Page 8 of Fated Moons
He cleared his throat, trying not to notice the menacingly tall man with eyes that were almost black standing behind her.
“I don’t think we’ve ever met,” she said, her smile small but still sweet. “I’m Amanda Windsor.”
He nodded. “Am I supposed to call you Lady or Princess or something?”
“I prefer Amanda, but if you must know, my official title is Lady until I marry, then it will be Princess, but we really don’t take much stock in that these days.”
“All right. Amanda, it is.” He shoved his trembling hand out. “I’m Jackson.”
She nodded. “This is my dad, Alfred.”
“You can call me Alfred, except in public, and then I do prefer Prince Alfred.” His low voice rumbled, rattling Jackson’s chest like an earthquake. “I’m not sure if you remember, but we met shortly after the trial.”
Nothing like jumping right into the past and his father.
“I remember, sir. You came to my home.” Jackson would never forget that day. He’d been so in awe of Prince Alfred and the way he spoke to his mother. His words were soft and kind. As if what her husband had done had nothing to do with her or her children.
“You did what?” Amanda snapped her head in the direction of her father. “Why didn’t I know this?”
“You were six years old at the time. Why would you know?” Her father draped a large hand over her shoulder.
She wasn’t short by any means, but she looked dwarfed against her father’s frame.
At six foot two, Jackson had to tilt his head to look the man in the eye. Those eyes had both terrified and inspired him all those years ago.
“I wanted to let his family know that we didn’t hold anyone but his father responsible for your uncle’s murder.”
“My mother always appreciated the gesture; only the rest of your family didn’t see it the same way.” Jackson chomped on the inside of his cheek before continuing down this dangerous path of repeating what Princess Alley had stated privately and publicly. She’d all but threatened to cast spells over Jackson and his family. Who knew, maybe they had. Jackson knew very little about witches and their magic, and he preferred to keep it that way. He didn’t socialize with any witches that he knew of, except Trask, but he was a wizard fairy. A different being altogether. Instead, he kept his circle of friends to humans, shifters, and a few wolves who did their best to forget the shame his father had brought.
“It was a difficult time for everyone, which is why I’m here. I want to minimize any bad publicity for my daughter. And for you.”
“Please, come in, come in,” Paul said, rushing over, waving Amanda and her father into the office. “Thank you so much for coming.”
An awkward silence filled the room as Prince Alfred took the large wingback chair in the corner, leaving the small love seat to Amanda and Jackson. She eyed him before sitting down and crossing a set of toned legs that went on forever, shaped by formfitting jeans that did their best to contain a few more specks of fairy dust.
He swallowed, taking a seat next to her, trying desperately not to touch her for fear that he’d growl like a horny pup.
A few more fairy particles eased off her forearm, landing on his skin and worming their way inside his body. They felt warm and cozy. He rubbed his biceps, wondering if this was some witch trick, but it seemed he was the only person who saw it.
He had no idea what to make of that.
“My secretary has been fielding calls all morning, and there is a lot of speculation about who is being cast in this film alongsideJackson, so the sooner we make a statement to the press, the better,” Paul said with a slight tremor in his voice. “We will do whatever you think is best for both parties.”
Prince Albert leaned back, folding one massive leg over the other. Jackson thought he looked more like the mob than royalty. There were a half dozen rumors about dark magic and the royal family since they’d risen thousands of years ago during the witch hunt of the fourteenth century. It was believed that the Windsors weren’t really the bloodline of the Coven of the Silver Flock. That black magic had been used to remove the royal family, replacing them with witches and warlocks, posing as wizards, who dabbled in the dark side, waiting for the opportunity to create mayhem.
Of course, according to the laws of the Twilight Crossing Council, this had been debunked through years of watching and interviewing the royal family. While there were still rumors, and Twilight Officers investigated credible ones, nothing ever came of it.
“I’m happy to give the press conference on behalf of the royal family. When would you like that to take place?” Prince Albert asked.
“This afternoon.” Paul leaned against his desk.
“That’s not a problem. However, the only members of the royal family who will be present are myself, my wife and daughters, and of course, we’d expect Jackson to be present.”
“Wait.” Paul raised his hand. “What about Princess Alley? She’s been the most outspoken against Jackson’s family. Having her there would be most beneficial.”
“I’m sorry. My sister won’t be giving her blessing, but I will speak to her and make sure she makes no negative statements. She has always supported Amanda’s career and she wouldn’t want to cause her any harm.”
It didn’t surprise Jackson that Princess Alley wouldn’t attend, considering she’d said publicly time and time again that wolves were dirty creatures. Savages. Murderers. And they should all be banished. She wasn’t fond of wolfairies either. Whether she had believed that before the murder or not didn’t matter.
