Chapter 5: He Hands Me The World On A Silver Platter.

"What are you doing?"  I ask as I look down at my King who is fetching something from under the bed.  

"I hid a surprise for you and I am about to get it out to give to you."  He answers with a giddy sound to his voice.  

When he pokes his head up, I see a smirk on his face and then he hands me a box.  It is a small box, but very pretty.  Wrapped with a blue silk bow, the red velvet box is only big enough to fit either a ring, a broach, a necklace or a bracelet.  That is assuming that it is folded up.

I glance at him before opening it as he leans forward to watch my reaction.  Smiling, I wipe a strand of hair out of my eyes and open it slowly.  When I do, I am deeply touched.  Inside is a absolutely exquisite diamond ring that looks like it could belong to a princess, which I suppose I am or rather a queen.  It's still hard for me to deal with the fact that one day I was a plain girl and the next when I turned 18, I became the queen of all the wolf territories.  

Almost dropping it, I squeal in delight and I give him a huge hug.  It feels strange because he treats me so much like a daughter that I have conflicting feelings for him.  On one hand, I want him to treat me like his mate and do the things he would with me normally.  On the other hand, I am scared that when he goes to mate with me, I won't be adequate.  

"Well put it on."  He says excitedly as he watches me practically jump up and down while holding it.  

I take it carefully out of the box and slip it on my ring finger.  Somehow, he guessed right and the ring fits perfectly on my finger.  Staring at it, I hold it up to the light and when the sun catches one of the sides, the reflection dances on the walls.  It reminds me of when the light catches the water back home by the stream.

Spending hours at a time there, I would often dream of princes and princesses.  Knights and everything else that goes with that kind of fantasy world.  The only difference now, is that there is a political side that I never realized existed.  Afterall, romance novels and the like don't usually get into politics and things that aren't fantasy.

Still excited, I give him another hug but this time I feel his lips brush across my ear and he whispers something so faint that I can't hear it.  Lingering in his arms, I turn to face him and see that same old hunger in his eyes.  I ask, "What did you just say, I didn't catch that?"

He gets a sparkle in his eyes and starts to open his mouth to say something, but then he hesitates and closes it again.  Daring to stay staring into his eyes, I feel the tension between us becoming thicker by the minute and when he finally kisses me I am not surprised at all.  It is once again a sweet kiss, nothing passionate at all but a kiss that two people on a first date would give.

When he is done, he holds me for a minute longer and then releases me.  The disappointment I feel to say the least, makes me want to curl up in a corner and die.  My romance novels were always filled with scenes like this and I hated them.  One minute the man acts like he wants her, the next he walks away calm and collected.

Being one of those girls who loved romance and reading the seedy scenes because I never have done them, I can't help but wonder what it is really like and if I am ever going to experience it.  At this point, I highly doubt it or if I do it might be years down the road.  So, feeling disheartened, I lay down on the bed and read a book to try and cheer up or at least vanish into my own fantasy world where the princess does get her prince.

A couple hours later there is a knock at the door and when I get up to answer it, I see Monique standing there looking very upset.  "Come in."  I take her by the hand and lead her to the bed.  Once sitting, I ask, "What is the matter?"

She stares at me with red eyes clearly from crying and states, "One of the elders just took advantage of me and unfortunately now I am not a virgin."  Crying, she puts her head in her hands and I immediately wrap my arms around her.

"There,there.  I am so sorry that this has happened.  You are my one and only friend here.  I will get to the bottom of this and make sure that Dominic never finds out that he hurt you like this.  I don't want to lose you just because of his rules.  Afterall, it's not your fault that the elder did that.  Now dear, who did it?"

She hesitates for a few seconds and then tells me, "It was Elder Boris.  As soon as I went into his room to replace his bedding, he walked out of the bathroom naked and accosted me.  Now I am so ashamed.  What do I do?"

First of all, I want you to go see the doctor.  I will make sure that he never says a single thing to anyone.  Next, I will go to Dominic and say there have been reports that Elder Boris is misusing his influence with the young women in the area and that he needs to go back to his home now.  Last but not least, go home after seeing the doctor and take the day off."

While still staring at me, she finally stops crying and gives me a big hug.  "Thank you so much!"  She exclaims before standing.  "Better go, before anyone wonders what is happening."

I stand up and walk her to the door, "Yes, remember go to the doctor.  I will call him right now and tell him what happened.  I promise you he will never say anything."

Hugging me one last time, she then wipes her tears away and straightens her clothing before opening the door and leaving.  Turning around, I quickly grab the phone and make a phone call to the doctor.  "Hello Viktor, it appears we have a situation.  I am sending over Monique, she is one of my servants.  I trust that you tell no one including our king about this.  She has been raped by one of the elders and I need you to check her over and do whatever you can to make sure she is not with baby."

"Yes my queen, I will wait for her to arrive and do anything I can to help her.  Is there anything else?"  I hear his voice trail off.

"No, all else is well.  Thank you for doing this."  Hanging up, I realize what time it is and make my way down to the dining room for lunch.  

On the way down there, I walk by the meeting room and see Dominic and another man who I remember as Alpha Vladimir sitting and talking in a heated discussion.  Before I am past, he glances over at me and then stands up.  "Ana, I am so glad to see you." His voice sounds strained as if he is under enormous stress and is fighting to say it pleasantly.

Walking over to me, he smiles and then takes me in his arms.  What surprises me though, is the fact that he leans down and kisses me with so much passion that it takes my breath away.  That is what I have been waiting for and in that instant I fall head over heels in love with him, just like in all my novels.  

When the connection between our lips ceases to exist, I feel like my soul has been ripped from me.  The warmth that was there a minute ago is now but a mere memory and when I look up into his eyes, I see that it wasn't a purely innocent kiss because his eyes are cold and calculating.  What have I missed?  I find myself wondering as he walks back to the table and I watch the other man give me a quick heated glance.

Dismissing me as quickly as he greeted me, I take my leave and find a seat at the dining room table for lunch in the next room.  Glancing around, I take note of everyone there.  The elder Boris is there with a handfull of others and two seats are still unoccupied by my king and Vladimir.  

Once Dominic and Vladimir enter the room, everyone stands and greets them.  After they have been seated, we all are served.  The whole time we are eating, I watch everyone converse with each other and find myself wondering what Dominic and Vladimir were so upset about earlier.  Why did he choose then of all times to kiss me with so much passion?

After lunch, we all take our leave from the table and I go back to my room where I read my favorite novel for a while.  Eventually falling asleep, I dream about that kiss and how he acts so strange afterwards.  The only difference is, in the dream he takes me to bed that night and makes passionate love to me.