Jessamine
"Is he looking?" I ask softly, flipping the page over.
"Yes," Lloyd answers, fingers combing through my hair. My head's on his lap, and I'm reading a book to him. Partly because I know Alpha Kier does his morning runs through this path every day, and the other reason is because I really don't want to talk to anyone today. Or see anyone else.
I'm hungover and in a terrible mood.
"For how long will you do this, Little Jess?" Lloyd asks after a moment and I move the book out of my face to really look at him.
"For as long as I need to." I start to sit up when I remember Alpha Kier's looking. "I'm sorry for using you like this."
Lloyd chuckles, his green eyes softening. "I don't mind. Messing with Kier is much more fun than being holed up in my study, looking at the logs, and besides," her murmurs, tapping my nose fondly. "I quite like having your attention."
I raise my book to hide my blush. Lloyd's always been this way with me. Doting. Caring. Playful. While I was still in rags, he'd come around the kitchen sometimes, just to tease me. Lovette had said once that he liked me, but it was silly. In a world like ours where Omegas and maids were nobodies, if he wanted me, all he needed to do was ask me to his chambers and take me.
I was not some Alpha's daughter who required courting and gifts to chase. So, it was certainly an odd thought that he harbored any romantic feelings towards me.
"Thank you," I murmur behind my book, and after a few seconds of staring at the words and not being able to read them, I drop it on my chest and stare up at Gamma Lloyd. "What do I smell like, Lloyd?"
He pauses, a funny expression etching on his face. "You really want me to answer that?"
I glare at him. "I know I smell great. I mean..." I lick my bottom lip and for a moment, his eyes catch the movement. "Do I not smell like an Omega?"
Gamma Lloyd stares at me blankly. "You do."
I sit up abruptly and lean close to him, pushing my hair off my shoulder. "I need to make sure."
Alpha Kier's words kept me up all night. How do I know I'm an Omega? Mother said so. But she'd also said severally that I had been born wrong.
He'd not only sniffed me. He'd asked if I have ever been to the Howling. Most, if not all wolves have their first shift during the gathering. Being around kindred spirits helped.
Usually, I wouldn’t let myself get disturbed by something like this. I know who I am. But I’ve never had reason to question my mother’s claims about me. I’ve never had doubts, and when I feel even the tiniest sliver of it, I kill it. Hard to be confident and excel in the art of seduction if you let doubts consume you.
Asking Gamma Lloyd to sniff me is to get rid of the gnawing feeling that has been crawling up my skin, seizing every thought. I haven’t been able to think of anything else, and that’s not good. Worried me is unattractive and boring.
Gamma Lloyd leans forward, gaze flicking between my neck and my eyes, his expression turns unreadable. Another inch in and I am suddenly yanked off my feet and I am forced around. I frown, shrugging Alpha Kier’s hands off my shoulders. “What is your problem?”
Alpha Kier clears his throat, nodding in Gamma Lloyd’s direction without taking his eyes off me. “You’re dismissed. I must speak to the lady.”
I grab Lloyd’s arm, and Alpha Kier’s eyes catch the movement. I smile, inching closer to Lloyd and making it seem instinctive to do so. “I’m sorry. I’m a little under the weather and he was keeping me company. We were just leaving.”
“I’ll keep you company and have the physician prepare something to make you feel better. Come. Walk with me.” His eyes are angry, and they move me, dare me to decline. No other woman would.
But then, I’m Jessamine. “No. I don’t want your company,” I snap, slipping closer to Lloyd for effect.
Alpha Kier cocks his head. “No?”
Lloyd sighs and pulls away from me, howbeit reluctantly, and Alpha Kier doesn’t miss that either. “I’ll get back to work.” He turns to me and caresses my cheek. “Later.”
I know it’s all a charade, but the emotions in his gaze and his touch almost feel real, and I watch him walk away, confused.
“I’ve only ever wanted one man,” Alpha Kier mimics in a high falsetto that’s absolutely out of character, and I blink staring at him. His hazel eyes widen, like he’s been caught doing something embarrassing, and the tips of his ears turn red, his eyes dropping to the ground. “Will you…come riding with me?”
I mask my surprise behind a cough. “Me? Kings and maids should not be seen together.”
“Why do you keep making things difficult? I’m trying to be…” He pauses and practically chokes on the last word, “…romantic.”
I fold my fingers behind my back. “You think horse riding is romantic? What? You’ll wrap your hands around me, reach for the reins, breathe in my hair, nuzzle my neck, and then I’ll let you into my room at night?” I turn around and start walking down the flowery path, leaving him behind.
He sneezes behind me, and I choke on my laughter, feet moving faster.
He runs forward to catch up with me. “You’re a very...complex woman.”
I turn and smile, sketching a mock bow. “You’re welcome.”
“What then, do you fancy other than casting spells on me?”
I pout, thinking. “I suppose I do love dancing and gambling—not that I have any money to.”
“I demolished all the gambling dens when I came to power. There are none left and it is absolutely not allowed,” he says with an absolution that makes me cackle.
“You’re the king, and live in a castle far away from the darkest cities in Neredia, shielded and protected behind tall, unbreachable walls. There’s no way you’d know they even exist.”
Alpha Kier folds his hands behind his back, his expression turning contemplative. He’s much too engrossed in whatever he’s thinking about to notice the people watching us walk together. “And you know these things how?”
A memory comes to mind, and I smile fondly. “When mother was still alive and I snuck out of the house, sometimes, I went to watch brawls. Stopped when my favorite fighter stopped coming into the ring.” An idea pops into my head and I whirl, grinning excitedly. “Let’s go watch one!”
“No,” he cuts in, leading me to the stables. “That is not the place for a lady, and I’ll have Randale find this den you speak of—”
“And ruin lives? Do you even have the slightest what those brawls do to keep those your council tag as delinquents away from your castle? The rogue attacks have multiplied over the years. Like it or not," I say, hopping from one foot stone to the next. "People are angry, frustrated and hungry. Where do you think the money won from the bets go? To feed families. They entertain the rich lords enough, and they get enough to feed their families."
He's quiet. Very quiet as he watches me jump around nimbly, and I carry on ignoring his silence. "You're a good king, but you don't possibly think the yield from the farms every year is enough to feed the entirety of Neredia. Exchanges happen. Need money to do so. Demolish the dens and you'll make enemies. You're king, but there's a level of ruthlessness that exists only in those dens. I'd advise you refrain from doing any demolishing."
He stares at me, and I can't quite read his expression. "Your mother taught you all that as well?"
"No, it's common sense." I grin when he shoots me a death glare at my insinuation. But his expression turns contemplative. "I'll...make a visit with Randale--"
I scoff. "Beta Randale doesn't know the city like I do. Why won't you take me with you?"
"You're a woman. I won't have you in a place like that."
"I can go incognito."
"Still no."
"I'll have dinner with you if you let me tag along."
"Let's go," he says immediately and flashes me a grin that makes him look so handsome, my heart does a flip flop. I turn around, hiding my smile and I walk down the path that leads back to the entrance very quickly, casually throwing over my shoulder, "I'll meet you at the stables soon."