“Well, you certainly are thorough, aren’t you, Rye?”   The man in question growled at Millicent as she waltzed through the door without knocking. Kari flushed. He knew exactly what she referred to.   Ryedir had been overzealous in scent marking him last night and removing all traces of the perfume that lingered on him. He had certainly put Kari through his paces. He practically came dry at the end just from the man’s fingers and had been too exhausted to react to the cum that splattered on his face to then be rubbed into his neck.   It was embarrassing to think about now but there had been something thrilling about seeing such a wild-eyed look on the normally restrained alpha. He had honestly thought the man might finally lose to instincts and go back on his word to only claim Kari once he agreed. But by some great feat of will, Kari remains unbonded and unmated, just very tho

  The wedding was a truly beautiful affair.   Kari had never seen such an elaborate celebration before but then, this was for a king of a powerful nation. People were dressed in their best, everyone glittering in shimmering fabrics and adorned with precious metals and stones. Even the servants and slaves were done up.   Kari himself had a new tunic that was intricately patterned with swirls of blue, and small sparking silver chains that had tiny sparkling jewels hanging off them. His breech was made from beautiful shimmering blue fabric and he veritably dripped in silver chains adorned with more sparkling jewels while his knee-length boots shined with silver swirls on each side.   Millicent had painted black around his eyes again and when he glimpsed himself in a mirror, he looked almost otherworldly.   His skin was as pale as snow, almost unearthly, and his eyes, hai

 Screams of pain echoed off the walls to be matched by yells of panic. The soldiers surrounding Hanzen leapt forward at his command to be met by the few loyal guards that had remained inside the throne room. The nobles at the edges of the room shrank back even more, not a single one stepping forward to defend their king or new queen. It was odd to him that they watched such a conflict yet did not step forward to help in any way, but he had no time to ponder the reasons. Armored bodies surged together in the center of the room and Kari had difficulty making out who was friend or foe from this distance. A small knife whizzed past his ear and lodged itself firmly in an enemy’s throat with a meaty thunk. Millicent stepped past him armed with a dozen more knives twirling around her hands as she let them loose with deadly accuracy. Ryedir stepped around Kari as well, drawing the sword at his hip and leap

  Kari slept for the better part of two days, only waking when Ryedir came and hand fed him light foods.   He had used far more of his power than he initially realized. It had been far from running out but the fight went on for a surprising amount of time. Minor cuts and scrapes that marked his unprotected skin had been carefully treated by Ryedir but had now mostly healed.   He drifted in the comfortable space between sleeping and wakefulness when he noticed something disturbing his blankets. A familiar scent washed over him and he blinked his eyes open owlishly.   “Rye?”   “How are you feeling?” Ryedir asked softly as he pulled more of the blankets away from Kari’s frame.   The omega didn’t reply, his brain was oddly sluggish and he struggled to process exactly what was being asked of him.   “You’re nesting,” the a

  Aderyn sighed as she made her way through the thick forest.   It was lush and green at this time of the year, a beautiful, warming sight. But her favorite was still the icy beauty of winter. The glittering snow would coat the trees in a breathtaking white and the world would wait the coming of spring with a gentle stillness. The lush warmth that surrounded her had been comforting as a child but now she viewed the world a little differently.   She was biased, but a mother always was.   Aderyn held back tears as she approached the lake. Previously she had only come here in winter when the teeming forest life lay sleeping and the surface was covered in a layer of ice.   It was Kari’s favourite place to be and he would always lose track of time. So, she would come out and just watch with pride as her son skated across the ice or built giant fortresses for him and the other childr