“Absolutely, I’ll go pull up the cabin feeds.” I release her and gesture to my bedroom. “You get in some comfortable clothes, and after we spy on them, we’ll watch a movie.”
34
LETICIA
AGAIN?
Royal wouldn’t lieto me.
Well, not again, right?
I shove the rampaging thoughts of pregnancy away.Even if he is lying to me, the risk is small. It’ll be fine.
It’s one thing to not flat-out tell me he’s been stalking me and watching me. It’s another to lie directly to my face.
Royal wouldn’t do that.
I draw steadying breaths. They come easier, and my heart doesn’t feel like it’s about to jump through my rib cage. I love being the older cousin to what feels like hundreds of little D’Medici cousins, but kids have never been my calling. I’m not like Antonella. I don’t particularly want to spend more time with children. I certainly don’t want any of my own.
Not that I expect to have a choice with an arranged marriage on the books. Some asshole is going to want kids, and it’ll be my responsibility to fulfill my duty.
Royal is telling me that we can’t have kids because I’m a human and he’s... not. I’m taking it at face value. We’re safe.
Cleaning up after sex was a unique experience. His semen inside me sparked a whirlwind of internal screaming and what-ifs, but now that I’m clean and cozy in a pair of joggers and Royal’s T-shirt, I’m more at ease. Maybe it’s because I’m wrapped up in his sweet chocolatey scent again that I feel so safe.
I hug my arms around myself, the smile returning to my face.
I had sex. My first time wasn’t some stupid wedding-night fuck to consummate a marriage I didn’t want.
It was scary, but it was good. He cared for me, and it wasn’t about what some asshole wanted. It was about me.
I chose this. Warmth floods my core.
I chose him. The butterflies are back.
When I wander back into Royal’s room, he’s standing over his desk, working on a keyboard that is seemingly stacked on top of one of his numerous monitors. The light from the screen he’s working on highlights his features. His strong jaw, with a short beard growing over it, is well paired with his broad shoulders and muscular arms.
“So.” He pulls me into his arms, kissing the top of my head.
I snuggle in tight against him, the attention and affection pushing any last thoughts of pregnancy from my mind.
A winterscape fills the screen before me, and the bright midday sun glistens off the snow. A large, imposing black wolf sits in stark contrast to the landscape, its head hung as it watches over a gray and white wolf with a red-tinged muzzle, lying flat on its side, panting.
“The one lying in the snow and panting is Antonella. The one looking like he’s incredibly sorry and trying to apologize for the fiftieth time is Valor.” Royal points between the two of them.
I instantly miss the way his arm held me tight to his body.
“How do you know he’s sorry and apologizing?” I squint at the screen and bring my hands up to where Royal’s other arm is wrapped around me, hooking my fingers on his forearm.
Like he knows what I’m asking for, Royal squeezes me a little tighter. The reassurance I’m here and still connected to him is a welcome reminder.
“Mmm, head low, shoulders hunched. It’s an apology. And she issonot ready to hear it. She’s not even looking at him.” Royal gestures to Valor and then indicates where the other wolf, Antonella, is looking somewhere off-screen, pretty much anywhere that isn’t Valor’s direction. “I really don’t blame her. Valor fucked up. He should be held accountable. I’m even mad at him for hurting her, and I don’t know her all that well.”
“Well, unfortunately, Antonella’s temper is long. She gets really big mad. But, given some time and space, she usually forgives pretty easily, especially when she knows the other person is genuinely apologetic.” I let out a huge sigh.
But it doesn’t really make sense to me. That wolf is Antonella. It’s a beautiful animal. She’s fluffy, and white fur is intermixed with the gray and some black, giving a mottled color down its spine. But how can that be Antonella?
“Oh, he feels bad, alright. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so upset over something he’s done, and he broke my leg in two places once,” Royal says with a laugh.
