Sins Among Royals

Waking early the next morning Indie heard Noah snoring softly next to her. A smile crept across her lips as she glanced over her shoulder and saw him sprawled out across his side of the bed. Her heart swelled with pride as she recounted the encounter they’d had the previous night with his parents. It also bothered her.

They were rude, elitist and somewhat egotistical and she didn’t know how she would get along with them. If Ebony was anything to go by however it would make life interesting while she was in the castle.

Slipping from between the sheets she dragged her feet lazily across the floor. Her underwear caught between her butt cheeks and made Indie pull a sour face as she fished the material out quickly.

As she did so she reached one of the grand windows near the bed and heard a soft chuckle, “now there’s a sight i could get used to.”

Indie heard the words and immediately grew red in the face but she dare not turn around just in case she saw a disgusted look on his face.

“Oh you’re awake,” she muttered as she stared out the window that looked out over much of the town at the base of the rocky hill.

Feeling a strong pair of arms encircle her Indie smiled and leaned in to him, “I wasn’t really asleep,” he chuckled softly as he held her gently.

Noah relished the moment and wanted many more like this with her. It was perfect. Mostly perfect. His mind quickly wandered back to his parents and it left an extremely sour taste in his mouth. Noah had barely slept through the night, his mind raced through everything. Had his parents always been so elitist? Had herein blind to it before Indie? Staring down at the gentle smile on her lips he couldn’t help but frown.

So many things suddenly made very little sense and he needed to figure things out. He needed answers.

“Are you ready for today?” He questioned her curiously as Indie turned in his arms.

She looked up at him full of innocence and curiosity as she tilted her head to the side slightly, “are you sure you want me to stay in town?” It seemed a rather hasty idea to Indie and she worried silently that she would be put somewhere and forgotten.

“I want you to be happy and have your own space,” Noah began slowly, “I know if you stay here my mother would make your life miserable,” he sighed heavily at that. “maybe just until my parents get used to the idea of you ” though he didn’t understand his parents reluctance. They wanted him to go and visit other packs to find his true mate so why the reluctance now that he’d found her?

“Okay,” Indie smiled again. “Just until your parents calm down. Maybe staying in town I can carry on with my training?” She muttered quickly. She hadn’t seen Wade since they left Craggy Bluff and Indie was more than a little eager to learn how to shift again.

“Speaking of training,” Noah began again, “Wade, Amber and Fletcher will all be assigned to you,” Indie saw a very slight frown press gently against his features but it disappeared just as quickly.

“Isn’t Wade your personal guard though?” Indie couldn’t help but ask curiously.

Noah smiled and nodded, “He is but I think he’d be a lot of help to you if he’s with you full time.”

Indie felt there was no way she could protest against Noah’s wishes but the fact that she was in his hometown and he felt so uneasy that he had to assign his personal guard spoke volumes.

As the pair readied themselves for the day Indie felt a strange sense of anticipation. Part of her wanted to speak with Grace again and another part of her wanted to avoid her like the plague. The pair left the castle without anyone noticing. Both Grace and Victor seemingly preoccupied with other matters.

The drive into town was quick as they pulled up to a small brick building. It had two large windows either side of a small rustic wooden door, there were two perfectly manicured plants sitting outside along with a sign that read Harcroft Homes. Climbing from the vehicle Indie and Noah entered the building and were greeted warmly by an overly bubbly receptionist.

“Good morning Master Noah, what a surprise to see you,” the woman then turned her attention to Indie, “you must be our future Queen!” She exclaimed rather excitedly.

“How are you Zoe?” Noah smiled quickly, “this is my mate Indie,” Noah motioned towards Indie quickly. “We’re looking for a place to rent or buy today if possible.”

The woman, Zoe, had a look of shock cross her face quickly. She sucked in a deep breath and frowned slightly, “right....well,” she began quickly recovering, “Um let’s see what we’ve got. Follow me please.” the pair followed her to a desk where she began showing them photos of an apartment. “I think this would be perfect,” she smiled at Noah, “would you like to have a look?”

Both Indie and Noah glanced at each other and smiled, “yes please.” from the few photos Indie was shown it looked like a fantastic little place.

The trio left the building quickly and Noah drove them to the location that was not too far from downtown.

A three storied brick building sat before them, “so it is a top floor apartment with three bedrooms and two bathrooms,” entering through the main doors the trio climbed into an elevator and soon found themselves on the top floor. Zoe opened the door and let them in and immediately Indie was taken by how light and airy the apartment that.

All outside walls were made of red brick, the inside walls were rendered white. From the main door it opened out into a large lounge room, dining room and kitchen, overhead dark wooden beams criss crossed the high ceilings. The dark wooden floors had shadows dancing across as light filtered in through the many windows that framed the view of the town and the mountains in the distance.

“It’s beautiful,” Indie smiled as she saw a set of stairs, “Where does that go to?” She questioned curiously as she began climbing the dark wooden stairs.

“It leads to the third bedroom and your roof top decking area,” Zoe followed Indie up the stairs and showed her on to the rooftop area.

As soon as Indie spied the view from the top of the building she knew that was where she wanted to live. “Can we take this one?” She asked full of hope and adoration as she turned and smiled at Noah. She really wanted the apartment.

Noah nodded his head quickly, “if this is the one you want then so be it,” with a slight nod at Zoe he turned from the pair and pulled a small smart phone from his pocket.

“You are easy to please,” Zoe chuckled softly as she looked Indie from head to foot. “I can see why Master Noah likes you so much.” There seemed to be a hint of sadness and regret in Zoe’s voice but it disappeared so quickly that Indie thought she imagined it.

“Don’t tell me you two dated?” Indie questioned her with slight annoyance.

She watched as Zoe’s eyes grew wide in an instant, a smile broke out on her lips. “Goodness no! Master Noah saved me from a bad situation,” she responded quickly. “If it wasn’t for him I don’t know where I’d be, probably dead.”

Her admission piqued Indies curiosity. Noah had saved her? “What were you saved from?” Indie couldn’t help but ask. It seemed many people in Noah’s world had sad stories to tell.

Zoe took a deep breath in and shook slightly as she prepared herself to speak, “I almost died at the hands of my mate. He was a brutal bastard that thought he was being forced to love me.” Zoe’s smile faltered a little as she continued. “Master Noah and his guards had been informed of my mates aggressive nature and one day after failing to be chosen as one of Master Noah’s guards or as an enforcer he came home and used me as a punching bag.”

Hearing her story tugged at Indies heart. How could a mate be so cruel? She couldn’t understand it.

“I had lived through hell for four years before he saved me. Now I am free to live a life I choose in a way I choose.” Zoe seemed extremely proud of that fact and all Indie could do was smile. Noah had a good heart and she was glad that he had helped so many people in his life but she wondered how someone so kind hearted came from two parents that seemed extremely cold and empty.

“What do you know of Grace and Victor?” Indie questioned her quickly while Noah had his back turned.

Zoe shrunk visibly at the query which served to heighten Indies curiosity. “For as long as I can remember they have been...strange.” She paused suddenly and looked on Indie with concern, “I do not wish to insult them and I do not wish to land myself in trouble..” she trailed off quickly as she contemplated what she was about to say. “Some people in town are saying it is Grace’s fault that Raif lost his mind. They are also saying that Victor is under some kind of spell, that he has changed so much that magic must be involved.” she took a deep breath as her frown deepened, “some people even say that the woman at Victor’s side isn’t Grace at all, they say she’s either a witch or a shape shifter.”

It came as a surprise to Indie that people would say such things and it seemed to complicate everything instantly, “how can I find out more?” Indie asked as she heard Noah speaking in the background.

Zoe seemed unsure of herself as she avoided eye contact with Indie. “I don’t know, I’m sorry but I don’t.” She seemed suddenly terrified as she stepped away, “You could try with Medea but I don’t know how talkative she would be.” She trailed off quickly leaving Indie with many, many more questions than answers.

The two soon heard footsteps approaching, “Well that’s done,” Noah called as he returned. “We’ll pick the keys up tomorrow Zoe if that’s alright?”

“Yes sir, I will have all the paperwork written up and ready to sign.” Zoe smiled at Noah with the rays of a thousand suns and Indie found herself falling even more for the man with the kind heart but her mind was also clouded with uneasy thoughts of magic and treachery. Surely magic wasn’t real, surely it was all just an over exaggeration.

Right?