by Megan Linski
I shied away from her hands. It was involuntary, but it still happened. Emma frowned, like my reaction bothered her.
I wasn’t ready to be that vulnerable. Not yet.
She stepped away and put the cloth back in the basin. While her back was turned, I ducked behind the screen. A new set of clothes had been placed there for me. I stripped quickly and tried to slip the clean pants on as fast as possible. As a result, I tripped, and fell against a tent wall. I righted myself and finished buttoning with trembling hands.
“Do you need help?” Her voice sounded hopeful.
“No, I’m fine,” I told her. I could still dress myself.
“Okay.” Disappointment rang throughout her tone. I hated to tell her no, but still… I didn’t want her to see that part of me. Ever.
I knew it would have to happen eventually, though my heart pleaded it never would. She’d probably think I was less of a man. It was better to keep the illusion.
When I stepped out from behind the screen, Emma didn’t hesitate. She flung herself at me. I didn’t know what to do. Her body crashed into mine, and our lips met as one. Shock and surprise came over me at the unexpected kiss. My rigid form was put at ease as her soft mouth melded with my own. She placed her arms around my neck and trailed her fingers through my hair, giving tender kisses that landed delicately against my mouth.
It was like I couldn’t control myself. My hands went to her hips, but they didn’t stay there. As her mouth opened to accept my tongue, my hands started to wander. My fingers grazed against her breasts before wandering downward to squeeze her ass. She gasped, and the noise only increased my desire.
That one little noise spurred my longing and made me crave her body. The wolf inside of me was going nuts. It scratched and pawed at my insides, demanding that I hurry up and take her as my own. I needed Emma at my side. I needed her as my mate.
Emma pushed me backwards, and I fell against the bed. My body extended as Emma climbed on top of me and began kissing me harder as her figure moved over mine. Emma straddled my hips, then took one of my hands and placed it on her right breast.
Gods, it felt more than amazing. It sent a rush through my body. She sank her hips firmly against my dick, which was hard and begging for attention. The pressure sent a shiver through my body that I couldn’t control. Emma pressed down even harder, and I was unable to control letting a moan escape from my mouth. She gasped in response and moved over me faster. I was aware that the bulge in my pants was growing. She rocked back and forth over my hardened cock, and I swear I felt moisture coating her panties through my trousers.
We were basically having sex with clothes on. This was way too much. I don’t think my body could take it. The effect she had on me was overpowering. She could ask me anything right now and I’d give it to her. I was a helpless dog begging for a treat. Emma was my master, and I’d do whatever she told me. I’d play fetch as long as I received the reward.
Emma slipped out of the sleeves of her dress and pushed the shoulders off her body, so that the top of the gown bunched around her middle. Underneath, she was wearing a strapless push-up bra, blue in color. It was the only thing that kept her breasts concealed. The burn marks from the necklace were still visible, but at the moment, all I could focus on was the curves of her body.
Yes! That’s exactly what I wanted. I wanted to see her exposed body, perfect and moving above me. My eyes wandered over the curves over her bosom, and her perfect navel. I couldn’t resist touching her. My fingers wandered across her skin. I dared to slip a finger inside one of the cups of her bra and found that her nipple was hard as diamond.
Emma hissed with pleasure. I slipped my hand underneath the bra cup and fondled her breast within my hand. My thumb and my forefinger rubbed her nipple.
I desperately ached to be inside her. I didn’t know what it would feel like, only that it would be the fulfillment of my needs as an Arcanea. Emma threw her head back and moaned again as I continued to play with her breasts delicately, treating them like they were the most precious treasure in the world.
I wanted to see what they looked like. I fiddled with the clasp on the bra. When I took too long, Emma growled in frustration and hooked her arms behind her back, to help me take the bra off.
Just as I had unfastened the hooks, the tent flap rustled and an alarmed scream made both of us jump.
“Odette!” Emma screeched. She had an arm across her chest, to pin her bra there.
Odette had her hands over her eyes. “I didn’t see anything! Honest!”
Emma and I looked at each other. Both of us were blushing red. A nervous laugh escaped Emma’s mouth, and I joined her. It would be just like Odette to walk in during such a moment.
Odette kept her hands firmly on her face. “I just came in to say everyone’s waiting for you. But if you want to have sex first, I’m sure no one will mind.”
“Nooo,” Emma said. She hopped off me so quickly it made my dick cry. “Don’t tell anyone we’re having sex. We’ll be right out.”
Odette turned on her heel and immediately stalked out of the tent without uncovering her eyes. I slid to a sitting position on the bed, and Emma turned her back to me. “Hook me back up?”
If I thought her sliding off me was torture, this was the real thing. I fastened Emma’s bra, and she pulled her dress back on, concealing everything from view. “Odette’s going to think we’re some kind of sex hounds. We didn’t even get that far,” I told Emma.
She wasn’t looking at me. “I know. But I want to keep what’s between us, between us.”
I could understand that. I mean, people expected us to have sex, because we had proclaimed each other as mates. That didn’t mean we wanted Odette singing it for the entire kingdom to hear.
“Anyway.” Emma shook her hair around her shoulders, and I nearly died. “Should we get going?”
The wolf in me growled with displeasure, and demanded that I rip Emma’s dress off right now and get back to what we were doing.
But diplomacy had another way, so I extended my arm to Emma and said, “Very well. Let us leave.”
We walked in silence among the tents on our way to the celebration. It was like the two of us only knew one way or the other— distance, or incredible closeness. We were always bouncing between them. I wanted to find a happy medium that would satisfy us both. Emma was acting like I was a complete stranger again, and I didn’t know why.
“Is there something on your mind?” I asked her. “You seem troubled.”
Emma didn’t answer for a long moment. “I’m not ready for sex, Ethan,” she began. “I don’t know if I’m ready for any of this.”
My heart dropped. That wasn’t something I wanted to hear. I didn’t care about the sex part— I cared she was telling me this was moving too fast for her. It was hard to understand why she was pushing me away.
I wanted to dive right into a relationship with Emma, and everything that came with it. I wanted the kissing, the touching, the being there for everything and the bad stuff that came along with it, too.
But we’d only become engaged a few weeks ago. Prior to that, our relationship had been purely platonic. We’d been thrown into this without any kind of lead-up. We’d only kissed twice. And I had asked the world from her beforehand.
I brought her to a stop. She faced me. “Emma, I will never force you into anything,” I vowed. “What’s between us is purely your choice. No matter what we do.”
She bit her lip anxiously. “I enjoyed fooling around with you. It felt good. It felt right.”
She shook her head. “I just… I’m worried about getting too close.”
I knew how she felt. To be too close was dangerous. It made you vulnerable. And love was enough to make an Arcanea lose their minds.
Look what had happened to Albin.
Emma didn’t want to lose herself in me. Because she wasn’t ready to go that far. The passion between mates could save you. But it could just as often destroy you.
“
I was just following your lead. But if you had asked to stop, I would’ve,” I said.
“I don’t know what came over me back there,” she confessed. “I care about you, Ethan, but in that moment… it was like I lost control.”
“You shouldn’t blame yourself. The mating bond can be a powerful thing.”
Shit. I had slipped up, and she caught it. Emma raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said you didn’t believe we were bonded?”
I hastened to cover my tracks. “I merely meant we had chosen each other.”
Her eyes dampened with sorrow. “Of course.”
She hadn’t brought up the Phantom once during this tournament, and she didn’t bring him up again now. I found it odd. Had she forgotten about him completely? Gods, I hoped so. I wanted her to love me, not him. He was a part of me I wished to hide from her forever.
But mating didn’t work that way. There weren’t supposed to be secrets between spouses. Especially not ones this big. But what other choice did I have?
Emma took a breath. “Right now… I want us to be more than friends, and see where it goes. Is that okay with you?”
Sadness stirred within my chest. We had made a commitment, yes, but she didn’t need to follow through with anything more than what the royal engagement demanded of her. She didn’t have to kiss me, or sleep with me, or even love me to rule as queen. At this point, we just had to work together.
If I truly wanted Emma, I was going to have to pursue her, and win over her heart. Just like a wolf on the hunt, I became excited by the challenge.
“That’s perfectly fine,” I said. “I for one am excited to see where this goes.”
A soft smile came across her lips. “Me, too, Ethan. Me too.”
I loved it when she said my name. It sounded like a song. I was being flowery, but so many emotions were coursing through me. It was like trying to hold back floodgates when all I wanted to do was let the doors open and have the water rush over me.
But if Emma wanted to start with a small glass… I’d stand back willingly and savor every drop.
The celebration tent was huge. It was more than a hundred feet long, and packed with guests. Lord Lucien and Lady Magdalina greeted us at the entrance. When we arrived, hundreds of Arcanea broke into loud cheers and claps. The tent was alight with warmth, decorations, and the smells of a gourmet feast.
Our court was waiting for us at the end of the tent. They sat at a long table covered with food and ale. Stefan was already half-drunk, and was composing awful ballads that he’d made up on the spot about me and Emma’s victory. Theo was pointedly attempting to ignore him. Delmare and Odette sent both of us feisty, pointed looks as we drew near, giggling like small girls.
Delmare smirked as we inched past. “You two need any condoms? I’ve got a box.” She snickered.
“Only if you and Stefan are done using them,” Emma said back fairly.
Delmare flushed pink. I’m pretty sure she’d have given us the finger if we weren’t surrounded by diplomats. Stefan was so buzzed he didn’t notice.
Emma and I took seats at the middle of the table. I noticed two members were missing as I counted heads. “Where’s Alexei?” I asked.
“He’s sick, unfortunately. Kiara’s tending to him,” Delmare said. “Emotions around the Contest were too high. He couldn’t handle it. But he and Kiara send you their congratulations.”
“We’ll have to celebrate together later!” Odette peeped. “All of us!”
I didn’t comment. I was sure Alexei was sick, but I had a feeling Kiara held back on coming for another reason. She probably didn’t think we deserved to win.
As the feast began, I noticed Lady Korva eyeing Emma and I with pure, undisguised hatred. It was clear how much she despised us for stealing the crown away from her son. If there was an assassination attempt, I’d pick her to be the first suspect.
“So how does this thing work?” Emma asked. “We won the Contest, so what next?”
“There’s a five month period after the King’s Contest has ended, for the Circle to give trials of competence to the newly elected king and queen,” I told her. “We’ll be coronated at the end of next semester.”
“You mean we have to go through more tests?” Emma turned green.
“They’re not hard. Mostly questions of intelligence and political matters. They merely want to ensure they’re not putting an idiot on the throne,” I told her. “The tests won’t be difficult to pass.”
Emma didn’t look convinced. It was then that a shadow fell over our table. It was Elijah. A heated darkness had come over his expression, smoldering with contempt. He was so jealous it was laughable. Glee flooded my veins as I observed his pouting exterior. He was such a child. The scar that I’d given him during the duel was slowly healing, but it’d be permanent.
“Congratulations,” he seethed. “You won the crown.”
“It was a good fight,” I said. “You should be proud of how you placed.”
Elijah rolled his eyes and made a disgusted noise. He couldn’t stand to be bothered with common decency. Second place wasn’t good enough for him.
Elijah’s beady eyes landed on Emma. His lip curled. “That was quite the performance. Seems you aren’t a helpless whelp after all.”
I nearly rose from the table. Elijah caught that he’d gotten to me, and Emma’s hand wrapped around mine. She gave my fingers a squeeze, to tell me to calm down. She responded cooly, “You should be thankful I didn’t finish the job. Because I wanted to.”
Elijah’s teeth flashed as he gritted them together. His fists bunched up, and he ground out, “I suggest you watch what you say, little bitch. As you saw with Nowak’s father, kings can die fairly quickly. And it’s not uncommon for the new leader to force the previous alpha female to submit. Maybe you’ll even like it.”
The wolf inside me snapped. When Elijah made that threat against Emma, I completely lost it. Red hot rage consumed me and took away everything except a primal instinct I had to protect my mate.
The table upended as I transformed on the spot. Screams shattered the night. I flew over the table, and my paws landed on Elijah’s shoulders. I pinned him to the ground, bearing my canines. Elijah was so shocked that he froze beneath me, and with my weight pressed against him, he couldn’t move. My breath was hot on his face as I dove in to end his life for good.
“Ethan, stop!” Lord Lucien was there at an instant. He threw his arms around my shoulders in an attempt to hold me back. Several other men came forward, to drag me off of Elijah. I was distinctly aware of Stefan and Theo.
It took multiple people to drag me away. I finally changed back as the all-consuming fury began to die out, and Elijah scampered to his feet, the blood drained from his cheeks.
Fear. I could smell it on him. Even now, I still wanted to end him. I’d asked Emma to spare his life during the Contest because he was my cousin, nothing more. That appeared to be a mistake.
“Stop the feast!”
Gabby’s voice broke through the commotion. My eyes flashed upward; Emma rose from her seat. Gabby came blazing in through the entrance of the tent, officials behind her. Their old faces seemed stern and condemning. Steward Soloman was with them. He, too, seemed solemn and strict. Lady Magdalina met them in the middle of the room.
“What is the meaning of this?” she burst. “How dare you interrupt the feast of the king!”
“He doesn’t deserve a feast, and neither does she!” Gabby pointed at Emma. “She cheated!”
Astonished gasps scattered throughout the tent. My stomach bottomed out. Oh, no. This couldn’t be happening.
Steward Soloman came forward. “I’m afraid there’s been a mistake,” Steward Soloman announced. “We must alter the results of the Contest.”
“For what reason?” Magdalina snapped.
Steward Soloman fished in his robes. “Because of this.”
He opened his palm to show the dark necklace. Whispers ran throughout the room. “This item was found in Princ
e Ethan and Miss Sosna’s tent, after being searched. Miss Ciar brought it to our attention that the two of them were influencing the competition unfairly. This evidence has sealed the charges against them.”
Lady Korva immediately stepped forward. “She used dark magic to win!” Lady Korva gestured her hand wildly at Emma. “Is the Circle going to allow this blatant insult against them?”
“Prove it,” Lady Magdalina snapped. “Prove that this wasn’t planted in their tent!”
Heads turned in Emma’s direction. No one spoke a word, or dared to breathe. Emma appeared like a terrified girl before a pack of wolves.
“Go on,” Lady Magdalina said confidently. “Unseelie magic leaves traces. Remove your cloak. Prove them wrong.”
With a trembling hand, Emma was forced to withdraw her cloak. Sounds of distress and disbelief echoed around the tent as the scars around her neck from wearing the necklace were clear for all to see.
Lady Magdalina was at a cross between horror and disbelief. Lucien, I was ashamed to see, appeared wholly disappointed.
“This proves it!” Lady Korva burst. “The magic she used weren’t from the abilities of her own talent! She drew them from a dark source!”
Steward Soloman shook his head. “A terrible illusion, I see. It seems there is only one thing to do, in this case.”
He turned toward the crowd and raised his voice. “As Prince Ethan and Emmaline Sosna altered their results of the Contest through unholy means, the crown must pass to the second place winners; Elijah Zlodia and Gabriella Ciar.”
“No!” Emma and I both shouted at the same time. No one listened. Scattered applause rang out like death bells within the tent. Elijah beamed proudly, with a fond look at his mate. Gabby only had eyes for Emma, and she raised her head in a gloating matter.
“Restart the Contest! Put on another tournament, to choose a different king!” Emma blurted.
Steward Soloman frowned. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. Although what you and Prince Ethan did is a crime, it’s not a significant enough charge to hold an entirely new competition. You merely cheated. And although it costs you your placing, it does not throw out the results of the other contestants. We cannot wait another year to perform the ceremonies and ask for the blessing of the gods once more. The crown must go to the runner-up.”
