Rafaele came closer and held her in his arms."what has my amazing mate prepared for dinner?" he asked.Rina smiled at him. "Hopefully something that would impress a prince""I wager he will take one spoon of your meal and give our pack a promotion"Rina laughed."I didn't know the prince knew Rina""Well I knew she might have met him once or twice since she used to go to the palace for work but I didn't realize they were close""Well your sister lived such an interesting life, she must have been brilliant, wasn't she?" Rafaele asked.Rina smiled, a bittersweet one. "yes, my sister was brilliant. She loved books and had the patience to sit through thousands of old books to discover some hidden truth." Rina replied."well she was brilliant and it's a shame she died so soon and we never found out what happened to her."Rina looked down sadly. He tilted her face up to look at him."My darling, it's okay. I know you miss her but I want you to know that I am always here for you, we all are
It was late at night, Rina was done with her work for the day. The palace had settled in to, and everywhere was silent. Rina stood at the edge of the balcony, taking in the cool evening air.Tobias found her there.He didn’t announce himself, he never did anymore. Their silences were comfortable now, they didn't need to talk, they found pleasure just by being with each other.She didn’t turn, but she felt him come closer. The heat of his body embracing her.“You keep finding me,” she whispered.“I stopped pretending I don’t want to,” he replied.She looked at him then, and the vulnerability in her eyes made his throat tighten.“I don’t know what this is,” she murmured. “I only know how real it feels.”His fingers brushed her hand. “Then don’t name it. Just... feel it.”She didn’t know who leaned in first.Maybe it was him. Maybe it was her. It didn't really matter. Their lips met with the softness of yearning and love.A gasp caught in her throat, his hands at her waist, hers tan
Some years ago.... The royal palace The palace archive smelled of old ink and colder secrets. Rina was busy with work. This was the only time she felt really free, surrounded by the smell of books and the endless sources of knowledge around her. In here, she wasn't Rina, Rita's boring twin. But Rina, the efficient researcher of the royal palace. Rina’s fingers brushed delicately over a brittle scroll as she bent over the ancient table, her brows furrowed in concentration. The parchment had been misfiled again, and she was half a breath from muttering curses at the workers who were responsible for arranging the books.No one else ever came down here. Not the nobles. Not the guards. Not even the archivist, who preferred his tea room to this crypt of knowledge. The servants escaped as soon as they were done with work. They claimed the dark room was haunted and refused to stay in the room a minute more than necessary. So when a voice interrupted her, Rina nearly leapt out of her ski
Rina went downstairs, she could hear voices in the kitchen.She entered the kitchen and found them all in the kitchen. Tobias and Benji were in the kitchen eating sandwiches Luna Rosa had made.The whole thing felt surreal to Rina. What the hell was going on?She went to Rafaele. "The rooms are ready" she whispered."Thanks love" he whispered. She could see he looked excited, this was a matter that would elevate his standing in the region among his fellow Alphas."You highness, the rooms are ready" he told Tobias."Thank you and please the whole 'highness' thing is tiring, just call me Tobias" Tobias told him.Rafaele shook his head, looking horrified at the mere thought of it."No I can't call you by your name, that is disrespectful" he rejected the idea."We are of the same age and I really want us to be friends. We can't do that with all the titles in the way, can we Rafaele?" he asked."You want us to be friends?" Rafaele asked, his eyes shining with emotions. Rina rolled her eye
Rafaele looked at Tobias and Rita in confusion."You knew her sister?" he asked Tobias."Yes, Rina and I were quite close. She used to come to the palace for official purposes." Tobias explained."It's a really small world" Rafaele said."It really is" Rina said wryly."Please accept my condolences on the death of your sister. Her death was quite a shock to me""Yes, it was shock to all of us" Rina said, wondering exactly why Tobias was here.She didn't buy his story about wanting to know how the packs operated. Tobias was here for a reason and she wasn't sure she wanted to know why."your highness, please give us time to prepare the royal residence" Rafaele told him. (every pack was mandated to have a royal residence for the royal family)"Ah that's okay. We can stay in the pack house, we aren't really that picky" Tobias assured him."Are you sure? The pack house is cramped and you might not get your privacy" Rina told him. Him being in the pack was bad enough. She wasn't sure she wo
Rain closed the door behind him softly as he entered the room.Damien sat on the edge of the bed, his arms crossed, seething in anger. His eyes flicked up once before dropping back to the floor.“You’re late,” he muttered.Rain sighed, toeing off his boots. “I am sorry, prince Tobias wanted to talk to me.”“I bet he did, they are all the same.” Damien said darkly.Rain walked over and dropped to his knees in front of him, gently resting his hands on Damien’s thighs. “You’re not mad at me. You’re mad at him. And I get it. I am too.”“You didn’t have to go with him,” Damien said, eyes flashing. “You didn’t have to laugh at Benji's stupid jokes. You didn't....”Rain kissed him.A slow, deliberate kiss that poured every unspoken word between them into the space of a single breath.When he pulled back, he looked Damien in the eye. “I chose you. Every time. Always.”Damien’s throat worked, but he said nothing.Rain stood and gently pushed him back onto the bed. “Let me remind you of that.”