Chapter 60: Between Father And Son

Adolph kissed her cheek before standing and offering her his hand.
“It’s getting late, darling. Let me escort you back to your room.”
She nodded and took his hand, warm and giddy. The cool air of the night felt warm around them, cozy and romantic. The moonlight that spilled through the tall windows filled the night with an ambiance that made her draw closer to Adolph.
When they reached her door, Adolph pulled her close. Her breath stuttered as she got close enough to share air with him and pick out every strand of blue in his eyes.
“I don’t… want to let you go, just yet.”
She worried her lip, “O-Okay.”
He smiled, dragging his lips against hers and whispering, “Is this okay?”
Laurel nodded, her stomach flipping and filling with butterflies as he kissed her gently and leaned into her. He groaned, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. She gasped and he slipped his tongue between her teeth, licking into her mouth with a ticklish zing of pleasure that went straight to her stomach and pooled in her hips.
“Y-Your Majesty.”
“Call me by name,” he whispered into her mouth, kissing her again. “Say my name, Laurel.”
“Y-Your Majesty, we’re in the hallway…”
He scoffed, “I’m the king. If I can’t kids my fiancé in the hallway, who can?”
“Your Majesty!”
Adolph chuckled and dipped his head to capture her lips again, sliding his tongue into her mouth and savoring the taste of her gasping a moan as he cupped her face and tasted her. He wanted so badly to open the door to her room and have her, but he pulled back before he was any more tempted to enter her room and met her gaze.
Her green eyes seemed hazy, staring up at him in shock and awe.
“Soon,” he whispered. “As soon as we’re married…”
She flushed and let out a little gasp.
“You’ll be mine in every way possible.”
He heard her gulp as he pulled back and released her, “Goodnight, Laurel.”
“G-Goodnight, Your Majesty.” She fumbled for the door and hurried inside, closing the door behind her with a soft click before resting her back against the door.
She felt him lingering on the other side before walking away and trembling.
His rough voice echoed through her mind. She could almost feel him still pressed against her body, burning hot. The scent of cedar, roses, and blood still filled her nose and she trembled.
*You’ll be mine in every way possible.*
Alice growled in delight, *We already are!*
She scowled at Alice’s thoughts and started to get ready for bed, resolved to put the sensual promise in his eyes to the back of her mind and get some rest.
She climbed into bed and found herself unable to sleep, her face burning with embarrassment as she turned and squealed into her pillow.
Raven said he was clueless, but Laurel disagreed! He certainly seemed to know what he was doing to fluster her like this, or maybe it was just because she was more inexperienced.
After all, she had never even shared a night with Basil before she died.
She chuckled, thinking of it. When she was Laura, she had mourned that truth, but now, she was grateful. It meant she would only ever know her mate’s touch.
King Adolph the Invincible, the Vampire Destroyer, the Goddess-Blessed King… an eight-year-old purveyor of fabric and stick wings, and secret lover of petal jam.
She giggled finding him to be an impossibly complex and lovely person. A complex and real person stepped right out of her fairytale fantasies.
Maybe she and Olivia had the same tastes in men, but at least, Laurel loved Adolph for who he was beyond the crown and riches. She feared his darkness but accepted it. She loved and reveled in his kindness, and soon, she would live embraced in every part of his heart just as he would live the rest of his days in her heart.

*******
Adolph walked a few steps down the corridor before he felt a presence in the shadows. He reached into the shadows, pulling the body out and pinning the man against the opposing wall under a beam of light.
“Father, it’s me!”
Adolph frowned at his son, loosening his grip, “Basil, what are you doing hiding in the dark?”
He smirked, a little amused as Basil straightened his jacket, “Is this another one of your strange hobbies?”
Basil glowered at him, “I wasn’t hiding father. I was waiting.”
“For…?”
“You. I wanted to talk to you.”
Adolph eyed him and shrugged, “Walk with me then. What’s on your mind?”
Basil swallowed and fell into step with Adolph, trying to get his heart rate under control. How had Adolph felt him there? He hadn’t made a sound, fearing his anger for interrupting his time with Laurel. From the sounds of it, he and Laurel were farther along in their relationship than he was with Delia. He wondered, for a moment, if it was because Adolph had marked her.
He shook his head and tried to focus his thoughts on why he went looking for his father in the first place.
“It’s about my mother.”
Adolph stopped and let out a deep sigh, turning to him. “Go on.”
He winced, glancing at Adolph. He didn’t seem angry, but he was agitated.
“It’s just… I know you said that you were aware that your marriage would affect me, but I don’t understand how you could have loved my mother so much and replaced her with a seventeen-year-old girl.” He shook his head, “I don’t understand how my mother could have been your fated mate and Laurel be your second chance mate. Something isn’t right, father.”
He took a deep breath, “There are better, more… noblewomen to choose from, father. Surely, someone else caught your eye that’s not so… abrasive. She’s done nothing but cause trouble since she got here. Bullying Delia and Tina, attacking people, not to mention that man that she left the castle with the other day…”
Basil lifted his head to meet Adolph’s gaze, nervously. Still, there was no anger on his face. He seemed to be considering Basil critically, examining him.
“Basil,” Adolph began. “How did you know your wife was you mate?”
Basil frowned, “I… I mean I looked at her, and I felt it.”
“Your wolf told you so?”
“Well… no.”
Arthur nodded, “I see. Well, then what I am going to tell you probably won’t make sense to you for a while.”
Basil frowned looking at him.
“Your mother and I were never in love,” Adolph said.
Basil’s breath caught in his chest.
“I am sorry for letting Tina, Minister Mirabelle, and the rest fill your head with lies, but I thought it was better for you to grow up with at least an idea of love.” Adolph shook his head. “Your mother was a marked mate, but I never marked her. I never loved her, but I respected her as your mother and my wife.”
He placed a hand on Basil’s shoulder. His smile was warm and almost doting. He felt like a little boy again, looking up at his father as he rode into the city for a visit and wanting to be like him. He remembered how Adolph would ruffle his hair and speak kindly to him as a child.
“When you meet your fated mate… or your second chance mate, if that is your fate, your wolf will know.”
“Are you saying that Delia isn’t my mate?” Basil asked, feeling defensive.
“I’m saying that’s something you’ll have to figure out between you and your wolf,” Adolph said. “My wolf and I are in perfect agreement that Olivia, your mother, was never anything more than a bond of convenience, and Laurel is the woman we will spend the rest of our lives with, a perfect gift from the moon goddess for which we will give thanks every day.”
He pulled back and ruffled his hair with a chuckle, “I hope I’ve put your doubts to rest because I have none. Goodnight, son.”
Basil stood staring after his father in a daze. His head still felt as warm as it had every time Adolph had ruffled his hair as a child, yet he felt so confused. What was true? What was a lie? What was he supposed to make of the riotous emotions in his chest? He would have asked his wolf about what his father said, but his wolf had grown disinterested in replying to him.
He wandered back to his room with a heavy heart and a mind full of questions.
He couldn’t sleep, thinking of his father’s expression and his tone. It felt so paternal. Oddly, it had been different from any conversation he’d ever had with his grandfather. Adolph was trying to teach him something, leading him to find answers instead of just directing him to an answer.
He wasn’t sure what to make of it, but he thought of Laura and Laurel’s question.
*Did you ever think?*
In the morning, a servant knocked on his door and offered him a golden envelope with curling azalea and lunar flower filigree along the edges: an invitation to a king’s wedding.