The Big, Bad Wolves [Mischievous Fairy Tales 2] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour)

by James, Honor

“Don’t worry. I will tell you when and if you step over that line. Just know that I happen to love you, Michael, so very much,” she whispered. “I am happy. I just want you to be happy as well. I need for you to be happy. It’s like a living and breathing part of my heart and soul to have you happy.”

  “I am happy, Rissa, I have you in my life again and forever. I may not always show it. I don’t know how to always show it, but I never want you to doubt how much you mean to me.” Brushing a kiss to her lips, he drew back. “But you need to eat now.”

  “That sounds good,” she said and pulled back from him. “Okay, this will be good. Now, I want to eat and need to eat, and so do you, so come on, big boy, time to eat,” she said happily. “And yes, I want you to eat, too, Michael, I mean it.”

  Growling softly at her, he touched her arm, “I eat when it’s necessary. For you I’ll eat now, but only because I know how you are when you don’t get what you want.” His hand slid down to catch hers and he turned to pull her along. Moving to the table, he drew out a seat for her as Gabriel put a plate on the table in the spot.

  “Thank you, Michael,” she said with a smile. “For being willing to eat for me. I much appreciate that.” Moving and dropping into the chair that he pulled out for her, Rissa smiled at all three men. “Please, eat. I don’t want to eat alone. You all know I absolutely hate eating alone.”

  Gabriel distributed the other plates before taking his seat to her right. Raphael set out cups with water and took his seat across from her. Michael sat to her right and nodded to them. Gabriel and Raphael began to eat as Michael let out a breath and picked at his food, eating a little, but mostly pushing it around.

  Rissa leaned close to Michael and snagged a piece of the meat on his plate. After taking a bite of it, she put her hand in his and gave him a squeeze. “It’s okay, honey,” she told him quietly. “Just as long as I have you near me, I’m good.”

  Holding her hand gently, he rubbed his thumb slowly over her knuckles. Looking to her, he tipped his head slightly. “Eat up, love,” he said lowly, lifting their joined hands to press a kiss to her fingers before settling them back on the table.

  She moved back from him and took the fork back up once more and began to eat while she watched him, bumping her leg to his more than once while she did so. “All right, I think I’m done,” she said finally, pulling back from him and leaning back in her seat. “I’m totally done.”

  “I’ve got cleanup,” Gabriel said, “Raphael will dry. You two go and take a walk, show her some of the sights and nightlife or something.” Getting to his feet, he collected the plates. “Go, now, or I swear I may do something that will get me killed.”

  “Yeah, and that would be bad for all of us, so please don’t do that.” Rissa stood and looked down at Michael. “Come on, take me for a walk. How about you take me and introduce some others that are around so that if I run into them I don’t wig out because I have no idea who they are.”

  “None come out here, but we’ll see if there are some running the perimeter,” he murmured, getting to his feet. Taking her hand, he looked down at what she was wearing. “We should find you some footwear and a nice long cloak.”

  “Why don’t they ever come here?” she asked with a frown, but nodded. “I would really like to have a long cloak,” she admitted. “I don’t want to be out in the open where people can point and look at me.”

  “None would be so crass as that,” Michael said and looked up as Raphael came out with her shoes. Taking them from him, he nodded his thanks and passed them over. “Put them on,” he said, turning to collect a cloak for her. “None come here because it is the place where we seek privacy and calm amongst the pack. The only time they come within a hundred foot radius is if there is an emergency.”

  “Ahh,” she said softly. “That makes sense, actually,” she told him. “It really does. Sometimes you need a break. It’s very good to be able to have that separation from time to time, so I’m glad that you boys can have it. I really am.”

  Wrapping the cloak around her, he pinned it at her shoulder. “Come,” he said after he slipped on his jacket. “Let’s go and walk. We will head toward the perimeter and see who is out and running right now.”

  “Sounds good. I want to be able to meet them. You know how I get with new people.” She became even shyer. She pulled back from people and looked down as much as possible. Even though she did what she had to do in order to be the Princess her parents asked for, she was still a stunningly shy person at the core of her being.

  “You will be fine,” he said softly, taking her hand in his.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Given how large pack lands were, it was surprising that they’d actually found someone. Michael had introduced the two young men, juveniles both. They’d been happy to meet her but also very careful to not get too close. ’Course, that could have been the growling Michael was doing when they dared to inch in. Eventually he’d waved them on and they’d continued to walk, looking for some of the older ones.

  Her hand was in his and she looked up at him. “You aren’t wearing your cape and your face isn’t hidden.” She smiled. “I’m glad.” She didn’t understand why he wanted to hide the scar on his face. Yes, it did lend him a very dangerous air, but he did that anyway just being him. “And thank you. For being the one to walk with me and introduce me to people. That makes me very happy.”

  “I’m Prime Alpha. It’s my duty and privilege to do so. I also don’t need to hide the scars here on pack lands. They all know the damage I suffered and only know I survived. That’s what matters. To them, scars are nothing but markers of someone that has seen battle and come out the other side stronger for it.”

  “Exactly,” Rissa said with a smile. “That’s how I see them. I see you for you, Michael, I always have.” His scars had never scared her, only made her ache and hurt for him while he was healing. That part had all but killed her.

  “You have a look on your face,” he said, though he’d never once looked her way. “What’s with the look you have, Rissa? Is something wrong?” he asked as they walked through the quiet of the forest.

  “I just remember when it happened. You being hurt had all but killed me. It really had. I had hated how much you hurt. I never, ever want to have that feeling again,” she whispered. “Especially when you shut me down as fast as you had. You pushed me out of your life without letting me be close to see that you were okay.”

  His hand pulled her to a stop even as his large body slid in front of her. “A wounded male doesn’t like being coddled, especially a wounded male with a mate. We’re supposed to be the strong ones, the ones to protect,” he said softly. His hands cupped her cheeks and forced her head up so their eyes met. “It’s stupid, it’s idiotic, and it’s the truth. We are what we are, darling. I can’t apologize for being who I am. I didn’t want you to see me like that, and I only left because the vision in my one eye was compromised. I couldn’t, in good conscience, remain as your protector until, if, it healed. It did, but by then it was too late. Raphael and Gabriel had moved up the ranks and were in place. I never meant to hurt you, Rissa, and I’m so sorry I did. I promise I will make it up to you each and every day of the rest of our lives.”

  “You have nothing to make up for. We are together now and that is what truly matters in the end. That you love me and that I love you. Nothing else. Only this, honey,” she told him honestly. “So just love me and be with me. That’s all that I need. Not the words. I want the actions, the ones that you give me every moment that we are together.”

  Michael frowned and shook his head slowly. “What do you mean?” he asked, looking genuinely confused. “What actions are you speaking of, Princess?” He sounded like he…hell, he sounded like he truly didn’t know any better.

  Reaching up, she cupped his cheek in her hand and stroked her thumb along his scar. “This. The way you look at me, the way you handle me. The way you touch me, these are all such small things but they mean so very, very much t
o me. That’s what I’m talking about, Michael.”

  “I’ve always done this with you, Rissa, even when you were little. I could no more change how I am with you than a leopard could change its spots. I am glad you approve now that you are older. You were not quite so appreciative when you were a little girl,” he grumbled.

  “Oh I was, I just didn’t want you to know how it affected me because I was terrified that it would make you leave me. I didn’t understand why I felt the way that I did, but I’ve always had the full emotion that you were mine. Period. No other questions except how and when.”

  “Which have since been answered,” Michael said softly. His nose went up in the air suddenly and he growled. His eyes took on a slight glow before he pulled her closer to him. “Two guards coming this way, running their route a little shallow,” he warned her softly.

  She nodded and licked her lips. Pulling her hood up and over her head once more, she moved to his side and slightly behind him so that he could greet the men first. She understood the need that he had to face the perceived threats with her behind him and allowed him to protect her, just as she would him.

  Rubbing his hand over her hip lightly as he used his arm to block her, Michael looked down at her briefly. The two guards slowed and looked them over before moving in closer. “Rissa, this is Vedran and Koran. Lads, this is Princess Rissa.” He introduced them but didn’t let her move out from behind his arm.

  Rissa nodded. “Very nice to meet you both.” She spoke softly from her position. “Michael was showing me the property, introducing me to people so that I could be a little more comfortable here.” So that she didn’t startle if anyone came from nowhere if she were alone.

  “A pleasure, Princess.” The two tipped their heads to her, though it had been Vedran who spoke. “We usually run the circuit in this area but switch off with a couple others for the day run. We’ll give them a heads up that you’re around so not to hunt you down like prey.”

  “Are you having a meeting to introduce her to everyone?” Koran asked, tipping his head in that way that animals did, curious and watchful all at the same time.

  “As soon as we know what we are doing with her kingdom,” Michael told them. “Until then, let the others know the Princess is here, and if one hair is out of place I will personally see to their dismemberment.”

  Rissa watched them wince and had to hide her smile. She waited until she and Michael were once more alone to grin, looking up at him and shaking her head. “I think that they might have just peed themselves when you growled at them like you did.”

  “Doubtful,” he said quietly as they walked along. “I’ve been gone too long. The fact I even have any of their trust and respect at all is shocking. No, I’ve broken the trust between me and the pack, and it will be a long time in coming before I get it back. If I get it back.”

  “Honey.” She stopped and looked up at him. “You will. You have never lost it. You think that you have, but you really haven’t. It’s evident in the way that they look at you. The respect is there in their eyes. They understood why you had to leave, just as I now understand it as well.”

  “They may respect me and they may even understand my reasons, but pack is something else entirely, Rissa. An Alpha of any rank never walks away and definitely doesn’t seclude himself like I did. That has a lasting damage on the pack as a whole,” he said quietly. “A trust was broken, but hopefully it can be regained in time.”

  She nodded and sighed. “How was it not broken by you all being a part of my father’s most trusted guard? Because you were all away from this land when you are a part of that guard, so how can it be so different?”

  “We were here on our days off, and the pack knew where to find us,” he said as they continued their walk. “We had an understanding with your father that if it was required, we’d drop everything to come to the aid of the pack. It’s why we trained the Royal Guard so hard and so intensely. We needed them prepared in the eventuality that we were pulled away as part of a ruse. Not that it ever occurred, but it could well have.”

  “And still could,” Rissa said softly. “I hate it, but it’s true. It could still happen, and that drives me batty. I hate knowing that there is something and someone out there that wants me dead and if they knew that you and I were together, that the four of us were together, they would do whatever they had to in order to ensure that you were too busy with your pack to protect me.”

  “It’s why the guard training is so rigorous and why getting into the Royal Guard is so hard,” Michael told her honestly. “We all knew the instant you were born that eventually someone would clue into who you were to us. We knew that as soon as they did, all they’d need to do is start something on pack land to pull one or two of us away. We’d never leave you fully alone and unprotected. One of us would remain with you, of course. But we also realized that the one left behind would be distracted from worry and concern. Thus we put the guards through hell, and if they survive, they get a spot.”

  Rissa thought about his words for a moment, letting them linger in her mind until finally she asked, “And if the people who wanted me dead knew this? If they placed their own assassins within my guard? They would know every place that I would be, they would know every move I would make before I made it. What’s to say that one of the guards isn’t the killer?”

  “Unfortunately we had the same thought,” he said quietly. “That’s another reason we’re here for a few days before we decide our next move. We all need a chance to rest, recover, and think clearly once more. We don’t believe there is, but it would explain the ease with which they got to your parents. But we can’t just assume that, we have to suspect everyone but for those we know are safe.”

  “Which would be the three of you.” She moved so that she could wrap her arm around his middle and lay her head on his shoulder. Sighing, she closed her eyes and just simply drank in the feeling of holding him close and near. “I know that I’m completely and fully safe with you three.”

  His arms moved around her and held her to him, one hand moving to stroke her hair lightly. “We will never hurt you, Rissa, that I can promise you. We will find out who is after you and ensure they are stopped permanently. I will not have you living in fear for the rest of our lives.”

  “I know you won’t. I believe in you three. I will always believe in you. I’m happy with you, very much so. I’m happy that you are in my life and you are my protectors. I know that you will ensure that we will have a life free of fear, because it’s not only for me, not only for you guys, but for us.”

  Michael pressed a kiss to her hair and drew away. Cupping her face, he stared down at her. “We should get back. You need to get some sleep. We will continue our walk tomorrow if pack business doesn’t overly interfere too much.”

  “Sounds good.” She turned with him and placed her hand into his, giving him a light squeeze as she did so. “Have I mentioned to you just how easily you can read me, and how much I like that? I love that you all three know just what I want and need even before I know that I want and need something.”

  “You are our mate, Princess,” he said softly as they walked through the trees and brush. “We will always know what you need. Hopefully before you need it, as it should be. But I can’t make that a promise since you tend to be a little…” Michael’s words trailed off. “Well, to be honest, you tend not to think as one would assume you would and you do so like throwing us off our game.”

  “I thought that was part of my charm?” Rissa shot back at him, her lips quivering in a small snicker. “Because I have to tell you, it’s part of what makes me me. I have always thought differently than anyone would believe, I would have figured that you would have me figured out by now.”

  “Every time I think I do has me questioning you all over again,” he said, shaking his head. “You live to confuse and baffle us. That much I know for fact, woman. I’m even pretty sure that you get some pleasure from messing with us as you do.”

  Her li
ps quivered with a grin, but she turned wide eyes on him and, in a shocked gasp, said, “I would never.” She ruined her drama, though, when she began to giggle and then move right into side-splitting laughter. Well damn, they figured her out. She did get some satisfaction in leading her men on a merry chase, sometimes.

  He gave a low, deep growl. “Yes, you would, and we all know it. You love to keep us on our toes, Rissa. We’ve known that since the moment you learned to walk. It only got worse once you started to talk. From there it only went downhill.”

  “Especially when I learned to run, too. I couldn’t get on a horse without throwing up all over you guys, but I could and did run, a lot.” She loved the feeling of the wind in her hair and got that from the running.

  “That you did, often,” he said softly as they walked. “You used to love to run on the battlements, your arms wide. You were quite the sight to see when you would dart between the guards, laughing as you did.”

  Snickering, Rissa nodded her head, and then, with mirth in her eyes, said, “I don’t think that I will ever forget the look on your face though, when I thought I could fly. I swear I’ve never heard you yell at me before that moment in time. Wow, you were angry. And then suddenly the battlements had roped-off areas and guards. That was very naughty of you, by the way.” Her tone was teasing when she spoke to him.

  “You jumped off the battlements, Rissa.” His voice was rougher, harsher. “There was nothing under you but hard-packed dirt. Had you actually hit the ground you’d have been lucky only to break a number of bones.” He’d raced through the bailey and barely caught her, breaking her fall before she’d hit ground, and all the while she’d been laughing. “You’re lucky all I did was yell at you,” he said very, very softly.

  “I’m sorry that I scared you,” she said quietly. “I had never seen fear on your face until that day.” It was that look more than him yelling that made her never think she could fly again. “Will you forgive me for all the trauma that I put you through when I was a child and see me, really see me, as the woman that I’ve become?”