The Consort

"This is absurd. I'm not going to touch you." I grumble, pushing at the pillow wall Adeline has created between us.

I made the mistake of leaving the bed for thirty seconds to go to the bathroom, only to come back to find a giant line of pillows dividing my bed in half and Adeline burrowed underneath the sheets pretending to be asleep.

After my shower earlier I was fearful that she would be upset with me, my mind worrying over it while she took one for herself. Thankfully, though, the incident has seemed to have had the opposite effect. While still tense and uncomfortable, Adeline has started speaking up a bit more, occasionally even snapping at me despite my annoyance.

I've been resisting the urge to touch her for hours now. She doesn't know it but she's been teasing me all night, staring at me while I pretend not to notice, the sweet smell of her arousal filling the room.

I push once more at the pillow wall, sighing loudly as I grab the one between our heads and throw it off the bed. This wall is stupid, and her pretending like she's asleep is annoying me.

Sighing even louder than before, I grab another and chuck it onto the floor.

"Stop messing with my pillows." She finally snaps, turning to glare at me in the darkness.

Even though she can't make out my form in the dark, her eyes narrow in my general direction. It's quite endearing, and I'm unable to stop myself as I raise my hand and bring it to her face, watching her pupils dilate age as she tries to make out the approaching form. She doesn't flinch away so I press a firm finger to her forehead, pushing it into her warm skin.

"No."

I'm more than annoyed by her outward displeasure towards me. My entire life women, human and Beast alike, have fawned over me, begging me to take them to my bed. It's just my luck that the first time I allow one to enter it doesn't even want to be here.

"You will sleep here and you will enjoy it." I order, poking her forehead once more.

Her mouth drops open at my words as she moves to swat my hand away. I remove it before she makes contact, my smile falling as I take in her slow movements. I'm hardly attempting to move quickly, yet despite it she's still unable to move fast enough to make contact with my hand.

She would never make a strong Queen, and mating with her would only serve to weaken me. When we bond my kind connects their Beasts to become stronger together. Adeline doesn't have one to share with me, though, leaving her with no option but to take from mine.

It's rare that it happens, a Beast mating with a human, and almost always ends with both dead. My Beast will try until death to share himself and protect her, either unable to understand or not caring that he will die if he splits himself too thin.

I've run through thousands of scenarios for us, and none lead to a happy ending. Even if my Beast is strong enough to handle the bonding without killing himself, the act of mating with a human will lead to a revolt. My people will call for our heads, and will no doubt attack when I am weak.

And what of our children? They will be hunted, viewed as a disgrace by all of my kind. No self-respecting Beast will want to mate with them and my line will end. It's just not an option.

Adeline sighs, fixing the pillows to conceal the gap that I created. I frown as she places one between our heads again, unhappy that I can no longer see her face.

"I don't know why I need to sleep in here with you." She complains.

"My Beast is not settled so you must." I lie.

Truthfully, she could have left hours ago. My Beast was calmed the second I felt her eyes on me in the shower and sensed her want for my flesh. I don't know why I've made her stay, lying to her and saying that I am not calmed, but I do not regret it.

She is mine, and although she pretends otherwise I know she likes that she holds my attention. She loves the special treatment I give her, preening every time I share with her private information or offering up treats that I would never dare give another human.

"I can tell that that's not true. You've been perfectly calm for hours now." She retorts, sitting up slightly in my bed.

I reach out and clamp my hand around her wrist as she sits up, quickly tugging her back down in a playful gesture. She lets out a pained yelp as she falls, her body landing awkwardly on top of her arm, and I immediately let go.

A small growl emanates from my throat, my Beast making his displeasure at having accidentally hurt her known. The noise causes Adeline to shiver, a shot of fear passing to me through our weak bond. As much as I regret taking her blood and starting our bond that night, it has proved to be quite helpful in reading her emotions.

"Adeline, enough." I snap.

Snatching her wrist back to her body I wince as she cradles it with her other arm and rubs gently at the muscle. If we were mated it wouldn't have even hurt her.

"Sorry, Sir." She murmurs.

I stay silent beside her, unsure how to proceed before sighing and grabbing two more barrier pillows and throwing them off the bed in anger. It leaves only the one near our heads between us, and I just know that she's glaring at me through it.

"Most women would beg to sleep in the same bed as me." I grunt, grabbing the last pillow and flinging it onto the floor. As expected she was glaring me from behind it, her eyebrows nose crinkled and lips pursed.

"If you want somebody to beg then go ask Gwen."

"You're quite jealous of her." I comment, shocked by the anger that flashes through the bond.

It's not typically this strong, most of the time only offering me small bits of her emotions, but her close proximity is strengthening it. It's as if her feelings are being shoveled directly into me.

"I am not." She retorts, turning to lay on her back.

I let out a quiet hum in response, knowing that her statement is simply untrue.

"Yes you are. It's understandable, she spent years pleasuring me and it's made her cocky."

I shift slightly before rolling onto my back. My jaw snaps shut and I physically wince as an unpleasant memory of her mouth around my cock flashes through my mind, the memory cut off as pure rage filters through my body.

My fists clench up in response, nails extending and digging into my palms as I struggle to work through the unpleasant emotions she is throwing at me. I hold back a groan as I realize that Adeline didn't know, my hand rising to pinch the bridge of my nose in regret.

I shouldn't have said anything.

"What?" She whispers.

"You didn't know?" I ask, playing dumb she doesn't realize just how much of her emotions I can sense.

I stare at her as she rolls around, turning her back to me as she mumbles a shaky no.

Anger and embarrassment fill the room, and I gasp as I feel her sudden overwhelming shame. I know immediately that it's directed at what happened today in the bathroom, and my Beast pushes at me to console her and make the situation better.

His rage is suffocating as he feels his mate's pain, his anger matching hers and overwhelming me in seconds.

"I'll take care of it." I speak up, trying to hold back my Beast as I set what I hope is a comforting hand on her shoulder.

It's standard for a Beast to put down any humans that they have had contact with once meeting their mate but, since it's not official and I didn't want to draw any attention to Adeline, I allowed Gwen and the others to stay.

It'll capture the attention of some guards, and I don't doubt that Axis will be annoyed by it, but it's time that the women are disposed of.

Sighing, I remove my hand from Adeline's shoulder and rise from the bed. I can hear her head turn as she tries to see what I'm doing, but I don't bother to be slow or loud so she can keep up as I made my way to the front door and step outside.

My guard is standing along the far wall, and he bows slightly in greeting.

"Dispose of my whores." I order, before turning swiftly on my heel and heading back inside.

Addie will be very pleased with this. She's silent as I slide back underneath the covers, and I listen carefully as her heartbeat eventually slows and she falls asleep.

———

ADELINE

I bring my arms up and wrap them around my pillow with a groan, burying my head further in the soft cushion. It smells like Heloix so I sneakily take a deep inhale, finding the scent oddly calming.

"Get up! I've made food." I hear him shout from the kitchen, the sound accompanied by a loud pop.

I ignore his words, opting instead to squeeze my eyes shut and try to fall back asleep. Heloix kept me up all night long, constantly kicking his sleep or snatching me around the waist and pulling me into him. At one point I tried getting up and going to the couch but he awoke and ordered me to stay in bed.

"I made you bacon, which you said you've been wanting to try, and if you're not over here in thirty seconds I'm going to eat it." Heloix tries once more, successfully capturing my attention.

I let out a quiet huff as I lift myself from the bed, ignoring the slight sting that shoots up my wrist towards my bicep. I probably tweaked a nerve when I fell on it last night, and I bet I'll be feeling it for a couple of days. I'll have to get some ice from the kitchen to calm down any swelling.

Heloix stands in the kitchen by the stove, his back turned away from me, and I glare daggers at him. I'm still holding onto my anger over his lack of care when it comes to protecting his humans.

He may have managed to successfully distract me last night but I won't be fooled again.

We deserve to have some sort of protection, offered safety from being killed or attacked whenever a Beast wishes. I'm more than just an object and I intend to make that clear to Heloix today.

Marching up to the kitchen, I sit myself down at the island and watch carefully as he sets down a full plate of food in front of me with a wide grin.

"I think you'll like it." He announces, grabbing a fork and digging into his own food.

I watch him through narrowed eyes, carefully picking up a piece of the cooked meat and bringing it to my mouth. I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't watering at the smell, excited at the opportunity to eat bacon for the first time. It's a pretty rare food for even the Beasts to eat due to the high cost of pig, and is often saved for holidays and special occasions.

Heloix watches as I taste it, his eyes widening and lips turning into a smirk at the shock on my face.

"Is good." I mumble out between bites, practically inhaling the food. Heloix grabs a couple pieces off of his plate and slides them onto mine, chuckling as I tear through those as well.

The sound of the door rattling slows me down, and I urgently grab a napkin and wipe off my mouth. I don't want Gwen to catch me looking like a slob.

There's a loud bang as a body slams into it, the door opening a couple of inches before slamming shut once more. This happens a couple more times, and I furrow my eyebrows in confusion as I stare at it. Why can't she get the door open? It's not easy, but definitely doable.

Heloix gets up and walks over as the banging continues, a loud sigh falling from his lips as he goes to help. Jealousy flares within me at him helping Gwen, but I taper it down and shovel a forkful of egg into my mouth. Heloix is our King and I'm in no place to be possessive over him.

In one smooth motion he pulls open the door, stepping back as a woman comes barreling through.

Instead of hitting her intended target, she flies through the doorway and smacks directly into Heloix, her long blonde hair flying wildly behind her. This woman isn't Gwen, and I crane my head to get a better look.

I've seen her around a couple of times, rushing around the castle in a tizzy with some sort of cleaning product in her hand. She's awfully young, probably no older than thirteen, and keeps to herself most of the time.

She scampers away from Heloix with a cry, bowing her head and apologizing profusely.

"I'm so sorry, Sir. I was just trying to open the door." She explains, gesturing to the door still being held open by Heloix.

He nods in understanding, turning his attention to me.

"Do you like her?" He asks, jerking his head towards the girl.

"What?"

The door slams shut as he releases it. Grabbing the girl's arms, he spins her around roughly to face me. She's visibly shaking, all color having left her face as she holds back tears. Why is he doing this to her?

"Do you like her?" He repeats.

"Yes, yes I like her!" I shout, getting up and rushing towards her. "Why are you being so mean?"

I grab the girl by the waist, pulling her away from his harsh grip. She immediately grabs onto my arms in fear, nails digging painfully into my skin.

"I wanted to make sure you like my new slave."

I scowl, holding the young girl tightly in my arms. "What happened to Gwen?"

Heloix smiles at my question, his chin jutting up in the air as his white teeth are put on full display.

"She's been disposed of." He casually states.

"What?"

His smile falls slightly as he watches me, seemingly not happy with my lack of excitement. I wait for his clarification, but he offers none. Instead, he runs his hand roughly through his hair and storms out of the room.

My eyes fall to the girl as she lets out a choked cry. She curls into my chest as the door slams shut behind Heloix, and I run my hand through her hair in what I hope is a comforting gesture.

"What's wrong?" I probe.

"The Beasts came to our chambers last night and killed a handful of the girls in their bed. I don't know why. We spent all night cleaning it up." She manages to get the words out through choked sobs, her entire body shaking with each one.

I'm shocked silent by her words, having trouble processing what she says. The Beasts killed them in their beds? Why?

Abruptly I release the girl and rush to the sink, my breakfast coming back up in painful heaves.

Did Heloix order this?