Page 116 of The Royal Marriage Alliance

Was it really only a day that he was unconscious? It felt like so much longer. I missed him so much.

“Never do that again,” I scold him.

He chuckles. “Which part?”

“Any of it.” I bury my face against his neck, just enjoying the feeling of him embracing me.

“Don’t cry.” Stellan kisses the top of my head. “I’m sorry I scared you, but I’m okay now.”

I lift my head so I can look at him. He uses his thumbs to wipe away the tears from under my eyes.

“I love you and nothing is going to take me away from you.” He looks into my eyes as he makes the promise. “You and I are going to grow old together and we’re going to have the happiest of lives.”

“That sounds really good.”

He pulls me into his arms again. I get a look at the rest of the room and see that his family has cleared out to give us some time alone. I’ll have to thank them for that later.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up. Your dad made me go to a council meeting,” I tell him.

“Oh?” he asks, then pauses. “Oh. You had to tell them about the pregnancy, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” I sigh, leaning further against him. “I’m sorry. I wanted to wait for you.”

“It’s all right.” He rubs his thumb against my lower back, making me shiver. “We just need to tell Cypress before word gets out. Maybe in a couple of days, we can fly to see him so we can tell him in person. I deserve a vacation after everything the council has put me through.”

I grin. “You’d really want to visit my family?”

“Absolutely.” Stellan kisses my cheek. “After all, I did promise we could go see your little brother anytime you want.”

He did promise that, on our wedding night. That was also the first time I cried in front of him.

“I made a lot of mistakes on our wedding night.” Stellan brushes the hair back out of my face. “The first was letting you sleep in your own room. If I had been smart, I never would’ve let you go off alone.”

I smile, glancing up at him. “Yes, but I’m not sure I wanted to sleep with you on our wedding night. I think it was perfect the way it happened.”

“I could’ve been a lot nicer to you,” he says.

“Absolutely you could have,” I tease. “But I like that our relationship progressed naturally, even if I fell in love with you incredibly fast.”

“I fell for you very quickly too.” He continues to swipe his thumb against the small of my back. “But maybe you’re right that it was perfect timing. Because I got you in the end, and nothing could make me happier.”

I lean forward and press my lips against his. “I love you, Stellan,” I mumble against his lips.

He kisses me back hard and then he backs up to look at me. “I love you, Wisteria Basilicus.”

My heart skips a beat and I think it will every time I hear his last name attached to my first.

Neither one of us chose this marriage, but as it turned out, it was exactly what we both needed.

Epilogue

What fairytales are made of.

Wisteria

An entire kingdom of people waited anxiously for the birth of my children.

Scratch that, the entire supernatural community was waiting. But none of them were as anxious as Stellan.

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