“Right, speak to me. You first, Lenore.”
He listened carefully, firing questions at the male at regular intervals. “Great. Your turn, Savar.”
His assistant opened a file and read through each of the points. Again, Keto asked all the necessary questions. “Alright, it seems we’re almost there. Just the menus. The kitchen needs to be made aware, last minute stock ordered and menus for the tables printed.” He glanced at Lenore. “On your side it’s the hiccup with the sleeping arrangements. You already have a solution. You have my authorization to mobilize.” He looked at Savar. There wasn’t sufficient accommodation. Pulamor had never been designed to house that many guests. Upmarket, furnished tents would be erected as well as state-of-the-art portable bathroom facilities.
“It will be sorted out by the end of business tomorrow,” Savar assured him, looking like the picture of calm. “I will send out messages to those who will need to move out for the night.” A decision had been made that elves would be the ones to move into the make-shift homes, allowing their guests to stay within the branches of Pulamor.
“Great! I’ll leave it with the two of you then. Contact me immediately if there are any problems.”
Both males nodded.
“You are dismissed.” Keto opened his laptop and typed in his password. He opened his emails. Four-hundred and twenty-two unopened mails. He moved the first seven to trash and was about to open the next one when there was the sound of someone clearing his throat. Keto looked up. Savar still sat in the office chair across from him. The male leaned back and smirked. Savar was lucky he was a good friend.
“Was there something you needed to discuss?” Keto asked. The last thing he felt like doing right now was chatting.
Savar nodded. “There are numerous highborn females wanting to—”
“No.” Keto shook his head. “It can wait until after the ceremony. I have too many things going on at the moment.” He kept putting off the inevitable.
“Okay, but don’t delay this too long. It’s customary to take a mate within the first six weeks of becoming king. In fact,” Savar pulled a face, “I can’t think of the last time a king was crowned who wasn’t already mated. I know the whole business with Cheri set you back but, it’s time to have another go at it. Most females are not like that.”
“And what if I don’t want to mate a highborn?”
“What? Are you serious?” Savar raised his brows. “It would cause a stir if you took a low-born, but I for one would support you. Talking about doing things that one shouldn’t, I’ve taken quite a shine to that stunning vampire female.”
“Who, Charlotte?” He tried to keep the growl from his voice and failed. It had to be Charlotte, there were no other vampire females on their territory.
“Don’t tell me you would have something against me rutting her just because she’s not one of us, I’m not talking about mating her or anything. She’s really quite exquisite. Tall, lithe, even her fangs make me hard as—”
“Not a fuck!” he roared. “You will not lay a finger on her … am I clear?” First, that whole talk of shifters and now this. It was too fucking much. He seethed, his blood boiled in his veins.
Savar looked totally confused for a few moments and then grinned. “Oh, I get it. You want her all for yourself, a last hoorah before settling down.” The male had the audacity to wink at him. Savar had regular dealings with humans. It was at times like this that it showed. “You haven’t settled on a female yet, so it would be acceptable.” He shrugged. “Just keep it hush hush. We don’t want the councilors to get their robes in a knot.”
Keto ground his molars. “I won’t be touching her and neither will you. If any elf looks at her the wrong way, they will have to deal with me. Charlotte is a guest here at Pulamor, she’s helping us—”
“And all I want is to return the favor by giving her a night she will never forget.”
“Don’t you fucking dare, Savar. No way, no how. Get it out of your mind and right now!” His voice boomed but he didn’t care.
“Okay, alright, fine. I get it.” Savar spoke in soothing tones. “I’ll leave you now. I can see you have a lot on your mind. Will all of our guests be off limits or just Charlotte?” He raised his brows and cocked his head.
Fucking hell! How did he circumvent this? “Just Charlotte.” He sounded as jealous as fuck. Lord help him, he was jealous. Hugely jealous.
Zavar winked at Keto. “No problem. No one will touch the female.”
“Good!” He felt himself relax.
Savar smiled. “She is quite lovely, I don’t blame you one bit.”
“I’m not sure what the hell you’re talking about.” He didn’t plan on touching Charlotte. He couldn’t help that he didn’t want anyone else to either. “Just make sure that every elf in Pulamor is respectful to her. That is all.”
“No problem, boss.” Savar smirked. Asshole! “I’ll see you later.”
“Oh!” Keto thought of something Charlotte had said. “What is a biological clock?”
Savar frowned, he scratched his chin.
“If a female says that her biological clock is ticking …” He saw Savar’s eyes brighten. “What does it mean?”
“It means that she is getting on in age and that she won’t be able to have children if she waits too much longer because her body will no longer produce a garden. Did Charlotte say her clock is ticking? Why would the two of you even have such a conversation?”
“She mentioned that she was going to start meeting with shifters.” He had to work to keep the growl from his voice. “It had nothing to do with the two of us.”
Savar raised his brows but didn’t say anything. Keto could see that the male thought he was full of shit.
“It’s none of your business,” Keto growled. Then he sighed. “It wasn’t like that. You are misunderstanding this whole thing.”
“Try to enlighten me.”
“You’re lucky you’re a good friend or I’d have you thrown in a cage for your insolence.”
Savar laughed. “You’d miss me too much. I think you’d be better off tying your right arm behind your back.”
“You wish, root-head.”
Savar chuckled. “No, you wish, your highness. You need me and you know it.”
Keto had to laugh along with the male. “It’s really not what you think.”
“If you say so.” Savar barked out a quick laugh. “If you want the female so badly, you should take her. It’s not a big deal.” He rose to his feet, gave a nod by way of saying goodbye and left.
It was a big deal though. He needed to stay away from Charlotte. He needed to focus on finding a mate and not on fucking around. If only his council was not so uptight about who he took as a mate, maybe then … No, what was he thinking? They would never accept such a thing. Best he put it from his mind right fucking now.
Chapter 12
The great hall was full of people. So many it made her head spin. Robes of all colors on the elves, tuxedos and evening gowns on the vampires and shifters. The dragons wore cotton yoga style pants. Their torsos were bare. She swallowed hard. The males were huge. Bigger even than their own vampire warriors.
One of the males came over to her. He smiled as he approached. “Hello.” His voice was deep and velvety. “I’m Blaze.”
“My lord.” She curtsied. “How good it is to see you.” The male didn’t seem to recognize her even though they had met once. Seemed like a lifetime ago.
“And you. Please call me Blaze.” Not another one. She knew he didn’t mean it like that.
I’ve been inside you.
She bit down on her lower lip for a second. “I’m so sorry your lovely mate couldn’t make it.”
Blaze smiled. His green eyes shone. “Our son is still too tiny. Only a couple of months old.” The male beamed with pride. “We did not want to risk the trip and Roxy refused to leave him.”
“I … I’m sure she did. It is completely understandable” She’d wanted to say that s
he understood but how could she? Moving on! “Did you enjoy the dinner?”
“Most excellent. It was the best carpaccio I’ve had in years.”
“Grain-fed Angus beef,” she whispered, pretending to be imparting a great secret.
Blaze smiled. “Ah, now I understand. We normally use deer, which can be tough.” He smiled. “This is my brother, Coal.” He introduced a sable-haired male with eyes so dark they almost looked black.
“Good to meet you. I hear you had a big hand in organizing the event.”
Charlotte nodded. “One of many.”
“It was your idea to mix up the different species for dinner though?” Blaze looked serious. Maybe too serious? He frowned.
“Yes.” She smiled, suddenly feeling nervous. The meal had seemed to go without incident. Everyone had looked like they were enjoying themselves; had she been wrong?
“What a fantastic idea,” Coal said. Blaze nodded. “We sat with the wolf shifter Rushe as well as Ross and their mate Becky.” He pointed to the awesome threesome. Becky clutched her stomach. She was looking heavily pregnant even though she still had … must be three months … to go.
“Also at the table was one of the shifter alphas, Ash,” Coal added. “I enjoyed myself. It is a great pity that my mate Julie couldn’t be here. She would have enjoyed herself.”
“His son is a few months older than mine but still too young to be here I’m afraid.” Blaze pointed out.
Just then a little girl came hurtling past. She giggled loudly. A little boy was close on her heels. Stephany trailed behind. She was out of breath but there was a smile on her face. It was about a mile wide.
Charlotte couldn’t help but smile too. The big alpha, Ward, picked up the little girl, who squealed with excitement. Stephany, breathing hard, picked up her son, hugging him tight. The vampire female tickled him and he laughed noisily.
“What a beautiful family.” Coal smiled, drawing back her attention.
“Yup. They sure are.” She felt a pang but brushed it off. This was no time for feeling sorry for herself.
“It is good to see the different species getting along so well.” Blaze smiled. “Well, thanks again for going to so much trouble to get everything just right. You even stocked our favorite brand of coffee and made sure that there was plenty of wine on the table.” He winked.
“I was especially grateful there was no hidden dairy.” Coal rubbed his abs. “I can’t take the indigestion.”
“No problem!” she smiled. “Glad you could make it.” She kept her eyes on the males as they walked away.
I’m not going to look. Not looking! No! Don’t do it! Don’t!
Arghhhhh!
Why did she have to look his way? Why was she doing this to herself? It wasn’t like there was much to see anyway. Just a huge group of females and the odd flash of gold. The elven highborns wore the most beautiful flowing gowns that looked to be made of the finest spun silk. They were adorned with beautiful stitching in the shape of flowers and leaves. Their hair was long and flowing, clipped back to show off their ears, which were sharply pointed. Their skin was flawless, their features doll-like. Big eyes, full lips. Tiny noses. And high cheekbones. Just so lovely. One of those females would surely become the next queen. Something burned inside her. Like she had swallowed a hot rock. Uncomfortable, heavy and annoying.
She turned away, hitting a wall of muscle. Whomever it was, grabbed her by the upper arms. “Hey. Where are you running off to?”
She looked up, starring into light blue eyes. They were crinkled at the edges and shimmering with humor. He grinned.
“Oh Elliot. It’s you.”
“Don’t sound so darned disappointed.” He let her go.
“It’s not that.” She smiled back at him. “I guess it’s been a busy couple of days and I’m tired.”
“Is that your way of telling me that you want to get out of here?” He winked at her. His hair was dark and styled, his pale blue eyes a perfect contrast.
Charlotte glanced over at where the group of elven females still tittered around the newly crowned king. Elliot was being clear about what he wanted. He was handsome and sweet. Spending the night with him would be so easy. It would make perfect sense and yet, something held her back. Fatigue. She was just too darned tired. She was about to tell him that she might take him up on his offer some other time, when one of the alphas strode over to them. He had dark eyes and sandy brown hair which was overgrown and mussed, yet somehow sexy anyway. Charlotte couldn’t remember what kind of shifter he was ‒ wolf, bear, panther or mountain lion. There had been so many facts to try to remember. Who was who, how they fit, their spouses and offspring. Likes and dislikes as a culture, as well as individual likes and dislikes.
“Good evening.” The tall male put his hand out to her and she clasped it. He squeezed, his hand calloused and warm. “I’m Enzo. Bear shifter and alpha.”
“I’m Charlotte,” she said. Enzo held onto her for a bit longer than was required before turning to Elliot. Enzo held out his hand to the male and they clasped at the wrists.
“Bear,” Elliot said, there was a bit of a growl to his voice. His hand turned white he was clasping the other male so hard.
“Vampire,” the shifter retaliated, curling his lip ever so slightly. His eyes darkened.
“I hope you’re enjoying your evening,” she blurted, trying to defuse whatever was brewing. She could scent testosterone.
The males finally let each other go. “It’s been wonderful. I’ve enjoyed every minute.” Enzo smiled at her, his gaze dipping to her breasts for a second or two before returning to her face. She wore one of those cocktail dresses but was regretting her decision. It came to about mid-thigh and was open-backed. She pinned her hair up and wore a long strand of pearls around her neck. The elven females were more formally dressed. Much more covered. It wasn’t something that should bother her. She was a vampire, not an elf. It was nothing to be ashamed of, yet they made her feel inadequate somehow. She felt so different from the delicate, tiny females and yet, here were two good-looking males practically fighting over her. She needed to get over herself. Moreover, she needed to forget about him.
Elliot scowled. The male looked tense.
“I’m glad to hear it,” she responded to Enzo.
“I was thinking that I’d like to see more of the elven castle.” Enzo directed the conversation solely at her. “It’s so beautiful the way it has been built into the trees.”
“I love how all the fairy lights adorn the branches and walkways,” Charlotte said.
“Oh really. That must be a magnificent sight to behold.” Enzo smiled. “Perhaps you would like to take a walk with me. I am told that you have been at the castle for several days already, so I’m sure you know your way around.” He raised his brows.
“Why not ask one of the many elven females?” Elliot folded his arms. “I’m sure one of them will know the place far better than Charlotte.”
“If I wanted to ask one of the elven females, I would have. I decided to ask Charlotte. So, if you don’t mind?” There was a definite growl to his voice.
“Actually …” Elliot narrowed his eyes, looking pissed. “I do mind. Charlotte mentioned that she was tired and I had just offered to take her back to her suite before you rudely interrupted us.”
“You’re mistaking boredom for being tired.”
Elliot took a step towards Enzo, putting them almost chest to chest. “Fuck you!” he snarled under his breath.
“Please stop.” She clasped each of their arms. “We’re in a beautifully decorated hall filled with people from every non-human territory. There are females and children present. Stop this at once.” Charlotte used a stern but soft voice, hoping that no one else had heard the exchange.
Enzo was the first to relax, his eyes softened as they landed on her. “Charlotte is right.”
Elliot’s gaze remained hard, his eyes stayed narrowed and his fists remained clenched at his sides. After what felt like the
longest time, he took a deep breath. “Fine.” He glanced her way. “But, you have to choose between us.”
“Yeah, good idea, vampire.” The male was so cocksure. It was something she would normally find attractive. What was she saying? It was attractive. Very attractive.
“So …” Elliot stepped forward, looking just as arrogant, just as sure of himself. His blue eyes blazed. “Would you like me to walk you back to your suite?” He winked suggestively. Then he pulled a face. “Or …”
“Would you like to take a walk with me?” Enzo drew her attention back to him. “It’s a beautiful evening, who knows where it might take us.” Enzo’s voice had dropped about a million octaves.
“Choose.” Elliot grinned, looking sure of himself.
“Yeah, which of us do you want?” Enzo folded his arms across his wide chest.
Chapter 13
“So …” Gwen tucked a strand of hair around her ear, allowing her fingers to trace the generous point suggestively. “My lord, how does it feel to be king?” All eyes turned to him. Females surrounded him. The scent of flowers was overwhelming. Lavender, jasmine, honeysuckle and rose. Over-fucking-whelming. They all wanted a piece. Make that, they all wanted everything. What had she asked again? Oh yeah, how does it feel to be king?
Nerve-wracking.
Petrifying.
What if he fucked up? What if he destroyed everything his forefathers had worked so hard to build? What if he wasn’t worthy? What if he wasn’t ready? He didn’t feel ready.
Keto smiled at the pretty female. “I would have preferred it if my lord father had been healthy enough to continue his reign, but I am up for the challenge.” True enough.
“I’m sure you are. You’re more than capable, my lord.” The female next to Gwen gushed. He couldn’t remember her name. Her hair was a beautiful strawberry blond. She sucked in a deep breath, pushing out her chest, willing him to look at her ample breasts. Keto declined. Instead, he tried to get another glimpse of Charlotte. The female was pure seduction. From her sweet smile to her long, shapely legs. She insisted on showing them off. Except, gone was the stifling suit and in its place was pure sin.
Wanted By the Elven King (The Chosen Series Book 7) Page 8
