It was a quarter to midnight by the time Eloive sneaked into the infirmary. Quietly, he made his way to the room where Toreh was being held, hood up. The door was locked, but he had the keys and unlocked it quickly before slipping inside. The room was small, and Eloive was shocked to see her awake. She was checking out her bandaged wounds in the mirror. She wasn’t naked, but the blue wrapper she tied around herself didn’t cover much. Swallowing hard, he dragged his gaze upwards.
“How are you?”
She turned around, holding the wrapper closely to her chest. Her hair was up in a bun, a few strands escaping the hairband. She was black, beautiful, and his. The choker, however, said otherwise.
“What are you doing here?”
“That’s not the answer to my question, Toreh.”
“Well, that’s the answer I have to offer. What are you doing here, Eloive?” she asked coldly.
“What’s with the attitude, Toreh? I saved your life. You’re supposed to be nice to me.”
“I didn’t ask you to save me, Eloive. How do you expect me to be nice to you after what you did to me?”
“Did to you? What did I do?”
“You called me a slave. I know I am one, but it hurt hearing it from your mouth.”
“I’m sorry, okay? I did it because it was necessary, not because I wanted to. I didn’t want them knowing I knew you.”
“But now they know, and it’s all your fault.”
“What exactly is your problem? I know I was wrong, but I’ve apologized. What else do you want from me?”
“I want you to use the door, Eloive. I want you to leave me alone.”
“I’m not even holding you.”
She exhaled sharply. “Can you cut the sarcasm? I need you to leave.”
“How are you feeling?”
She snorted. “How do you expect me to feel, Eloive? I had your uncle hot on my trail, and two arrows in me. I should have died. It should have been me and not him.”
Eloive frowned. “Him?”
“Aspen. My sister’s boyfriend. He was only trying to help, and your uncle murdered him in cold blood.”
Eloive swore. “I didn’t know. But I swear I’m not my uncle, Toreh. I’m me.”
“I don’t care. Leave me alone, Eloive Lancaster. Please, I’m begging you.”
He didn’t want to leave her. Not like this. “Answer the question, then I’ll leave. How are you feeling?”
“Annoyed because you wouldn’t leave. Just go away. I don’t know who let you in, but you need to leave. Now.”
Dejected, he walked out, vowing to come back some other time.
…
Zikur watched from a distance, the Icelander queen. She was kneeling by the riverside, away from the laughter emanating from the ongoing party. She was poorly dressed for the weather, sporting only a thin shirt that Thjis must have owned. Her hair blew softly in the wind, and Zikur admired the blonde curls from afar. Zikur understood why she was so morose. Her brother had gone off on a killing spree, and once again, her loyalty to the kingdom was questioned.
Sighing, he shoved his hands into his pockets and made to approach her, only for his path to be blocked by the Fae Queen.
“Avetha, I must say I am surprised to see you here.”
“It’s Queen Avetha to you, leech. I see no reason why you should be surprised. I was planning to stick around for Christmas.”
“I didn’t know you were a Christian.”
“I’m not. I don’t need to be one to celebrate Christmas. Look at Dogara, she’s an atheist, yet there she is, offering prayers for the souls that were lost at the hunt today.”
Zikur looked over at Dogara. He didn’t remember her being an atheist, nor did he think she was praying, but he wasn’t going to argue with the Fae Queen.
“Whatever, could you excuse me now? I was enjoying my solitude before you showed up.”
Avetha glared at him. “You know, watching her all the time won’t get her in your bed.”
“Go away, will you? I’m sure you have something better to do than disturb me.”
She huffed before walking away. Zikur shoved his hands in his pockets before approaching Dogara. He stood behind her, staring at her reflection in the water.
“You’re going to catch a cold if you keep staying here.”
She didn’t move. She didn’t even breathe.
“Alright, that’s…” He bent to touch her, but her words stopped him.
“Don’t. If you dare put your hands on me, I’ll scream.”
He backed away. “Sorry, I was just…”
“And I don’t care. What do you want Zikur? Why are you here?”
“I believe you know the answer to that Ogra.”
She hissed. “It’s Dogara to you Zikur.”
“You’d always be Ogra to me,” he said warmly before sitting beside her. “He misses you, you know.”
“He who?”
“You know exactly who I’m talking about Ogra. He brought letters. He’s getting better at…”
She cut him off. “I don’t care. Why do you keep doing this huh? I made it clear the first time you brought him up that I don’t want to talk about him. I don’t care about his welfare or anything related to him. You got that?”
Zikur was amazed. “Ogra, he’s your son. Your very first…”
“I don’t want to hear it. You might be a Lord now and I a queen but that doesn’t change what happened in the past. It doesn’t change the fact that I gave birth to an omega, just like his father.”
“I didn’t expect this from you Ogra. Yes, you’re married to another man but Novgorod is still your son.”
“You’re the only one who thinks that Zikur. I gave up on that child many years ago, you should too.”
“He’s better now.”
“Zikur, I don’t care, okay? Novgorod is my past; one I would like to forget.”
“You’re being unkind Ogra. What did he ever do to you? Novgorod is a very sweet soul and I don’t remember him committing any crime.”
“The only crime he committed was existing. Zikur, I hate it when you do this, bring him up when we converse.”
“You didn’t seem to hate it when we made him Ogra. You didn’t seem to hate it when I pumped my seed into you.”
Dogara glared at him. “I was in heat. You took advantage of me.”
Zikur was furious. “I did no such thing. Lest I forget, you were the one who stumbled into my home and asked me to lay with you.”
“You could have refused.”
He clicked his tongue. “Who was I to turn down the Delta’s daughter? It was necessary to obey you.”
“And look where that got us.”
“If you hate our son so much, why didn’t you kill him in the womb when you had the chance?”
“How would that have been huh? The Delta’s daughter committing abortion? I wish I did, but I can’t change shit. The best thing to do would be to move on, so I did,” she said, showing him her wedding ring.
Red with anger, Zikur pulled her to him and kissed her roughly. Dogara fought against him but he held on, sucking earnestly on her bottom lip. She punched him in the chest and Zikur released her, breathing heavily.
“Scream. You said you would do so if I touched you, so go on, scream!”
“You’re an asshole,” Dogara stated, wiping her mouth clean.
“You didn’t seem to care about that when you fucked me.”
“Zikur please. Don’t okay? We happened many years ago, so be a man and forget it okay?”
“We don’t have to forget,” he whispered, slipping his hand under her dress. It was morally wrong but he didn’t care. He missed her and everything about her. Dogara froze as Zikur’s hand crept up her thighs. His hand was warm against her skin and Dogara found herself leaning into him.
Taking her action for a silent permission, Zikur pushed the Queen gently down on the snow before hovering above her. Her dress had risen, exposing her naked thighs to his hungry eyes.
“This is wrong,” Dogara whispered as Zikur leaned in to kiss her. “I’m married and…”
“Be quiet,” he ordered, before silencing her with a kiss. Throwing caution to the wind, Dogara kissed him back fiercely. Zikur tore the front of her shirt, exposing her ample breasts to the cold. The action caused Dogara to gasp and Zikur used the opportunity to force his tongue into her mouth, tasting, sucking and biting.
Unaware of the lone figure watching them in the trees, Dogara clawed at Zikur’s back as his hot mouth trailed her neck, leaving hickeys in its wake. Her pupils dilated; moans erupted from her as pleasure built up in her belly. He night have been an omega, but the only man who had ever been able to satisfy her.
Her nipples hardened, demanding for his touch and Zikur rendered them his service. His mouth latched onto her left breast while he kneaded the other. Dogara was a moaning mess as Zikur sucked earnestly on her nipples. His name left her panting, much to Zikur’s pleasure. Slipping his hand under her torn dress, she yanked her panties to the side before slipping two fingers inside her. Dogara let out a sharp cry, not expecting the intrusion. She lifted her lips in order to keep up with his digital thrusts. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she felt an orgasm on the way. It was at this moment that Zikur pulled away completely.
“Why… why did you do that?”, she cried out, breasts heaving.
“Ogra, if you want my cock in you, then you’re going to be a good girl and do as I say.”
“What…what do you want me to do?”
He smiled. So needy. His simple touch had made the queen wanton.
“I’ve got letters and they are for you. You are to read them and reply.”
She frowned. “If the letters are from Novgorod, don’t even bother.”
He swiftly rose and began walking away. Dogara cursed as she scrambled to her feet, breasts bouncing.
“Fine! I’ll do it!”, she yelled after him.
Zikur stopped in his tracks and turned, “Good girl. Meet me in my room,” he said before vanishing.
It took her a while but she managed to locate the guest room he was lodged in. Shutting the door, she stepped in carefully, surprised to see him holding a pen and paper. He gestured to her to sit and she obliged. He handed her Novgorod’s letters.
Taking her eyes off his naked body, she opened the letters and began to read.