*Maddox*
Everyone is staring at Trinity, and I feel bad for her.
It’s not her fault that she looks so remarkably like her older cousin. Of course, her parents and her uncle knew this going into this situation. They have done this to her on purpose, and I don’t like it! It’s one thing for them to constantly fuck around with me, but she’s just an innocent girl.
I know what everyone wants now, and I have to oblige them, even though I don’t want to.
My eyes go out the door to Isla. She’s sitting out there with her brother, getting some fresh air. Well, now is just as good a time as any.
With a deep breath, I head over to Trinity. “May I have this dance?” I extend my hand to her. The girl’s cheeks deepen into a bright pink color before she nods and slides her slender fingers into mine. I lead her to the dance floor, and everyone parts to make room for us.
She looks lovely in her ballgown, but the more I am around her, the more I see the differences between her and my wife. Rebecca’s nose was more slender at the bottom, and Trinity’s hooks just slightly to the left. Their eyes are not quite the same shade. Trinity is slightly taller, her neck a little longer, and her shoulders a little broader.
She’s not Rebecca. I cannot forget that. I will not forget that.
But she is an ally now against two Alphas who want to kill me, not just because their daughter and niece died while married to me but because they want the throne. They have worked with me to overthrow Alpha Geoffrey and his alliance, but that doesn’t make them any more my friends, not after what Trinity told me the night we were in the garden together, and she showed me the blade she was supposed to use to kill me.
“Did you get settled in?” I ask her as we parade around the dance floor. A few minutes into the start of the new song, other couples do join in, so at least everyone isn’t standing around staring at us anymore, though plenty of people still are, particularly many of the other women who think that Trinity is their biggest threat to not securing my hand.
“I did, thank you,” she says. “My room is nice, with a lovely view of the garden.”
I twirl her around, and then her hand slides back into mine again. It reminds me of dancing with Rebecca. But it’s not the same.
She’s not the same.
“Good, I’m glad to hear it,” I tell her. “I hope you will be comfortable here.”
“I met Isla,” she says. “She’s very kind. Quite lovely. I can see why you are taken with her.”
Now, it’s my turn to feel my cheeks redden. “Yes, I love her very much.”
Trinity’s eyebrows arch. “Well, I knew that you cared about her, but I didn’t realize it was love, Your Highness. Does she know this? I hope you don’t mind me asking.”
“Of course, she knows,” I say. “I tell her all the time.”
A chuckle emits from the back of her throat. “Forgive me. I don’t mean to scoff. It’s only… men are very good at saying things but not actually following through and showing a woman that they mean them.”
This time, it is my turn to scoff. “I’ll have you know, it wasn’t easy for me to say that I love her either. But I do show her.”
Again, she is laughing at me. This girl is much bolder than I had been expecting. “Why is that funny?” I ask her.
“Because… I suppose you show her by… buying her gifts and making mad, mad love to her?” Trinity asks with a twinkle in her eye.
My mouth drops open. I’m not sure how to respond to that. Those are the main ways I show her, I suppose. But I hope that Isla knows I love her through my other actions as well.
“What does she think of this contest?” Trinity asks.
I cannot answer that. I close my mouth and shrug. “She’s not happy.”
“And yet, you’re going through with it anyway.” She has a defiant air about her as she speaks. “Why is that?”
“Because I need to do so. I promised the Alphas that cooperated with me against Alpha Geoffrey that I would.” I twirl her around again, as the music insists I do.
“Isn’t it their duty to do as you command? Since you are their Alpha King?” she asks me, and suddenly she sounds like Isla. Did they have a chance to talk about this?
“Yes, it is their duty, but, you were there. You know they needed some incentivizing.”
“I know that you are the Alpha King, and I can’t imagine you would ever bend your knee to anyone. I think that’s what Isla knows, too. Don’t you think this entire situation has to be unsettling for her?” She continues to prod me, and I’m beginning to feel anger boil up inside of me.
I’m not used to being questioned by one woman, let alone two.
“She has to understand that I have to do certain things as the Alpha King that might not always be comfortable, but they must be done.” I try to keep my anger in check.
“Well, I don’t think you would like it if you were in her position,” Trinity says with a shrug. “And… I can’t imagine she will like it very much if she sees us dancing together either.”
“That was a necessity,” I tell her. “Everyone was expecting it.”
“Everyone… except for her.” Trinity turns her head and her eyes lock on Isla’s. I see my love standing a few feet away from us, her eyes huge as her fists clutch and unclutch over and over again.
She is clearly angry, upset, and unsettled.
“Isla,” I say, letting go of Trinity and moving toward her.
Isla turns on her heel and begins to walk away. I cannot chase after her, not now. It will cause a scene, and the last thing I need in front of all of these visiting dignitaries is to cause a commotion that makes everyone question my authority.
While all of these Alphas have been questioning my authority lately, no one seems to be doing it to the degree of the woman who is heading for the exit.
“Really?” Trinity asks me. She lets go of me, gathers her skirts, and heads after Isla, as if it were her responsibility to do so. I see her brother Ben shoot me a look that says he also wants to kill me. Well, he’s going to have to get in line.
I let them go, but in the mind-link, I say, “Isla, it’s not what you think. I had no choice but to dance with her.”
“For someone so powerful, you sure don’t seem to have a lot of choices!” she shoots back, the anger and betrayal evident even in her mind.
I sigh and turn to look for a new dance partner. I need to show that I have control over this situation. Another of the candidates is standing close by, and I ask her to dance. I don’t know who she is, where she’s from, or even what she looks like. Right now, she is a distraction, a way to get the focus back on what the Alphas want to see.
Being a politician sucks. I hate it. I’m not made up for it. I am a warrior, a leader in battle, but trying to control all of these Alphas and get them to do what I need for them to do after they are so used to being under my father and getting to do whatever they want to isn’t something that I am good at. I can admit that now.
I need someone else who is good at that to help me out. Rebecca was a wonderful Luna Queen. She was good at keeping the Alphas happy and in line. But she’s gone, and I don’t have another Luna Queen.
I’ve sworn not to take one….
But now, maybe now is the perfect time to reconsider that.
I let out a sigh, and the girl I’m dancing with, a blonde who isn’t nearly as beautiful as Isla asks, “Is everything all right, my King?” I can tell she’s worried she’s done something wrong.
“Oh, yes. Everything is fine,” I say. “Tell me about yourself.” If she is like most women, she will chatter on about herself, and I can tune out without her even knowing.
My mind goes back to Isla. The frightened little girl who was dumped off here a few months ago was not Luna Queen material. She was a doormat who’d been used and abused her entire life. I saw a spark of something else inside of her, though, and I have encouraged her to embrace those abilities I believe she has.
She might be a princess by bloodline, but she has yet to come into her abilities as such. She isn’t a leader. She isn’t a hostess. She’s… capable, I suppose. But she doesn’t have the experience in this sort of life to be able to handle the demands of being a Luna Queen. Not yet, anyway. Maybe I could have her trained.
Maybe Trinity could be the one to teach her. She seems to have all of those abilities.
“And then… my father said I was coming here!” The woman I am dancing with has been talking for about five minutes straight. I’ve made a noise now and again to make her think I am paying attention, but I don’t even know her name.
And it doesn’t matter. All of this is for show. All of it… except for maybe making Isla into the next Luna Queen.
Maybe I need to consider it after all, especially if the pregnancy is sustainable. But I don’t think I can tell anyone that she is from Maatua, which has a reputation for being cursed, and I don’t want the superstitious Alphas in our kingdom to think that we are cursed now if I choose her as our Luna.
It is all quite complicated.
I will dance with a few more girls and then excuse myself to go check on Isla. By then, hopefully, Trinity will have her calmed down a bit.
Trinity is turning out to be quite the ally, and I am grateful for it.
I am thankful for her.
Her father and uncle might’ve sent her here so that I would marry her; that won’t happen. But she might just end up earning herself some other kind of title, especially if I need her to continue to counsel the true Luna Queen.
Should I choose to take one.