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King Romulus' POV

Moments followed their bath, Rhea's legs felt utterly numb—She couldn't fathom what tomorrow's aches would be like from what had been accomplished in the tub, but the female hadn't felt this blissful in awhile.

And damn it all, it had been worth it.

Romulus, who had taken the liberty of drying and dressing her into a nightgown, hadn't dared let her touch the floor.
Not when he was an able body to do it for her.

She watched in pure amusement as he scrambled around to get everything according to his vision, or that is what she assumed he was up to. With the fire going strong, and Rhea tucked well into bed and a glass of water just beside her.

"Rom, I'm not ill, you know." Rhea reminded him, and the male had stopped his current action of replacing the wood in the heath to look towards her. "Of course not, but you're a small human. I don't want you to become ill. It's cold out here." She rolled her eyes and began to sit up further from the pillow.

It wasn't cold at all.
Sure the stone tiles held a bit of a chill in the morning, but opening a window would have done a much better job than starting a whole damned fire! 

But it made it much more suitable to air dry her hair, and thus, she did just that.

Though watching the male who brought her to such a blissful state working shirtless around her rooms was a sheer understatement that she was being spoiled.

"Rom, please stop fussing." It seemed like her voice had stalled him for all but a moment, before resuming his previous directive. Though when he returned to fill up her water, for the third time, she took hold of him by the fabric of his trousers. "I'll warm up much quicker if you were to join me, Romulus."

Rhea watched in wonder as she bared witness to both him and his wolf considering the option. And with a nod, he followed suit and tucked himself underneath the covers, only to pull her close rather abruptly.

"Are you feeling any pain?" He asked, and Rhea sighed into his chest, realizing that even she was nervous about which types of aches would ruin tomorrow's plans. "Not at the moment, no." Romulus' hum and curious hands had started to flutter up and around the likes of her bare skin.

Between this, the fireplace, and the obsessive beating of Romulus' heart, it was no wonder she had fallen to sleep with ease. Not to mention the likes of what happened just this morning.

Rhea had ultimately submitted to sleep, and the King could not move a muscle. Even the idea of disrupting her sleep now was causing his wolf to pout and huff in the worry of making her angry.

His discovery, which was now only an hour old, was a soothing revelation and detrimental to his sense of peace.
How was it that he couldn't piece this together before?!

The way he hunted her for months and came up empty-handed, hadn't he suffered tremendously?
And the only sense of peace had come in the form that he had males watching her and waiting for her return.

He hadn't planned for Alpha Stephan's disrespect, but there wasn't a choice made—Romulus simply acted. And it only become apparent now that when it came to Amory, it had always been like this.

Amory is his mate.

Amory is his mate.

Amory is his mate.

For minutes on end, the words had returned in a repeat—And the only reason he had been interrupted was the fact that his matura had alerted his Beta and Delta.

And goddess forbids he would be able to enjoy this secret for a little longer.

Sir? Is everything alright?

Of course, it was Lyall. The male was the perfect person to validate feelings. But it was Elias who took a different direction.

Do you need us to call for you?

Those two were painstakingly the perfect wolves for the role, he would have to thank his father twice over when he walks to the moon to greet him once more for finding such loyal males.

I am perfectly set, thank you.

The disbelief on their shared links had made him laugh, leaving Rhea to mew her irritation and hold him further. Oh goddess, he couldn't describe the feeling now that he understood it. Amory's touch was like no other, and while he couldn't recall any stories regarding two mates meeting while underage, it hadn't mattered.

His wolf, in the back of it all, always knew who Amory was to him. And it made so much sense as to why he had fallen into a deep depression at the end of her reign.

Prince Romulus had been inconsolable, and even his father had felt guilty about how things had taken a turn for the worse.
Had Amory's survival been public, things would have been different.

There will be a meeting in a few hours, we need privacy and whiskey.

I got the whiskey!

Lyall cheered for the idea of a drink, but little did those males know that they were in for a surprise—Something Romulus was still having a difficult time swallowing.

"You are...So precious to me, Amory." He whispered, his free hand stroking the hair from her face. Yet his voice hadn't disrupted her as his laughter had, giving him the perfect excuse to continue.

"We'll be perfect on the throne together, won't we? It was fate that returned us together, even though my trust in the Goddess is slim at best, perhaps you can help me fix my views. You have a way of doing that you know. Showing me something from all sides." His smile twitched, but he couldn't handle the thought of hurting her with his touch, how his hands exploring her body would lead to such irritation.

"I realize I must explain this to you properly, but there isn't much known about what happens when a male claims a female. It is different with each coupling. More so when there is a human involved in the matter. But I'd like to think this will help. The only way to beat something immortal is to pair it with an equal—And there is nothing more sacred than a matching claim of two mates." It was a solution, one that he did not want to tempt her with in fixing, and while it might not solve all her problems, it would aid in some.

It hadn't been too difficult before Romulus himself had fallen victim to a quick snooze. He couldn't recall ever having slept so peacefully, especially not when the sun was blaring through the large windows across the room.

Something about Amory's scent had amplified his acceptance of the truth, as though it was now being highlighted in the air for him to always dictate where and when she was present.

The mere thought of leaving had caused immense pain to strike his heart, but after a few adoring words and promises of returning tonight, it had settled his wolf. Though upon leaving for his own private rooms, he was wondering if he was truly speaking to Rhea when he was making those plans, or to himself, to convince him that he would return at a later time.

Whatever the plan would be, he was in the midst of patting himself down in a mixture of scented oils. A lavish blend that he rarely used, though it reminded him cruelly of what happened in Amory's tub, and how he would spoil her in the hours to come.

A knock had called to his attention, and while he had answered it, his mind wasn't prepared to be picked apart by Wilhelm. But upon seeing both Elias and Lyall, his greeting frown had turned into a smirk.

"Have you brought the whiskey?"
"Yes, sir...Finely aged and never open. Are we celebrating?" The question had been innocent enough, but seeing Romulus, the King, pour out three hefty glasses of something so pure and expensive, Elias couldn't help but tilt his head to the scene.

"Sir? Is there something to celebrate?" It had been asked again, and the smile only widened further to them both.
"I suppose we are. I've come across something wonderful, and I don't know how to keep myself from it." He claimed, offering them the glasses before gesturing his up— "To a better future. For us, the Kingdom, and my mate." And thus, he swallowed a few gulps and turned back to his task at hand to hide Rhea's scent from his skin.

A terrible feat, one that caused whines and pants throughout each wipe. But it would have to come to pass.

"S-sir?"

"What?" Romulus smirked once more and nodded. "I feel like the biggest moron on the face of the earth. She has been right in front of me, all this time." He dwelled, only pausing his gawing males for another sip of whiskey—Yet the silence had caused him to stop, yes, seeing the looks of complete and utter disbelief had upped his spirits tremendously.

"Believe me, I am still shocked as well."
"Sir I—How did you come to figure it out?" Now that had caused Romulus to place down the soaked rag and cross his arms. "To me, that sounds like I wasn't meant to...Lyall?"
"That isn't what I meant sir, I had—We had our suspicions a while ago." In all but a second had transpired before Romulus' eyes had turned blazing with heat as he took a step towards Lyall at the fact that this information had been withheld—But Elias had stepped dutifully in place.

"Sir, this isn't something you can hear from another wolf. You have to see it, feel it, for yourself. Would you have believed us if we said it?" A snarl had ripped through his throat, but he understood the grounds his Beta and Delta had taken.

"When did you find out?"
"When Rhea was angry with you after you toured the royal gardens..." The way Lyall had started to scratch the back of his neck only emphasized his guilt. But it ultimately made no difference as to when, considering Romulus himself wasn't prepared to come to terms with it then.

Now he was, and he was prepared to act on it.

"How is this possible...? I should've known." He claimed, and Elias shook his head.
"I did a bit of research on the matter. Both you and the Queen were too young in your youth to understand it. Sir, you were a small pup. Perhaps you felt protective, but it wasn't anything more than that."
"When you smelled her blood for the first time in Red Moon pack," Lyall continued, "You went into overdrive. I think that's when it kicked back into gear. But your thoughts of Amory never changed. It was always the same, so perhaps your wolf knew but couldn't relate to it because you never knew the difference?" Elias rolled his eyes, hearing the exact opposite of what he had just discussed.

"She was stripped from me so early...I couldn't fathom—I cannot fathom it happening again. I want armed Enforcers watching her twenty-four hours a day. I don't care where she heads, make sure those chosen are educated in the fact that the Queen will not know. She'll get rather peeved at me again and that in itself I cannot bare either." Even now, the small knot in his heart was starting to become apparent with the distance.

"Then...Why don't you give her an assignment? One that keeps her fairly close to the castle, and not busy to wander?" Elias offered, and intention rose in Romulus as he nodded, but immediately stumped as to what that assignment could possibly be.

"I don't think the Queen wanders, I think she knows exactly where she is headed and why." Lyall defended, and Elias snorted— "Oh? Are you saying she meant to be taken by the Rogues?"
"Not at all! That was a moment of rush thinking and put into action, something I actually favor about our future Luna." He defended, and Romulus instantly knew, had Amory heard this type of bickering, she would have them all silenced within a moment's notice.

Though he couldn't help but think of seeing Lyall's defense as endearing—Perhaps he had that protective inkling prior and that is what cultivated their theory.

"That's it! Give Rhea a Ball to plan!" Now that had ultimately stumped Romulus, would she favor such an enormous task? Even now, there was still the possibility of her feeling pain for something so measly intimate that he couldn't even think of putting her on such an assignment.

Not until he knew for certain she is well.

"A Ball?... I can see that working in her favor in the court's eye, wouldn't you agree, Alpha?" Elias offered, and Romulus smirked with ease. "Perhaps, and who better to plan a ball than the Queen?" With the proposal in place, Romulus felt much better in keeping Rhea under guard. Course, they were patrolling in a sort of timed fashion so as to not rouse any suspicion.

With everything going on, and what the plans were soon to become, he was certain she wouldn't recognize what had happened—Which gave Romulus the opportunity to think over just how he was going to address not only Amory, of the status of their true relationship.

But the courts as well.

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Date: 07/06/23

Time: 3:37

Words: 2266

Author's Note:

Were Elias and Lyall in the right to not share the truth with Romulus?
Better yet, how do we think Rhea will respond to being asked to plan a Ball?