Strange Love

CHAPTER 79: Rooted to you

"Sooo, pancakes then?" Jos giggled as Arei wrapped his arms tighter around her and placed a teasing kiss to the back of her neck.

They'd shared a bath as soon as they had gotten inside the house, then slept most of the day. Once fully rested, they had made tender, passionate love. Afterward, Arei had proclaimed himself starved. "Which of my wonderful specialties would you like this morning... afternoon...?" He'd asked sweetly.

Jos laughed.. "There are only so many ways you can cook eggs and bacon... why don't you let me cook for you?" It hadn't taken any convincing for him to relinquish the kitchen to her.

"How can I help you? I can either prep some of the food... or..." His hand slipped under the long, thin tee shirt she wore and teased the lace of her pȧntɨės. "I could ȧssist you in other ways."

Jos turned in his arms, sliding her hands over the apron he wore. "One of these days you're going to have to give me the full story behind you and Ry and these ridiculous aprons. There has to be more to it than ongoing practical jokes, you both use them way too often." She traced the hard muscles of his bȧrė ċhėst as she ran her fingertips along the edge of the ruffled apron. "Don't get me wrong, it's insanely hot... I'm just saying there has to be more behind it."

A wide smile curved Arei's lips as he took one of her hands and guided it below the apron. His smile widened to expose white teeth when her eyes bugged as her hand found its destination. "Who says there has to be anything 'behind' the apron?"

"Not what I meant... but... ammm." A mȯȧn escaped her parted lips as she felt him grow harder in her hand making her want to stroke its length even more. He was nȧkėd under the apron!

"But what, kitten?" He whispered huskily as he slid his hand between her thɨġhs. "I've wanted nothing more than this for a very long time... to share a home, my life... with you..." He bent and placed teasing kisses on her lips.

"I think we came at a bad time..." Raven said backing toward the front door she'd just stepped through.

Isha slapped her arm. "I told you we should have called first!"

"I mean you could have knocked... that would have worked too..." Jos mumbled as she turned and pressed her back against Arei's ċhėst. She could feel the heat in her cheeks increase at the feel of his erection pressed into her back.

Raven shrugged in an over-exaggerated jester as she walked through the door. "Well, too late now..." She pulled out one of the bar stools and flopped down. "Did you get the message? Apparently, Russ brought all the wolf girls that were released from the hospital into the palace. He's asking for help teaching some of them to human." Raven said with a laugh.

Isha pulled out a barstool beside Raven. "I thought you'd want to help... but that it would be hard for you to do so, then Raven reminded me that you could shift forms... sooo... here we are..."

Jos sent Arei an apologetic glance over her shoulder. "Sorry." She mouthed.

With a heavy huff of breath, he bent and gave her a light kiss on the temple. "It's fine. I'll be back down to help with the pancakes in a minute." He sent Raven a mischievous glare. "Though I'm not sure why I'm bothering to get dressed, after all, you've already seen most of what I have."

"But I haven't... and I'd like to keep it that way..." Rin said as he stepped through the open door. The baby was cradled in one arm and Shelly gripped the other. "Sorry, we didn't call first..." He said glancing away awkwardly. "Are you sure?" He whispered to Shelly.

"Yes, of course!" Shelly giggled as she ran over to give Raven and Isha a hug. "Thanks, for the gifts guys! It was all sooo cute!"

Isha smiled back warmly. "I'm glad you liked it. The blanket was made with the finest fae silk there is!"

"Oh, I loved it and so does Cam!" Her attention moved to Jos and Arei. "I'm also sorry we didn't call first, but I figured since we'd be living here..." She sent Jos an excited smile and before she could say anything else Jos was already making her way around the bar.

"Really?!" Jos asked in nervous excitement. Her gaze moved to Rin for confirmation as she pulled Shelly into a tight hug.

Rin shot a glance to Arei. "I mean... if the invitation is still on the table... If we wouldn't be a bother..."

Arei chuckled. "No, no bother." He sent Jos an amused smile. "We've waited over 500 years, what's a bit longer." He sent her a wink as he turned his gaze to Rin. "Though, I do suggest turning around if you don't want to see my better side."

Rin's dark skin brightened as he quickly turned back toward the door. "Sorry!"

Isha quickly shifted in her seat as she tugged your phone out of her pocket and began tapping the lock screen in a hurry. "Look away all you guys want; I'm filming that majestic ȧss as he leaves!"

Rin nearly choked as his shocked eyes shifted to the fae queen the darted to Jos. When she and Shelly both only shrugged with their arms still around each other in a loose hug, he sent Arei a 'for real' stare.

Arei shrugged. "Peg's still finding shit they snuck and posted online when we were staying Maine. I stopped fighting it some time ago... I suggest you just roll with it as well."

Rin's eyes widened more. "They what?! You guys posted his pics?!"

Isha shrugged innocently. "Hot guy pictures get a lot of hits and endorsements. It's easy money..."

Shelly's smile faded. "Really? How much money? Like enough to help ten wolf girls get on their feet?"

"Not quite that much but it would be a good start... what do you have in mind?" Isha asked with intrigue.

Shelly's eyes moved back and forth between Rin and Arei. "What if we did a photoshoot? You know sale the pictures, make merch... that kind of thing."

Isha rubbed her chin. "It could be profitable for sure, and I bet Chary would be more than glad to hop on board."

Shelly clapped her hands in excitement "I'll let Russ know as soon as he's done with his address."

"Address?" Jos asked.

Shelly nodded. "Yeah, he called earlier. He's addressing his people today for the first time as 'the alpha'. I guess some of the council will be there as well. He asked us to be there... didn't he call you?"

Jos frowned. "I don't think so... but my phone has been upstairs most of the day."

"I'll bring it down with me." Arei said as he turned to leave the room.

"Oh, yeah! That ȧss will definitely sell!" Isha said as she lifted her phone and began snapping pictures.

***

Russ stared down at the blank screen of his cell phone. It hadn't pinged a notification in over an hour. His attention moved back to the others in the room in idle boredom and irritation. He lowered the phone into his ŀȧp and swiped across the screen. {Unread... still... is she ignoring my messages now?} He was just about to send a text addressing that very question when a single word of what the group around him was saying rang through his brain. "Marriage-" Russ sat forward in growing irritation. "Wait, what!"

Lamia frowned as she repeated herself. "I'm sure it has been brought to your attention multiple times by now, you have to be wed no later than three months after your coronation." Her attention moved to the tablet in her hands. "It would be easy enough to proceed with the arrangements your parents began before their death, but it will have to be decided soon as your coronation must be performed as soon as possible."

His eyes shifted angrily to Ry, but the massive man seemed to be lost in his own troubles and also ignoring the current conversation. "What do I have to be married to take my rightful place? I'm sure there have been single rulers in the past. Hell, Fern was never married!"

Lamia's frown deepened. "Well yes, but it's ill-advised and doesn't bode well for the kingdom."

"Have you seen this fuċkɨnġ kingdom?! I'm pretty sure my marital status will have little effect on it. AND I'll be damned if I'm following through with the arrangements my parents started." He said as he pushed up from the seat. "I'm sure with the current situation there's exceptions to any outdated, retarded laws you may have as far as the ruling of MY kingdom goes."

"And where do you think you're going?" Lamia asked in irritation.

"I have other matters to deal with before I address my people." Russ nodded toward Ry as he made his way to the doors of the study. "You got this?"

Ry nodded back. "Yeah, kid… go on."

Lamia's mouth dropped as her eyes darted from Ry to Russ. "Exactly who do the two of you think you are?! This isn't your decision! You can't leave until I say-"

Russ could feel his anger rise as he turned on the council member. "Until you say so? What a fuċkɨnġ joke you are. Come back with that shit when you've done something to warrant my respect and obedience." With one last snarl of his lips, he turned and stormed out of the room.

Lamia couldn't help the wide-eyed horror as her eyes shot from the closed door to the stoic faces around her. "I… I'm sure the young prince is just nervous about the speech later is all…"

"Ha!" Ry chuckled as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms as he did. "No, I'm pretty sure that was the 'young prince' telling you to go fuċk yourself." He eyes twinkled with amusement as they held hers. "He may be young, but that kid is no pushover."

***

Before Russ had even realized where he was going, he was pushing open the door to the library. It had become one of his favorite spots in the palace after he'd found out it was his mother and father's. Somehow being there made him feel closer to them. He let out an angry growl as he tried again to mentally will his eyes to return to normal, but the red tent remained.

"Are you always such an angry person, Your Majesty?"

The beautiful yet stoic voice pulled his attention toward the window seat overlooking the main gates. He walked toward her, the red tent slowly fading the closer he got. "Are you always so cool and controlled?"

An eyebrow arched from behind the book. "Did I seem cool and controlled last night?"

Russ let out a chuckle as he set down on the other end of the seat and pretended to stare out the window when in reality, he was watching her reflection. "I mean yeah you did… kinda… I imagine it takes quite a bit of control to organize your pack so quickly and quietly… not to mention the seven of you did what my entire palace staff couldn't in a fraction of the time… It's pretty cool if you ask me."

Jaden's eyes peeked from over the book as she openly studied the prince. "Blind rage will get you nowhere in a battle, Your Maj-"

"Just Russ, please." He interrupted her.

Jaden's brow lifted farther. "Excuse me if I was raised with manners. No offence to the late king and queen, but you seem to be lacking in that department."

Russ shrugged. "I'm sure they'd take no offence to that since they weren't the ones who raised me." A smile curved his lips as a particularly hot-tempered fairy came to mind. "The fairy who raised me would though."

Intrigue danced in her eyes as she lowered the book. "You were raised by a fairy?"

He nodded. "Yeah, a dark fae and the Kraken… and as shocking as that might sound, it was the most normal childhood an orphaned kid could ask for. Did they prepare me for this? No… but they did the best they could to give me and my sister a better life. Had they not stepped in I'd probably be dead, and Shelly would have been left to rot in that cellar with the other girls."

She studied him in silence for the longest time. "Your motives are clearer now knowing this." She sat forward, laying the book on the seat between them. "About what you asked me this morning, I've made up my mind… but first one question."

"Sure, what is it?" Russ asked, feeling his heart rate begin to race.

"This vision of yours, where do you see yourself within it? You've talked about my role and where you'd like to see the people, but what about you? Where will you be in all this if I agree?" She studied his reactions carefully as her question sank in.

Russ could feel the color flood his cheeks as he thought over his answer. "I don't plan on abandoning you or my people if that's what you're asking… As for you and I…" His gaze moved to the book she'd set down. It was one of his mother's diaries, which wasn't surprising. He'd brought several of them in here to read. "I'm already being hassled to take a wife, and I'm sure as soon as that happens, I'll then be hassled to produce an heir… a potential alpha…" His eyes shot up to hers. "Not that I'd expect you to sleep with me immediately… or even marry me immediately! I'm just saying that's what will be expected!"

Jaden nodded. "I know the ways of werewolf packs; you don't need to explain. I also understand your… reluctance to wed. I'm sure it's hard leaving the freedoms of the normal world to be dragged into the strict confines of royal within pack life."

He let out an uneasy laugh, "You have no idea…"

She nodded again as she tapped her index finger on the diary. "I do, I grew up in as pack royalty not far from where your mother was born."

Russ's brows furrowed as he glared at her indignantly. "Wait, you mean to tell me you, you the same person who gave me hell for 'growing up in a palace' just this morning grew up in a damn palace?!" He forged a glare as he crossed his arms. "I should bend you over my knee right here and now!"

She arched a brow. "I'd love to see you try, alpha. Unlike the rest of your pack, I don't have to bow to your will. Besides, I said I grew up royalty within the pack. I didn't say we were wealthy enough to afford such luxuries as this place as to offer."

Russ chuckled. "You think there's a lot now, you should have seen it before I started selling off all the expensive, useless shit laying around."

Her brows tented in amusement. "Sold? Why did you sell off things in your own palace?"

He shrugged again. "My people need food, clothes, and shelter way more than I'll ever need 48 golden candelabras or the 20 or 30 crystal chandeliers that were hanging around. The ones from the dining hall sold for over $30k apiece. Can you imagine?!"

The first laugh in over three years rumbled through Jaden's ċhėst as she imagined this crazy man ripping down all the light fixtures throughout the palace. "No, I can't, not any more so than I can imagine a king destroying his own palace."

He laughed with her before finally settling his hand over the hand she still had resting on his mom's diary. "So, you'll stand with me today, in front of the people as my fiancé?"

She nodded slowly, her eyes moving from his hand to his hopeful eyes. "Yes…"