by Amy Star
“Thearon? Are we suddenly destitute? The Queen can surely afford a new robe, right? I mean, my Queen, you would look lovely in a potato sack, but my point is you don’t have to.”
For the one who was supposed to be good at social situations, Lavinia wished he would just put the robe away now, especially as Thearon was coming over to have a look. She decided at that moment she would drink her coffee butt naked, no robe would be necessary. Thearon took the worn fabric in his hands and rubbed it between his fingers.
“Oh, I don’t know Parker, it feels soft. Isn’t the point of a robe first and foremost to be comfortable? I put up with you in your choice, even if the red is slightly offensive first thing in the morning.”
Parker shrugged and took the robe back. Companionably feeling the softness of the fabric as well. With a shrug, he opened the garment and beckoned Lavinia off the bed.
“Like I said my Queen, you look beautiful in everything, though I mostly think of you as naked at this point.”
Lavinia slid off the bed and into the awaiting garment. “It is the softest thing I own. I’ll admit I’ve tried others but they’re just not the same.” She tied the worn satin sash around her waist and Parker tried to peek down the front of the robe. “Hey now, you need to feed me before you have another shot at the goods.”
“Thearon, hurry if we feed her she’s just promised dessert!”
Thearon had moved back to the window staring out contemplatively. “Huh?” He said turning back around to the giggling couple. Thearon tried for a smile when he saw how happy they were, but Lavinia could tell it was nowhere close to reaching his eyes. Parker too seemed to note the disconnect but he did a better job of smoothing it over by teasing and bullying his Omega to the brunch table, where they replenished the calories lost in the sexcapades of the night before.
After brunch, Parker and Lavinia curled up on the couch and chatted. They shared childhood stories and anecdotes about living in the Palace. Lavinia enjoyed how easy it was with Parker. Conversation was smooth and steady and their shared laughter was forging a bond between them. But while they laughed and teased, Lavinia found part of her brain following Thearon’s path around the room. He seemed to be doing laps of the perimeter almost as if checking for holes or gaps in the security. Every now and then, he’d poke at something on the wall, or open a closet. Thearon’s actions reminded Lavinia of a caged animal.
“Thearon? Do you want to join us? We only have about an hour left until the mini vacation is over.”
Thearon checked his watch, “Ah, so you’re right.”
Lavinia would have staked her life on the fact that Thearon knew exactly what time it was. Someone should have removed his watch along with his cellphone. The man obviously had issues turning his job off. But, the reminder seemed to relax him and he walked over to the couch for the first time in a few hours.
Dropping to his knees in front of Lavinia he looked up at her with roguish charm. “How are you feeling, Lavinia? Not too sore, I hope.” Thearon’s hand traveled up her leg and under the robe, stopping just short of the promised land before moving back down her thigh. The motion was only just short of sexual, but Lavinia knew it was causing heat to rise in her cheeks as well as her core.
“I feel fine, thank you.”
“Good, good. I don’t know about Parker, but I could use a thorough cleaning before we leave the suite. Would anyone like to conserve water and share a shower? The bathroom could easily fit a party of people. I’m sure we’ll figure it out between three Werebears, pack mentality and all.”
Parker snorted, but he was the first to lead the charge. “Excellent idea Omega, I like how you’ve really taken the LeKing Tribe’s Green Movement to heart. I’m up for anything I can do to reduce, reuse and recycle. I’ll just go turn on the water.”
Lavinia was left with Thearon and his hand, which had relaxed on her leg. He was casually massaging her inner thigh and staring at her as if it was the first time he was really seeing her. “You really are beautiful you know, tatty robe or designer dress. You’re perfection physically.”
Lavinia smiled, but she wasn’t sure if that was truly a compliment. Something inside of her said that Thearon didn’t keep things around simply because they were pretty to look at.
“I like to think I’m beautiful inside and out,” Lavinia responded, her chin held high.
Thearon lifted the edge of her robe and looked underneath. Lavinia's cheek’s blazed as his eyes again met hers. “Yes, I would agree that you are.” With that, Thearon stood and swept Lavinia into his arms, carrying her to the awaiting husband and shower.
The next morning Thearon hung up his phone, threw the thing across the room. He’d lost an entire day in chasing down the latest security threat, twenty-six hours to be exact – that was more than a day – and it was far too long to be away from sensitive security matters, especially during Mardi Gras. The last hour of his wedding, Thearon had opened an email detailing a security threat that had prevailed in New York City during New Years Eve.
The full report had just come out and apparently a group of male Werebeasts, mixed species, had raided the royal palace of a Werehorse Tribe and killed one of the royal princesses’ handmaidens while also injuring another staff member. Luckily, the royal family had been out of town for the festivities, choosing to avoid the chaos of the city-wide party by spending the holiday at the family’s farm upstate. It had been a last minute decision on the part of the Queen that had taken them out of town. Had they stayed, royal blood would have been shed.
While it wasn’t uncommon to see Werebeasts travel in packs, especially when the city offered famous parties, the story reminded Thearon of the Loupbrun Queen’s email to Parker. The Werebeast group in New York had started off looking like an average group of young were men. The oddities were that they were evenly matched, two from each species, and that they went everywhere as a group, including sharing only one hotel room. It was odd to say the least, but didn’t break any laws.
Shielding the men in New Orleans further. was that the group appeared to be of royal descent. None of them were chosen Alphas, Kings or Omegas – depending on Tribe structure – but royal enough, nonetheless. This was different from New York where the men had been random tribe members. When you compared the facts to the New York event, it seemed like the issue should have come to Thearon as Omega.
The problem was that tradition dictated that if it came to the Alpha first, he was to take the lead on the issue if it straddled the line between political and security. It just rubbed Thearon the wrong way, and he couldn’t let the matter drop.
What he could do was attend a party where the group was scheduled to gathering. Said event was a pre-Fat Tuesday Tea that was happening the following afternoon. The event's security staff on the other end of the phone said that the LeKing Tribe had already been offered their invitation and it had been accepted...by someone else,and to keep things balanced, they only issued so many invitations to each tribe. Who the LeKing Tribe member was, they weren’t at liberty to say, and Thearon didn’t push the matter further for the sake of appearing like a leader who didn’t know what was going on in his own tribe. Gods, this was rough.
A knock on his office door had him growling in response. Thearon really didn’t want to deal with whoever was on the other side of that door. “Come in –“
“Sorry, I know you're probably busy...At least, your assistant said you were busy, but I just have a quick question.”
Thearon’s head snapped up as the Queen walked into his office. Today, she was clad in skinny jeans and an expensive looking white peasant top. Looking down, he saw it was paired with a sky high pair of red pumps that had him swallowing hard. What he wouldn’t do to have her naked except for those right now…
“Uhm, I have a bit of a problem. My first official outing is tomorrow and originally, Parker was scheduled to go with me. But he’s had a more urgent commitment come up. Do you happen to have a free afternoon tomorrow?”
T
hearon blinked, his mind went into work mode. “My assistant would be the better person to ask; my schedule is usually pretty rigid, especially after taking off for the last twenty-four hours.”
Lavinia tried not to let it irk her that the “last twenty-four hours” had been their wedding ritual, but it was difficult to ignore.
Her tone turned terse, “Perhaps your assistant thought that you might advise him to make room in your schedule for your wife’s first official public outing. No Queen in the last hundred years has gone on her first outing without the presence of one of her husbands. It’s tradition.”
Thearon was half listening as he scanned his email for recent updates from his assistant. The man should be trying to find out who was attending that Tea, so Thearon could take their place, not distracting him with the royal sex toy. Without looking up, he responded, “My apologies, my Queen, but I’m not as swayed by tradition as the Alpha is. Perhaps you’d have better luck convincing him.”
Lavinia took a deep breath and sighed. “Perhaps you’re right. Happy second day of marriage to you, too.”
The statement was imparted brightly but the slamming of the door spoke volumes. Thearon scrubbed a hand over his face. No one understood the pressure he was under. He didn’t have time for flights of fancy or to be swayed by tradition, it was more important to keep everyone alive and safe. Though, he figured he would have to cancel his scheduled mistress time later in the day to apologize to Lavinia. He really didn’t mean to upset the sweet girl, though Violet would be pissed...
Thearon was weighing the ramifications of a pissed off wife or an angry mistress when his email pinged with an update from his assistant. Opening the document, Thearon swore and read it through a second time. The computer almost ended up smashed against the wall along with his phone. He really needed to improvise a stress reliever to hurl around rather than expensive technology.
Gently shutting off the device, Thearon stood up and walked out after the Queen. He had a lot of crow to eat and while the bird was delicious as a bear, he’d be doing it as a human and each bite was going to be a bitter pill to swallow.
CHAPTER FOUR
Thearon stood outside the Queen’s offices. Unlike his cramped quarters that were filled with boxes of paperwork, walls of computers and spare interrogation rooms, the Queen’s offices were reminiscent of a turn of the century receiving room. They were really a series of rooms that could be opened up or closed off for privacy, depending on the social situation. Each room complemented the one before it, and yet maintained a unique personality. Thearon walked his way toward the Queen’s offices in the back, passing through purple, pink, yellow and orange rooms, each accented with silver and gold. It was like walking through sophisticated sherbet.
During the walk, Thearon tried to pick up a little of the sweetness imparted by the decor, he would need to be sweet as sugar to his wife. As it turned out, it was the Queen who had accepted the invitation to the Tea the next day.
Lavinia had offered Thearon exactly what he wanted and Thearon had casually swatted her away. Thearon knew he had been a total ass to her and was regretting his own nature. At times like this, Thearon wished he had a little more Alpha in his personality.
The ability to completely turn off his emotions to make decisions based on logic, were a necessary component of being an Omega, but it made apologizing very difficult to do. He had no silver-tongued words with which to easily smooth over situations.
Thearon could hear the click-clack of keystrokes as he approached the outer office. Sitting behind a whitewashed barn wood desk, was Lavinia’s handmaiden Callia. Obviously, Lavinia had taken a moment to inform Callia on the details of her visit to the Omega because the curvy woman’s stare could have frozen ice...or cut him in half. Thearon’s money was on the death and dismemberment intention.
Thearon stopped at the desk and attempted to look sheepish. “Hello Callia, is the Queen available?”
He must not have succeeded because the reply was a brusque, “No.”
“Are you sure? I saw her only ten minutes ago and she seemed free at the time.”
This time, the look that Callia gave him could have incinerated him on the spot. “I am sure. I’m sitting in front of the schedule and it is not looking good for the Omega. We definitely have no time for that faction of the royal relationship.”
Thearon’s eyes narrowed. “That is not a handmaiden’s call.”
“It’s a best friends’ call,” Callia said standing up behind the desk. If she were two feet taller she would have been toe to toe with the Omega. Even so, she was still an intimidating little person.
At that moment, the door to the Queen’s offices cracked open. “Callia? Could you come in here? I need a little help with this zipper…”
Thearon rushed toward the two inch opening into the Queen’s inner sanctum, his long legs beating the handmaiden to the punch. Slipping into the room, he shut Callia out and locked the door behind him. Lavinia looked into the mirror, and if she was surprised to see her husband instead of Callia, she didn’t show it. The only noticeable change was a slight dropping of her shoulders.
“Well, you were good at the undressing part, how are you with putting the clothing back on?”
Thearon walked toward her, “I told you I’m good with the physical. If I can do it with my hands, I can do it well.”
Lavinia’s answer was to turn toward the mirror and lift the heavy fall of hair off her neck. The dark color of the curls was a direct contrast to the pale graceful line of her neck, a combination that had Thearon wishing he was already in her good graces again, where he could be slipping the dress off rather than zipping it up.
Grasping the zipper, Thearon looked closer at the thing. The dress in question was a sweet looking day dress made of coral lace flowers over a nude lining. Thearon wouldn’t have bet it was going to be a sexy number but as the zipper pulled the fabric tight he could see every outline of her glorious breasts.
“It’s not too tight, right?” Lavinia asked but a peek in the mirror at Thearon revealed smoldering eyes looking at her reflection. She was willing to bet he didn’t even realize that his thumb had started to brush against the base of Lavinia’s neck. Back and forth, back and forth, Lavinia felt his thumb move and she felt herself warm to his touch.
She was trying hard not to be swayed so easily by this man who had so rudely dismissed her not moments before. Stepping away from his stroke was difficult, but necessary, under the pretense of looking at the dress she moved closer to the mirror.
Assuming he wasn’t going to answer the question about the dress’s fit, Lavinia got to the point, “Did you need something? Or did you rip yourself away from the security needs of our Tribe to do up my zipper.”
Stone cold serious, Thearon looked into her eyes, “I always have time to do you.”
Lavinia rolled her eyes and Thearon continued, “But I am here to apologize. I was an ass. I know that I’m not good at small talk or tradition for that matter, but I understand the event tomorrow is important to you. In the interest of being a better husband, I’m offering my escort services tomorrow.”
Inwardly, Lavinia was laughing her ass off. Did Thearon really think his assistant hadn’t told her that he needed to attend that Tea? “I’m impressed that you were able to undergo such a major emotional transformation in the time it took me to walk down a hallway and step into a dress. Either I’m a lucky woman or there’s something else motivating your offer.” Lavinia flicked her eyes to his, “It wouldn’t be because you just learned that the event I wanted you to go to is the very event that you’ve been spending all day trying to get an invite to.”
Thearon looked like he’d been punched in the gut. He cleared his throat, “Let’s say it was a combination of things.”
Now Lavinia was angry, could he not at least look a little embarrassed? She spun around and walked toward him head on. “Let’s stick to the truth. I’ve known you for less than three days and in that time you’ve swung from c
areful lover to out and out asshole liar. From this moment forth I don’t want you to lie to me. You aren’t very good at it anyway; half truths don’t suit you.”
Thearon let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair. Lavinia chose to ignore what that did to his bicep in the tailored pinstripe shirt.
Thearon sighed, “Fair enough. I want to go to the Tea tomorrow because we’ve received intel from a group of Werebeasts who are in the city. They’re all of royal descent and should be welcomed as emissaries to the territory.
Ostensibly, they are here for Mardi Gras, but something about their group rubs me the wrong way. To be totally honest, Parker doesn’t see them as a threat, and I’ll admit, nothing on paper suggests that they’re dangerous and I can’t find motivation for violence on their behalf, either.”
Lavinia’s eyebrows furrowed, “Well, then why are you worried?”
Thearon cracked his knuckles, “There are some similarities to the New Years Eve murders.”
“The murder in New York where the handmaiden was killed? I thought that was a group of Werebeasts who were no longer attached to a Tribe? Junkies maybe? I thought it was just a robbery gone badly? That’s what the papers said.”
Thearon nodded, “Yes, the original evidence seemed to point to that, but as information about the Werebeasts’ movements before the murder were unearthed, they acted suspiciously. The Queen of the Loupbrun Tribe is worried about them - I believe she’s seeing the same connections I am. I would like to see them in person to further gauge their threat level.”
Lavinia considered, pacing in front of her desk. She let her hand trail along the fine-grained wood and snuck a look at Thearon. He was standing cool and tall, only a slight tensing of his forearms giving away that he was nervous about her answer. What made her decision was the fact that he was finally being honest with her.
“Alright, because it’s what I wanted in the first place. Also, because I’m intrigued by the mystery, and finally because I care about the security of this Tribe, I will allow you to escort me tomorrow to the Tea.”
