Page 34 of Rejected By the Shifter King
Chapter Eleven
TWO WEEKS HAD ALREADYpassed since the consummation of the royal couple's marriage, and as the twins expected, their prince's mood had improved by leaps and bounds. He spoke more often now, too, and spent less time in Ammon's form. More importantly, he no longer seemed inclined to chew heads off anytime a guy's glance lingered on Estrella for more than a second. Nowadays, men foolish enough to still persist in courting the princess, hoping she would choose one of them over the prince, only had their kneecaps crushed under Lysander's mighty paws.
It was all about timing, and in the prince's case, one had to wait until he had the look of someone who had most recently enjoyed his wife's...attentions. These were the times the prince would be in a more relaxed and generous frame of mind, and it was why the most idiotic of Estrella's suitors were still alive and in one piece. A broken kneecap or two might hurt as fuck, but it was still reparable at least. Lost, spat-out body parts would've remained...lost.
Back in the day, Lysander had been the most uncompromising and staunchly traditional individual, and it was rather ironic that having an ancient beast rest inside of him would turn out to be the key to making the Fae prince more inclined to concessions.
That...and sex.
Lots and lots and lots andlotsof sex.
And such things could happen at anytime of the day -
Like now.
The twins remained poker-faced while standing guard outside the van, which had been rocking for the past twenty-five minutes like it alone was suffering from a magnitude 10 earthquake. On one hand, the fact that just about anything could make Lysander hunger for his wife's touch might pose a problem during formal occasions like the monthly assemblies at L'Alliance. But if, on the other hand, this was all it took to keep Lysander's inner beast safely leashed...
Just one more week, Alain thought. If this one week could end without any incident, then they could finally submit their formal application to the L'Alliance and have the prince's request of membership put to vote.
Another ten minutes had passed before the van door slid open, and the twins along with the two other soldiers with them were allowed back in. Their prince was lounging lazily in one of the captain seats, one arm around a red-faced Estrella, who was seated on his lap.
The air inside the van was still thick with the scent of sex, but Lysander's men were now used to ignoring this. Estrella, however, was not, and she still couldn't help cringing and squirming, knowing that everyone knew exactly why Lysander had suddenly ordered the soldier behind the wheel to pull over and got everyone out in the middle of the highway.
It wasn't that she didn't enjoy Lysander's attentions, but did they really have to do it every time his cock so much as twitched in her presence? At the rate things were going, she had a feeling she'd be barefoot and pregnant before the next full moon—-
I'd like that.
Estrella made a face even as her cheeks became flushed with pleasure at his words.Truly?
Lysander placed a hand over his wife's flat belly.I would love to see this round with my child.
Her toes curled. Oh, Lys.And this time, she couldn't care what anyone else thought. She just had to throw her arms around his neck because she was so, so happy.I love you.
Lysander pressed a kiss to the top of her head.Thank you.
It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but neither did the words make her sad. Lysander had chosen her to be his wife, and thathadto mean something. She just had to be patient. One day, he would love her back.
****
THE ALLARDS' ESTATEin Coral Springs was over two centuries old, a small but handsome manor surrounded by red maples and hornbeams and with private access to a small, sparkling lake at the back. Day or night, the home made an undeniably charming picture, but just as undeniable was how inadequate the place was to serve as the official seat of the Fae's ruling family.
One look was enough for Lysander to know that countless repairs had yet to be done, and the property was practically falling apart. A snarl of rage tore past his fangs, and Estrella turned to him in surprise.Lysander?
He had jumped out of the van upon his first sight of the property and landed on all fours, having shifted mid-leap. After asking Estrella to climb on his back and hold on, he tore off, his limbs devouring the distance in breaknecking speed until they found themselves atop a small hill, and the full expanse of the estate spread out below them.
Estrella could feel her husband's displeasure growing by the second.Lysander? What's wrong?
This place isn't fit for a woman like you.Lysander's bitter tone reflected his inner turmoil.In the past few days, the twins had helped bring him up to speed about the strange new world they now lived in. And it was new, despite looking no different on the surface.
Like Estrella had once told him, preters were now a celebrity obsession, and even the fact that Lysander was more beast than Fae now wasn't enough to terrify humans into keeping their distance. Preters of all kinds fascinated them, and media coverage that showed Lysander in beast form coming to Estrella's rescue had actually resulted into a 5,000 percent spike on Google searches for "dino porn". Even the self-published author of Bigfoot erotica books had credited Lysander for the huge and sudden jump in her book sales.
The whole thing was absurd, but even so, he might've found the humor in it...if not for the periodic mention of Domenico Moretti in the very same reports.Pampered baby sister. Privileged existence. Never worked a day in her life.That was who Estrella had been with Domenico.
But the moment she had worn his ring on her finger, she had to publicly distance herself from her pack, move into an old, rundown manor and inherit a mountain of problems that Lysander's disappearance had left behind.
So fuck no, it just wasn't a matter of this place not being fit for her. He himself wasn't fit for her—-
