The warmth of Jarrah's lips crawling along the back of Rayne's neck as his palm snaked against the front of her stomach made her groan and swat him away half-heartedly. His deep chuckle sent a shiver down her spine, igniting her desire for him as he traced his kisses over the corner of her jaw that he could reach. So much for sleeping in.

Rayne, tangled in a sheer nightgown and purple sheets, rolled over and swung her leg over Jarrah's hip to straddle above him. Her curls rustled from her bonnet falling off during the night, spilled around her sore body and into Jarrah's fingers that now squeezed her waist. His eyes were soft and loving in the glow of the rising sun outside of his open balcony, and trailed over her body from head to toe, though lingered on her belly where his thumb traced a pattern. She didn't have a bump yet, but that didn't stop Jarrah from loving their ʋllosi iskitini. Their little baby.

"You know, the baby isn't coming anytime soon," Rayne reminded him, stifling a yawn. The thought of a baby was still mind ogling and she didn't know when she was going to get used to it. "If I were you, I'd get your sleep in now."

"Where's the fun in that?" he teased, his hands sliding away from her waist to play with the hem of her gown bunching at her thighs. "And maybe . . . I'm excited for sleepless nights."

"Really?" she asked, dryly. She glanced down at where she housed her baby and wrinkled her nose at the thought. Wolf pups were hard enough on their own as it was. And now, they were having a hybrid—a Fae hybrid at that! She didn't know what to expect and honestly, part of her was already terrified.

Jarrah's eyes glowed. "Really. I don't think you know how much having my heir means to me, wolf."

Rayne's gaze flickered to him again. He sat up beneath her and propped himself up against the wooden headboard behind him. She didn't move from off of him, but tilted her head, giving him her attention as he searched for the words and squeezed her thighs.

"You being a mother, a mother to my child, is the greatest gift my kingdom and I have ever been given," he whispered. "Since I've met you, you're all I've ever wanted, Rayne. And this family, our family, is everything I never thought I could have. So when you ask me if I'm ready for the sleepless nights, the crying, the laughing, the flying lesions, just know I'll always say I'm ready for it all."

Her eyes stung at the love in his eyes, at the sincerity on his tongue behind the elation of a beautiful smile. She mirrored it with a watery one of her own and let him press his palm to her stomach again. He couldn't help himself, and honestly, she couldn't blame him.

"We're really doing this," she partially laughed, partially sobbed. Rayne wasn't a crier by any means, so like any expecting mother-to-be, she blamed it on the hormones.

Jarrah's grin broadened with emotion, a flicker of water ghosting over his eyes. "We're doing this," he reaffirmed.

He moved to lean towards her, his lips puckered and ready to make her heart flutter, but the knock at the door prevented it from happening. Rayne tried not to deflate into the pout she knew was on her lips.

Jarrah sighed and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "Yes?" he called out, his eyes flickering with annoyance towards the door.

The door nudged open just enough for the spokesperson on the other side to be heard but not seen. And by the clearing of their voice, they knew it was Takoum. "Your mother has requested for you and Senator Terryn to meet with some men in the village, Your Highness. They believe they may have a lead on the person who killed our guards," he said, then added with disinterest. "And the wolves."

Rayne perked up at that, but Jarrah's hands tightened on her hips, preventing her from getting out of bed.

"Thank you, Takoum. Is there anything else?" Jarrah asked.

"Yes, just one more thing," Takoum admitted. "The Queen Mother has requested Alpha Vance's presence for lunch."

Rayne thinned her lips. Disdain settled deep within her belly, but she didn't show it. Nuni, the fish queen, was Jarrah's mother. She'd have to eventually give the woman a chance, especially if Nuni was going to be her baby's grandmother. And despite their recent hostility with one another, Jarrah deeply loved his mom.

So, when Jarrah turned his worried gaze to hers, she forced a smile on her lips. What else could she do?

"Thank you, Takoum. Let my mother know Rayne will be with her soon," he finally said.

Takoum closed the door and left them to do that. Jarrah grabbed Rayne's cheeks between his palms and brought her face close to his, searching for any hint of doubt in her expression.

"Are you sure you want to have lunch with my mother? You don't have to if you don't want to," he rushed, his eyebrows furrowed.

Rayne's forced smile softened. "I'll be fine," she dismissed. "If I can face an ancient vampire and his coven, I can definitely handle your mother. Lunch with her shouldn't be too terrible."

"True," he grinned. "And this way you'll be safe in the palace with Takoum and all the guards while I'm meeting with the men who know what's happening."

"I should be going with you. Whoever is doing this, they're killing my people too and I want to know about it. Don't give me that look, Jarrah Pinestone. You can't keep me in a glass box forever, no matter how hard you try to keep me there."

"Would a glass box be so bad?" Jarrah joked, but Rayne glared at him. "Okay, I know I can't do that. But you're in a very delicate condition right now, wolf, and I want to do everything I can to keep you and our baby safe. And having you with me in a village of people who might or might not be welcoming of you, with men we don't know yet, doesn't sound like the safest option."

"This baby isn't going to take away my duty as alpha, Jarrah. Even when I return home, I'm not going to let this pregnancy stop me from doing what I must to keep my people and our baby safe."

Jarrah lowered his eyes. "I know that," he muttered.

"This isn't going to work if you don't trust me," she said.

"I do trust you. With my whole heart."

Rayne raised her hand and pressed her palm to his bare chest. His brown eyes rose and met her determined gaze as his hand slid over hers.

"Then listen to it," she said, softly. "I want to protect this family just as much as you do. I'll meet with your mother today, but I'm not going to sit out at the next meet up."

Jarrah squeezed her hand, his expression softening. He tugged her fingers up to his mouth and pressed them to his lips. "You're right. I promise you can go to the next meeting, I promise to trust you, and thank you for going to lunch with my mom."

"Good. Now kiss me one more time before I'm stuck with your mother for who knows how long."

He smirked. "I can do you one better," he drawled, snatching up her squealing body and pulling her on top of him.

His sweet tongue and crawling lips were enough to keep her worries and guilt at bay.

For now.

***

Rayne cursed under her breath as she raced behind a brisk Takoum, who hadn't looked behind him in her direction once. Nevermind that her handmaids for the week, Makaia and Cheyenne, dressed her in a full length pink gown that was bundled in her hands so her heeled feet wouldn't trip over the fabric! Her bouncing curls were thankfully tucked into a thick braid down her back with some strands caressing her flushed cheeks.

"Can you slow down just a little, Takoum?" Rayne huffed.

Much to her dismay, Takoum quickened the pace instead.

"We don't want to be late meeting with the Queen Mother, so you'll have to find a way to keep up, Alpha Vance," he quipped.

"What? Why don't you try speed walking in heels!"

"I'd probably still be faster than you, Alpha Vance."

She rolled her eyes. "You don't like me very much do you?"

"Not particularly, Alpha Vance."

Rayne tried to act like that one didn't hurt, but she couldn't deny the sting at his quick honesty.

"Well, why not? And stop calling me Alpha Vance, just call me Rayne."

Takoum threw a solid glare of annoyance over his shoulder, his jaw clenched. "Because you're a wolf, an alpha at that. And as you'll come to find out, most of us don't like wolves because we can't trust you, Alpha Vance."

She frowned at that outdated thought. "Obviously your king does."

"Yes, which is why I've sworn to protect you."

"Why protect me if you don't like me? That doesn't make any sense."

"I trust King Jarrah knows what he's doing, and even if I don't like it, I have to trust my king's judgment. I don't have to like you to protect you, because I serve the crown and will follow any orders given to me by my king."

Rayne didn't have time to voice any more questions, as Takoum came to an abrupt halt outside of a set of tall ballroom doors. She pulled up on the side of him as he got ready to reach for the handle, and resisted the urge to stomp on his toes with the heel of her shoe. She was usually able to deal with people disliking her, but the conceit in his tone made her impulses almost impossible to ignore.

And she would have probably stepped on his foot, had it not been for him opening the door and ushering her in. She stuck with throwing him a heated glare as she walked past him and snapped a grumbling thank you through gritted teeth. Jerk or not, she was still raised right.

Unlike some people.

The moment Rayne walked into the ballroom, her eyes shot across a table a mile long and made contact with the familiar, cold pair of familiar brown irises of Queen Mother Nuni Pinestone. Her lips were drawn tight rather than smiley, and with her head held high, she sat with all the poised elegance in the world. Her dress was much more elegant than everyone else's in the palace, and her hair straightened like a pencil down her back as she stood in front of her pulled out chair.

Rayne swallowed her pride and curtsied for Nuni, before making her way deeper into the room and closer to where she stood. There were only two meals prepped on the table; one for Nuni, and one for her. She wished her plate of chicken and vegetables was far from Nuni's, but she'd make do.

Nuni waited for Rayne to get in front of her chair, before she dismissed all palace staff from the room. The only two who stayed despite the dismissal, however, were Takoum and Nuni's head guard. She frowned at this.

"Takoum and Elias, you may leave us," she said.

Elias bowed once and left the room. Takoum, on the other hand, stayed where he was stationed with his hand wrapped around a spear, ready to protect if needed. Nuni looked at him expectantly with a raised eyebrow  and tight lips. Rayne didn't really care who was in the room at that point. She and her child were hungry, and she was five minutes from devouring whatever food she could get her hands on.

"I have specific orders from the king, Your Highness. I'm not to let Alpha Vance out of my sight," Takoum explained. "She's under my protection until he returns to the palace."

"Oh for Creator's sake," Nuni exclaimed, shaking her head. "Alpha Vance is very much safe with me."

"My sincerest apologies, Queen Mother, but I will not leave this room while Alpha Vance is in it. Not until King Jarrah has instructed me otherwise."

Nuni still didn't appear too happy by that, but there was nothing she could do. Rayne bit her bottom lip to keep from grinning and looked down at her plate with much interest instead. "Very well," Nuni snapped. "You may stay."

Takoum didn't move aside from the fixed set of his shoulders as he stared straight ahead and minded his business. Nuni gestured for Rayne to sit first before sitting down in her own seat. Rayne wasn't a fool to think that she should eat first, so she waited for her to take the first bite despite her stomach growling, and then dug in herself.

Despite the thick, awkward tension between the two of them, and the cringing silence, the food itself was fairly enjoyable. It took Rayne everything in her not to scarf it all down in two minutes flat like she wanted to. Nuni would have really looked at her crazy if she had. Well, crazier than she already was.

Rayne cleared her throat. "The food is delicious, Your Highness. Thank you for inviting me."

Nuni made a humming sound of acknowledgment. "I thought lunch with each other might be best while my son is with Terryn tending to our people's business."

Rayne bit her tongue to hold in her true response to that, and stuck with a simple. "Oh."

"What I am interested in, however, is your role with my son," Nuni continued.

Here we go.

"My . . .  role?"

"Well, surely you must want a title or something. The Fae and the wolf in over hundreds of years have never crossed paths, and now you, a new alpha over the biggest pack our nations have ever seen, is with the king the Fae?" she scoffed. "You must think me a fool to believe this is all out of love."

Rayne lifted her chin, her teeth grinding. Her pulse quickened with her heartbeat pounding loud in her ears. It took everything in her not to reach across the space between the two of them and strangle the queen for thinking such a thing.

"I love your son, Queen Mother, and I'm sorry you believe otherwise. I'm not here for any reason other than that."

Nuni's eyes glared at Rayne with her mouth curled into a warning snarl. "Terryn is the Fae's most deserving queen, and was originally Jarrah's first choice. You're powerful, beautiful, and have fought alongside him, yes. But how long do you really think seduction can keep him, when up against a Fae woman?"

"I'm not seducing your son!" Rayne snapped, offended. She pushed her seat out and stood up. The food lay all but forgotten as she faced the cold queen. "And I refuse to listen to your assumptions about who I am. I love Jarrah, and with all due respect, Your Highness, I don't have to prove that to you. Jarrah loves me now, and that's all that should matter."

Nuni forced her chair back and stood up. "The Fae will never accept you as their queen, and neither will I. The Creator will never let a filthy mutt lead our people, and in time, Jarrah will see that too."

Rayne's throat closed at the derogatory term, and she swallowed back the growl quivering behind her lips. She curled her hands into tight fists at her sides and turned her back on the seething woman. She deserved better than having to deal with her crude comments and walked as fast as she could out of that room.

She couldn't stop, however, the sting of rejection that flooded her blurry eyes.