Page 124 of Plug and Tame

“I’ll be in such a mood all night otherwise,” Victoria explained, shuffling beside Kira and pushing her head back. She traced a finger along Kira’s throat. “You know, you taste different to Arken’s plaything. What’s her name?”

“Susie,” Kira whispered, as the horrible suspicion she’d had became a full-blown reality.

“Yes, her.” Victoria tittered. “Poor little thing seemed so bored in the library.”

“You nearly killed her.”

Victoria gasped. “Kira! Don’t say that. I wasn’t trying to kill her! And don’t look at me like that. I didn’t mean to drain her. Besides, I really am sorry about that. And I did tip off the librarian. I’m the reason anyone found her.”

Kira’s jaw clenched. “Why did you do it?” she asked, because even though it was obvious, she had to hear it from the vampiress who she’d mistakenly thought was her friend.

Victoria shrugged. “Everyone knows she belongs to Arken.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Look, what do you want me to say? I have a thing for feeding off the pets of powerful men.” She hovered closer to Kira’s neck, her fangs extending. “The question is, do you belong to Prince Nathaniel…or King Henrikk?”

Chapter 40

The Wedding

Nathaniel

Wintermaw Keep, the ancestral home of royal wolves, had once been a relatively modest castle, a sturdy building with only two storeys made of stone. Wolf shifters generally did not like stairs, or anything that was in excess. The second storey was, therefore, a rarity that was deemed necessary only to distinguish the royal household from the rest of the castle’s residents.

Since Henrikk had overthrown the wolves, he’d radically expanded the castle, adding sprawling wings, towers, and a multitude of storeys made of timber that stretched to the heavens. There were more mirrors in the castle than people, and more staircases than there were rooms. There were banquet halls for breakfast that faced the rising sun, the westward facing ones to watch it set, and north facing ones to suit any occasion. Some parts of the castle had no function at all, except to add complexity and glamour to the king’s vanity project.

Despite the grandeur of the updated castle, Nathaniel found it all lacking, which he supposed was a trait he shared with his father, albeit for different reasons.

It had taken Nathaniel several years to form a strong opinion about the keep, but he’d finally come to a conclusion around the same time he’d found Kira when she was nine years old: he did not like the Keep’s new additions one bit. It had pained him to realise that most of Springcreek forest had been ripped up for the undertaking, and at least two species of animals were suspected to be extinct as a result.

His father let nothing get in his way, not even nature. Although he’d been unable to stop the erosion that deforestation had caused. The foundation of the new north wing, where his Throne Room was located, required constant repairs due to instability. Human architects and builders might have been able to improve the foundation, but his father was too proud to allow humans to build his fortress.

Nathaniel’s wedding and birthday were to be hosted in the Throne Room, which was crowded with affluent vampire nobles, none of whom seemed concerned by the slope of the uneven floor, or the way the high table was no longer high, giving the throne a sagging appearance that brought King Henrikk almost at eye level with the guests.

Nathaniel had slipped into the Throne Room discreetly, keeping to the shadowy edges of the room where rose-covered columns blocked him from view. But as he approached the not-so-high table to speak to his father, the herald spotted him.

Trumpets blared.

“Announcing the guest of honour, His Royal Highness, Prince Nathaniel, the illustrious son of our beloved sovereign, King Henrikk. May all within these hallowed walls receive him with the utmost reverence and respect. We extend our most heartfelt birthday wishes to His Royal Highness.”

Nathaniel groaned internally as he gave an obligatory smile at the aristocracy standing near him as he ascended the dais, ducking beneath a hanging garland of red roses.

There was no sign of Gloria, for which he was grateful. He was not yet ready to face her.

Henrikk wore a blood-red robe embellished with gold and draped in ermine. He did not rise from his throne when Nathaniel approached, nor did he smile.

Nathaniel bowed low. “Your Majesty.”

A tense silence passed as he waited for his father to acknowledge him.

“Prince Nathaniel…I see you did not bring Kira.”

Nathaniel straightened. “No, I did not.” He braced for his father’s reaction. He had dreaded this moment, but had faith his father would swallow the insult in order for the wedding to continue as planned. Henrikk craved the loyalty of Gloria’s supporters, and Nathaniel hoped that lure would overrule his disappointment in Kira’s absence.

His father’s milky pale eyes stared at him for a long moment. “Well, no matter. These things happen.”

Nathaniel waited for his father to go on, to express his disappointment in his failure to bring Kira, and to call him soft and weak. But his father seemed strangely unperturbed.