Page 18 of Chained

Her hands dropped, and she straightened her curvaceous body, the folds of her work uniform spilling over the swell of her breasts. “You don’t need me?”

“Stop being like this. That fae is already proving to be a pain in my ass. Please don’t add to my problems by being one, too.”

Stralia hung her head apologetically and stepped back, folding her hands in front of her. “I’m not trying to cause you problems, Cade,” she mumbled. “I just want to be sure of my place in your heart.”

“You know where you stand with me,” I insisted. “That won’t change.”

Happily, she lifted her head and met my eyes. “You promise?”

I grimaced, not liking this emotional chokehold she was putting me in. “Stralia, this really isn’t the time, and you shouldn’t be here. Stop coming around unannounced. I have no idea where Zephyrine has found herself in the palace. Grisella warned her not to wander, but now that I’ve met her, I don’t think she’s likely to take that advice.”

Stralia’s face shifted. “You’ve met her?” she echoed, inching closer, her green eyes narrowing.

I cringed inwardly, realizing my mistake. I shouldn’t have said anything to her.

“I’m training her under the guise of being a servant,” I explained. There was no point in lying. Eventually, Stralia was going to find out what I was doing, anyway; the staff was well known for their ability to gossip. “She doesn’t know who I really am. I wanted to get a handle on her personality.”

“And?” Stralia demanded suspiciously.

I eyed my long-standing lover, realizing just how different Zephyrine was, not only physically, but in demeanor as well. I shrugged off the mental comparison.

“She’ll need more training before she takes the crown,” I remarked dryly, but evasively.

I couldn’t give Stralia any hope—there was none to give her. In no world could Stralia ever be queen, nor could I imagine her bearing my children, lovely as she was. As the daughter of a stable hand, it had never been in the cards, regardless of my personal opinion. Ironhelm wouldn’t accept it.

“Oh, my poor darling,” Stralia moaned, cupping my face worriedly. “How are you ever expected to keep this up?”

“It’s for the good of the kingdom,” I insisted, ducking out of her embrace. Her touch was annoying me. “Stralia, go now, please, and don’t make me tell you again. Am I making myself crystal clear when I say don’t come back to my suite if I haven’t asked you to be here?”

Visibly upset, she allowed her arms to fall to her side, and she nodded.

“Yes, Alpha,” she mumbled, blinking rapidly. “I-I’m sorry.”

She hurried out of my chambers, and I swallowed a groan, my erection still half-formed, but I no longer knew who it was for.

Nothing a cold shower wouldn’t solve, I decided. Then I could figure out what to do about the petulant queen-to-be.

Chapter5

Zephy

Irefused to sit around the suite after I found my bit of solace in fantasy. I didn’t call on Maywin, either. I sensed her nerves were far too frayed for me to collect her on my unsanctioned tour of the palace and left her to rest as I peeked out into the hallway and peered through the corridor to ensure I wasn’t being spied on. I couldn’t attest to the security cameras—which I couldn’t see but was sure lurked in every corner—as I stepped back into the hall. My hand slipped around my neck to embrace the compass that hung between a pewter chain, which my mother had given me before leaving Carrottrove, her words still echoing in my mind as I tried to keep an inconspicuous pace.

“Why me, Mom?” I could hear myself plaintively wailing like I was a girl of five and not a fully grown woman. “Why can’t the King find someone else to marry?”

“This is the way of the world, sweet,” my mother had sighed, the regret in her tone palpable. “It is how things are done. I shouldn’t have to explain it to you at your age.”

“I don’t want to marry a stranger!”

“Sometimes we make sacrifices for the betterment of Ironhelm, Zephy. This is our kingdom, the strongest of the four kingdoms of Mystara, in my opinion. You should be honored to be marrying such a powerful alpha king,” she insisted. “You must put aside your childish wants and desires and remember that you have your own power to contribute to this world.”

I thought of my abilities, my eyes narrowing, but she shook her head before I could ask. “You must never display your unique magic to anyone,” she warned. “Not even the Alpha King of Ironhelm—unless you’re sure you can trust him.”

It had been then that my mother, Sabine, had slid the tiny silver compass into my hand and closed my fingers tightly around it. “And if you ever feel like you’re losing your way, look at this for guidance.”

“What is it, Mom?”

“You don’t know a compass when you see one, sweet?” she chuckled, but the smile didn’t meet her smoldering dark eyes, so akin to my own. “My own mother gave it to me the day that I married your father, and her mother gave it to her.”

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