“Elena.” King Harvey helps me sit up and rests my head on his shoulder. “I am sorry to frighten you.”
“You are formidable.” I say feeling weak.
I can’t imagine the extent of his power, or mine, for that fact.
-
“Elena, you have been quiet.” King Harvey tosses over his shoulder as he stirs the pot in our kitchen. He is making us a healing soup because we both need rest.
“Your power made it impossible to breathe, King Harvey. I felt the skin would fly off my bones. How do you contain it?”
“I would die if I constantly was in my werewolf form, exhaustion, Elena.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Elena.” King Harvey replies patiently. “I am a living creature, despite my powers.”
The icicles hanging off his words stun me. Did I misstep?
“I never thought of exhaustion killing a werewolf, King Harvey. Are you mad at me?&
“Are you okay?!” I gasp as I wipe my tears off my face. Lifting my body off King Harvey slightly, I examine him. His masculine face is drawn and pale, he is sweating lightly. A distant look shines in his silver eyes. In a blink, they revert to brown when he cups my face.“Elena.” King Harvey rumbles as he runs his hand through my hair. “You are well.”He exhales heavily, pure relief washing over his body as his muscles relax.“Are you hurt?!” My hands dig into his chest and feel for a wound. Nothing. Gently, I skim his stomach and he scowls at me.“Will be better soon,” King Harvey grunts then lifts me to stand and follows. Guiding me to the tree outside to show me what I did, he takes my hand lovingly and presses a kiss to it.It was not something I pictured in my head when I did it, I just felt pure rage.“You need to rest.” I say, his taking forearm in both my hands.
The next morning after breakfast, King Harvey glances at me from above the notepad he is still studying.“I certainly would enjoy it if we had access to some items used to make practice shields, Elena. Yet, if we return to the kingdom now, it would be a mess. Rumors would fly that we cut our honeymoon short, as if we are not blissfully wed. Are we?”I laugh at his question. “I love you, King Harvey.”“Are you happy to be with me, Elena?” King Harvey asks gravely. “I must know.”“Do you believe I am not happy to be with you, King Harvey?”“As much as I love you, Elena, I cannot read your mind.” King Harvey replies sternly, yet the gentleness in his eyes proves he is worried under the surface.“You are being vulnerable with me, King Harvey.”“Are you?” King Harvey presses.“Yes, I am.”King Harvey breathes a deep sig
Sleep doesn’t come to me easy tonight. King Harvey and I had a lovely walk back to the cottage, and the wolf pup just slept in my arms. Now, he is in a small cocoon made of King Harvey’s cloak at the foot of our bed. He snores softly, occasionally whining and kicking in his sleep.He is fine.My heart rattles in my chest uncomfortably however, like a car unable to start. Beat after beat then a faltering rattle.“Something feels wrong…” I whisper, sitting up in bed.King Harvey sleeps to my left, shirtless and with a face of peace. Slipping out of bed, I tuck King Harvey in with our velvet black blanket. Moving to his side of the bed, I position myself to hover over him and run my fingertips through his soft brown hair.A smile spreads across his face in his sleep and my heart melts.“My husband, I love you.” I whisper to him, leaning down to press my lips to his ear.King Harvey shifts in his
It was a restless night for me, I slept lightly holding King Harvey to my chest in pure paranoia. I am grateful when morning breaks and King Harvey naturally stirs awake in my grasp with a knowing grin.“Forgive me, Elena.” King Harvey rasps, his voice worn over in sleep.“I understand, my love. Please rest more, you seem exhausted.”“Have you rest?”“No, I am too worried about you.”“Then rest now, Elena.” King Harvey holds me to his chest, and I fall into a fulfilling sleep in his arms.Waking up at noon is not my plan, but I do. King Harvey is dozing lightly beside me, and I kiss his cheek, so he awakes.“Are you feeling any better, King Harvey?”“I am rather tired, Elena, I am sorry.”“Doesn’t resting help you heal?”“Yes, Elena.” King Harvey nods. “But that is more for physical wounds.&rdquo
Two days of peace pass for King Harvey and me, and we are both grateful. As our day shifts to midday, King Harvey carves into a small honey-baked ham he made for us. Now, I watch my husband slice easily into the meat, smiling at the scent.“Had that wolf pup not been a traitor it would have been eating well.”“Thank you for protecting me, King Harvey.” I whisper squeezing his bicep lovingly. Slipping to stand behind him, I rest my head on his shoulder and watch as he continues to carve our ham. He turns to kiss me on the cheek quickly, then sighs.“I feel like a fool still for allowing that little animal to trick me.”“Perhaps, they knew that you are kind and wouldn’t hurt an innocent animal. Your kindness overshadows you… do you think the North Kingdom thinks our marriage is… I don’t know a charity?”“They are fools to believe so, Elena, but yes. I do not think that ho
King Harvey keeps his hand steady on my back as we walk through the castle, well, our castle from the undercroft. This basement of the castle takes us to where King Harvey hides his money. The stone walls that surround us are lit by a soft orange fire that naturally illuminates the way as we step.“Elena, watch closely, my dear.” King Harvey opens his palm and shows it to the wall in front of us. A soft red flame emits from the center of his hand, and a red door appears before us.“Security?”“Yes. Our children will have a slight incentive to learn our shard abilities, Elena.”“You picture them stealing?”King Harvey laughs. “All do when they are young, and if they earn it by using this flame, is it stealing?”I nod as he opens the round red door. We step into a tower-like room, overflowing the gold coins. They hang from the ceiling in collective strands, and gems litter the floor in all shapes and color.“King Harvey, where did you get all of this?”My head spins at the idea of colle
“Elena, I am in desperate need of a distraction. Would you like to join me as I make your shield?”“Yes, King Harvey.”King Harvey takes me to the entrance of the same room that he got burned in. When I pause at the front door, King Harvey steps in front of me and offers his hand to me.“Elena. I will be careful. I promise you.”“Please, King Harvey.” I urge as I take his hand and walk in beside him.King Harvey pulls out the stone we found the wolf pup resting on under a table tucked in the corner.He pulls out the sketch he drew for me and studies it.“Do you still like this style, Elena? The massive oval with the spikes all around the perimeter?”His finger traces the drawing of the shield and I nod.“I like it, King Harvey.”“Very well.”King Harvey starts the fire for the lava pot with one small flame from his palm. He steps back quickly when the pot of lava begins to boil and bubble.Doris steps in when she smells the lava boiling. “King Harvey, be careful. You do not want to ha
King Harvey sits on the edge of our bed with his head in his hands. I say nothing as I enter the room and lock the door behind me. He sighs when I sit beside him and place my hand on his knee.“Talk to me.” I say to him.King Harvey heavily exhales, a long almost howling escapes his lips. “My parents visited earlier while you slept. They say that your powers are going to make you a massive target for the other kingdoms. My cousin lives in hell. I don’t wish for my wife and our future kin to suffer because of this. Because of me.”“You?” I laugh bitterly as my heart cracks in half cleanly. “I am the human here.”“I should have taken you as a mistress…” King Harvey whispers as I feel the need to throw up.“WHAT?!” I scream, taking his face in my hands. “What the hell?!”King Harvey smiles brokenly. “Had I taken a werewolf as a wife, she would