Royally Entangled

by Catherine Banks

  “What did you do on the hunt?”

  “I rode on my boyfriend’s back and watched the rest of the pack take down some deer. Then we went swimming. Why are you acting like they did something terrible?”

  “Hunting is a very serious thing for packs. You’re not supposed to let outsiders in.”

  “I wasn’t really an outsider though.”

  “You were lucky to have found such a nice pack,” he said after he calmed down.

  “Maybe they’re just not as uptight as you,” I mumbled.

  He draped his arm across my shoulders and kissed the side of my head. “My father is the uptight one. He makes sure that we do everything by the book.”

  “There’s a book?” I asked. “Can I read it?”

  Deryn chuckled. “There actually is a book, but no, you cannot read it.”

  “Tease.”

  We arrived at a huge compound, and the driver opened the door for us. I climbed out and shivered at the weight of hundreds of predators in the same place. My human brain was warning me to run, but I knew better. Werewolves were not killers, not any more than humans were. Truthfully, less than humans were, since they tried so hard to get on the humans’ good sides.

  We walked into the nearest building and I was shocked to discover it was a gymnasium. There were several people playing basketball and a few people in the stands. Deryn strode to the stands and took a seat, so I followed and sat next to him.

  “Do me a favor?” he whispered. “Don’t let anyone know we’re dating.”

  “Okay,” I agreed immediately.

  “Do you want to know why?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “If you want me to.”

  “I haven’t told my father about you yet.”

  “Ah,” I said and nodded. “Got it.”

  The game ended and the players walked to the sidelines to get some water. One of the players looked familiar, but it wasn’t until he smiled that I realized who he was.

  “Jolie!” he yelled.

  I stood up and then rushed forward to meet him halfway, throwing my arms around his neck as he picked me up and spun me.

  “Martin!” I squealed.

  He set me down, but kept his hands on my hips. “Jolie! What are you doing here? You look amazing!”

  “I came-”

  “She came with me,” Deryn said angrily.

  I thought Martin would drop his hands, but he just turned and smiled at Deryn.

  “Small world, huh? Jolie and I dated in high school. She was my best friend.” He turned back to me. “What have you been up to? Why are you out here? You want to see Sharla and the girls?”

  “They’re here?” I asked and smiled wide. “I haven’t seen them in person in a few years.”

  “They are up at the main house,” he said and grabbed a shirt from the bench in front of us. “Sharla will be so excited to see you.”

  Deryn hadn’t moved or said anything since his one declaration. His fists were no longer clenched as he watched Martin.

  “Deryn?” I whispered.

  He tore his eyes away and looked down at me. “We’re going to the main house.”

  “Great,” Martin said with a wide smile.

  The house was just one building over and as soon as we walked in, the girls and Sharla saw me.

  “Auntie Jolie!” the girls yelled and rushed to me. I dropped to my knees to hug the twin seven-year-old girls.

  “How are my favorite nieces?” I asked and kissed their heads.

  “Great!” they exclaimed in unison.

  Sharla stood behind them with a smile, waiting for her turn.

  I stood up and she jerked me into a hug.

  “Jolie,” she whispered. “I got worried when I heard about you ending the war. And your office! Are you safe? You’re welcome to come stay with us.”

  I kissed her cheek. “Thank you, but I’m well protected.” I glanced back at Deryn for emphasis.

  He was looking at me with his head slightly tilted and a small frown of concentration.

  Sharla stepped back and bowed to him. “Prince, my apologies for being rude. I didn’t see you enter.”

  “You are very affectionate to a woman who used to date your mate,” Deryn commented.

  Sharla smiled warmly at me. “She holds no feelings towards Martin in that way anymore. We had a long talk when we came to Jolie’s hometown, and became friends.”

  “Are you really alright?” Martin asked and set his hand on my cheek. “You look tired and stressed.”

  “A lot has happened,” Deryn said with a bit of a growl in his voice.

  The girls darted behind their mother and peeked out at Deryn.

  What was with him?

  “Can I talk to you, Martin?” Deryn asked with clenched fists.

  “Sure.”

  He pecked me on the cheek, smiled at Sharla, and followed Deryn’s tense back out of the living room.

  The girls pulled me to the couch and climbed into my lap, sharing my lap as well as they could. I ran my fingers through their hair and the fidgety kids stilled and relaxed into me.

  “We’ve missed you,” Sharla said. “We got scared when we went back home and you weren’t there?”

  “I’m sorry. I’ll get better about texting you.” I promised.

  We did video calls once a month, but I never talked about anything serious with them. most of the calls were the girls telling me things that had happened at school.

  Madison shifted into her wolf pup form so I could scratch behind her ears. Tamara did the same, their heads on my thighs.

  “What are you guys doing here?” I asked. They lived three states away.

  “Martin was offered a job here a week ago. We came to see about finding an apartment near his job.”

  “So, I’ll get to see you more?” I asked with a wide smile and ruffled the girls’ fur.

  Sharla nodded. “Much more.”

  I wasn’t sure about that. I would visit them, but not often.

  Deryn and Martin came back, both scowling.

  Sharla stood up, knowing something was wrong since Martin never scowled. He waved at her and she returned to her seat.

  “Girls, go to your room,” he ordered them.

  They whined, licked my cheeks, and obeyed.

  Deryn leaned against the entryway, looking at me with that tilted head again.

  Martin knelt in front of me, taking my hands in his.

  “You should have called me,” he chastised.

  “You have your family to protect now,” I reminded him.

  Sharla growled at me. “Jolie. What did we talk about?”

  I sighed and turned to face her. “I love you, but I won’t put you in danger.”

  It was Martin’s turn to growl at me. “You are so stubborn,” he said.

  Deryn had taken a step forward when Martin growled.

  I took my hands back from Martin and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. “I won’t curse you,” I whispered to him. I kissed Sharla’s cheek and walked to Deryn. “Once things calm down, I’ll come visit the girls. Text me your address.”

  “I’m not just going to-” Martin started and stood up, but Deryn stepped into his path.

  I grabbed Deryn’s hand and he stepped back.

  “He’s my friend,” I reminded Deryn.

  “Why are you treating her like a mate?” Martin asked Deryn, no submission on his face at all despite Deryn outranking him.

  “She’s under my protection,” Deryn said. “She’s my friend.”

  Sharla quirked an eyebrow and looked at me. I found an interesting spot on the ceiling to inspect.

  “Then you should understand my protectiveness,” Martin said with crossed arms.

  Deryn didn’t reply. He took me up the stairs, away from the couple. I let him drag me, but pulled my hand free when we got close to an office with its door open and a male voice talking.

  Deryn knocked on the door as he walked in. I wasn’t certain if I was supposed to follow him, so I
waited by the door. A huge man walked over and hugged Deryn with a wide smile.

  “My boy!” he bellowed. “How are you?”

  “Good, Dad,” Deryn replied.

  This…mountain, was his dad?

  Deryn escaped the hug to grab my hand and pull me into the room to stand before his dad.

  “Dad, I’d like you to officially meet Jolie.”

  As I looked at him, I realized that I had seen him before. He had been one of the four sitting in the park, which must have meant he was one of the Kings and the Alpha.

  I dipped my head in submission. “Alpha, it is an honor to meet you.”

  Suddenly, huge arms wrapped around me and pulled me into a hug against the giant Alpha. He released me, but kept his hand on my shoulders while his smiling eyes met mine.

  “You are welcome here anytime. If you ever need anything, just tell me. Oh, and call me Dan.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered and glanced at Deryn who seemed as surprised as me.

  “I need to tell you something important,” Deryn said quietly. “It’s personal.”

  Dan turned back to me and inhaled loudly.

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not pregnant.”

  Both Dan and Deryn looked at me with wide eyes.

  “I dated Martin and spent a lot of time with that pack,” I explained. “Their Alpha always checked if I was pregnant when I came over.”

  Deryn shut the door and pushed me to a couch I hadn’t seen around his large Dad. I sat and he sat next to me, his body aligned with mine.

  Dan sat in a huge leather chair across from us and waited.

  “Jolie’s become my queen,” Deryn stated. “Well, sort of.”

  Deryn explained the entire situation, from meeting me until today. I was blushing by the end, unsure how Dan would react to finding this out.

  “So, you found your queen?” he asked with his mouth hidden behind his hands as they linked in front of his face.

  Deryn nodded.

  “What do you think about all of this?” Dan asked me.

  “I’m not sure. It’s still sinking in,” I admitted.

  “Can you feel the bond?”

  I shook my head.

  “Are you certain these attacks were for her?”

  Deryn nodded. “One hundred percent.”

  “All four princes, huh?” Dan asked and looked at me.

  “I didn’t know their titles when I met them,” I muttered. It wasn’t like I’d sought them out on purpose.

  He laughed loudly and dropped his hands to his lap. “What do you need from me?” he asked Deryn.

  “To keep our connection a secret. We don’t want anyone knowing, but I knew I needed to tell you. And, a driver for Jolie.”

  “A driver?” I asked him.

  “Our cars are well enforced with bullet proof windows,” Dan explained. “So, they’re able to drive you places without you needing the mage.”

  “Is this all really necessary?” I asked softly.

  “Yes,” Deryn said immediately.

  “I agree to both of your requests,” Dan said. “Would you also like a bodyguard? Martin and her seem to know each other and-”

  “No,” Deryn snapped a bit too quickly.

  “I don’t have feelings for him,” I chastised Deryn.

  “I don’t like him touching you,” Deryn snarled.

  Dan tapped Deryn’s nose and said, “Enough of that. Unless you take her as a mate, she’s allowed to touch others.”

  “I know that,” Deryn grumbled and rubbed his nose even though the tap hadn’t been hard enough to hurt him.

  “I’ll also do some investigating to see if we can find out who is trying to kill her,” Dan promised.

  “Thank you,” I said and looked at Dan. “I’m honored to have your protection.”

  Dan smiled. “As my son’s queen, you’ll have to make appearances here with the pack, once your relationship goes public. You’re going to be seeing a lot more of me.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” Deryn said and stood up. “Let’s get going. The others are probably getting antsy to confirm I’ve kept you alive.”

  “Jolie,” Dan called as we stepped into the hallway. I stepped back into his office. “I’d avoid touching other males for a while. He’s too stressed out and touching others will only break his control.”

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  I jogged down the stairs where Martin was angrily talking to Deryn, who looked just as mad.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” Deryn replied tersely.

  I hugged Sharla and whispered, “Love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “Stay safe,” Martin ordered me and hugged me.

  “Love you,” I told him instead of responding to his order.

  “Love you too,” he whispered.

  Deryn was already outside of the house, so I jogged to catch up to him. A car pulled up and he climbed in without saying anything to me. The silent treatment lasted all the way to the apartment building and up the elevator.

  We walked into Deryn’s apartment to find the other three males playing video games together on his couch.

  “How was your trip?” Rhys asked.

  “My trip was great, except for the green monster who unexpectedly tagged along,” I said with a pointed look at Deryn.

  “What?” Fox asked, looking away from his game.

  “Deryn got super jealous of my friend hugging me,” I explained.

  “He wasn’t just hugging you. He had his hands on you for longer than is acceptable with a female who isn’t his mate.”

  I rolled my eyes in response. “You’re being ridiculous.”

  “Did you sleep with him?”

  “Yes.”

  The pen in his hand snapped and the ink splattered on his clothes. His eyes didn’t just flash yellow – the wolf remained.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that before?”

  “Would it have made you less jealous?”

  “No, but I wouldn’t have let him touch you at all.”

  “You can’t tell me who I can and can’t be friends with. Or, who I can and can’t hug. I’ve known him much longer than I’ve known any of you. He has saved me multiple times. His daughters are my nieces.”

  “Okay. Everyone, calm down,” Nico said, coming to stand between us.

  I pushed past Deryn to the kitchen, grabbed one of the ciders and chugged it.

  “How did it go with your dad?” asked Rhys.

  “Great. He loved her, which was expected. He gave her permission to return to the pack whenever she wanted and also gave her a driver and car whenever we need it,” Deryn replied as he took his ruined shirt off and tossed it into the trash.

  “Wow, that’s pretty generous of him,” Fox commented.

  “I think the fact that she had two wolf pups in her lap and calmed them down better with scratches than he has been able to with intimidation had a big part to play in his decisions. She’s unexpectedly great with werewolves,” Deryn explained.

  I stopped guzzling my cider long enough to ask, “He saw me with the twins?”

  Deryn nodded. “He has cameras everywhere.”

  “Is that why he hugged me when I met him?” I asked sheepishly.

  “He hugged her?” Rhys asked and looked at me. “The Alpha hugged you?”

  I nodded. “Big bear hug.”

  “Holy shit, Deryn. Was your dad high?” Fox asked and chuckled.

  “I know,” Deryn muttered.

  “He hugged Deryn when he walked in,” I muttered, feeling uncomfortable that they were making such a big deal out of it. He seemed to be pretty affectionate.

  “Dan is very affectionate to his pack, but outsiders he is extremely cold to. He still won’t give us his full attention and it’s been over two decades,” Rhys explained.

  “Maybe that’s because you’re all alphas and threats. I’m just a small human girl,” I suggested.
<
br />   “No, he just likes you,” Deryn said. “Dad is never affectionate to outsiders.”

  “Well, I am pretty special,” I mumbled and tossed my now empty cider into the trash and grabbed another. “Can we order pizza?”

  “Why don’t you wait to drink that until it comes?” Nico suggested.

  I glared up at him. “No.”

  He sighed, but didn’t say anything else as I popped the bottle cap off and started drinking it. I sat on Fox’s lap and ran my fingers through his hair. It was incredibly thick and as was usual when it came to Fox, it was calming.

  “Want to play a game?” Fox asked me and motioned at the controllers on the table.

  I shook my head. “Not right now. Have we heard anything about when my apartment will be ready for me to stay there again?”

  “Manager said at least a week,” Nico replied.

  I let my head drop forward to rest on Fox’s shoulder. “Dammit.”

  “Thought you could get rid of us, didn’t you?” He whispered and chuckled.

  “No, just not used to not having privacy,” I whispered back.

  “We can give you privacy,” Deryn said. “If you want to be alone, you’re welcome to use my spare room.”

  He was being nice, probably because he realized what a jerk he was earlier.

  “Okay,” I replied, but didn’t move.

  Seeing Martin and his family had been a huge surprise and knowing they were nearby made me worry. I didn’t want them to get caught up in my problems. I meant it when I told him that I wouldn’t come see the girls until after all of this was over.

  I finished my second bottle and started to trace Fox’s pointed ear, but he grabbed my hand and looked at me with silver eyes.

  “That is very sensitive,” he whispered to me. His eyes were glued to my mouth and I realized that there was a new part of his body pressing against my lower body.

  “Oh,” I gasped and jerked my hand away. “Sorry.”

  He smiled. “You didn’t know. It’s okay.”

  “Pizza should be here soon,” Deryn called from his bedroom.

  Nico was engrossed in the video game he was playing next to us and it appeared Rhys hadn’t heard what had happened.

  I exhaled in relief, glad they hadn’t witnessed my embarrassing action and climbed off Fox. He kissed my cheek and said, “I’ll be back.”

  I took his vacated spot and let my head fall into my hands.