“We’ll do it.” Belle announced as she and her now fiancé returned to their parents. Queen Serena let out a sigh of relief, not because she was concerned about whether her daughter would come through for the sake of the kingdom, but because she had expected more of a fight from her usually fiery daughter. Belle always came through in the end and did the right thing, but she was typically more head-strong about certain matters.
King Eryek clapped his hands together in joy as he raised from his seat. “Marvelous!” He concluded. “Come sit down and we’ll work through the details.” He motioned his hand back towards the chairs the prince and princess had been sat in a short while ago.“When does this need to happen?" Prince Layke questioned as he sat besides his father, almost certain he wasn’t going to particularly like the answer. But then again, the sooner they were married the sooner they could deal with the Gylandies and go their separate ways.“3 days time.” Queen Serena confirmed. “I’ll take care of all the preparations in the meantime. You two need to take care of announcing your engagement to the Kingdoms and pretending to be in love. It might be wise to do tours of both Kingdoms so the people can see you together as a couple.”Layke glanced at Belle, feeling rather conflicted. 3 days was rather soon to married to this woman, yet he couldn’t help but imagine his fiancé in a wedding dress. Or better yet, her bridal lingerie underneath it. He imagined the way the delicate lace would amplify her curves as it rest on her hips and how her corset style bralette would enhance her already fuller breasts, as her electric blue waves fell loose over her shoulders and her big, ocean blue eyes fluttered up at him.“Layke?” His father’s voice brought him back to reality. He shifted in his seat, trying to settle the hardness forming in his pants. Belle quirked her brow at him, intrigued by his reaction. Layke cleared his throat, before smiling at his father. “Fine.” He agreed flatly.He internally scolded himself for having such thoughts about the princess. This was strictly a business relationship, nothing more and nothing less. Whatever attraction he had to her he needed to suppress because in three months’ time, they’d never speak again. Besides, she wasn’t what he wanted for a mate. He needed someone who was soft and submissive, someone who would let him take charge. In the short space of knowing Belle, he knew she was neither of those things.“We will be using the wedding day as your coronation days too. The sooner you’re married and crowned, the sooner Belle’s strength from Nia will flow through Avalon.” Queen Serena confirmed. “I also think it would be best for you both to split your time between the Kingdom’s equally after the marriage. It’s important both Kingdom’s feel as though they are a priority. Perhaps 4 days in one kingdom and then 4 days in the other?”Layke slowly nodded his head absentmindedly, until a thought triggered in his mind. “Nia?” He asked, looking back and forth between the Queen and the Princess with a sceptical look on his face.“My wolf.” Belle confirmed with an amused grin. It was at that moment she realised faeries really didn’t know much about wolves. “That’s her name.”“So.. you name your wolves?” Layke asked, squeezing his brows together as if the people sat in front of him were crazy.Belle laughed, shaking her head. “We don’t name them. When they come to us, they tell us their names. We share a mind, remember, meaning we can communicate with one another. Just like we can communicate with other pack members through our mind-link.” She pressed her lips together, waiting for Layke’s mind to explode as he processed the fact that she just told him they speak to their wolves.Layke nodded his head slowly, trying to compute what Belle had told him. He had always assumed that werewolves just shifted when they wanted to and that was it, there was no communication between the human mind and the wolf. Which, now that he thought about it, didn’t actually make much sense.“Well, Nia is more than welcome in Avalon, Princess Belle.” King Eryek smiled. “Please feel free to let her out to run as often as you see fit.” Belle appreciated the King’s words, she had presumed they would want Nia kept in whenever they were in Avalon due to the people in the kingdom not being accustom to werewolf ways.“Anyway, I shall have one of the maids show you both to your bed chambers so you can settle in. I need a few moments with my daughter before I can begin making arrangements. Prince Layke, Belle will provide you with a tour of the castle shortly.” Queen Serena announced with a gracious smile, before excusing herself and Belle.Belle lifted her arms to allow the seamstress to take her measurements. She hadn’t expected to be planning her wedding dress an hour after agreeing to get married, but Belle was quickly learning that the marriage couldn’t happen quick enough.Her mother sat across from her, resting on her daughters bed as Belle followed the seamstress’s instructions. “I’m proud of you, Belle. It takes a true Queen to put the good of her people before her own wants. Honestly, I expected more of a fight from you.” Queen Serena chuckled.Belle sighed. “Whilst I’m not happy about the situation, I’ll always put the people of Midsummer first. You know that, mother. It’s just infuriating that the one thing I didn’t want to get in the way of my responsibilities is the one thing that will help me do them.”Her mother flashed her a sympathetic smile. “Having a partner isn’t the worst thing in the world, Belle. There are many situations that I couldn’t possibly have gotten through without being able to lean on your father for support.”“Dad is your mate. It’s different.” Belle reminded her mother. Truthfully, Belle hadn’t always been against having a mate. She grew up seeing the way her parents were and it helped her believe in the sentiment of the mate bond. Her parents were the most loved up couple she had ever known. But ruling with a mate.. she’d never be taken seriously. She would be seen as the trophy wife who doesn’t have any business getting involved in political affairs.“Prince Layke will be a good leader to have by your side, Belle. He’s methodical and a planner. He thinks about his moves before making them. You’ll balance each other out.” It was just like her mother to see the positive in everything. It was one of the things that made her such a brilliant Queen.Belle smiled at her mother. She was happy to let her mother think whatever she needed to think about this marriage because at the end of the day, it didn’t matter. It would be over almost as quickly as it started.“Here she is,” Prince Layke smirked as he leaned over the balcony. “My dotting fiancé.” He teased. There was something about watching Belle roll her eyes that brought him immense satisfaction, a thrill he couldn’t get enough of. As expected, Belle rolled her eyes. “Come on Charming, lets get this over with.” Belle turned on her heels, heading back towards the grand hall. She wasn’t sure why she had to give Layke a tour, she was fairly certain that he would be able to figure out the grounds all by his big boy self. Layke chuckled as he followed Belle’s lead. “Here’s the grand hall, as you know.” Belle motioned her hands around to emphasis her point as she took deep strides throughout the room. As they left the room, Belle took a right and led Layke down the stone corridor. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling every two metres, and considering how long the corridor in front of him was, there was a fair few chandeliers. Each time they passed another crisp white set of double doors with a
The morning between Belle and Layke had been rather awkward. Neither had brought up last night’s conversation during the journey to Avalon and it also hadn’t been brought up whilst Layke gave Belle a tour of his home. But aside from the animosity between them, Belle found herself to rather impressed by the castle of Avalon. It wasn’t much smaller than her home and it was equally as beautiful. Once she got over the haunting gargoyles resting at the entrance of the home, Belle found the castle to be rather charming. Spiral staircases could be found behind corners, grand chandeliers hung from the ceiling, spotless white marble floor was carried out throughout the home and the doorways were tall enough to fit someone twice the height of Layke. If she had plans to stay, she would have been quite happy here. After Layke did the exact opposite of what she did and took her inside practically every single room, he finally led her out to the castle gardens where most of the kingdom had gather
Despite the nights previous events, both Layke and Belle managed to keep their pent up tension at bay as they joined Layke’s friends and some of the warriors for breakfast. As he sat drinking his coffee, Layke couldn’t help but watch Belle as she enjoyed the bacon on her plate. There was something so effortlessly sensual about each one of her movements, almost graceful and fluid. The way she chewed her food and licked those ample lips had his member threatening to combust. Ironically, Belle had no idea about the feelings she could stir up from the simplest of acts, even when his righthand man couldn’t keep his eyes off her either. Beau’s eyes were stuck to her like glue, much to Layke’s dismay but he couldn’t blame him either. Even Layke’s enforces seemed to helplessly admire her. She really was the most unwillingly sensual person he had ever seen. The fact that she was so oblivious to it only made the attraction grow. Belle lifted her eyes from her food, noticing the way the men on
“I think I’ll go get my bags now, we’re due back in Midsummer shortly.” Belle said sweetly, releasing a gasping Sierra to the floor, before she made her way around her and pointedly ignore the enforcer. “Oh, and close your mouth, Layke. You’ll catch flies.” Perplexed and also slightly horny as a result of the alpha vibes rolling off of her, Layke watched after Belle as she strode out the room nibbling on her last piece of bacon. Once Belle was out of sight, Layke’s eyes landed on Sierra, who was desperately rubbing her neck. At least it wasn’t him on Belle’s bad side this time. He gave his three men a look, instructing them to follow him out of the dining room as he prepared to leave his home once again. He couldn’t help but chuckle and feel a slight sense of pride when he heard Coen mutter, “damn, that female is freakishly strong for her size.” - “Well, you certainly made an impression.” Layke snorted, trying to refrain the corners of his lips from twitching as he focused on driv
Belle glanced at herself in the mirror, she didn’t remember a time she’d ever felt as beautiful as she did now. Her thick, blue hair was styled into loose waves with pieces from the sides being braided until they met in the middle at the back of her head. A few loose strands fell down the side of her face in an effortless yet put together fashion. Her sold gold tiara rested on her head perfectly, with potentially the biggest topaz gemstone she had ever seen positioned in the centre. Her lips had been painted a natural shade of pink, allowing the centre of attention to be on the soft blue eyeshadow along her eyelids, encouraging her ocean eyes to pop even bright than usual. Matching her hair and makeup, she was wearing the most exquisite topaz shaded gown she had ever seen. It started with a strapless corset, amplifying the curves of her body as it enveloped her waist, before delicate gold embroidery separated the corset into a free flowing, floor length skirt with a 3 metre train. T
The rest of the day had gone smoothy, the people of the two kingdoms had began to bond and intermingle as they accepted their new world. Layke had expected some animosity between the avalonions and the summerians, due to the different beliefs many of the subjects held, but things couldn’t have gone better. An even bigger blessing was that Sierra had decided to stay at home and miss the wedding. It was drama neither Layke nor Belle needed that day and with Belle having her werewolf friends here, Layke knew how easy it could have turned into a blood bath. Since the ceremony, the pair had acted as though the kiss between them never happened. Belle had put the feelings the kiss created in a locked box inside her mind, deciding it was purely because of the adrenaline of the day and the heat of the moment. Layke believed it was purely the tension from the night in his office that had stirred up those feelings and as long as the pair stopped bickering like fire and ice, they wouldn’t have
The moon had descended and the sun had risen in what seemed like a blink of an eye to anyone else but Belle had experienced practically every drawn out minute. Layke’s warm body flushed against her had anything other than sleep pacing through her mind, forcing her to frequently toss and turn before she had finally given up on sleep taking over. As she ran her fingers over the material of the bedspread in her Avalon bedroom, Belle questioned her ability to stay sane during the coming weeks, particularly now she had a husband who’s mere voice had her body deceiving her. She resented the effect he had on her, every second in his presence she wanted to either rip his head off or his clothes, there was no happy medium. “I don’t think you’re supposed to look so glum the day after your wedding, Belle.” Sutton commented, noticing the odd quietness in her friend. “Was the package not what you hoped it would be?” Immi insinuated with a pitiful smile. Belle pressed her lips firmly together t
“How can you possibly appear even more flustered than before?” Sutton laughed, leaning back in her chair as she observed the irritation rolling off the Queen in waves. Belle remained tight lipped as she entered the living room where Sutton, Lottie, Immi, Beau, Rai and Coen had been sat waiting for the last 30 minutes for her and Layke. Amusement danced in her friends’ eyes as they noticed an equally flustered King following closely on Belle’s tail. “How gracious of you to join us.” Rai commented, receiving a glare that had his lips twitching from the King. Belle slumped into a chair besides Immi, avoiding Layke’s gaze as he sat across from her. Neither of them quite knew what to do with themselves after that whole ordeal outside, feeling like children being caught with their fingers in the cookie jar. Unlike Belle, Layke had managed to get changed since their interaction, and now she found herself practically drooling over the way his biceps were straining under the fabric of his