Cora Queen of All Werewolves

Cora- Chapter 9

“Did Hazel show you around the palace?” my mate asks me from across the small table in his office. True to his word, we eat every meal together, even the ones he doesn’t leave his office for.

“Some,” I tell him. “It is rather large. I think it will take me months not to get lost.”

He nods. “Stay off the fifth floor. That is where the King and Queen reside.”

Hazel had already warned me of that, and I’ll do anything to keep away from Queen Judith. “When did you leave that floor?” I ask, attempting to learn more about the man I’m stuck with for the rest of my life.

He furrows his brow. “I’ve never lived there,” he tells me as if I’m supposed to understand. “As I said, the King and Queen reside there. My mother was already the queen when I was born, so I’ve had the same room here all my life.”

“That’s so far,” I say softly. “It must have been difficult to care for you at night.”

“The Nanny had the room beside mine,” he says, not understanding my concern.

I look down at my plate and push around my food. No. No pushing, no distracting. I need to eat. I take a bite of the chicken.

“I don’t want our children far from me,” I tell him. It’s probably best to get that out of the way now. “I don’t want a nanny to be who raises them. I want to do that.”

His jaw tightens, and he nods. “We will see how things are when a pup is born. I’m not agreeing or disagreeing now. I’m saying we will revisit the situation when the time comes.”

I give him a small smile before taking another bite, which makes him return my smile. It’s a genuine smile, and it catches me off guard. Butterflies flutter in my tummy at the sight. “I think my wolf is getting stronger,” I tell him. “As is the bond.”

“What did Hera tell you last night?” he asks.

I look away nervously. “She told me to stay close to you,” I admit softly. “She said it would help.”

He reaches across the table and takes my hand, gently squeezing my fingers. “Is it helping?”

“I think so,” I say, smiling shyly at him.

His thumb brushes back and forth across my knuckles, and it feels like sparks are running against them. I can definitely feel more of the bond than I did before. His face falls before the door to his office swings open, slamming against the wall.

A large man stomps in, and it takes no effort for me to realize that this is Prince Joseph’s father. They look so much alike, though he has his mother’s eyes. My mate bows to him, and I follow.

“Get out,” he growls.

Prince Joseph stands. “King Franklin, this is my mate, Princess Cora,” he begins, but the king quickly cuts him off.

“I do not care,” he tells his son before turning to me. “Get out.”

“Yes, sir,” I nod and bow before scurrying out of the room.

“She needs to eat,” Joseph tells his father, but I continue out.

“I don’t care if your mate is not finished,” he tells him as I close the door behind me.

I look around me, unsure which way to go. I recognize a staircase, so I decide to go down that. After a few twists and turns, I find a door that leads me outside into a garden. It is early spring, so there is not much in bloom, but it feels nice to be outside.

There’s a chill in the air, but not bad. It’s certainly not enough to make me go back inside. I’ve not met the king before then, but he was truly terrifying. Worse, I’ve never heard someone speak to their child the way he did to Prince Joseph.

My mate bowed to his own father in fear. The formalities he insists upon make more sense, especially after our earlier conversation. He did not grow up in a loving home. He was raised by someone else with the only goal of becoming the king. No wonder he was concerned for Helen. His parents seem like they’d starve their own child by choice.

I wander around for a bit until I find a bench in the sun. I sit down, still not wanting to return inside. A few people working pass by me, all bowing their heads. I’ve never met them, but they somehow know I am the princess. It makes me uncomfortable, but I try to smile to them all.

I’m startled by the scent of my mate- the scent! I can smell him! I turn to him with a smile. “I can smell you!”

“You couldn’t before?” he asks, knitting his eyebrows together.

I shake my head. “Not well.”

He frowns and unbuttons his jacket. He shrugs it off and places it over my shoulders before sitting beside me on the bench. “I’m sorry that’s how you met the king,” he tells me. “Truly, it’s never a good experience. I was hoping to be able to shield you from him a bit longer, though.”

“It’s alright,” I tell him with a weak smile.

He nods once before looking out at the garden. There are only a few small flowers, but their brightness makes me smile. “The queen wishes to begin your training tomorrow,” he tells me. “You will have breakfast and lunch with her instead of me.”

I sigh softly and nod, resigned to my fate. I can do this. I feel so unsure about ever meeting her again, much less having her train me to be a princess.

“I want more than one child,” he tells me, pulling me from my thoughts.

“I do, too,” I tell him with a small smile. “Are we not supposed to?”

He shakes his head. “No. It is seen as weak if we have a spare as if we expect something to happen to the heir.”

I blink at him, surprised by his words. “Why can’t we have kids because we want them? I want a family. I’m not concerned about the heir to the throne.”

He sighs. “Your entire existence now is to provide the heir. Everything you do must be for that. It’s your job.”

I twist my fingers together in my lap and stare at them. “We’ve just barely met. I don’t know you.”

“What do you wish to know?” he asks.

What do I wish to know? Everything! Or something. Anything. “What was it like growing up here?”

“It was fine,” he shrugs. I look at him, waiting for him to continue. He sighs, but he answers. “I had everything I needed. I went to alpha training at fourteen and came home at eighteen for the king to finish my royal training.”

“How old are you?” I ask.

“Twenty-five,” he answers.

I knew he was a bit older than me, but I didn’t know. I suppose his age is common knowledge among the kingdom, but my pack was cut off from most.

“I know more about you because your father answered all my questions,” he says. “I was surprised to find you are so young, though it makes sense. I had been traveling the kingdom for years, hoping to find my mate. I’d begun to worry that she was an omega somewhere.”

“But you got stuck with a poor Beta’s daughter,” I say for him. I know he was disappointed.

He nods. “Technically, your father is no longer a beta,” he corrects me. My heart sinks. My poor dad. “He did more than the Alpha there did, though. He was committed to the pack, and that’s hard to find in conditions like that.”

I frown. “Are a lot of packs that poor?”

“No,” he says simply. “That was the worst I’ve seen. It’s not a concern any longer, though. Your family has been moved, as has the rest of the pack. The territory fell to another.”

I nod. They’re at a new place without me. I wonder if they worry about me or if they think I have a better life now. “I’m nervous to be a princess,” I admit softly.

“You shouldn’t be,” he says. “You are destined for it.”

“I know the Goddess doesn’t make mistakes,” I begin, but he cuts me off.

“It’s more than that,” he tells me, taking my hand in his. Little sparks of excitement fly up my arm at the contact. “It’s your wolf. Hera.”

I furrow my brow. He’d frozen when I told him her name, but I didn’t realize it was important. “Why?”

He smiles softly, and his dark eyes sparkle. “Because my wolf’s name is Zeus. They are destined to rule together, Mate.”

I’m not sure our wolves names mean anything, but I’m glad he’s talking to me. I’m thankful I am getting a glimpse of who he really is as Joseph, not just the prince. It’s nice, and we stay outside as he answers my silly questions.

“I expect you to make yourself physically available to me,” he says as we stand. Instantly, I freeze. Does that mean what I think it does? “Tonight, Mate. We need to create an heir as soon as possible.”