Chapter 74: 75: In the Castle Depths

ARIEL

Amy’s mating ceremony was so beautiful, even I cried.

And now, the fun has begun. The reception is just like my best friend: a wild ride. In other words, a rager.

Everyone’s dancing their heart out, with the newlyweds setting an example.

I’ve never seen Amy happier. And Marius, usually so shy, dances with her confidently. A broad grin stretches across his face.

~They deserve each other.~

I glance around for Alex, but I don’t see him. Dom pulled him away for some royal duty, and they don’t seem to have returned yet.

I notice Helena swaying alone and make my way over.

She smiles at me. “Ariel, you look lovely.”

“Thanks, so do you! Wasn’t that a gorgeous ceremony?”

“You said it. I can’t take my eyes off them. They’re perfect together.”

“Yeah,” I say. “Hey, have you seen Alex or Dom?”

She shakes her head. “No, haven’t seen the troublesome twosome. Knowing them, they’ll be up to no good.”

We refill our drinks, and Helena heads off with Maria to the dance floor.

Just as I’m about to go looking for my mate, someone covers my eyes from behind.

I give a quiet moan as warm lips caress my mating mark.

~I know who this is.~

“Babe,” I say. “Where’ve you been?”

“Looking for you.”

Alex uncovers my eyes, places his hands around my waist and spins me around into his arms.

I can feel his lips moving against my ear as he says, “I have a surprise for you.”

I pull back and look into his eyes, trying to discern a clue. “What is it?”

He laughs. “Nice one. It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you.”

“Okay, then…show me.”

“Right this way, my queen,” he says, offering his arm to escort me to—well, wherever it is.

I know better than to ask again, but I can’t help but continue to wonder: ~Where are we going?~

I take one last glance at Amy and Marius, but I can tell they won’t miss me. They hardly seem aware they aren’t alone.

Alex leads me down the staircase that opens up into the dungeon.

~This is not what I expected.~

He speaks to the guard standing watch over the prisoners: “Hey, Daniel, how about you take a break?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The guard takes off his helmet and leans his sword against the wall, then leaves without further question.

I know Alex doesn’t want the guard to witness whatever he’s about to do. But why?

Alex smiles at me. “Confused?”

He gestures to the far wall of the dungeon. “See something out of place?”

I look ahead. It just seems like a standard brick wall, with candelabras on either side.

Only one has wax candles in it.

“Well, aside from the candelabras being made of brass rather than a more inexpensive material, only one of them has been lit.”

Alex gives me a peck on the cheek.

“Perceptive as always.”

Alex reaches toward the unlit candelabra and gives it a swift tug down.

Something clicks into place, and the wall shifts. A cloud of dust bursts up as part of the wall swings forward.

“Come on,” he says, offering a hand. He takes a lantern from the guard post and closes the door behind us.

We walk in silence until the tunnel opens into a large room. I take it all in as Alex makes his way around the walls, lighting each lantern.

It’s not as dusty as I thought our destination would be.

It has polished armor and intricate weaponry hanging from the walls—dating back, I imagine, through hundreds of years.

There are tactical maps of ancient werewolf-human conflicts, and my guess is that they’re the originals.

“Some of those have been here since the castle was built,” Alex says. “This room too.”

Now that the room is fully lit, I notice the modern training equipment.

~It’s a secret training room!~

“Oh, I love it! Alex…” I turn around to take it all in, and spot the sparring ring in the middle of the room.

I run over, leap past the ropes, and get into a defensive stance.

“Ready?” I say, kicking off my heels.

“Really?” Alex asks.

“Have I ever joked about a fight?”

He grins and steps over the rope, entering the ring with me.

I’m waiting for him to mirror my defensive stance, but instead, he shrugs off his jacket and begins unbuttoning his shirt. “Wouldn’t want to ruin these.”

He strips down to his boxers and piles his clothes at the edge of the ring.

He nods at me. “You should probably do the same.”

Showing off my flexibility, I unbutton the dress myself, lift it over my head, and hang it on the side of the ring. “Satisfied?”

“Immensely.” And, with that, he’s ready to rumble.

We both crouch low, circling each other. We know each other’s fighting styles so well at this point that we’re equally matched.

I throw the first jab, and Alex blocks it.

I throw two more and use his distraction to aim a swift kick at his side.

He’s too fast, dodging me.

He follows up his quick move with a punch that grazes my side.

I step back, already panting.

~I’m out of practice.~

Alex nears me again, and I focus, trying to discern his next move.

He thrusts his fist toward my chest, but I’m prepared.

I grab him by the wrist and spin my body around 270 degrees so that his elbow lands, face-up, on top of my shoulder.

Still holding onto his wrist, if I pull down, I could break a bone.

Instead, I take him by surprise, gently sweeping his left leg from beneath him, and we both land on the floor.

“Did I cushion your fall?” He laughs.

Before I can answer, he rolls onto me, pinning me down. Our faces are almost touching, and I can’t let him win, so I kiss him.

Our tongues intertwine, and I gain the advantage as he loosens his hold on me.

I lift my hips and flip us over so that I’m on top now.

“I yield,” he says as I finally break the kiss.

Our lips meet again, and I rock my hips back and forth against his.

ALEX

As Ariel grinds against me, I’m immediately turned on.

My erection pushes through my boxers. I want to rip the remainder of our clothes off and thrust into her.

But she’s in control now, and I love the way her sunflower eyes shine when she’s on top, commanding our every movement.

She gets a wild look in her eyes, similar to her avid fighting expression.

I can feel the pressure of my member against her core, and she begins to moan as she becomes more aroused.

“Let’s get these off,” she says, tugging at the band of my boxers.

She pulls them down, lifting herself up and discarding her own panties in one fluid movement.

She straddles my torso, reaching behind to play with me, stroking up and down.

She looks so beautiful at this moment as I stare up at her. Her brown, curly hair hangs loose; her yellow, feral eyes burn into mine.

I can feel her arousal dripping onto my abdomen as she continues to handle me.

She lifts her hips and guides me inside. I thrust hard, and her head hangs back for a second as she lets out an ecstatic groan.

Then she starts moving again.

I want to bury my member all the way into her core, but her knees hold her up a little too high.

She looks down at me, meeting my eyes with a wicked smile. She’s teasing me.

All of a sudden, she drops down lower, and I plunge into her.

We groan simultaneously as she continues to grind her hips against my body.

The cold floor beneath me is becoming damp with perspiration as I grow closer and closer to climax.

“Wait,” she says.

She turns around so that I have an exquisite view of her ass, and it was worth the momentary pause as she continues her enchanting dance.

She pants as her speed increases, and I can’t wait any longer. I surge into her in a jolt of euphoria.

Ariel gives her own groan, her body quivering and shaking as she tips over the edge.

She rolls off me, out of breath. I open my arms, and she lays her head on my chest.

“Ariel,” I say after a few minutes. “I know you’ve been missing your warrior duties.”

“Yeah.”

“I was hoping this could be a place where you can relieve stress.”

She smiles up at me. “Well, it clearly works.”

I chuckle, absentmindedly moving my fingers through her silky hair. “I also want to make sure you know…”

“What?”

“You’re my first priority. More important than being alpha. More than being king. I’m your mate. Making you happy is all I want.”

VIVIAN

I exit the ballroom and stride away from the reception as if in a daze.

This is the last position I want to be in.

I’ve just spent an evening witnessing the most sacred bond werewolves have—the mating ceremony. And now?

~Now I’m out of time.~

Vivian

How am I supposed to kill him?

Vivian

You told me that wolves can only be killed by silver.

Dad

Use your claws.

Vivian

But you said I should never let my wolf out.

Dad

No one will suspect a human. You have the perfect albi.

Vivian

I don’t think I can do this.

Vivian

I don’t know if I can control it.

Dad

I don’t care if you can’t do it.

Dad

Use your disease. Embrace the filthy half-breed.

Dad

Then tear his throat out

His taunts are like a catalyst… I can feel the urge to shift boiling over inside me.

I have to get moving. In case I shift in front of the entire palace.

Werewolves are milling about the palace as I sneak through, taking a break from the intensity of the party before returning to the dancing with renewed vigor.

I wish I could be like them. I wish I could belong. I wish I could be carefree.

But there’s something I have to do.

I should have known I couldn’t run away from who I am forever. I have a secret to hide and an obligation to keep.

I don’t have a choice, not much of one anyway.

I know the way, so I head straight to the winding staircase.

I glance around. No one here knows me; no one will remember.

~And like my father said, no one will suspect a human of hiding a secret like this.~

~But how will I make it past the guard?~

When I arrive at the bottom of the stairs, though, no one is there. I can’t believe my luck. It’s almost too convenient.

It’s dark, so I use the light of my cell phone as I step down the dungeon’s halls until I reach him.

The prisoner.

At the sound of my arrival, Xavier approaches his cell door and looks out. “Who are you?” he says. “What do you want?”

“I’m the Grim Reaper,” I say, extracting my claws. “And I’m here to tie up loose ends.”