Chapter 57 - Put the sofa down

HADRIAN

Emma is resting on my naked chest, just like I want her to be. Her soft exhale tickles my collarbone and her soft weight creates an enjoyable pressure. I run my fingers through her thick white strands and along the cord of her spine.

The moon is gone and so is the consuming haze. I’m still horny as hell, but it has nothing to do with the moon. It has all to do with my naked mate laying on top of me and her thigh pressing against my dick.

I run my fingers down the soft flesh of her backside. I have half a mind of turning her around and waking her up for a second round. This time with her ass bouncing off my dick.

I’ve had that thought for hours.

Something else catches my attention. There is a purple bruise on her hip bone. I trace the tender flesh and fury bubbles up in my veins. *Did I do this to her?*

The bruise brings me back to reality. She's hurt and it could have gotten so much worse. The bruise turns into the accumulation of all the misery she has had to endure since coming here. All the hurt she has had to go through. It makes fury burn through me and the fury is mostly directed at myself.

The voices from the guards come through the door. Anger still boils in my core, but it expands when I hear them outside. I place Emma back on the bed and she stirs when I move away. I pull on the nearest trousers that I can reach.

I open the door and let my frame fill the doorway. The two guards immediately turn around. They step back and bow down. “Your Highness.”

I expand my chest with a firm inhale. “Where were you two yesterday?”

“Sir, there had been an incident.” Lieutenant Miles says.

“I don’t care about your incident.” I grit my teeth and I can hear the bones pop when I clench my fists. “I care about the fact that Emma was nearly assaulted by Marius yesterday,” I shout.

They freeze and start to tremble when my aura inevitably comes out. There’s shock in Miles as his eyes widen. “What?”

Callum’s scowl deepens and is ringed with disgust. I expect them to shoot a stream of apologies my way as any other subordinate would do.

Their eyes flicker to black and back to their natural eye color and I know they’re talking to each other. It makes me growl.

The guards that serve my sister form a risk. I don’t know where their loyalties lay. To the crown, to my sister or their duty? They form a liability.

Callum lifts his eyes and gives me a hard stare. “There was an attack on Emma at the festival.”

*“Callum,”* Miles whispers as if I cannot hear him.

The floor starts to spin under my feet and it knocks me down. Emma was attacked?

I knew having a human mate would be a risk to the human. At first I didn’t care what happened to Emma. She decided to come here, she would have to carry the burden that came with it. Now I want to protect her with my life, but the risk is still there. I should have been there. I should've been the one protecting her.

“Where are they now?”

“We have taken the woman into custody,” Callum answers.

“We offer our sincerest apologies for putting Princess Emma in harm’s way,” Miles says and they kneel on the floor. I’m surprised by their sincerity.

“We shouldn’t have trusted General Marius and we accept any punishment necessary,” Callum says and they lower their defense and lower their heads, presenting themselves at my mercy.

I reign in my aura and they must feel the immediate effect because they both look up. I nod and they rise to their feet. So their loyalty lies with Emma, I can accept that.

“Is there any information on the reason for the attack?”

Callum shakes his head. “The woman won’t talk, but she was carrying this.” He takes a folded note from his pocket and hands it over to me.

I turn over the folded paper and Emma’s name is written in black ink. I look up to the guards. “Have you seen this?”

They both shake their heads. “No sir.”

I look back and forth between the note and the guards. “Thank you.”

They blink and turn to look at each other, before quickly turning back my way. “You’re welcome, Your Highness.” They say in unison. Their movements are so similar even though they don’t exactly look alike.

I nod at them and stand there for a second. “Can you get the healer to come to the room?”

“Of course, Your Highness.” They reply.

The formality feels off. I’ve never thought much of it, because it always came with the burden of being the crown prince.

I rub the back of my neck and turn back to the rooms. “You can call me Hadrian if you want,” I mutter.

I don’t wait for their reaction and close the door behind me. I scratch at the burn on my collarbone and I eye the note in my hand. It’s not more than a simple piece of paper with dirt marks on it.

When I enter the bedroom I notice that Emma is gone and I’m momentarily distracted from the note and drop it on the bed.

The door of the bathroom opens and Emma comes out dressed in her nightgown and with her hand on her lower stomach. Her nose is scrunched and all the warning signals go off in my body.

“Are you okay? Did you bleed again?” I say with a growl laced in my voice.

She rolls her eyes at me. “No Hadrian, I don’t bleed every time you stick it in me.” She falls on the bed.

I blink at the crude comment coming from her mouth. I’m surprised at the sourness in her voice. I lie down beside her and hover over her side. “Are you in pain?” Her hair obscures a part of her face and I move it away.

She turns to me and moves into me. “I’m sore, there’s a difference.”

I close her in my embrace and kiss her shoulder. “I’ve hurt you.”

“Just because you’re a little big doesn’t mean that you’ve hurt me.”

I narrow my eyes at the word *little* and lift her nightgown to show her the battered skin on her hip.

“That is just a bruise from when I bumped into the sofa the other day.”

I eye the offending piece of furniture and get up from the bed. I don’t want anything in the room that could hurt her.

“Hadrian, put the sofa down.” She commands.

The weight of her command has my dick spring to life. I can’t ignore her demand and carefully place the sofa back on the floor.

Emma looks at me with fury in her eyes. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I tend to trip or bump into things every now and then.”

That storm in those gray eyes has me under a spell.

“I'm human, I don’t have the coordination of a werewolf and your strength is seriously pissing me off sometimes!”

I pull her fine body against mine and seal her lips with a searing kiss. I lift her up and place our bodies on the bed. She’s intoxicating and I need my fucking fix. Her temper gets me so worked up every time. I thrust my hips into her. This is what I wanted to do since the first time that I talked to her. There is a knock on the door, but I ignore it.

She moans when I work my way to her mark. “Are you even listening to me?” She complains with another moan.

She bends her body into me and I gladly lower her nightgown to suck on those soft nipples of hers. I would answer her if my mouth wasn’t occupied.

The knock on the door sounds again. “Emma? It’s me, Galena. Can I come in?”

Emma pulls away from me with her hands on my shoulders. “Hadrian, don’t tell me that you called the healer for a bruise!”

I place a hand on her stomach. “Not just the bruise, also the soreness.” I fix the strap of her nightgown and get up from the bed to open the door.

“My mate has a bruise,” I explain to the healer. I hear Emma mutter ‘unbelievable’ behind me.

Galena is standing in the parlor with a pensive look on her face. Her wrinkles pull into a deep frown. “My apologies Prince Hadrian, but I won’t be able to heal her.”

A wave of irritation flows through me at the blunt refusal of the healer. I don’t want my mate to be exposed to this absurdity. I pull the door behind me and gesture for Galena to go into my office.

“Why not? She’s your princess.” I growl and my aura shines through. I reign it in when I notice the familiar tremble.

Galena swallows. “I would if I could, but something is blocking me when I try to perform a healing.”

I’m not very familiar with the aspect of healing. “Could it be because she’s human?”

Galena has kind and wise eyes, but they’re anxious now and at a loss. “Could be, but…” Galena holds her tongue and avoids my eyes.

“Speak.” The command is undeniable and harsh.

“I think she’s bewitched, Your Highness.”