*This has to be a mistake…*“But, Lynn—“Lynn smirked at her and bowed out of the room, closing the door behind her. She huffed at his hasty escape and turned to look around the room. She had once been the wife of a prince, and her office had not been this luxurious. It had been plainer than the office Adolph worked in. Maybe this was a part of the king’s office?Either way, she should leave and find somewhere else to work. She started to retreat, but her curiosity held her in place. Every gleam of gold trimming the windows and the desks twinkled and beckoned her to explore. The lush rug on the floor looked too expensive to walk across, yet she wanted to sink her feet into its fibers. In her past life, she had never been interested in the luxuries of life. Everything luxurious had a place and a reason for it in her life and helped her inhabit the position of luna. Now, she had no need for it, yet she was intrigued all the same. She crossed the room and felt how thick the rug was b
Laurel couldn’t breathe around her shock. Everything in her screamed that she would end up dead again if she agreed, but she held back her frantic response. “No,” she said calmly. Adolph’s eyes widened. “It is not appropriate, Your Majesty. What reason would I do that?”Adolph expected Laurel to refuse him, so he was prepared to convince her by any means necessary to agree. “But you've done a good job on dealing with the orphanage, the school, and the hospital...” She averted her gaze, seemingly uncomfortable. “I am asking you to at least preside over the castle. Lily just arrived. There are many things that are still unfamiliar to her. Please? Would you help her?”Lily stepped forward from the line of maids who had been serving their meal with a little smile. “It’s my request too, Miss Laurel. Although I have a lot of experience, I am not familiar with this castle, and it would be great if someone could help me.”Laurel hesitated. She could have refused Adolph once she got her min
As Laurel began to eat lunch on the lawn with Lily, Sara, Lynn, and Sam, around the time the last group of maids and servants working in the kitchen came to report to her. As they began the third course, Chasel approached the table with a bright grin. “So good to see you out enjoying the weather!”Lily jumped to her feet and hugged him tightly, “Chasel!”He laughed, “I hope you’re behaving and settling in well.”She pouted, “Don’t be mean to me.”Chasel grinned and bowed a bit to Laurel, “Miss Laurel, a pleasure to see you back in the castle.”Laurel nodded, “Hello, Chasel. What are you doing out here?”“Running a few errands for His Majesty,” Chasel pushed Lily back up to the table. “The king knew it was your first day of taking over the management of the castle, so he wanted to come and see you, but he couldn't leave because he is meeting with the nobles.”The maids and servants from the kitchen came across the lawn to report and Laurel nodded at them in acknowledgment though they
Laurel returned to her office with a deep sigh. The roses Adolph had given her the day before had wilted a bit. Her heart felt a bit wilted, worn down by time and realizations. She sighed and replaced the wilted roses with the new bouquet. How long would it take for these roses to wilt? “Ow!” She hissed and put her bleeding finger into her mouth before her blood could drip everywhere. She hadn’t realized the thorns hadn’t been removed from the roses. She rounded the table looking for bandages when the door burst open. She jumped, startled, and looked at the intruder to see Basil in the doorway, glaring at her and baring his teeth. He crossed the room quickly, raising his hands as if he was going to grab her neck. She stumbled back as he crossed the room. She’d never seen him so angry before. “How dare you!” He screeched. “How dare you use this room!”“What?” Laurel frowned. His words didn’t make any sense. She kind of expected him to be upset about Delia, but he was talking abou
Eden shrugged out of his coat as quickly as he could manage and wrapped it around Laurel before lifting her from the ground and hurrying back to his room at the inn. He didn’t know what had set her off and he wasn’t entirely sure that she could answer him. She wasn’t responding to anything he said, so he stopped asking. When he arrived at the inn, he went quickly up to his room and set her at the table in the center of the room. She seemed calmer, wrung out from sobbing as she sat with her head bowed, staring out into nothing. He poured a glass of water and sat it beside her as she sniffled and waited for her to come back to the world. “I'm sorry...” Laurel gasped. “I stained your clothes...”Eden frowned before looking down and chuckled. There was a bit of dirt on his clothes, but he wouldn’t call them stained.“You didn't do anything wrong.” Eden shook his head. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”Laurel worried her lip, averting her gaze as she pulled his jacket closer ar
“Those people aren’t worthy of the title!”Adolph sat on his throne, impatiently. The nobles had been bickering for the better part of the meeting about what should and shouldn’t be done, who did, and who didn’t deserve to be noblemen. Adolph had a list of brave soldiers, alive and dead, and alphas of packs who had contributed to the war efforts. All of them, he planned to make noblemen, but the ministers refused. They were nobles, and they did not want more people to share their honor and power.Gavin lifted his nose with the little superior sneer Adolph had seen far too often, “How could we allow those uncouth people to become nobles? Imagine all those hicks pouring into our city... What a mess!” “I need useful courtiers, Gavin,” Adolph gave him a pointed look. “If you and the rest of you were adequate, maybe I wouldn't need to look for others.”Gavin was speechless. The other ministers trembled and quaked with shock, looking to Gavin to say something in retort, but Adolph had end
His voice was so gentle. For a moment, Laurel thought she was dreaming, but she soon realized that it was not a dream. She tightened her grip on the frame against her chest and pulled the quilt over her head, hiding from Adolph’s gaze. Anger bloomed in her heart at the realization.What was he doing here?Adolph frowned, looking down at her as she vanished beneath the blanket. His stomach turned with discomfort. What had he done now?“What are you doing here?” Laurel asked, tense and angry.“I heard them say that you followed a man out of the castle after being yelled at by Basil, and I thought—”“It’s not of your business, Your Majesty.” Laurel grit her teeth trying to keep her jaw from trembling and the little gasping sob from escaping. Of course, he was only there to see if she had run off with a man! Never mind her pain. Never mind what Basil called her or any of the other horrible things she’d learned. “Please leave. I’m going back to sleep.”“Laurel, my mate, we need to talk.”“
Laurel gasped and stared at him. He couldn’t have said what she thought he said. “W-What?”Adolph’s face burned with embarrassment but he didn’t avert his gaze, holding her gaze and enduring the awkward quiet. “Will you… marry me?”Laurel couldn’t believe the gall of this man. Alice wailed in despair. *Don’t!*But what else could she do but reject him? Love or not, mate or not, she still had some manner of dignity! She drew back violently, “How could you be so cruel? I will not marry you to be your dead wife’s replacement!”Adolph looked as though he’d been slapped, shocked, and confused. “What?” He shook his head, his brown furrowing as he stared at her. “What does she have to do with us?”She scoffed, pushing free of him and wrapping her arms over her breast, curling into herself so her hair covered her partially, glaring at him and trying to forget the fact that she’d been curled up to his naked body. “You sent me your dead wife’s favorite flowers, and you made me move into y