Page 137 of Plug and Tame

“You don’t wear suspenders,” Nathaniel pointed out, trying to keep his tone level when in actual fact, he could barely restrain himself from tearing her to shreds. But he would leave that to Susie—the wolf shifter had a score to settle just as much as he.

Victoria didn’t like that answer, and she clutched the suspenders close and burst into tears. “But I could if I wanted to. I had the opportunity to…but now, if I let them go…” She wiped her face. “I suppose they don’t take up a lot of room,” she said, flinging the rainbow-coloured suspenders into the room. She sniffed and ducked to pick up a box of hair clips, hair bands, and other girly things. “Nat, help me decide which of these to keep. I—”

“I’m not doing this,” Nathaniel said, pivoting and striding away as fast as he could. Despite Victoria’s self-centredness, he found himself appreciating Kira’s judgement. Victoria may have been many things, but she was not malicious, and she certainly didn’t belong in the dungeon. He sincerely hoped the academy’s new classes and teachers would be enough to steer the school and its students in the right direction.

He’d fired half the faculty and had spent several days interviewing new potential staff members. One of them was a human called Mr. Paypin, who Nathaniel had considered a brave man, as well as interesting: he suffered from a terrible affliction that caused him to turn into a terrifying, blood-thirsty beast beneath the full moon. But he had a kind heart, and was eager to adopt the academy’s new policies for fostering positive interrelationships between wolves and vampires. The blood-thirsty beast part they would figure out how to manage later. With multiple staff vacancies, student safety was a top priority, second only to filling the teaching positions.

Kira had not yet had the opportunity to visit the academy, and now, it seemed she wouldn’t have a chance for a while to come. She had insisted on visiting all corners of the empire to familiarise herself with the people, and Nathaniel had greatly approved of the plan. It was a chance for her to broaden her horizons beyond what she had experienced in the sleepy village of Nordokk and the vampire-dominated Capital. It was also an opportunity for the people to see their new ruler with their own eyes.

Kira had hoped to improve the prosperity of the kingdom, which Nathaniel suspected she would achieve by simply redistributing the wealth more evenly amongst the people. It also involved restructuring the job opportunities available to humans and wolves, as well as improving access to education, something that Henrikk had not deemed important. He had falsely spread the results of erroneous studies conducted by vampires on the reduced intelligence of humans and shifters. Kira was determined to prove that this was not true and was investing a portion of the treasury to build more schools throughout the empire.

Kira, Nathaniel had decided, was determined to do a lot, and quickly. It was probably why she was so tired all the time.

She had even made time to remember her friends, and had seen to it that Susie received a massive luxury spa bath in her dorm room, which Susie and Arken had found to their joint satisfaction. Susie had also received a calendar from Kira for the new year in the new royal colour—white. At first glance it did not seem striking for a calendar, but the sheets had a pearly sheen, and the edges were embossed with real gold that bore the new royal crest. Kira had also stamped the pages with her paws using gold glitter—real gold flakes. It was one of the only times Nathaniel had seen her smile since his birthday, probably because it was one of the only things she’d done that had some semblance of normalcy.

Though Kira bore it well, the task of ruling an entire empire she’d seen very little of must have been overwhelming. Sometimes, the cracks in her armour showed in the littlest things—like the way she agonised about ensuring Susie’s calendar was perfect.

“I wish I could deliver the calendar in person,” Kira had sighed, clicking her tongue as she tried to fold the wrapping paper over the calendar. She’d sat at the private desk of her study, rewrapping the calendar over and over again. She waved the steward away when he tried to help. “Thank you, but I prefer to wrap it myself.”

“Of course, your Imperial Highness,” the steward said kindly. “And I may venture to say that it’s the thought that counts.” He retreated from the room.

“The thought that counts, huh?” Kira muttered. She looked to Nathaniel warily, something she did often of late, as if she trusted no one’s opinion except his.

Even for matters related to gift wrapping.

He cleared his throat with his fist over his mouth to hide his amusement. It was ironic that she was having difficulty with this seemingly small task when only yesterday, she’d deployed soldiers to revolting cities without batting an eyelid. But he understood. This was more than a distraction from the pressures of court. It was also a desperate attempt to cling to her past, the safety and familiarity of an old life. Susie was one of the few people Kira had trusted who’d come through for her, and amidst the isolation of court life, Nathaniel sensed she was terrified of losing her friend.

“I think Susie will appreciate your gift immensely,” Nathaniel soothed, pressing a kiss on top of her hair. “She knows how busy you are, and she’s looking forward to seeing you as soon as you return from your travels.”

Kira nodded. “I wish she could come with me.”

They both knew Susie could not.

She was the head of the residential advisors at the academy, and during this time of upheaval, they were relying on her support to ensure a smooth transition. Arken was still the headmaster of the school, and despite his history of feeding on students, he had taken the changes in his stride.

Arken was the reason the wolf students had come to Kira’s aid on the night of his and Gloria’s wedding. Nathaniel had been curious how the Capital’s security officers had failed to stop the students from reaching Wintermaw Keep—so many wolves in a large number would have immediately drawn attention. It turned out that at Susie’s urging, Arken had accompanied the students to Wintermaw, allowing them to travel under the guise of a school excursion.

Upon arriving at the castle, Arken had explained that the wolves had been granted a very rare opportunity to view the coronation, and his authority was such that the perplexed guards began debating whether to let them into the foyer. Taking advantage of their distraction, the wolves made mincemeat of the guards at the Keep’s entrance, and the ones in the courtyard had soon followed.

So, at least for now, Nathaniel was content to keep Arken on as the headmaster, and Kira had accepted his advice on that front.

She sighed as she gave up on tying a bow over the gift. “I’ll miss her.”

“I know,” Nathaniel said, kneeling down beside her. “But…in the summer, we will take a holiday.” He pointed to the map lying beneath the wrapping paper, his fingertip resting on a southern island. The main land’s coastline was three hours by carriage, and from there, the tropical island was two days by ship…but with magic portals, paradise was only a breath away. “We’ll take a proper holiday, one that does not involve long carriage rides, or crowds of people…”

“Or speeches,” Kira interjected, waving the steward over so he could help her wrap the gift.

“Or speeches,” Nathaniel grinned. His fingers tiptoed over the map surface and rested on her hand. “Just you, and me, and whoever you wish to invite.”

Kira smiled. “Can I invite Gloria?”

He blinked rapidly, unable to tell if she was serious.

“It was a joke,” she said softly, “But now that I’ve said it out loud…”

“Maybe a café for reconciling with your sister would be more appropriate.”

“You don’t want to be trapped on an island with both of your brides?”