion. His consults June and Beau were middle-aged and experienced, having been members of the Wildwoods Lion Council since their early thirties. Vale was all bite, no bark, built like a mountain and just as majestic.

It wasn't that Thorne simply wanted their advice as lion shifters. He queried opinions from different perspectives in order to make a justifiable and reasonable decision. He had been ruling for some time, and none of them had ever led him astray.

But when it came to his fated mate, there wasn't anything that would sway him.

“Start planning a ball," Thorne said, pointing a long finger at Samson.

Samson snorted, winced, and then scowled all in a fraction of a few seconds.

“Wait, you are serious, My King? For when?"

“Tonight.” Thorne turned to Vale, whose expression remained unperturbed. “Get the team together. We are going to need everyone on board for the celebratory event."

“And what exactly are you celebrating?" Samson said wryly.

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