Kier
There's a wave roaring in my head as I walk the hallways of my castle on unsteady feet. The bed calls my name, but I can hardly sleep anymore, tormented by the flashes of Jessamine's body on mine, her fingers pressing against my chest as her hips move against mine. I close my eyes and I see her. I breathe and I smell her arousal, her release on my fingers. I taste it on my lips.
I need to know what the fuck happened.
It is that thought that occupies my mind alone as I trail her scent to the breakfast hall, barely walking in before a violent wave of nausea crashes into me. I blink, hard, and suck in a sharp breath, holding the doors for support.
"Kier?" I hear Moira say, and I meet her gaze across the hall, her blue eyes alit with surprise. Her fork thuds on the table as she sweeps to her feet. Beside her, mother stares at me, her complexion pale. There's Kat, Helen, Mikkel, a few more of Moira's friends and...there, at the very edge of the table, Jessamine licks butter off the edge of a sharp knife, slowly, tauntingly, though she isn't even looking at me.
Heat spreads in my groin as her tongue flicks over the tip of the knife and Zephyr chuckles darkly in my head.
"You're back rather early--" Moira is saying, drawing closer, and my body tightens, tension rolling off my shoulders. I'm across the room before I even realize it, grabbing Jessamine's wrist and pulling her out of the chair.
"What happened last night?!" I bark.
Clear purple eyes narrow at me. "I'm sorry?"
I snarl. "If you wish to fuck with me, I'd strongly advice you not do it now. What. The. FUCK. Happened?!"
Jessamine blinks, her eyelashes fluttering innocently. "You must be tired. You've only just recently returned from a five day journey to the burned down villages." Grief darkens her eyes. "A sight like that must have disturbed you so. Death is often--"
"I'm not crazy!" I yell. "Something happened! I know it. You know it too! I beg of you, Jess. Don't do this to me right now. Please." My voice, already hoarse, cracks on the last word and it is an effort to stand up straight.
Her head tilts and her wispy curls float a little. "Do tell me, King Kier. Tell us what you think happened last night at the castle. I'm sure we can clarify and fill you in on the happenings while you were away."
I growl. "We had--" I stop talking, because it suddenly dawns on me that we have the audience of so many people, whose gazes are fixed on me. They're staring at me like I'm crazy. Like I've lost my mind.
This won't do. I take her fingers in mine and pull her along with me, marching out of the dinning room. Az blocks my path, but he peers closely at me, changing his mind at something he glimpses on my face. He tells Jessamine to scream if she needs him. Hilarious, that. She had been screaming endlessly last night and he was nowhere to be seen--if I hadn't in fact, dreamt up the entire thing.
A cough tickles my throat and I swallow hard, wiping sweat from my forehead as I bring her to my study. A familiar figure awaits by the door to my study and Randale's dark gaze flicks from the Gerald, the Captain of my guard, to me. And Jessamine.
Gerald bows. "Alpha, you have returned earlier than expected. We feared the worst when the news of the fire reached us." He straightens, his dark green eyes flicking behind me. "I will return later in the day to go over the reports with you."
Returned? Wherever from? Fire? The fuck is everyone on about?
"Where the fuck have you been?" Randale snaps, when Gerald is out of earshot. "And don't give me that crap of being at the villages because you weren't there. I had to cover for your arse and pay a godsdamned fortune to distract the natives. You thought it best to go on a joy trip without telling anyone? Right now, when the stakes are fucking high? When Atticus's men lay in wait for the perfect opportunity to kill you?"
"I'll call for you later, Randale," I snap, my fingers tightening around Jessamine's.
He blocks the door before I can move in. His eyes trail behind me, snagging on my fingers around Jessamine's, and the corner of his mouth tightens with disapproval. "You're out of line. Moira's father is here for the council meeting. You could at least act like you cared about her while he's here. His pack has the largest warriors after ours, and we can't afford him going rogue on us because you can't keep your dick in your pants when she's around."
Jessamine chuckles merrily at that. "Really? I had no idea."
Randale bares his teeth at her and it is an effort to not snap his neck for looking at her that way. With calculated precision, I add enough bite in my voice as I say, "Move or I'll fucking move you. I'll call for you when I'm ready to explain myself in never, Beta."
He stares at me and growls, "You're stark-raving mad, letting her manipulate you again." And he's off, knocking his shoulder into mine.
I half-stumble into the study, letting Jessamine go as I reach for a cup of water on my desk that's always replaced every morning, but it's snatched out of my hand and the contents thrown out of the window. Jessamine groans, discarding the cup as well. "Do you never learn?!"
My throat is parched and the thirst has my head pounding, my tongue on fire. Darkness taints my vision and I hold the edge of the table to keep up right. "I need...water."
Heels click softly behind me and Jessamine disappears through the door, only to reappear half a minute later with a cup brimming with water. "You should have stayed in bed. You barely have the strength for the dramatics you just pulled." She watches me down the cup and pant. "Eat only from the hands of those you trust. You would've died if I hadn't recognized the poison or known how to treat it."
I start, gripping the cup too hard. "Poison?"
Long lashes tease her high cheekbones as she blinks at me. "What did you think it was? A mere fever?"
"I don't..." I sigh tiredly, and she pulls out a chair and points at it. "Sit."
I do, sagging against the wood. "Why would anyone want to poison me in my own home? Who would?"
She tilts her head, as if considering the question itself, and it takes a while before she responds, "I don't know." An odd look. "Might I ask why you've dragged me in here like an offender?"
Minutes tick by in silence.
"We need to talk about last night."
She smoothens her creamy, layered gown. "Nothing happened last night."
"Nothing?" I echo. "We had sex last night."
Jessamine stares at me. "Yes, and?"
" I--we had...we slept together..." I stutter, expecting that she understands what that means for us. I've cheated on my Luna, and I didn't even think about her once last night. Hell, I haven't thought about Moira since the ball, and that's not the biggest...situation here. We've consummated the bond. There's no going back to living separate lives. All that's left is my mark on her skin and our minds and bodies will meld. I will not be able to stay away from her. Wolves are protective, territorial, possessive with their mates, but once the bond is consummated, it is amped up to a destructive level.
"You've visited seedy tarverns, spilled your seed into other women. What makes this particularly special?"
"Don't fucking say that. This is different because it's you. You're my mate."
"Huh."
"What the hell does 'huh' mean?!"
She pouts, tapping nails coated in soft glitter against her chin. "Let's see. So, we had sex," she says and shrugs nonchalantly, and I hate it. I hate that she says it like it meant nothing. I hate that she looks like she doesn't remember it or consider it important. It was everything to me, every touch ingrained in my memory, and I know I'll have dreams of it. Her.
Jessamine leans forward, bracing either of her hand on my desk. "It was fun. A distraction, and quite frankly, I barely remember most of it. You must have tasted the wine on my lips, no?" She straightens, her collar rising to cover the swell of those breasts I had in my mouth only hours ago. And the bite marks. A lot of them. "Don't take it too personally. Surely, a night with your Luna will wash out the memory."
"Fun? A distraction? It was none of that for me. I meant every word I said."
She snorts. "Men talk gibberish during sex all the time."
"Saying I loved you...you consider that gibberish as well?"
Her head tilts again. "Truthfully? Yes. I thought we'd already come to the conclusion that your words are useless." Her voice rises in a falsetto. "Oh Jess, you're my sky, the air I breathe, my fucking world, I'll fight for you, like a knight in a battle for his life, I love you...ugh." She rolls her eyes. "What was that supposed to do? Make me swoon? Was sex with you supposed to change anything? You must tell me, I'm a tad confused."
My chest constricts like it did when she rejected me. Those weren't the words I spoke. She's twisting them and mocking me. She's mocking my confession, and I cannot be angry because I did the same when she told me she loved me initially. I laughed at her. My entire court laughed at her.
I had no idea it could hurt like this. "I meant them, Jess, and I know I've hurt you. I've been a fool for pushing you away. My words mean nothing to you now, but they will again. Soon."
She's oddly silent, her eyes darkening. "You're delirious." She turns away, heading for the door, but I don't want her to leave. I blurt without thinking, "Are you...on the tonic?"
She stiffens, her expression tightening as she looks back at me. "Stupid as you may think I am, the last thing I want is to have your child."
A stab in my heart. I swallow, flexing my fingers to be hide my disappointment. "Would it be so bad?"
"Would it be so bad to take in with your child a few weeks away from my wedding, jeopardize everything I've worked hard for to raise an illegitimate child your people never accept as your heir and live in fear of your mother or Luna killing my child out of spite? Definitely. You're not worth the hassle. Not anymore. Last night will not be happening again."
Pain lances through me, and I am unsure if it's the after effects of the poison or Jessamine's words lashing at me. Still, I nod calmly and force a lazy grin. "Keep telling yourself that, love."
She bristles at the word, 'love', and it proves to me that she remembers last night. Don't fight me, love. "Don't call me that." Fire sparks in those eyes, and I sense a different, more mischievous presence in the room with us.
"Zephyr," I say.
Her brows furrow. "What?"
"My wolf's name. Zephyr."
"I don't care," she starts to say, but she suddenly jolts, her body tightening before going wholly still. Violet fades into silver in a split second and a sly smile curves her full mouth. When she speaks again, it's a purr, and her voice is layered, beautiful. "Nyx."