by Cara Wylde
Amelia turned to him. “Seriously? What kind of man buys a bride and then doesn’t care enough to meet her?” She realized she had raised her voice, and immediately looked at Roman. “I’m sorry… he’s your son, I shouldn’t…”
“Oh, you have all the right to be pissed off about this silly situation! He is my son and I know how difficult and stubborn he can be. I’ll talk to him today, I promise you.”
If Roman talked to his son that day, or the next, Amelia couldn’t tell. They finished their lunch and Seth helped the old Inari back to his room, leaving Amelia with the servants. Eventually, she went back to her own room and finished the detective novel she had started reading on the plane. She had dinner alone that evening. One of the servants brought it to her on a large tray, and when Amelia was done, the girl ran a hot bath for her and took the empty tray away. The only people she saw the next day were Aaron and Elena, Aaron’s mate. Roman wasn’t feeling well, Blake was locked up with his books, and Seth was at his cabin. Seth… Three more days and she was climbing the walls. She couldn’t tell if it was because Blake had yet to show any interest in her presence there, or because she missed Seth’s handsome face and smooth voice. What she did know was that Alma Venus had prepared her for many things, but not for such a confusing situation.
CHAPTER THREE
The White Fox
She only saw Seth three or four times as he found her reading on the porch when he came to see either Roman or Blake. They exchanged few words, and he never stayed for more than five minutes. He always seemed in a hurry, always looked as if he had more important things to do. Amelia tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach every time he turned around and disappeared behind the door. Aaron and Elena were nice, though, and they had told her she could visit them whenever she wanted. She paid them some visits, but there wasn’t much to do there either, so she eventually decided there was no point in leaving the house, or even her room. She was bored out of her mind, and the generous library she had found on the ground floor didn’t help with improving her mood anymore. Four days had passed since she had arrived in Ekviknuna and nothing was happening. Nothing.
Amelia rummaged through her clothes and finally found the white T-shirt she had been looking for. It was a warm day and she decided there was no way she was staying inside. She needed to go for a walk. Badly. At first, she had thought of asking Elena if she would accompany her to the docks, but then she changed her mind. She didn’t feel like seeing Aaron or Elena today. She just wanted to be alone with her own thoughts, but far away from this house. The silence here was driving her mad. She put on her tight black jeans, tucked them inside her leather boots, then grabbed the phone off the desk and slipped it inside the back pocket. She wouldn’t probably need it, but it was always a good idea to have it with her, just in case she got lost. She had no intention of straying from the way Seth had showed her on her first day here, but having the possibility to call either Elena or Aaron in case anything happened made her feel better.
She got out of the house and started down the street. Soon, she was smiling and nodding towards the fox-shifters who went past her and greeting the ones who called out from their courtyards. It was annoying, yes, but it was better than having these strangers stare at her as she passed without saying anything. She didn’t particularly enjoy the attention, mostly because she didn’t think she deserved it, but at least they weren’t ignoring her as Roman, Blake, and Seth had done in the past few days.
“What’s up with them, anyway?” she whispered to herself as she increased her pace. She just wanted to reach the shore and find a secluded spot from where she could admire the river and enjoy the warm breeze. “Roman seemed to like me. Seth showed me his cabin. Have they really forgotten about me, or are they doing this on purpose? Maybe Roman isn’t feeling well…” As much as she was trying to find excuses for their distant behavior, she couldn’t. From where she was standing, there weren’t many possibilities. “And Blake is not the tiniest bit curious to see what I look like? This is insane!”
She reached the docks and smiled and waved at the fox-shifters and human brides who greeted her and asked her how she was doing. They were all so nice, and the community seemed to run by itself. The only exciting thing which had happened since that awkward lunch with Seth and Roman was meeting Roman’s three brothers who lived in town. They had dropped by randomly, claiming they wanted to make sure Roman was okay, and exchanged a couple of pleasantries with her. Sebastian was just a couple of years younger than Roman, but he looked way better than the old Inari. He was a respectable fox-shifter with gray hair and dark, bushy eyebrows, who managed to intimidate Amelia the second he set his harsh, purple gaze on her. Julian was a tad more pleasant, and more inclined to smiling and telling stupid jokes, and the third brother, Charles, was rather disinterested in anything that happened around him. After meeting all of them, Amelia had come to the conclusion that she didn’t like them much. On the other hand, what did she know? Only what Seth had told her about them and their tense relationship with their eldest brother and main Inari, Roman. But, could she truly trust Seth? Could she trust anyone here? She had no idea. In the first two days, she had been confused, then she started to feel more and more lost, and now, to top it all, she was also bored to death. She had to find something to do, or she’d end up flying back to Alma Venus Boarding School by herself and suffer the consequences.
Amelia walked along the shore, farther and farther away from the people. She found a smooth, round stone, picked it up and studied it for a long minute before throwing it into the water. The ripples it caused fascinated her, so this became her little game for the next fifteen minutes. Soon, the docks were so far behind her that she couldn’t hear the children’s voices anymore. She had long passed the narrow road which led to Seth’s cabin, so she figured it wouldn’t hurt to explore the forest a bit. She loved the river, but the truth was that it was making her feel depressed. It reminded her of how far from Alma Venus she was, and of how she’d never see Delyse or Claudia again. This was her home now, but it didn’t feel like home. No one was bothering to help her grow roots here, and the sight of the small fishing boats sailing far into the distance made her wish for a long, long trip.
The forest was of a luscious green, and Amelia tried to stick to its edge even though the small flowers peeking from between the bushes tempted her to go deeper. Squirrels scurried between flowers and twigs, running for the nearest trees the second they sensed her, and birds were chirping and singing, drawing her attention away from her dark thoughts. “If only I could see this as a sort of vacation… It wouldn’t be so bad,” she whispered to the trees, birds, and the small animals hiding away from her. She was half conscious that she was going west, walking parallel to the river, when she heard a loud noise coming from her right. She stopped in her tracks and listened carefully, waiting for the second one. She knew there would be a second one, then a third. Someone was chopping wood.
Amelia took a deep breath and considered her options. “What the hell?” she thought. The path leading to Seth’s cabin was still somewhere far ahead, but she could reach the clearing if she went through the forest. She’d probably end up somewhere behind the shed. Given that she had explored the secret tunnels under Alma Venus and the woods behind the boarding school on a regular basis, she was pretty good at orientation. She started going deeper into the forest, intentionally avoiding the main path. “What am I doing?” she wondered. She smiled to herself and picked up the pace. Who was she kidding? She had wanted to see him all along, but she didn’t have a good excuse to come looking for him. Now she could tell him that she had gone out for a walk and gotten lost. He would believe her, of course.
The sound of the sharp ax blade splitting wood was growing louder and louder, and soon Amelia saw the back of the shed. Her heart was beating somewhere in her throat, and she couldn’t tell it if was because of the hike or the anticipation of seeing Seth after two days in which he hadn’t set foot at the mansion. She had
grown used to seeing him for five minutes before he locked himself up in Roman’s or Blake’s room, and five more minutes when he left the house, but two days ago he had stopped coming. She stepped slowly, carefully, trying to make as little noise as possible. “This is so stupid. I’m stupid. What am I doing?” But she had to see him. She missed him so much that she could barely sleep at night. Tossing and turning, she could only think of his furrowed brows, full lips, and husky voice. She had dreamed of him more often than she was comfortable admitting. She knew why she was sneaking. If she went straight through the front gate, he’d probably chat with her for no more than five minutes, then show her the way back to town. If she managed to get closer without being noticed, then maybe she would get lucky enough to feast her eyes on his gorgeous body before she had to give herself away.
Seth’s muscles flexed when he lifted the ax above his right shoulder and swung it at a perfect angle. The piece of wood split in two, and he leaned down to gather the perfect halves and throw them onto the tall pile he had been working on. The tattered jeans he was wearing were hanging low on his hips, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Amelia bit her lower lip as her eyes traveled from his square jaw down to his strong chest, well-defined six pack, and the soft happy trail which was leading to that tantalizing region of his body she had fantasized about so much. His skin was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and all Amelia could think of was how she would have loved to kiss every inch of his glorious body and revel in its salty taste. Seth split another piece of wood, and Amelia’s clit throbbed with desire. She squeezed her thighs together, trying to stop her panties from getting any wetter. If he was too focused on what he was doing to hear her, she couldn’t bet he was distracted enough to not smell her unique, feminine scent. He took a break to drink water and swipe his sweaty brow with the discarded shirt, and Amelia cursed herself for not being able to turn around and leave. At this point, it was a bad idea to approach him and tell him she had gotten lost. He would probably sense her arousal immediately. She couldn’t let him know how much she wanted him, how much she craved his strong, tight body. She couldn’t indulge in this fantasy anymore. One of these days, her husband would finally emerge from his ancient texts and want to claim her, and she couldn’t offer her body to the Alpha when the man she really desired was the Beta.
Seth grabbed the ax and finished the last couple of logs. Amelia’s breathing became heavier with every swing of his ax, but she couldn’t find the power to leave. The strong veins in his arms, the hem of his jeans sinking just half an inch lower, the strands of sweaty hair sticking into his eyes… Tension built up inside her, her pussy walls clenched and released more juices, her folds were so sticky that all she could think of was Seth’s skilled tongue cleaning them up. She wondered what he was like in bed. Her hands squeezed into fists at her side and she swore to herself she’d stay just one minute longer and then she’d head back to the mansion.
What happened next took Amelia by surprise. Seth looked at the pile of chopped wood and decided to leave it there. He had intended to carry it all into the shed, but changed his mind. Instead of reaching for his shirt to put it back on, he reached for his belt. Amelia took in a sharp breath when he undid his belt, unbuttoned his jeans, and pulled them down his strong legs along with his boxers and boots. There was no way she could leave her hiding spot now. His back was turned to her, and when he bent down to struggle with his leather boots, she caught a nice view of his perfect butt and heavy sack. Her hands flew to her mouth and she didn’t even dare breathe, least she’d make the tiniest sound. “Oh. My. God.” Her brain couldn’t form coherent thoughts, so her pussy felt it was only fair to take complete control. Her panties were so soaked that her juices had already started working on the thick fabric of her jeans.
Seth finally got rid of his boots. He straightened his back and lifted his arms above his head, sighing when his joints popped. He ran his fingers through his blond hair, but didn’t turn around. Amelia would have given anything to get a nice front view, but apparently it wasn’t happening. Just as she was wondering how his tight buttocks would feel under her fingers, she heard another snap, and this one wasn’t one of his strained joints. Seth fell to one knee and his back bent at a weird angle. He was turning into his fox form right before her eyes and all she could do was stare at him in utter awe. It didn’t take more than a few seconds, but to Amelia it felt like everything happened in slow motion. It was the first time she saw a shape-shifter taking his animal form, and the experience was mind-blowing. Now, in place of the hot, sexy man she had been ogling for the past half hour, stood a majestic white fox with lithe body, long legs, and big, fluffy paws. In his fox form, Seth was a tad taller than in his human form, and Amelia wondered what it would be like to ride such a gorgeous animal. Did foxes even allow their human mates to ride them? She knew her creepy little fox-sighting was over when Seth growled and dashed through the trees, moving so fast that his strong paws made dust and leaves rise in the air. Amelia figured he was probably heading to the river, intent on taking a quick bath before going back to his work. She stepped out of her hiding spot and looked at the clothes he had so carelessly discarded on the ground. She resisted the urge to lift his shirt to her nose and inhale the intoxicating scent which had driven her insane with lust the second she had first sensed it in Miss Delacroix’s office. This was the perfect time to head back to Ekviknuna, and that was exactly what she did when her brain finally won the battle against her soaked pussy and painfully hard clit. If it hadn’t, Seth would have come back to his cabin to find Amelia lying naked in his bed.
***
The next day, Amelia couldn’t look into Seth’s eyes. It was a good thing he was leading the way to Blake’s room and all she had to do was follow, because she couldn’t have faced him for more than two minutes without blushing up to the tips of her ears. He had come at noon to tell her Blake wanted to have dinner with her, and she had averted her gaze the whole time he talked. She had let out a breath of relief the second he had left, only to panic again when she had realized she would finally see the mysterious, intriguing Blake Sylfur. Her Alpha. Her husband. Now, as she was walking behind Seth, perfectly aware of the roundness and firmness of his ass in those leather pants he loved so much, Amelia was shaking like a leaf. “I need to pee,” she thought. Except she had gone just ten minutes ago. “No, I don’t need to pee. Ugh! I think I’m getting stomach cramps…” She felt so nervous, miserable, frustrated and horny, all at the same time, that running away and hiding in a small, dark corner sounded like a decent solution. “What if I don’t like him?” Seth went past Roman’s door, leading her farther down the corridor. “But what if I like him? I also like Seth… No, that’s ridiculous. I can’t like two men at once.”
Seth stopped in front of the door and waited for Amelia to catch up with him. His hand rested on the knob as he watched her step lightly in those black stilettos that made her legs look longer and thinner. The little black dress highlighted her round breasts, gracious waist, and wide, beautiful hips. He loved the natural make-up of her eyes and the red lipstick on her full lips. Yes, he would definitely take this woman out to dinner, then bring her back to his cabin, lay her down on his bed, in front of the fireplace, and make love to her slowly, carefully, savoring every inch of her body and drinking her moans off her parted lips. She stopped by his side and he looked away. This was not a good time for an erection he couldn’t take care of.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Yes.” She wanted to say “no” and run for her life. Seth turned the knob and stepped out of the way so she could enter the room. He wasn’t going to have dinner with them, and Amelia knew it was better. She swallowed heavily, thanked him for holding the door for her, then went over the threshold.
The room was dimly lit, and just as she had thought, it was more of an apartment. Definitely bigger than her own bedroom. She knew the man who was sitting at the table by the window was Blake Sylfur, but she couldn’t tell his features from where s
he stood.
“Hi.” Her voice came out a bit chocked and she cleared her throat. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. I’m Amelia.”
The man turned towards her but didn’t stand up. The warm light of the lamp fell on his face and Amelia saw his bright purple eyes, dark brown hair, and delicate, almost feminine features.
“Sit down, Amelia.”
His voice was low and well-measured. There was something about it, but Amelia couldn’t tell what. It just sounded… unnatural. She chased the conflicting thoughts away and approached the table. She was aware of his eyes on her and she felt just as exposed as she had felt during the interview with Seth. She sat down and tried to relax against the backrest. The food had already been brought.
“I hope I’m not late,” she said.
“Not at all. I asked the servants to bring everything we need before you came. I don’t want anyone to disturb us.”
Amelia smiled and hoped he didn’t see how nervous and downright scared she was. “What if he wants more after dinner?” She asked herself. “What then? Am I ready?” She bit the inside of her lip. “Dear God, I’m not ready.” She tried to distract herself by focusing on him. If only she could find him attractive enough, then everything would be easier.
His physique was not what gave Blake Sylfur that Alpha air he needed to rule over his clan when the time came. It was something more subtle, something in his attitude and gestures. Amelia could tell he was tall, but he was more on the lithe, athletic side than on the muscular, bulky side. If she were to compare Blake’s and Seth’s body-built, then Seth was probably twice the size of Blake. However, there was a strength to him, both physical and spiritual, which made Amelia feel safe in his presence. Almost comfortable. She decided then and there that this man would never hurt her. Yes, he was scrutinizing her and studying every inch of her body, but not in a hungry, lustful way. His straight eyebrows were slightly furrowed and his thin lips were pursed, as if he was entirely absorbed in something, as if he was weighing some mysterious possibilities. Amelia had no idea whether it had anything to do with her. Then, he smiled and reached for his glass of red wine.
