Rome steadied his gaze on the papers in front of him. Balancing accounts was the least of his duties he enjoyed, he wished he could go hunting instead. Or read a fucking book.
However, no matter how much he hated accounting, it was better than sinking himself in thoughts of Elora, and all that had happened between them the previous night.
Rome could smell her scent on his skin. As though making love to her had engraved her scent into his skin, his nostrils, every fucking where!
Shit. Rome cursed once he caught himself.
He was doing it again.
His head jerked up once he heard the knock on the door of his study. Grateful for the distraction, Rome banged his quill against the table and stretched his back out.
“Come in!” He called out, hoping whoever was behind the door had heard him.
The knob turned, and the door was slowly pushed open. Rome lowered his gaze to his table, while he raised his right hand to massage the sides of his head. Looking at so many numbers at once had started to give him a migraine.
“Your majesty.” The overfamiliar voice of his sister had him smiling amidst his headache. He hoisted his head, and his eyes followed suit, until they met with Skye’s bold ones.
“My darling sister.” He called out with a small smile.
She walked further into the room, settling into one of the two chairs in front of him.
“You seem rather jolly this morning. One could only wonder why.”
Rome grinned and leaned into his chair. He stroked his bearded chin with his right fingers and chuckled.
“You speak as though it is a bad thing.” He sat up and leaned forward into his mahogany table.
“I was going to call a meeting with you later today, it’s a good thing you’re here. The slaves you sent to Blackfoot, has there been any word from them?” Rome inquired.
Skye nodded curtly, shifted in her seat, and assumed the same posture he did.
“Yes, your majesty. The leader of the Blackfoots is requesting a meeting with you. My mind tells me he has something to say about the number of freed slaves they welcomed. Not that I can blame him.”
As Skye spoke, Rome listened intently. He had known that allowing the slaves to travel to Blackfoot would raise brows. He was ready for whatever came.
“Very well. That would be arranged soon.” He fell back into his seat and looked over at his sister. There was one more thing he had to ask of her.
Without a second thought, Rome started to speak.
“What did you say happened to Elora’s old guard?”
Skye flashed him a questioning stare, one Rome gracefully and purposefully ignored. He watched as his sister reclined into her seat.
“He got injured. Broke his leg, and can’t seem to heal fast. I, for one, do not understand why.” She took her time to tell the tale.
Rome could hear the silent warning in his sister’s voice. Once again, he ignored it.
“Gael became her guard only a day after her old guard sustained his injury, right?” He asked again, peering at her.
“Yes.”
“Good.” Rome placed both his hands on the table, intertwining his fingers together, while his gaze continued to bore into Skye’s.
“I need you to change her guard, Skye. I do not trust this Gael. I do not trust him at all.”
Skye squinted her brows at him. A dry scoff escaped her throat. Surely, he couldn’t possibly be serious, there was…
Her brother’s easiness morphed into a tense frown. Skye sighed.
He was serious.
“I don’t see why that is necessary. She trusts the guard, and they seem to be getting along really well…”
“I do not trust him.” Rome cut in, rather harshly. His eyes darkened, his veins outlined the skin of his forehead and the edge of his brows.
Skye fell silent, Rome continued to speak.
“I do not trust him to be able to guard her. He is drawing too close to her, and still not doing his job. He wasn’t able to protect her. She…she needs someone who can protect her at all times, and at all costs.”
‘Like you?’ Skye wanted to say, but she stayed quiet. When she was sure he was done speaking, she sucked in a deep breath, let it out and forced a small smile.
She had never seen him so protective and possessive of anything or anyone before.
He seemed ready to tear anyone who dared to hurt the slave girl, or her siblings into shreds.
Skye was right, for he was.
“Is it your trust, or is it just jealousy speaking?” She taunted.
Skye could have sworn she saw her brother blush. He stole his gaze away from her, and started to shuffle the papers on his desk.
“Jealousy?” Rome scoffed.
“What could I possibly be jealous of? He continued.
“Oh, you’ll have to be the one to tell me, dear brother.” This time, Skye pulled her chair closer to the table and leaned into it. She reached for Rome’s right hand and caught his wrist. He paused his shuffling and glared at her.
He hissed and rolled his eyes, before wriggling free of her grip. Skye sighed and pulled her hand back to her thighs.
“The mob who ganged up against Elora and her siblings, I want to believe they are being punished.” His bright demeanor had disappeared. He was his normal gloomy self again, but there was an air of possessiveness to his current gloom.
Skye could not miss it. The glimmer of desire that hid in his eyes, that croaked tone of worry that snuck into all his sentences, she could see it all. She had wanted to interrogate the small mob, but did not see a need. They must have acted out of past hurt, she thought to herself.
Rome wished his sister would listen. Perhaps she was right about his jealousy. He hated to see her smile at the guard, he hated to hear her laugh so heartily at the silly jokes he whispered into her ears.
The cunning bastard.
“Yes. You do not have to worry about things like this, Rome. It is my duty to make sure they are properly punished,” She paused and drew in a deep breath.
“Just like it was my duty to rescue Elora and her siblings.”
Rome paused. He could not miss the underlying admonishment in Skye’s voice.
“If there is something you have to say, Skye, you might as well just say it.”
Yes. She had found the perfect opportunity. There was a lot she had to say.
“There is a lot I have to say, Rome. A whole lot we need to talk about, because your attitude last night…it was totally uncalled for!”
Totally uncalled for? Rome thought, while his nostrils twitched in anger.
Was he supposed to allow them to beat his mate to a pulp?
Even if, for any reason, he had decided to ignore them, his beast could not sit back and watch them, never.
“What happened to you, brother? Everyone was frightened!” Skye cried out at the top of her voice.
“We thought you would snap the neck of that woman! No one could even dare go close enough to stop or save her from your grip.”
Rome stayed silent. There were no words to defend his actions. He had let his Lycan beast take the lead.
He could see Elora struggle for her life, and his anger raged in his heart once more. Perhaps he should have snapped the woman’s neck after all. That would have served as a lesson.
“… you are the king! The protector of this land, Rome. You cannot be seen acting in such a way, especially not to your subjects. The people would start to feel like you’re showing the slave and her siblings a level of favoritism that is totally inappropriate.” Skye paused to catch her breath. She kissed her teeth with the back of her tongue, and allowed her gaze wander across the room, before falling back on the king.
“You could have left it for me to handle. Unless…”
Rome leered at her, but she was unfazed.
“Unless Elora is more than what I think she is to you.”
Rome turned away from his sister in that instant. He remembered – once more – how he had morphed into his beast while making love to Elora the night before. He could recall her beautiful her wolf looked, sprayed by the dull light of the moon that seeped into his room.
He would do anything to see her so raw and beautiful again, anything.
“Tell me, Rome. What is happening? What exactly, is Elora to you?”
He had expected this question, but he had never thought it would be so soon.
He knew she was his mate. He had felt it before last night but was only confirmed last night. For some reason, he was not annoyed by the truth. He was bold, and unashamed to tell Skye the truth.
He looked his sister dead in the eyes, and a surprising smile stole his cheeks.
“She…”
She quirked a brow.
“Elora is my mate, Skye.”
Skye’s jaw dropped to the ground. Her eyes widened, filled with shock.
“What…what did you just say? Holy shit! What?! What are you going to do, Rome?!”
Another question he did not have the answer to.
“I do not know.” He raised his hands in mock surrender.
“I do not even know if she’s aware. I just…”
The knock on the door intercepted his thoughts and interrupted his sentence.
Skye pressed her lips together and adjusted her posture. Rome cleared his throat and sat up straight.
The door opened after Rome called his visitor in. Teriel stepped into the room. He bowed and greeted both the king and his hand, before placing walking to the table.
Rome caught the disturbed look in the man’s eyes but stayed quiet until he dropped three envelopes on the table.
Rome stared down at them, then up at Teriel.
“What are these?”
“Pe…petitions, sire.”
Rome corked his right brow in query, and so did Skye. Teriel did not need the king or his hand to ask what they were about, he continued his statement.
“They are all petitions against Elora, sire.”
At the mention of her name, Rome’s eyes darkened.
“We’ve been receiving them since this morning. The people say they do not want the daughter of a traitor, and a slave, as the king’s mistress. They ask that the heir to throne be conceived by someone more…”He cleared his throat.
“Worthy.”
Rome banged his fists on the table. He clenched his teeth and jaw as he fumed with rage.
How dare they?
“Take them away.” He spoke through bared teeth.
Confused, Teriel spoke.
“But sire…”
“I will not repeat myself.”
Teriel picked up the envelopes from the table immediately. Skye kept her gaze on her brother, something was going on.
Teriel stood straight and heaved a sigh.
“I have always told you the truth, my king. I will do so once again. The people are raging. The only solution…the only solution is to find yourself a queen, one which the people will…”
“Teriel.” Rome cut in. He had heard enough.
“Yes, your highness.” The man bowed his head as he spoke.
“You can leave now.” Rome dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
Teriel obeyed immediately. He turned his back to the king and walked out of the room.
Once he was gone, Rome fell back into his chair, and Skye hissed.
“He didn’t lie, brother. He didn’t lie.”