Sins Among Royals

ndie, Noah and Rita sat talking for a while before Rita asked, “could we go and see the vampire?” She was hopeful that they wouldn’t say no, she was also curious to see who the vampire was.

Both. Oh and Indie glanced at each other quickly. Indie saw the pained look on Noah’s face and felt her heart breaking for him, “I’ll take you mom.” Indie responded with a gentle smile, “Noah, why don’t you go check on Wade? He seemed pretty upset when he saw Kade.”

“Oh yeah,” Noah muttered before chuckling, “I forgot about that. When you two are done in the dungeons why not meet me in my office. Sebastian or Barnard can show you where it is.” He turned quickly from the duo and stalked off towards the castle. Indie watched him disappear from view before she urged her mother to follow her.

The pair walked along the grounds and headed towards the dungeons. Rita had the diary tucked under her arm and wanted nothing more than to tear to shreds the woman that wrote it. If she wanted to kill Indie Rita knew of four, maybe eight people she would have to go through first.

Descending the stairs the pair arrived at the door and Indie froze. The last time she’d seen inside it was covered in blood and though Andrew had made light work of the mess she knew it would take her a long time to recover. The guard at the gate acknowledged her presence before pulled the door open.

Following the same routine as last time they soon entered Andrew’s chamber and, just like before, he was waiting to greet his visitors.

As soon as the door slid open on its silver coloured track Andrew smiled, “if it isn’t my favourite little princess!” He smiled and walked towards the pair.

Indie smiled at his warmth and as he approached she thought he held his hands out to greet her, much to her surprise he stopped at Rita.

The pair locked hands and hugged as if they had known each other a long time. “I should have known it was you Andrew!”

Indie was flabbergasted to say the least as her mouth hung open in the stuffy, stale air. “You two know each other!” She felt a little faint at the thought of it. “Mom! What else are you keeping secret?! I suppose you know one of the butlers is a fairy too!” Indie cried before clapping her hand over her mouth.

Andrew turned to look at her, his eyes danced with desire and lust at hearing the name of his favourite snack, “a fairy you say?” Andrew almost purred.

“Nope! You just forget you heard anything! Noah will kill the both of us if you do anything,” Indie threatened half heartedly. She didn’t know exactly what Noah would have done but she knew it would be unpleasant. Even if Sebastian was unsavoury. “How do you two know each other anyway?” Indie diverted the conversation as Andrew smirked and returned his attention to Rita.

“Andrew saved Nathaniel from death,” she admitted quickly. She didn’t know how much of it Indie knew or if Andrew had said anything to her but by the look on her daughter’s face she was completely clueless.

“I didn’t even know you had children Rita!” He then glanced down at the book in her arms, “I see you have that wretched thing with you. Did you manage to translate it?”

Looking down at the book cradled in her arms Rita grinned, “Oh so you’ve seen this then?” She almost teased. “What do you make of it then?” Rita was concerned by what she had so far read and it bothered her that someone so crazy was so close to her daughter.

“I’ve seen it but I can’t touch the wretched thing. The pages are either laced with silver or something vampire specific.” Andrew mused as he returned to his desk. “Considering your kind can hold it and flick through the pages it isn’t silver.”

A curious thought occurred to Rita then and as crazy as she knew it sounded it didn’t seem too crazy for the situation she currently found herself in. “What if it’s dragon’s blood?” She muttered quickly as Andrews head snapped upwards, he looked at her with a fierceness in his eyes.

Indie couldn’t help but giggle at the remark, “dragon’s blood? Really mom? I think we’d know if there were dragons around.”

Rolling her eyes all Rita could do was sigh, “no need to be a smart ass Indie,” she walked to Andrew’s desk and placed the book down, “dragons don’t need to be the large, winged type. They could be Komodo dragon’s or maybe a Bearded dragon.” Rita responded a little arrogantly. “Real dragons don’t exist honey, but dragon’s blood is like poison to vampires.”

Indie laughed and shook her head, “Yeah, no, of course real dragon’s don’t exist. Why would they, that’s just stupid.” Indie laughed almost maniacally. Things only seemed to get more and more complicated and in her mind dragon’s were not a ridiculous thought at all.

While Rita and Andrew got reacquainted and Indie stood around waiting and listening Noah stalked the castle halls looking for Wade.

His abruptness when it came to Kade left Noah with one thought. Kade was present the day Wade’s mate was killed.

Noah sought out two familiar scents and by the time he found the pair they were sitting outside of the main entrance. Amber stood over Wade as he sat on one of the steps with his head in his hands.

“Wade!” Noah called quickly. He watched as his guard stood, his head bowed, his gaze fixed on the ground before him.

“I apologise Master Noah,” Wade began in a surprisingly gentle voice. The bulk of his body hunched at an odd angle that seemed to perplex Noah.

“What was that about?” Noah pressed him for an answer, his intense gaze fixed on Wade’s head. He silently wished for his guard to look up at him and tell him the truth but when Noah heard a sniffle he realised Wade had been crying. “What’s the matter?” He stooped lower, trying to make eye contact with the man.

“Your guest,” Wade sniffed as he forced back his emotions. It had been such a long time but he knew he would never forget the face of the man that killed his mate. “He was the one, he’s the one that killed Hazel.” Another sob racked his body as a bubbling, burning rage filled Noah completely.

“Wade I am sorry you had to go through that, please understand I cannot have him removed from the castle. He is unfortunately a guest of Poppy....” Noah trailed off a little bit before continuing. “I would have someone keep a very close eye on him and his movements while he is here. If there is anything out of sorts or fishy then let me know. I will have him dealt to harshly.” It didn’t matter to Noah that Kade was human, he was in his home, on his lands and surrounded by werewolves. If Kade knew what was good for him he would not set a single foot wrong. “Is there anything I can do to help fix this?” Noah questioned quickly. He needed all of his security to be fit and strong and of sound mind. The last thing he wanted and needed was anyone making rash decisions.

“No Master, there is nothing to be done.” The sadness in his voice was palpable as Noah took it all in.

He stood for a moment just pondering the pair before him, “Wade I would like you to have the night off. Take Amber for dinner on me.” As soon as he finished speaking the pair looked at him shocked, the expressions on their faces were that of pure shock. “The mingled scents you two wear are more than that of a comforting hug, it’s well and truly mixed.” Noah smirked, “it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.”

Both Wade and Amber grew red in the face as they both stammered and stuttered through incoherent words.

Noah smiled again. “Come back tomorrow refreshed,” he turned to walk back into the castle, “and Wade?” He asked curiously.

“Master?” Came a very quick, very respectful response from Wade.

“If Kade does set a foot wrong or harms the hair on any of my wolves,” Noah turned back to Wade and nodded slightly, “it is you who gets to deal to him in any way you see fit.”

Wade’s face lit up brighter than a fully strung Christmas tree. He bowed quickly, “yes Master, thank you Master!” Before long Noah watched as Amber and Wade disappeared. Part of him was happy to see that the two of his guards with the most tragic stories had possibly found love in each other.

Heading back towards his office Noah stuffed his hands into the pockets of his perfectly pressed pants. The dark fabric rubbed against his leg uncomfortably. Soon the mind numbing sound of his polished shoes against the floors drove him a little insane. The castle was far too quiet. He couldn’t wait till Ebony was dealt with and the three children could again rejoin them.

Reaching his office he sat and waited. Both Barnard and Sebastian checked in on him. Both his butlers were elderly and both as surly and cranky as each other, though it amused him this time he usually found both men to be rather frustrating.

After what felt like hours his office door opened carefully as Indie poked her head in, “Oh!” She exclaimed loudly. “You are still here,” she stepped through the door and pushed it closed behind her.

Noah noted that she carried the journal with her and she had come alone, “did your mother get lost in the dungeons?” He asked with an amused smile.

Indie scrunched her face up and poked her tongue out at him quickly before retracting it. She walked towards the desk and dropped the diary. The thunk it made seemed to echo through the large office.

“She was tired so she’s gone to rest. I think seeing Andrew again got her a little too excited,” Indie laughed. “She’s gone to her room to rest. Tomorrow is a really big day for everyone. It is the day before the big day,” Indie laughed amused by her babble.

“She knows Andrew?” Noah asked a little confused a Indie nodded her head in confirmation.

“He turned my great great great grandfather into a vampire after he was attacked. Did you know my dad’s family were once the Alpha family of Stoneden and Aspen?” Indie quizzed her mate and saw the cluelessness in his face.

“That’s news to me,” he replied as he pushed himself up out of his seat and walked towards Indie. “I’ve actually been meaning to ask you something.” Noah took a seat on top of his desk and motioned for Indie to join him.

“And what would you like to ask me?” She smiled as she jumped and took a seat next to him. The desk was far too big for one person and almost looked like it could comfortably seat a dozen, how on earth could anyone hear someone sitting on the far side. The desk was the size of a small country.

“I’ve brought you to a place that I am now realising not even I like. I was not at all pleasant to you from the moment I met you. I was actually a bit of an asshole. I want to know,” he took a deep breath as he seemed to struggle with his words. “Would you like to mate with me and seal our bond or,” he seemed hesitant with what came next. “Or would you like to sever our bond and return home with your family?” Noah had seen how excited she was, he had seen the instant joy that spread through her when they pulled up and it struck him then that he had never given her an option.

Indie leaned towards Noah with an unreadable expression on her face, “You won’t get rid of me that easy Noah Blackwood!” She insisted brightly as Noah leaned towards her. “But you will have to put a ring on my finger and make that vow,” she chuckled quickly as she remembered back to her silly little promise she made to the universe the day she found out Noah would be visiting.

Noah visibly paled and was more than shocked, his reaction only made Indie giggle uncontrollably.