Strange Love

"Have you seen the prince? Someone is here to pick up papers or something." April said as she stepped into the dining room.

Jaden let out a heavy sigh as she pushed away from the table. "Can you take over?" She asked handing a bowl and spoon to one of the other girls.

April giggled as the toddler Jaden had been feeding began to whɨnė. "Who knew the prince was serious about moving orphans and the homeless into the palace." She watched as the other girl did her best to distract and coddle the child.

Jaden studied the others gathered around the table. "It was a bit surprising... but I'm glad he did..." She placed a hand lightly on April's elbow as the girl moved to follow her from the room. "Have you eaten?"

April looked away guiltily. "I was going to after everyone here finished up..."

A frown settled over Jaden's features. "There is enough food now for everyone, there's no reason to starve yourself ever again."

April fought against the tears that burned her eyes as she nodded. "Thank you..."

"There's no reason to thank me, just promise you'll not go without again." She was about to step away when the slighter girl threw her arms around Jaden's waist.

"No, you are to thank! If it weren't for you none of us would have survived... and I doubt the prince would be as inclined to help without you. You've sacrificed so much for us... we'll never be able to pay off such a debt."

Jaden cautiously patted the girl's back. "I would never ask that you pay it back." She held the girl out at arm's length and cupped one sunken in cheek. "Your health and wellbeing are enough... now go eat."

April nodded. "Very well..." She watched as Jaden turned and made her way from the room, no sign of the personal hells that lingered just below that tough, stoic exterior.

Jaden stepped into the library quietly, not wanting to disturb the young prince just yet. It had been a strange few weeks. She'd spent many long hours trying to understand the man that she'd soon be bound to indefinitely. She hung to the shadows of the library pretending to be searching the old spines of the numerous books that filled the many shelves as she watched him.

Not only had he opened the palace to her and the other girls, but he'd also opened up the palace to anyone who was in need. Many of the older villagers had been skeptical but of those who had come, Russ had welcomed them openly making sure their stomachs were full and a warm bed was provided. Out of the 80 rooms of the second and third floors, nearly all were now filled. Between all the work he'd been loaded down with over the past weeks, he'd still made time to join her visiting the three girls still in the hospital as well as personally handing out supplies as often as possible.

"Are you just going to continue pretending to read book covers or are you going to ask me whatever it is that's on your mind?" Russ said with a huff as he set his father's journal he'd been reading on his ŀȧp. It was becoming harder for him to hide the frustration her presence was causing him.

Jaden's hand froze on the book she'd been about to pluck from the shelf. "I..." She let out a sigh as she pushed to book back into place and turned to face him. "The truth is, I came to inform you that a councilman is here to retrieve documents... You seemed to be enjoying your read... I thought I'd give you a bit more time before forcing you to return to such contemptuous tasks."

Russ snickered. "I'm going to have to invest in a dictionary or something just to carry on a conversation with you..." He turned in the window seat settling his feet on the floor as he patted the seat beside him. "How are things going?" He asked as she sat at the far end of the window seat, turning to face him.

"I must thank you, Sir-Russ. By taking in the orphaned children, most of the girls have been too busy helping with the children to focus on their own trauma. I believe it will be a wonderful form of therapy for them."

Russ sent her a crooked smile. "I'm glad to hear it... but you don't have to be so formal with me, you know..." He gripped the edges of the chair as he fought against the urge to touch her, even if it were just to hold her hand...

She bowed her head slightly. "I will work on my formality, S-Russ."

"Humph, I'll take you saying my name without hesitation first..." He stood and held his hand out to her. "Would you come with me to deal with the council? I feel like the more we can show a united front where they are involved, the easier it will be all around."

She hesitated as her attention moved from his extended hand up to his icy blue eyes. "Pardon me for asking... but why did you choose me for this position?"

Russ let out a heavy sigh as he flopped back down beside her. He ran his hands over his hair. "I figured you'd ask this at some point... I was just hoping it would come... later... I guess..."

"You need not answer me now if you're uncomfortable doing so. I owe you not only my own life but that of the others as well, so I'll do as you request regardless of whether you answer or not." Jaden replied flatly.

Russ let out another sigh as his hand fall away from his hair. "You don't owe me... I have my own motives in doing everything that I have..."

"I can't see a single benefit that could come from taking us in... or the orphans... or the homeless..." Jaden murmured as she searched his features.

Russ met her gaze. "You really what to know the truth?"

"I do."

He tugged his hair free of the bun and ran his fingers through it. "Alright... Most of what I do is out of guilt... a few months ago I was perfectly content with the idea of living my life with the person I loved more than anything else in the world and to hell with this island and my crown... That thought changed the second I saw what devastation he'd caused after my parents' death." Russ hung his head in despair. "I can't stop thinking of what would have happened had I stayed away three more years let alone if I hadn't come back at all..." He tapped the journal still sitting on the seat. "The more I read my parents' journals the more I understand what this place meant to them... what these people meant to them. I can't help but feel like they would be disappointed if they knew how I felt for the longest time... I know they would be crushed to see this place as it is now." He glanced over at her. "As for why I asked you to stay by my side... You're obviously more knowledgeable of werewolf affairs than I am, you're a born leader... you're strong... stronger than I'll ever be..."

She stood up. It wasn't exactly what she'd been asking, but his words were comforting. "We should be going before whoever awaits us becomes angry."

"Fuck them... I really don't care what they think at this point. I've lost enough in the name of those bastards." Russ huffed as he lifted away from the window. "But I would rather go ahead and get it over with."

Russ stepped into the office ready to face off with whoever waited. A sigh of relief coursed through him as silver eyes met his. "You left me waiting long enough... can't say it's been the worst wait though. Your uncle had expensive tastes." Peg grabbed two more glasses from the wine cabinet he'd been going through and filled them with red liquid. He carried it over and held the glasses out, waiting as each took a glass. "Did you get all the documents finished?"

Russ watched the liquid as he swirled the wine in his glass. "Yeah... mostly."

Peg arched a brow. "Mostly?" He turned and walked over to the desk where several papers were scattered across them.

Russ shrugged. "I filled out what I could."

Peg flipped through several pages before letting out a heavy sigh and flopping down into the seat behind the desk. "I really don't have the time to explain all these to you, kid... but if you could take notes or something, I'll try to explain them again." He cracked his knuckles as he scanned one of the unfinished pages. "On pages like this where you're still working on plans, I want you to put 'see' followed by the name of the plan here and its doc number. You can simply email those plans instead of printing and attaching them. He tapped his finger against another page. "I sent you most of this information, just fill it in." He let out a groan as he continued to flip. His attention moved up to Jaden. "Can you not figure these out either?"

Russ's cheeks reddened as he answered for her. "I didn't ask... She's been doing enough. I didn't want to burden her."

Peg's eyebrow lifted as he glared up at Russ. "These have to be finished before you can move forward with anything else. If that means someone more competent than you has to step in and do the work then so be it... besides you're still planning on making her your queen, right? This would fall under the standard duties of a queen."

Jaden retrieved the forms he'd pushed toward them and flipped through them. She pursed her lips as she set the forms back on the desk. "I can handle these, Sir."

Peg leaned back in the chair as he let out a heavy sigh. "Good, you think you can have them finished before the end of the week? They need to be processed before we can move forward with the release of the rest of the funds, the crowning ceremony, your wedding ceremony... hell, you'll have to get approval before any major work can be started on repairs to the town." He took a long drink from the glass. "This has been a wasted trip... Where's Ry?" Peg asked as he stood up. "I'll let him know this will need completed and brought to the embassy by the end of the week."

"Wait, what do you mean 'brought to the embassy'?" Russ asked in surprise.

Peg ran his hand over the back of his neck in irritation. "I mean, they would have requested you there once the forms were approved anyway. Since they're not finished and my ȧss isn't flying back out here in another few days, you can bring them to the embassy, and we'll force them to see you then. You'll need to give your statements against Marcus and the events of that night too."

Russ frowned, "You think they will extend Jos's sentence?"

Peg shook his head. "No, Jos wasn't in the wrong. Plus, the council isn't about to stand against Arei, Chary, and Dad." He patted Russ on the shoulder as he rounded the desk. "Get this shit finished. I'm going to go holler at Ry, then head out. I have a hot date tonight, ya know." He sent him a wink as he headed toward the doors.

Jaden waited until the odd man had left. "You should have asked for help if you needed it so bad. I would have been glad to help."

Russ let out a heavy sigh. "You were under enough stress. I didn't want to bother you..." A frown curved his lips. {Besides... I didn't want to risk being locked in a room with you for too long... I can't trust myself...} He glanced over at her as she went over the forms again.

"I can answer most of the questionnaires about the girls if you can look up the document numbers for the plans involving them." She scanned over some of the other blank information. Her cheeks heated as she came across a form he had bȧrėly started. "A marriage certificate?"

Russ emptied the content of his glass. "Yeah... It requires signatures from your family... I wasn't sure how to address this..."

Jaden forced her emotions down into the dark recess of her soul they'd stayed locked away in for the past three years. "Some things will have to remain blank; I suppose."

Russ searched her profile. "What... what happened to them? I... I know they're both dead now... but do you know how?"

She nodded. "The day my sister and I were taken they were murdered..." She could feel a hot wet tear trail down her cheek.

Russ sat forward and wiped away the tear with the pad of his thumb. He hadn't realized what he'd done until she was pulling away from his touch. "Sorry..." He stared down into the empty glass as he mumbled. "You know, the night we rescued you guys... I couldn't help thinking 'that could have been us'... I couldn't help seeing my sister's face on every blonde girl we pulled out of there... Had it not been for Jos and Raven, we would have either been killed immediately or threw in there... more likely I'd been killed, and Shelly threw in there..." He shook his head. "I owe them both my life... and I hate myself for the way I repaid that debt... especially to Jos..."

Jaden tilted her head. "This Jos must mean a lot to you."

He nodded, the image of the pain and regret on her face during one of their last arguments haunting his memory. "Yes... More than I'll ever be able to explain... for longer than I ever should have..."

"I'm sorry it didn't work out... You need not explain the reasons. Our culture is unfair where love is involved... it is nearly nonexistent in the world of wolves... especially where royalty is involved..." She stared down at the papers, but her thoughts were far away. "I too was betrothed... I... I'd prefer he not discover I'm alive until after we wed..." Jaden whispered.

Russ's brows furrowed as he leaned forward. "Did... did he hurt you?"

Jaden nodded. "I was twelve when we were first introduced, and the contracts written up... He was in his late twenties... And considered me to already be his property..." Her eyes burned as she stared blankly down at the papers. "I was almost relieved the day I was taken away from there..."

Russ's body had already moved before he even realized what it was doing. He tugged her onto her feet in one fluid movement, pulling her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry..." He whispered.

Jaden forced the impulse to fight against his hold down as she pressed gently away from him. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You can't control our customs or the behaviors of others any more than I..." She turned away from him as she settled back down into the seat. "But thank you..." She slid the papers toward him. "We should get started..."

Russ forced himself to control his emotions as he settled back into the chair. "I promise, I'll do what I can to see that you have a better future... You and the others..."

She could feel more tears burn her eyes as she forced her focus on the documents. "I appreciate that...."