We arrived at the palace in the dead of night. It was agreed by Von, Bryn and myself along with the dozen Hunter guards Von brought, that the cover of darkness would keep my return a secret. At least until we were all safely within the walls and the guards could establish their protective perimeter. The existing palace guards, vigilant, as I expected, allowed Von’s team onto the grounds on my orders and his men took control of my wing of the property. I informed them not to wake my mother or my sister, for a reunion at such a late hour was not necessary. Morning would be soon enough to deal with my sister’s tears and my mother’s theatrics.
And so I ensured Lexi, Katie and their mates had rooms of their own before I led Dani to mine. I refused to claim her final virginity. We were both too tired, and I wanted my mate wide awake when I took her sweet pussy. I would be on her for hours, making her come again and again. It was not the time.
Instead, she surprised me by dropping to her knees and taking my cock deep into her throat. While her motions were that of a novice, it was this innocence—and eagerness—that had me coming in hot spurts quickly down her throat. Loving the satisfied glean in her eye, I tossed her onto my large bed, pushed her thighs apart and worked her with my mouth and fingers until she cried out my name, over and over until she passed out. Only then did I tuck her into my arms and sleep.
With the light of day, my eagerness for my mate had not diminished. As Bryn had said, I doubted it ever would. Lying naked, wrapped around my soft, beautiful mate, I had no interest in ever leaving my rooms, let alone the bed. She was sound asleep, curled against my side with a contented smile on her face, even in slumber.
My chest filled with a pride I’d never felt before, knowing I’d made her happy, made her discover the pleasures of her body only I could give her. That she was safe and perfect and mine.
One more step, the final claiming, remained and my sated cock grew hard at the thought, even as the noise outside our bedchamber rose as the Hunters Von had brought with him from his team on Feris 5, the men he trusted with his mate’s life, and mine, stood guard. From what I could hear, they were refusing entrance to the one person I was not excited to see.
Mauve.
Obviously, word of my return had spread through the palace and my respite was over.
Her shrill, demanding voice carried, as did the quieter platitudes of my sister somewhere behind her, trying to talk sense into the older woman. Patience had never been one of my mother’s virtues. Nor obedience, and right now, Von was taking the brunt of it.
And not backing down.
My grin grew wider as he calmly told her to go sit and watch some comm vids and wait. He knew what we were doing in here, our need for privacy. I respected him more for his understanding that Dani and I needed to be together. Alone. It didn’t matter that I’d been kidnapped and left for dead. I had my Marked Mate and nothing—not even my mother—was going to keep me from being with her. While I’d hoped to claim her final virginity this morning, it was not to be. The role of prince would have to take precedence. For now.
Next to me, Dani stirred, her blue eyes blinking slowly. When her gaze settled on me, the tenderness I saw was nearly my undoing. I couldn’t stop myself; I leaned down and kissed her softly. Gently. With all the strange new emotions stirring to life in my heart.
I had expected the pairing between Marked Mates to be explosive, full of lust and desire. But I was wholly unprepared for the gentleness Dani was using to conquer me. I doubted she even knew she held such power.
“Hello, there,” she whispered, holding my gaze. Her hand wrapped around my neck and she pulled me down for another kiss.
I didn’t even try to resist. Why would I?
“Let me into that room this instant, or I’ll give orders to have you removed from this door and left to rot in the dungeon.” Mauve’s command reached Dani’s ears and she pulled back, staring up at me with a bit of mischief in her eyes.
“I assume that’s your mother?”
I grinned back. “In all her shrill glory.”
Dani lifted her face, kissing me quickly, then shoved me away and burrowed under the covers. “You better go take care of that. I don’t want to meet my future mother-in-law naked.”
It wasn’t my mother I was concerned about. It was more that I had no intention of allowing the other guards who would storm the room with my mother to see Dani in such a vulnerable state. She’d been fierce when she’d come to my rescue, strong. But with me, she allowed herself to be gentle. Weak. Submissive. That trust was not one I would betray, not in the smallest way. And that meant keeping everyone out of this bedroom.
“No one will disturb you, mate. Take your time. Come meet her when you are ready. The guards at the door will escort you.”
She nodded, her eyes round with worry. “She’s going to hate me, isn’t she?”
I stroked my knuckles down her cheek, wishing the annoying woman in the hallway gone so I could settle beside Dani, hold her close and just…be.
“She will adore you.” I leaned down and took my time kissing her, making sure she knew who she belonged to. “As I do.”
She jumped when a loud pounding started on the door, followed by Von’s voice. “You better get out here, Gage. Before things get ugly.” There was laughter in his voice, which did not please my mother.
“I will see my son. Now! You arrogant, elitist male, get the hell out of my way.”
“Coming,” I shouted out and Dani giggled when she heard my mother huff away from the door.
“About time. How long does that kind of thing take, big brother?” A laughing, feminine voice asked, and I glanced at Dani to see her cheeks turn pink in embarrassment, even though we hadn’t even been doing any of the things Rayla teased about.
“Your sister?” she whispered.
“My sister,” I murmured back.
“Oh, God.” She rolled over and pulled the pillow over her head. “I’m never coming out of this room.”
I laughed, climbed from the bed and prepared to face my family.
I went to my closet and pulled on the formal attire expected of the royal elite, those who served on the council of the Seven. I glanced longingly at the uniform I had borrowed from Bryn, the dark brown Hunter’s jacket and pants piled on the floor where I’d let them fall the night before, feeling strangely saddened. Why was I suddenly annoyed at the lack of variety and choice in my wardrobe?
No. Not just my clothing. My education. My choice of mate. My future.
My life. It had all been laid out for me like a too-tight, formal suit. Since birth. And I’d been wearing it without complaint until the mark on my hand flared to life. Until Danielle saved not just my life, but my soul.
I opened the door, slipped out and quickly closed it behind me, making sure to block my much shorter female family members from peeking around me. The Hunters knew better than to try to get a glance at my mate. They stood back a respectable distance, all except Von, whose back was to the door, his chest blocking my mother. He’d just recently found his own mate, claimed her in the planetary custom. He knew being interrupted was not what I wanted now, even if I was a prince and a member of the Seven.
Gripping him on the shoulder in thanks, I stepped out into the hallway. I glanced back at him, and he knew what I wanted before I spoke.
“No one will disturb her. You have my word.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded.
“I will greet you both, but not here in the hallway,” I said to Rayla and Mauve. “I will not have my mate’s rest disturbed.”
I walked past my mother and sister to the family’s private sitting area. I went barefoot, because I felt like it, and I knew the lack of decorum would irritate my mother.
The moment I stopped moving, Rayla threw herself into my arms. “Thank the gods, Gage! I thought you were dead.”
She held me tightly, sobbing, as her mother stood stiff-lipped, her chin inclined. Mauve’s gaze was cloudy, shadowed by obvious pain, but I doubted that pain was for
me.
Rayla had always been Mother’s pride and joy. Her most precious jewel. The most pampered and protected female in the capital. The surest way to distress my mother was to hurt Rayla.
I rubbed Rayla’s back, my gaze searching the guards who had accompanied them, knowing I would find one set of eyes locked on my sister.
Elon was there, his hand on his weapon, gaze darting to his mate, safe in my arms, to the other Hunters surrounding us. Von had brought twelve warriors to the palace and six of them surrounded me now. And my sister.
I held Elon’s gaze, just long enough to let him know nothing would happen to her. He didn’t know Von’s warriors who stood beside him, but I trusted Von, and Elon would have to as well. Satisfied, his stance softened, but he continued to watch every move in the room, as did his two most trusted friends and fellow Hunters, Geoffrey and Thomar. For the first time, looking at Von and Bryn, I understood what that kind of brotherhood really meant. It was powerful, knowing I could walk away, and both Von and Bryn would die to protect what was mine. I would do no less for them, for my Danielle’s friends, Lexi and Katie.
We would kill without hesitation. All of us. From an Elite Hunter, I expected nothing less.
His devotion to my sister was obvious. I recognized the look in his eyes. The possession. The hunger. My sister was his, and I respected that, because it was her choice as well. She’d told me as much when I told her I’d found my Marked Mate, before the attack that had nearly cost me my life. I said nothing, as I had no idea if she’d revealed her choice to Mother yet. It was not my place to say.
Based on the indulgent look the older woman gave us, I suspected my little sister had kept her love affair a secret.
With a sigh, we settled in the living area of my wing. Katie and Lexi appeared, settling in one of the chairs, Lexi on the center and Katie on the arm, after introductions were made. Bryn stood behind them, glaring at Mauve’s men. Obviously, they had not been part of the original plan. No one was to be trusted and having potential threats within arm’s reach of his mate made the Hunter tense.
Von remained where I’d left him, guarding what was precious to me. Even without him, there was standing room only along the edges of the room as Von’s warriors stood shoulder to shoulder with the palace guards that always accompanied my mother.
I informed them of what had happened to me, although I left out the gruesome details for the women’s sakes. It wasn’t something I wanted to recount anyway and was irrelevant. I had survived. That was the only thing that mattered now.
I spoke of Von and Bryn finding me, bringing me here, to a safe place. I did not say a word about Dani tracking me through our dreams, of her skills on a hunt. There had been no women Hunters in decades. But more than that, I didn’t want the traitor, should he be in this room, to consider my mate a threat. If they wanted to assume she was meek, too weary from her mate claiming her to be present, then so be it.
“We should call an emergency meeting of the Seven,” Mauve insisted. “Move up your ascension ceremony to tomorrow. We can’t risk you again, Gage.” She sat opposite me in a chair, her back ramrod straight, her bearing regal. As it always was.
Normally, I disagreed with her on most political issues. But in this, her reasoning was sound, if unreasonable. “Mother, the anniversary of father’s death is two days away. You know, as well as I, that the other members of the Seven will not welcome such a breach in protocol.”
“It’s tradition, nothing more. There are no laws to forbid it.” Mother was not one to play by the rules: not if bending them benefited her family.
And the sooner I took my place on the council, the sooner I’d have full access to my father’s power and contacts. I had been in an advisory role for the past year, attending meetings, not allowed to vote. But in two days, I would be fully recognized, as powerful as any other member of the Seven. A true force to be reckoned with, the entirety of Everian military warriors and Elite Hunters mine to command. I could even request assistance from the Coalition Fleet or their dangerous and powerful Intelligence Core.
At the moment, I was an enemy to be feared. After the ascension? I’d be a demon to those who threatened what was mine.
Our family wealth was substantial, but when surrounded by enemies, nothing was more helpful in protecting what was mine than powerful friends. “I agree. Two days was fine, but if it could be tomorrow instead, it would be better.” I looked to Bryn. “Safer.”
I met his gaze. If the ascension was moved up, any plans in place to do me harm during the ceremony could be impacted. He nodded.
She took a deep breath, and I watched her mentally make the calculations. “Yes. But it will not be a full coronation. We will have to host the ball at our home.”
“A ball? Wonderful!” Rayla beamed. “I have a new blue dress, Gage. You must see it. It matches my eyes.”
Rayla was so young, so innocent. So full of joy in the world. She was intelligent and well-educated, but not yet hardened by life. I wanted to keep her that way, and I glanced at Elon, hoping he would see to it.
“I’m sure you will look beautiful, as always. And having the ball at the palace will help with security. A smaller event. Easier to secure.”
“Excellent.” Mauve was grinning ear-to-ear now. “We’ll use the coronation ball to announce your engagement! It will be perfect.”
“Excuse me?” Dani’s voice hit the room like a thunderclap and everyone went silent, swiveling to see who spoke.
My sister froze, her hand twisting in mine. My mother took her time, turning to inspect the woman I’d claimed as my own. Dani stood behind her, Von protectively at her back, blocking her from my mother’s men. I owed him. A lot.
“Did you say engagement? But I thought…”
Her gaze darted to mine and I came to my feet instantly, going to her side. I pulled her into my arms, breathing her scent deeply into my lungs.
She was freshly showered, her damp hair curling at the ends to display her delicate face. She was so small next to me, much smaller than Mauve, and she wore borrowed clothing as well: Katie’s soft black pants rolled up around her ankles. The shirt she wore was the one I’d tossed onto the floor when I took her. She was drenched in my scent, and I couldn’t stop the feral pride that raced through me as she stood, barefoot, and stared down my mother.
“Danielle, my heart, this is Mauve, my mother.” When neither one of them moved, I continued. “Mother, we talked of this before I left for the Touchstone. This is my Marked Mate, Danielle, from Earth. She came to Everis as an Interstellar Bride, from a planet called Earth. I told you of a Marked Mate the morning after our first dream share.”
“Yes, but I thought…I mean, you said you never made it to the Touchstone. That you were kidnapped before you arrived. I just assumed—”
“She is my Marked Mate, Mother. Nothing, not even being kidnapped, could keep us apart.”
“But you’re a prince!”
“She’s mine.”
My mother scoffed, the sound making me want to break something. “But you belong to Everis, my son. She is from Earth. From what I’ve read, they are a new, very primitive culture barely admitted to the Coalition of Planets. The people will not accept her, Gage. You can not be mated to some—pardon me, dearest—” That was addressed to Danielle before she returned her gaze to me. “—some unknown commoner from an uncivilized world. Your desire for a Marked Mate is trumped by your duty to your people. Your responsibility to the Seven, to the stability of our planet, outweighs mere longing.”
“Mother.” It was the only warning I was going to give her.
“Keep her as your lover, Gage. Surely. Privately.” Mauve finally held out her hand to Danielle, but not in welcome. More like a queen expecting a pauper to kiss her rings. “But you must marry someone worthy to be by your side.” Her gaze returned to Danielle. “You know nothing of our ways, Danielle from Earth. Nothing of the duties and expectations of a princess.”
I bristled at her words. The
fact that she was ignoring the powerful bond I shared with my mate, throwing her alien origins in Dani’s face made me see red. But I’d been schooled, my entire life, to remain calm. I held up my hand with the mark, palm out so my mother could see it. Grabbing Dani’s hand, I lifted hers, showed the mark, then held her hand so we were palm to palm. If that didn’t get the fucking point across, I didn’t know what would.
“My father may have married you out of duty, but I am not my father. He raised me to rule on the Sevens how I saw fit. Do what I thought was best for the planet. And while I would have agreed with you before my mark came awake, I can’t now. The sacred lure of the mark is too pure, too strong. My need for Danielle is too powerful. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will separate us. Even my role as prince.”
“I think it’s wonderful,” Rayla beamed at my mate, honest curiosity in her blue eyes. “I’m Rayla. I’m your new sister.”
Dani’s tentative smile was the only permission Rayla needed before rising and pulling my mate into a tight hug. I was thankful for her for breaking the tension. My mother was too uptight with the rules of the Seven. I had a feeling since she’d never found her Marked Mate, we would never see eye-to-eye. She would never understand.
“I’m so glad you’re here! So happy for Gage. This is wonderful.” Rayla pulled back, her smile even wider. “You are wonderful. Welcome to the family.”
“Thank you.”
8
Dani
I stepped back from Rayla’s hug to find Gage at my back, felt his hand settled there. And I needed him touching me, keeping me grounded.
There was a whole lot of power flowing around the room. Too many Hunters. Too much family tension. I could feel it, though, and I was pretty damn sure Mommy Dearest wasn’t going to join my fan club anytime soon. God, she was so passive aggressive, taking swipes at me left and right. Obviously, she believed my mind was as primitive as the planet I came from. I wasn’t worthy of her precious son.
Gage wrapped his arms around my waist and I leaned back, happy to be in his arms while facing the proverbial firing squad. Everyone in the room was studying me—especially Mauve—and I felt not just underdressed, but like an ugly insect pinned down and being fried with a beam of sunlight focused through a magnifying glass.
His Virgin Princess Page 7
