Queen Kie stood before the fulllength mirror in her chambers, watching her lady’s maid adjust the ivory silk of her night gown.
The fabric whispered against her skin like a ghost, appropriate since that’s what she felt like most days.
A ghost in her own marriage.
“You look beautiful, your majesty,” the maid said softly.
“Tonight will be different.
I can feel it.
” Callie’s reflection stared back at her with eyes that had learned not to hope over the last seven years.
7 years of walking to her husband’s chambers once a month with her heart fluttering like a caged bird, only to return at dawn with that same heart a little more bruised.
“Yes, perhaps it will,” she murmured, forcing a smile on her face.
“What else could she say? That she’d stopped believing in different somewhere around the third year of her marriage.
” The door burst open, and her sister Meera swept in, carrying a small vial of amber liquid.
Where Kelly had inherited their mother’s golden hair and quiet composure, Meera was all fire.
Dark curls, flashing eyes, and opinions she never bothered to contain.
I brought you something, she said.
It’s a fertility tonic.
Old magic from the southern covens guaranteed to Meera.
Kelly sighed.
I don’t need.
You’ve been trying for seven years, Kelly.
Seven years.
Meera’s eyes shown with fierce protectiveness.
The court whispers.
They say you’re I know what they say.
Kaye interrupted firmly.
She’d heard it in corridors, seen it in pitying glances, felt it in the way conversation died when she entered rooms where noble ladies gathered with their children.
They called her the barren queen.
And why wouldn’t they? After 7 years, she hadn’t yet given the kingdom an heir.
She watched those other women, the way they cradled their babies, the casual ease with which they adjusted a blanket or soothed a cry.
Such simple gestures that looked like magic to her, an impossible, forbidden gift.
Then let me help you prove them wrong.
Mera squeezed her hand.
Please, you’d be such a wonderful mother, Kaye.
I see how you are with the children in the village.
Stop.
The word came out sharper than intended.
Kaye softened her voice.
Thank you.
But no amount of fertility magic could fix a marriage that had never been consummated.
The problem wasn’t her womb, but the 10 ft of careful distance her husband maintained between them at all times.
But she couldn’t say that she remained as untouched by the king as the day she’d wed him.
The shame of it, the confusion, the hurt.
It was a private ache she’d learned to carry alone for the sake of their reputation, the kingdom.
“Thank you,” she said, finally, tucking the vial away.
A maid appeared with Kayle’s robe.
“It’s time, your majesty.
” Kelly stood, squaring her shoulders.
7 years had taught her many things, but perhaps the most valuable was this.
Dignity could be worn like armor.
The walk to the king’s chambers felt longer each month.
through the portrait gallery, passed down the corridor where moonlight spilled through tall windows, and the worst of all, past a nursery that remained cruy empty.
Tonight she stood in the doorway, imagining it filled with life, her heart beating too fast.
For what if tonight was different? What if her husband was waiting? What if he looked at her, reached for her? What if tonight was the night she finally got to become a mother? She crushed the thought before it could take root.
She’d been 19 when they’d married, terrified and foolish enough to hope.
When Jareth had taken her hand during the ceremony, for one breathless moment, she’d felt a pull, a recognition, something that whispered, “Mate.
” Then he’d released her hand and escorted her to her chambers.
“Our marriage serves its purpose,” he’d said, voice cold.
“The alliance is secured.
That is enough.
” But it wasn’t enough.
Not for the kingdom that needed an heir.
Not for the wedding contract that stipulated they’d try.
Not for her heart, which had somehow decided to want impossible things.
A husband who looked at her like she mattered, and a child to love with every piece of herself.
And so, as per the marriage agreement, once a month, she would come to his chambers so they would try.
Except they never did.
Callie reached the king’s chambers and paused, her palm pressed flat against the heavy oak door.
Behind this door lay her husband, and the thought had her wolf stirring beneath her skin, whining softly.
Tonight would be no different.
She knew that.
And yet something close to hope beat its wings dangerously against her ribs.
Not hope for his love.
She’d buried that dream long ago.
But hope for a child that she couldn’t let go of.
Callie opened the door.
The king’s chambers were dark except for dying embers in the fireplace.
Heavy curtains blocked the moonlight, casting everything in shades of shadow.
Your majesty.
Her voice came out softer than intended, almost tentative.
Silence, but not the heavy silence of emptiness.
Someone was here.
She could feel it.
An awareness that prickled along her skin whenever Jareth was near.
Her bare feet whispered across thick carpets as she moved deeper into the room.
She could make out the massive for poster bed against the far wall, its curtains drawn.
With each step, her wolf stirred as her husband’s scent wrapped around her like a physical touch.
Wild and clean and utterly male, filling her lungs until she felt lightheaded.
Her wolf whined, a sound of longing that made her chest ache.
She shouldn’t want him.
Seven years of rejection should have killed whatever foolish thing lived in her chest.
But God’s help her.
Her pace quickened despite herself.
Maybe tonight, maybe this time.
Her hands trembled as she reached the bed.
She could hear breathing now, deep even.
Please, she thought.
Please, just let this work.
I don’t need you to love me.
I just need Kelly drew back the curtain, hope and dread warring in her throat.
Jareth lay on his back, chest rising and falling in the deep rhythm of sleep.
Moonlight filtering through a gap in the curtains painted him in silver and shadow.
The hard plains of his face, the dark sweep of his lashes, the strong column of his throat.
Even deep in sleep, he looked like a king, powerful, untouchable, hers in name only.
Jarth.
She spoke louder this time, leaning over him.
Nothing.
Not even a flutter of his eyelids.
Callie swallowed against the hurt rising in her throat.
Maybe he was simply exhausted.
But then her foot struck something on the floor.
She looked down and saw a small glass vial lying on its side by the bed, empty.
Callie frowned and bent slowly, bringing it to her nose.
Then she froze.
She stared at the empty vial, then at her husband’s too still form.
Understanding crashed over her.
This was a sleeping draft.
He drugged himself.
Her husband had drugged himself rather than be awake when she arrived.
Why? The word escaped before she could stop it.
Kelly gripped his shoulder and shook hard, harder than she’d ever dared touch him.
Jarth, wake up.
His head lulled slightly, but his eyes remained closed.
Whatever he’d taken, it had pulled him deep under.
“How dare you?” she whispered, her voice shaking.
“I’m your wife.
I’m your wife.
And you? You drug yourself unconscious rather than Her voice broke as she stared at his sleeping face.
“I don’t need your love,” she said softer now.
“I know what this marriage is.
I know its duty, alliance, nothing more.
Most queens don’t get even what I have.
You listen to my counsel.
You let me rule beside you.
You’re never cruel.
I can live with distance.
I can live with separate chambers and formal addresses and you looking through me like I’m made of glass.
Her hand tightened on the vial.
But a child, Jareth, just just give me a child.
Her voice cracked.
I don’t care if we spend the rest of our lives in separate towers, but let me be a mother.
Let me hold our baby in my arms.
She pressed her free hand to her chest where the ache had lived for seven years, but he couldn’t hear her.
He’d made sure of that.
Callie sank onto the edge of the bed.
Why go to such extremes? If he truly found her so unbearable, why not simply refuse outright? Was simply knowing she was there really so unpleasant? A single tear slipped down her cheek.
She let herself have that one moment of weakness.
Then she wiped it away.
Callie set the vial on the bedside table and climbed into the bed.
Protocol required she spend the night.
Servants would notice if she returned to her chambers too quickly, and the court gossips would have fresh ammunition.
So she would do what she always did.
She would lie beside her husband.
She would play her part.
The mattress dipped under her weight, and for one heart-stoppping second, Jareth shifted, his unconscious body rolling slightly in her direction.
She couldn’t stop herself from looking at him.
The harsh angles of his face softened in sleep.
The vulnerable curve of his mouth.
His hand moved slowly, as if pulled by instinct deeper than thought.
His fingers stretched across the sheets.
Callie’s breath caught as his palm found her hand, his fingers curling around hers.
Warm, calloused, real.
Her heart lurched so violently it hurt.
This small thing, his hand around hers, shouldn’t mean everything.
It shouldn’t make her want to weep with relief and joy.
And yet, it did.
This was what she’d been reduced to.
A queen so starved for her husband’s touch that his unconscious hand finding hers in the dark felt like a gift.
It wasn’t one.
Callie pulled her hand free and turned away, curling on her side.
Her husband was never cruel, never dismissive.
He was just fair, protective of their people.
He consulted her on matters of state, valued her input.
He simply didn’t want her as a wife.
And she’d made peace with that.
truly she could live without his love.
She’d learned how.
But living without a child.
Her hand drifted to her stomach, flat and empty as it had been for seven years.
She imagined not for the first time what it would feel like.
The flutter of life growing inside her.
Tiny fingers curling around hers with trust and need and love so simple it didn’t require distance or careful protocols.
Tomorrow she would wake and perform her duties with grace and dignity.
But tonight she let herself mourn, not for the marriage she’d never have, but for the children she might never hold, for all that love trapped inside her with nowhere to go.
And beside her, Jarth slept on, drugged into oblivion, his hand still reaching across the empty space where hers had been.
Chapter 2.
The ballroom glittered with candle light and jewels, filled with music and laughter as Kaye sat at the high table, spine straight, smile fixed.
Below, her husband was twirling Princess Laureli of the Western Isisles through a waltz with effortless grace.
Had been for the past 15 minutes, in fact.
And while this was political courtesy, Jarth had never once asked his own wife to dance.
Not just tonight, ever.
He would dance with visiting dignitaries, with noble women whose favor mattered politically, but never with Kaye.
So while she watched them turn and spin, her husband’s hand at the princess’s waist, something ugly twisted in her chest.
“Isn’t Princess Laurelai lovely?” Someone whispered to her right.
Callie’s spine stiffened.
“Well, she’s certainly fertile,” another voice responded.
Perhaps his majesty is considering.
After 7 years with no air, a duchess said, “Can you blame him?” Kelly’s fingers trembled, reaching for her wine glass.
On the dance floor, Jareth bowed to Princess Laurelai, who curtsied with a dazzling smile.
For a moment, Kaye thought, hoped, he might return to the high table.
His chair beside her had sat empty for an hour now.
Instead, Lady Melisand appeared at his elbow, and Jarth nodded with that same courteous distance.
“Your Majesty,” a voice said.
A man bowed before her, tall, fair-haired, with warm brown eyes and a kind smile.
“Ambassador Kieran,” he supplied.
“Of course,” Kaye forced brightness into her voice.
“Forgive me, it’s been a busy evening.
” “No forgiveness necessary.
” His eyes held genuine warmth.
I’ve been meaning to talk to her majesty about a certain point blocking the trade agreement between our kingdoms.
Callie nodded.
There had been contentions with the signing of the treaty between there and the ambassador’s kingdom.
Do tell, she encouraged.
The ambassador’s head bowed, ever polite.
I wonder, he said, if your majesty might honor me with a dance while we discuss it.
He glanced toward the floor where Jarth was spinning Lady Melisand through another turn.
It seems a crime that you should sit alone while the festivities continues.
Heat flushed Kayle’s cheeks.
He was offering her an escape, she realized.
A way to show the court that even if her husband wouldn’t dance with her, someone did.
I She hesitated, aware of how it might look.
But what did it matter? People were already talking.
“All right, lead the way,” she said.
Kieran’s smile widened.
She was aware of eyes following them as he led her to the dance floor, but Kieran’s hand was steady at her back, and she hadn’t danced in so long.
“Her Majesty is very graceful,” Kieran said as they turned.
“Her Majesty is well aware,” Kaye replied.
“Kind of him to ask her to dance, but she didn’t need his pity in the form of excessive flattery.
Beside, something in the air changed.
The temperature, the light, the weight of it all.
It was subtle at first, a prickle at the base of her neck, the unmistakable sensation of being seen.
Watched.
Her next inhale caught halfway in her throat.
Jareth across the hall amidst a sea of silks and gold, his gaze locked on hers.
She raised her chin slightly, held his gaze for a deliberate beat longer than necessary.
“Yes,” her look said.
“Some people don’t find it so horrible being near me.
surprised.
Then Kieran spun her away and the connection broke.
But she still felt him.
Jarth’s gaze burning between her shoulder blades, scorching hot, unrelenting.
I’m sorry for what they say.
Kieran observed quietly.
All those whispers about you.
Kelly’s pulse jumped.
The air was thicker now, laced with tension with Jarth’s scent.
It was making it hard for her to focus.
Whispers,” she said, raising a brow.
“It’s not a queen’s place to worry about whispers.
” Chastised, the ambassador bowed his head.
“Forgive me, your highness.
” He stopped, softened his tone.
“I just can’t bear hearing someone who’s been as helpful and attentive to my people’s needs in our negotiations be the subject of such baseless cruelty.
” Callie gave him a brief smile, acknowledging the apology.
At the end of the floor, Jareth had stopped dancing, something focused now in the way he was watching them.
“I’m most grateful,” Kieran said against her ear, for her majesty’s kindness and diligence.
Callie’s head snapped back towards his.
“My diligence, Ambassador,” she said.
“Stems from the duty I bear to protect my people’s best interest.
It was no personal favor towards you.
” To her surprise, the ambassador smiled.
Of course, he purred.
As they moved through the walts, Kaye became hyper aware of everything.
The whispers spreading through the crowd, the heat of bodies and candles making the room feel stifling.
But above all him, Jareth.
Every turn brought him back into view, and each turned Kayle’s breath shortened.
“Forgive me for saying so, your majesty,” Kieran said quietly.
“But the court is unkind to you.
” Callie stiffened, though she didn’t take her eyes off Jarth.
He’d moved closer to the dance floor now, prowling along its edge.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said distractedly.
“Please,” Kieran paused.
“You seem alone, even in a room full of people.
” Another turn and Jareth was there again, closer this time.
His silver eyes had gone cold, sharper, beautiful.
She swallowed hard.
Your husband doesn’t dance with you often, Kieran insisted.
He’s busy, she snapped.
Jarth’s nostrils flared slightly, and his eyes, gods, his eyes had darkened to steal.
Ambassador, Kaye began, thinking of interrupting their dance.
“Do you know what I think?” He pulled her infiniteimily closer.
“I think the whispers are wrong.
I think the fault lies not with you.
His majesty and I have an arrangement, Kaye said stiffly.
If you’ll excuse.
Forgive me.
But Kieran didn’t sound sorry.
It’s just that I see a woman wasting away in a marriage that gives her nothing.
I am Ambassador.
Callie said carefully.
I think we should finish this dance without further inappropriate conversation.
Of course.
Kieran’s smile didn’t fade, though.
So, I wonder if you really find it inappropriate or if perhaps you’re just not used to someone speaking honestly to you.
But Kaye was barely listening.
In 7 years, she had never seen Jarth lose control.
Not once.
Now, he looked like he was seconds away from shifting in the middle of the ballroom.
I think, she said quietly, we should stop.
You know, Kieran continued as if she hadn’t spoken.
There are ways to address your situation discreetly.
Kelly’s steps faltered.
Excuse me? She asked.
A woman like you, young, healthy, clearly not the problem.
You have options.
If your husband cannot or will not give you what you need.
The ambassador’s thumb traced a small circle at her waist.
I have rooms here in the castle, Kieran murmured.
No one would need to know.
and perhaps in a few months the court would finally have something to celebrate besides gossip.
The world seemed to slow.
He was offering himself, offering to to give her a child.
The temptation that ripped through Kaye was so fierce it stole her breath and a hand clamped down on Kieran’s shoulder.
The grip was so tight his face went white.
“Ambassador,” Jareth said.
His voice was perfectly controlled, perfectly courteous, but his jaw was locked so tight it looked painful.
And his eyes, gold, pure gold.
The entire ballroom had gone quiet.
Even the music had faltered, trailing off into uncertain silence.
Your Majesty, she greeted, keeping her face and tone calm.
He looked down at her, and for one breathless second, their eyes met.
this close, she could feel the power thrumming through her husband, could sense the barely leashed strength in the hand gripping Kieran’s shoulder.
“I need a word,” Jareth continued, still addressing the ambassador in that terrifyingly controlled voice.
“Now,” Callie’s training as queen snapped into place.
“The Eastern territories were crucial allies.
Making a public scene before they could discuss how to handle this wasn’t wise.
” Your Majesty,” she repeated firmly, stepping forward.
“Perhaps we could.
” “Not now, Kaye,” Jareth said, his eyes snapping to hers.
Kayle’s thoughts scattered.
“Her name?” He’d used her name.
In seven years of marriage, he’d called her by her name maybe twice, and never, never in public.
She stared at him, at this man who was her husband, but looked like a stranger.
This wasn’t the cold, controlled king she knew.
His gaze rad over her, possessive, hungry, wild, and for one impossible moment, the rest of the ballroom ceased to exist.
There was only him looking at her like like she belonged to him.
The intensity of it stole her breath.
“Your majesty,” Kieran protested as Jarth began leading him towards the door.
“Please, I meant no disrespect.
” I said, “Move.
” People were staring now.
The music faltered.
Conversation died and ripples spreading outward from where Kaye stood alone in the middle of the dance floor.
Then, as soon as they disappeared from view, the whispers started.
And Kaye stood perfectly still, heart racing, skin flushed, unable to process what had just happened.
Chapter 3.
Kie’s chambers had never felt smaller.
She paced from the window to the door and back again, her evening gown swishing with each agitated turn.
What had just happened? She’d sent three different servants with orders to bring word of Jarth, of the ambassador, of anything.
The not knowing was torture.
The way Jareth had looked at her in seven years, she’d never seen him like that.
The door burst open.
Kaye.
Meera swept in without knocking.
Oh my god, Kaye, did you see him? Callie turned from the window, stomach sinking.
He was practically feral.
Mera closed the door behind her.
I’ve never seen anything like it.
I don’t see why you’re so excited.
Kaye pulled her hands free.
He caused a scene in front of the entire court.
He was jealous, Mera interrupted.
Magnificently jealous, which means, “Oh, Kaye, you’re pregnant.
You have to be.
” Kelly stopped midstride.
“Sorry, what?” she asked.
“It all makes sense,” Meera exclaimed.
“Alphas become incredibly possessive when their maid is carrying their child.
And just look at the way he practically murdered that poor ambassador.
” “Gods,” Kaye pressed a hand to her forehead.
“This could cause a diplomatic crisis.
” “But it won’t,” Meera said confidently.
“Not once they know you’re pregnant.
It’s perfectly natural for an alpha to be aggressive when his maid is.
I’m not pregnant, Kaye cried out.
Of course you are, Mera insisted.
Sister.
Kayle’s voice was flat, exhausted.
I know I’m not because Jareth and I never spent the night together.
Meera stared at her confused.
What do you mean? I saw you leave your rooms.
I was there, Kaye said quietly, but nothing happened.
Meera frowned.
So, you’re not pregnant because you didn’t that night? She resumed.
Callie nodded.
But you have before, right? Meera’s eyes searched her face.
I mean, not this time, but in the past 7 years.
Callie looked away.
Callie.
Meera’s voice had gone very careful.
You have at some point consummated your marriage, right? No, Callie said.
Never.
Mera’s mouth opened, closed, opened again.
But that’s that’s impossible, she protested.
You’ve been married for 7 years.
I’m aware.
Kie snapped.
We’re supposed to be trying, but trying requires two willing participants.
Mera sank onto the edge of Kie’s bed.
Callie, this is Do you understand how dangerous this is for you? For our family, the marriage could be declared invalid.
Meera was quiet for a long moment, processing.
But why? She stood, beginning to pace.
Even if he doesn’t particularly like you, I can’t believe the king would be so disgusted that he couldn’t fulfill his obligations.
An heir isn’t just about desire, it’s about duty, she continued.
And Jarth is nothing if not dutiful.
He needs an heir as much as you do.
She turned to face Kaye.
There has to be a reason he’s A sharp knock at the door made them both jump right as it flew open.
Jareth filled the doorway.
He looked wrong.
His jacket was gone, his shirt partially unlaced, and his chest heaved with harsh breaths.
Kelly watched him step into the room, his movements prowling, not the careful measured steps she watched for seven years.
This was a hunter, a wolf.
Out, he said lowly.
Mera’s eyes went wide.
She glanced at Kaye.
I set out.
Jareth growled, making her flinch.
“Mera, it’s fine.
” Kaye managed.
“Go.
” Jarth’s gaze fixed on Kaye with an intensity that made her skin prickle.
She lifted her chin, forcing herself to meet those burning eyes.
“What happened earlier?” she asked.
“I hope you came to explain yourself.
” Jareth didn’t answer, just kept staring at her, nostrils flaring slightly.
scenting.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“You’re not acting like yourself.
” “Like myself?” His laugh was harsh and took another step forward.
“Yes,” she said, holding her ground.
“You assaulted a foreign ambassador in the middle of a state function.
” “This isn’t like you, Jarth.
You’re” His scent hit her then, and she paused.
It was wild, mixed with something that made her wolf whine low in her chest.
Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Her voice was too breathless.
The Eastern Territories could take this as an act of aggression.
What I’ve done? Jareth snapped, affronted.
He was close enough now that she had to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact.
He was propositioning you.
He accused deadly quiet.
I heard him.
Every word he whispered in your ear.
Kelly’s breath caught.
So what if he was? She forced the words out.
I can handle inappropriate advances.
Handle it.
Jareth sneered.
The words came out on a growl, and suddenly he was closing the distance in two powerful strides that had her stumbling backward against the stone wall.
I’ve handled it before, she said.
I don’t need you to suddenly decide to.
His hand slammed against the wall beside her head, and she growled in protest, her wolf responding with aggression.
You’re saying there’s been other? He stopped, jaw working.
When he spoke again, his voice was strained.
How many? He asked.
It doesn’t matter, she snapped.
Ladies proposition you all the time.
I’ve seen them.
That woman at the winter solstice ball practically.
I’ve never been unfaithful, Jarth exclaimed.
The words cut through her tirade like a knife.
His words and the wounded look he sent her.
Not once, he continued, voice rough.
I made vows to you, Kaye.
I’ve honored them.
The fight drained out of her at that because it was true.
She’d watched him for seven years, watched women throw themselves at him, and he’d always been distant, just like he was with her.
“I know,” she said softer now.
“I know you haven’t.
” Something in his expression cracked.
He was hurt, she realized.
Then why? He asked.
Why were you considering his offer? I wasn’t.
She stopped because that was a lie.
For one desperate moment, she had been.
I don’t care about that man, she swore.
I don’t want him.
I just I want a baby.
I want to be a mother.
That’s all I’ve ever wanted.
And I Collie Jareth attempted.
You have to understand, she cried out.
Every month I walk past that empty nursery.
Every month I hope that maybe this time you’ll she choked on the words.
But you never do.
You’re never even awake.
Silence.
Silence during which she kept her eyes down, unable to look at him.
I warned you, she heard him say.
His voice was barely a whisper.
Before we married, I told you I would never claim you, never touch you, that this would be a marriage on paper only.
You agreed.
I was 19, Kaye cried.
My kingdom needed this alliance.
I didn’t have a choice, but I never, she swallowed.
I thought that maybe you’d change your mind, she confessed.
I didn’t know what it would feel like to watch you from afar, to want you and know you.
I’m trying to protect you, Jarth cried, the words exploding out of him.
You don’t understand, Kaye, if I touch you.
He stopped breathing hard.
One day, he said finally roughly.
Soon, I promise you, soon you’ll have your child.
Her breath caught.
Surely she hadn’t heard right.
What? She asked, grabbing onto his arm.
Soon, he repeated.
Just not yet.
Hope, dangerous, painful hope, bloomed in her chest.
Do you mean it? She asked.
He nodded.
Just once, but it was enough.
The happiness that flooded through her was so intense it hurt.
She reached up without thinking, her hand cupping his cheek, and he froze at the contact, every muscle going rigid.
But he didn’t pull away.
I’m so happy, she whispered, almost shy.
I thought, for so long, I thought you couldn’t stand the sight of me.
Something in his expression shattered.
His eyes closed, and the sound that escaped him was almost pained.
She laughed, the sound breathless and joyful.
“I’m going to be a mother,” she said, barely daring to believe it.
His eyes opened, and she saw everything in that gaze, the want, the need, and beneath it, something that looked like agony.
But she was too happy to care.
She kissed him, just a soft press of her lips to his, sweet and grateful.
“Thank you,” she whispered against his mouth.
Thank you.
Thank you.
His hand shot into her hair, fisting in the golden strands, and he kissed her back with desperate, consuming hunger.
Kaye gasped at the sudden intensity, and he swallowed the sound.
It felt like seven years of denied want, finally breaking free.
She arched into him with a breathless laugh that turned into a gasp as his mouth left hers to trail down her jaw.
Jarth, she breathed, and there was so much joy in saying his name like this.
Then his mouth was on her throat, his teeth scraping across her pulse point, sharp enough that the joy faltered, replaced by a spike of sensation that was too intense.
She moaned his name, and he froze.
For one heartbeat, neither of them moved.
“No,” Jareth said.
The word was barely audible.
Choked.
“I’m sorry, I can’t.
” Then he tore himself away with such violence that she stumbled.
“But Kelly protested, reaching for him.
” “You just said, “I know what I said.
” Jarth ran a trembling hand through his hair.
“And I meant it soon, but not not tonight.
” Only then did he glance at her, and the anguish in his eyes stole her breath.
Then he was gone, the door slamming behind him.
Chapter 4.
Callie stood outside Jared’s chambers, staring at the oak door that had remained closed for 4 days.
“I’m sorry, your majesty,” the guard said.
“His majesty has given strict orders.
No one is to enter.
” “I’m his wife.
” Kaye kept her voice level.
“Surely that counts for especially not you, your majesty.
” Those were his exact words.
The words stung.
After that night in her chambers, after he’d kissed her, promised her a child, looked at her like she was everything, he’d vanished.
“Is he ill?” she asked.
“Has a healer seen him?” Kelly’s stomach clenched.
Alpha shifters didn’t get sick.
Their constitutions were too strong.
“The king is not himself,” was all the guard said.
“Perhaps speak with your sister.
She’s been consulting with the healers.
” Dread pulled in Kayle’s stomach as she hurried toward Meera’s chambers.
She found her sister surrounded by vials and herbs, expression troubled.
“Mera, tell me what’s happening.
No one will let me see my husband.
” Meera set down her pestle.
He’s been taking suppressants.
Excuse me? Collie blinked.
Suppressants to turn off the edge.
The instinct.
I know what suppressants are.
Kie’s mind raced.
They were used to dampen a wolf’s primal urges, but Jareth had always been in perfect control.
He’s been taking them for a while, Meera said quietly.
A long while, apparently, and in significant quantities.
How long? The head healer said he’s been requesting them regularly for years.
And you didn’t tell me? Kayle’s voice rose.
I only just found out.
The healers came to me because they were desperate.
Anger flared in Kayle’s chest.
How much has he taken? This can’t be healthy.
I know.
That’s why I made him something stronger.
A dose that should actually work.
Meera pressed a small vial into her hands.
The problem is no one can get close enough to give it to him.
He’s barely verbal.
Aggressive.
Kelly stared at the pale blue liquid.
Then how? You.
You’re his wife.
His wolf will recognize you.
4 days of him suffering, refusing help because he was too proud or too stubborn.
I’ll do it, she said.
The guards moved aside as Kaye approached Jarth’s chambers again.
I’m acting on the healer’s orders, Collie announced.
Open the door.
The first thing that Collie noticed was the heat, the kind that steals air from your lungs and leaves your skin tingling.
The second thing was Jareth’s scent.
It wrapped around her like a pelt and a shroud until her wolf stirred and pressed forward.
Her mouth went dry as she stepped forward in the darkness.
Jarth stood at the window with his back to her, shirtless, gleaming with sweat.
He looked carved from heat and held together by will alone, and the sight of his bare back, the breath of him, tugged at something in her.
“Your majesty,” she murmured.
A growl came out of him like thunder trapped in stone.
Warning, threat, leave.
The word wasn’t spoken, but she felt it.
The hair at her nape lifted.
Still, she clenched her fists and stood her ground.
“Jeth,” she insisted.
His head tipped, not enough to see her, enough to sense her.
She watched the flare of his nostrils, the minute shift of muscle along his spine.
I brought medicine, she said, from the healers.
She took one step, and then his head snapped, tracking her with a predator’s precision.
The gold of his gaze, a low fire banked behind the silver gone to ash.
That look landed on her body like touch.
She felt it all the way down her spine.
“Please,” she said.
“Let me help.
” Silence stretched, taught, humming.
He looked wild.
He looked hurt.
He looked like a man standing between himself and disaster with nothing but his teeth.
But when his gaze locked with hers, something human flared within the gold.
Recognition, yes, but worse or maybe better.
Need.
Her lips parted.
She drew him in on the inhale and felt the ache answer.
“I’m not afraid of you,” she said.
“I know you won’t hurt me.
” A laugh snagged and broke on his tongue.
His head thunked back against stone.
a surrender that would have been arrogance in any other man.
On him it was control, the raw, harder kind.
When he swallowed, she watched his Adam’s apple jump like a heartbeat, and small tremor ran through her knees.
She steadied herself with a breath that tasted of him.
“Come on,” she told him.
“Let me help, please.
” She lifted the vial, his eyes fixed on it, then on her mouth, then back.
Hunger, simple and humiliatingly human, thirsty, burning, suffering.
Her own hunger answered with a soft clench low in her belly.
“Water first,” she told him, voice low, practical.
She reached for a pitcher, miraculously left standing, poured with shaking hands.
“Drink,” she said.
He reached, his hand shook.
Water lipped over the rim.
She caught his wrist to steady him.
He went still.
Slowly, gods, so slowly, his gaze lifted from their joined hands to her face, and the nakedness there stopped her heart.
“Drink,” she whispered again.
Together, they guided the glass.
A bead of water slipped free and tracked along the cut of his jaw to his chin.
She twitched with the impulse to catch it with her mouth, and she bit the inside of her lip instead.
He shut his eyes.
A shudder ripped through him and lifted his free hand to cover hers, pressing her palm to his chest like an oath.
She answered by spllaying her fingers wider over his heart and stepping into his heat until there was only an inch of air between them.
That inch hurt.
She wanted it gone.
The medicine she managed.
She had to let go to unccort the vial.
When she did, he made a sound, low, distressed, and his hand clamped around her wrist.
She worked the stopper one-handed and held the glass to his mouth.
He didn’t glance at it, not once.
He watched her.
And being watched like that made her feel bare and beautiful and burning.
The vial emptied.
She lowered it.
For one heartbeat, nothing moved.
Then his body locked.
His pupils blew wide until the gold rimmed black.
Jarth.
She laid her free palm to his cheek.
A sound came from him, a ruined thing between groan and growl.
His mouth brushed her palm once, twice, not quite kissing, scenting her, claiming her with the softest, most devastating contact of all.
Then the tremors took him whole.
No, no.
She tried the bed.
They made it three steps before gravity had its will.
They went down together and the floor was unyielding.
His back hit the bed frame and she knelt between his thighs.
His panting was harsh rasping.
The fever spiked and his eyes.
Jareth, please.
She coaxed him.
Look at me.
He did.
What looked back made something inside her break open.
Not just need, not just desire, but pain.
What do you need? She asked.
Tell me how to help you.
He buried his face in the curve where neck meets shoulder, breathing her like she was air after drowning, and all the tight, clenched places in her body softened because this this was what seven years had starved in her being needed by him.
A growl vibrated against her skin, pain stitched to desire, and she tilted her head farther, bearing more, hips fitting instinctively to the solid heat of him.
I’m here,” she whispered, fingers in his hair.
“I’m right here.
” His mouth found hers with ruinous hunger.
His hands were everywhere, mapping the length of her spine, hauling her closer.
Teeth scraped, tongue soothed.
She arched without meaning to.
“Yes,” she breathed.
“Yes, I want this.
” His fingers found the fastenings of her dress, and a thread surrendered with an audible rip.
Skin met skin, and the world stopped.
He stilled with his forehead against hers, trembling with restraint.
And she trembled too, not with fear, with wanting.
Her hands slid over his shoulders, urging, and he rocked against her once, then again when she rose to meet him.
She pulled him down.
The sound that tore out of him was relief turned animal, and she answered with a soft, shocked sound of her own.
After that, there were no seams between moments, only heat and homecoming.
She felt his wolf surge forward, his mouth dragging down her throat, teeth testing her skin.
“Please,” she said.
The bite landed clean and perfect.
Emotion flooded her.
Not hers.
His need, yes, and fierce love.
The seven years of hunger, the self-denial, and beneath it, this is goodbye.
“You’re not going to lose me,” she gasped.
“I’ll always be yours.
” She claimed him back, her teeth in his shoulder, sealing promise with flesh.
The bond locked between them, unbreakable.
His emotions, love, relief, gratitude, nearly undid her.
And still that echo of farewell, sharper now, like a man committing a map to memory before the road is taken.
The pleasure turned unignorable, a steady radiance.
When it broke, it did so like sunlight through storm.
She believed it would be enough.
She had to.
Chapter 5.
Kelly woke to warmth and Jarth’s steady heartbeat beneath her cheek.
For one perfect moment, she let herself exist in this.
His solid presence, the contentment radiating through their bond.
Then his breathing changed.
She felt the moment awareness returned to him.
Felt confusion ripple through the bond.
She lifted her head to find him staring at the ceiling, stunned.
“Jareth?” Her voice came out uncertain.
His gaze dropped to where they were tangled together.
The evidence of what they’d done written in marks on her throat.
“We,” he swallowed hard.
We’re bonded.
“It wasn’t a question.
It was shock.
” The emotion hit her through their connection, feeling terrifyingly like regret.
Yes.
She tried to keep her voice steady.
I’m really happy to finally be your mate.
Jarth flinched.
The smile died on her lips.
Through the bond, guilt crashed over her in waves.
I’m sorry, Jareth said, pulling away and sitting up.
She sat up too, clutching the sheet to her chest.
You’re sorry? Her voice came out small.
I wasn’t in my right mind, he explained.
Stop!” Kaye whispered.
“You were perfect.
I wanted this.
” Something in his expression cracked.
“Do you regret it?” she asked.
His eyes met hers.
“No,” Jareth swore.
“I could never regret you.
” He grabbed her hand, sincerity flowing through their bond.
“Then what?” she wanted to scream.
But before she could ask, he was kissing her, soft, desperate.
Then he pulled away abruptly.
“I have council meetings,” Jareth said, climbing out of bed.
“Things I’ve neglected.
” “You’re leaving?” Kaye asked, disbelieving.
“I have duties,” he replied, not meeting her eyes.
“You should rest.
” Then he was gone, the door closing with painful finality.
It was Meera who finally broke the silence.
She swept into Kayle’s chambers unannounced, her face bright with excitement.
Kaye, is it true you and Jarth are bonded? She asked.
Callie looked up from where she sat by the window.
Yes, she nodded.
That’s wonderful.
Meera pulled Kaye into an embrace.
The marriage is secure now.
No one can contest it.
And surely now that you’re bonded, it’s only a matter of time before Before what? Kaye pulled away, her voice flat.
before he can stand to be in the same room with me.
Mera’s smile faltered.
What do you mean? He regrets it, Mera.
Kaye said the bond.
He regrets everything about that night.
Mera stopped, something shifting in her expression.
He’s a bit confused maybe, but with time, Calli realized this was for the best.
What do you mean this? Kaye asked with a frown.
Did you do something? Mera grimaced.
Kaye, you have to understand.
I was only trying to help, she said.
Something cold settled in Kelly’s stomach.
Help how? The potion I gave you.
Meera confessed.
It wasn’t exactly a suppressant.
What did you just say? Kaye asked.
It was more of an amplifier, Meera confessed sheepish to make sure he couldn’t fight what he was already feeling.
Callie’s jaw dropped and Meera hurriedly reached for her hands.
“You wanted him so badly, Kaye.
You wanted a child.
I just I helped make that happen.
” Kelly jerked away as if burned.
“You drugged him?” she exclaimed.
“You drugged my husband into wanting to.
I freed him.
” Meera insisted.
“He clearly wanted you already.
Anyone could see that.
” “That’s not Kayle’s voice shook.
” “Mera, that’s not how consent works.
He wanted it, Mera said firmly.
The potion didn’t create desire that wasn’t there.
It just removed the barriers.
It removed his choice.
Kaye screamed, horror building in her chest.
Oh gods, what did you do? What did we do? We secured the kingdom.
Meera gripped her shoulders.
You’re safe now, Kaye.
Safe? Kaye shoved her away.
Do you understand what you’ve done? This is treason.
Mera, you drugged the king.
You manipulated him.
She stopped, a sobb catching in her throat.
I thought he wanted me, and now he regrets the bond.
What are you going to do? Meera asked quietly.
Callie looked out the window at the castle grounds below.
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
“The next 3 weeks were torture.
” Jareth avoided her.
Not obviously.
He still attended state functions with her, still consulted her on matters of governance.
But he was never alone with her.
Kelly tried not to let it break her, tried to maintain her dignity, her composure.
But then she found it.
She was pregnant.
Pregnant with the child she’d wanted desperately for 7 years, and joy and terror worred in her chest.
Because would Jareth even want it? She had to tell him.
had to find a way to tell him despite the walls he’d built between them.
Standing outside his study, heart hammering against her ribs, she raised her hand to knock, then froze.
“Must confess something about that night, your majesty.
” “That was the head healer’s voice.
” Kayle’s hand dropped.
“What is it?” Jareth replied.
The potion Lady Meera provided a pause.
It wasn’t a suppressant.
Silence long and terrible.
What? Jared’s voice had gone very quiet.
It was the opposite.
An amplifier.
It would have intensified your instincts rather than suppressing them.
I’m so sorry, your majesty.
We didn’t know.
A drug.
Jarth’s voice was hollow, stunned.
But why? Most likely, your majesty.
The healer hesitated in hope of conceiving an heir.
Kelly’s hand flew to her mouth.
Through the bond, Jarth’s emotion exploded.
Shock and terror and something that felt like devastation.
Your Majesty.
The healer sounded concerned.
Kelly heard movement, pacing, the sound of something being knocked over.
It’s been a month.
Jareth was rambling.
Gods, what if Kay’s already Callie backed away from the door, heart pounding so hard she thought it might break through her ribs.
Jarth knew.
He knew what Meera had done.
And he thought he had to think that Kaye had been part of it.
Kelly turned and ran.
She found Meera in her workroom grinding herbs with methodical precision.
“Mera,” Kaye said.
“Jarth, he knows about the potion, about what you did.
” The pestl fell from Meera’s hands, clattering against the table.
“We have to leave,” Kelly said.
now before he finds us.
Leave.
Meera stared at her.
Kaye, you can’t.
He’s your husband.
He doesn’t want me.
Kaye said he doesn’t want this baby.
He’ll be relieved if we disappear.
He might spare us.
Meera.
I have to protect my child.
They slipped out through the servant passages.
Callie leading the way with the shity of someone who’d spent seven years learning every corner of the castle.
The stables were blessedly empty this time of day.
Callie and Meera saddled two horses with trembling hands, working in silence.
Your Majesty.
Behind them, the castle grew smaller, the only home Callie had known for seven years.
Her hand moved to her stomach as they galloped down the forest road.
Not a queen anymore, not a wife, just a mother trying to protect her child from a father who didn’t want them.
Chapter 6.
The cottage was small, remote enough that no one would think to look here, deep enough in the forest that their scent trails would be confused by deer and fox.
It was also slowly killing her.
Kelly barely recognized the woman looking back, hollow cheeks, dark circles under her eyes.
Her wolf clawed at her constantly, desperate, suffering, needing her mate with an urgency that bordered on madness.
You need to eat.
Mera sat down a bowl of soup.
“Please, Kaye, I’m fine,” Kaye protested.
“You’re not.
” Mera’s voice cracked.
Bonding sickness is real.
Newly mated wolves separated like this.
It’s potentially fatal.
Callie’s hand moved to her still flat stomach.
I’m protecting my baby.
That’s all that matters.
Before Meera could respond, a howl split the air, distant, but unmistakable.
male, alpha, and achingly familiar.
Kelly’s wolf surged, slamming against her control so hard she gasped.
Him.
He’d found them.
No.
Kaye struggled to her feet, swaying.
No, we have to.
We have to run.
You can barely stand.
Meera caught her before she could fall.
Kaye, please.
The next minutes passed in a blur.
Meera tried to get her to lie down, to rest, but Kaye couldn’t.
Her wolf was going mad, pacing, whining, desperate to get to him.
She hated herself for it.
Hated that her body betrayed her like this.
But she couldn’t stop it.
The door slammed open.
Jareth filled the doorway, looking worse than she’d ever seen him.
Gaunt face, dark circles, wild hair, rumpled clothes, like he’d been dying, too.
Their eyes met, and the bond roared to life.
The walls shattered and suddenly she felt everything.
His relief, his joy, his fear, his love.
“Kali,” he murmured.
Then he was there catching her as her legs gave out.
The moment they touched, the bond flooded open and life poured back into her.
Jarth made a sound against her hair, something between sobb and growl.
“I thought you’d been taken,” he choked out.
“I couldn’t feel you.
couldn’t find you.
He pulled back to look at her, the tears tracking down her face.
I’m sorry, Jarth.
Kaye stopped because his nostrils had flared.
His eyes had gone wide through the bond.
Shock rippled through him.
Kaye.
His hand trembled toward her stomach.
“Are you?” “Yes.
” The words burst out with tears.
“I’m pregnant.
I’m so sorry, Jarth.
I know you didn’t want this.
I heard you with the healer.
Heard the horror in your voice when you realized.
Horror? Jareth stared at her.
Kaye, what are you talking about? You said a baby.
Like it was the worst thing.
I felt your terror through the bond.
No, Kaye.
His hands framed her face.
You misunderstood.
I didn’t mean.
He dropped to his knees and Kaye gasped as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his face to her stomach.
You’re carrying our child,” he breathed against her.
“Everything I’ve wanted and never thought I could have.
” Kelly gasped.
Through the bond, his emotions flooded clear.
Fear was there, sharp and connected to something hidden.
But the joy was real.
The love was real.
“I thought you regretted it,” she whispered.
“The bond.
You avoided me for weeks.
The kingdom will have an heir.
He stood slowly, his hands moving to cradle her face.
You’ll be a mother.
I’ll be a father.
That’s what matters.
That’s all that matters.
Jareth.
Calli bit her lip.
About that night about the potion you took which Meera made.
Jareth’s expression shuddered slightly.
I know about the potion, he said.
Well, I didn’t.
She gripped his arms.
I swear to you, Jareth, I didn’t know what Meera had done.
I never would have if I’d known.
She sank to her knees, mirroring his earlier position.
I’m begging you.
Please forgive me.
Forgive us.
Callie, Jareth pulled her back to her feet.
Stop.
There’s nothing to forgive.
But the drug.
Do you really think? he said quietly.
That a potion made me want you.
She opened her mouth, closed it.
I’ve wanted you since the day we met, he told her.
Since you walked down that aisle in your wedding dress.
Since the first time you smiled at me.
His hands moved to her waist, pulling her closer.
Then why did you fight it? The question burst out of her.
Why stay away all those years? Why keep that distance when you wanted? It doesn’t matter anymore.
He cut her off and she felt him deliberately push down whatever answer he’d been about to give.
All that matters is you’re safe.
You’re here.
We’re having a baby.
He pulled her close again, burying his face in her hair, and she felt him breathe her in like he’d been drowning without her scent.
“I’m sorry I ran,” she whispered against his chest.
“I’m sorry I made you think you needed to.
” Callie melted into his touch, her hands fisting in his shirt.
Through the bond, his emotions washed over her.
The joy was overwhelming, all-consuming.
But through the bond, beneath all the joy and love and relief, she felt something else.
Grief.
Deep and profound.
Like he was already mourning something he hadn’t lost yet.
Chapter 7.
The months that followed were the happiest of Kayle’s life.
Gone was the distant king she’d known for seven years, replaced by someone who couldn’t bear to be apart from her.
“Don’t want to waste a moment,” he’d say, pressing kisses to her shoulder.
“I want to remember everything.
” “You’re going to spoil me,” she teased one morning as he helped her from bed, her belly round at 6 months.
“Good,” he replied, pressing a kiss to her temple, then to her stomach.
“That’s exactly what I intend to do.
” and he did.
Gifts appeared daily.
Soft blankets for the nursery, books for the baby, jeweled combs for her hair.
When she protested, he simply pulled her into his arms and kissed her until she forgot her complaints.
“Let me,” he’d murmur.
“Please, let me give you everything.
” Through the bond, she could feel his joy.
But sometimes, in quiet moments, something else flickered beneath.
What’s wrong?” she asked one afternoon.
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Just thinking how lucky I am.
” At 8 months, Kaye found Jarth in his study, writing by candle light.
“Working?” She pressed a kiss to his hair.
“You should be in bed.
” He startled quickly, gathering papers.
Just correspondence.
But she’d glimpsed the words to my child.
Multiple letters sealed with wax.
love letters to the baby? Yes, something like that, he said, pulling her onto his lap.
Just thoughts I want them to know.
The contractions started 2 weeks later.
Callie gripped Jarth’s hand as pain rolled through her.
Meera moved efficiently around the room.
Hours blurred together.
“I can see the head,” Meera announced.
“One more push,” Kelly bore down and then a cry.
It’s a boy.
Meera’s voice was thick with emotion.
A healthy baby boy.
Meera cleaned him before placing him in Kayle’s arms.
He was perfect, tiny and red-faced.
Hello.
Kaye breathed.
I’m your mother.
He’s beautiful.
Jarth’s voice was wrecked.
His hand reached for their son’s tiny fist.
The baby gripped his finger and Jarth made a half sobb.
Do you want to hold him? Jareth nodded and Kaye transferred their son into his arms.
She watched emotions play across his face.
Joy, wonder, love, and beneath it all, grief.
“He has your eyes,” Jareth said through tears.
“He’ll have your courage,” Kaye said softly.
“He’ll have you,” Jareth replied.
“That’s all he’ll really need.
” The phrasing, “You, not us,” made her chest tight.
A cold wind swept through the room, extinguishing every candle.
Through the bond, she felt Jer’s horror spike with a thought.
“She’s here.
” “Jarth, what’s happening?” The temperature dropped until their breath misted.
And then a woman appeared.
Beautiful in a way that was wrong.
Too perfect, too cold.
She smiled, and Kayle’s wolf whimpered in terror.
Jarth, the woman purred.
How lovely to see you again, and I see congratulations are in order.
Callie’s body went rigid.
Who are you? How dare you come here unannounced? Unannounced? The woman laughed.
I’ve announced myself a long time ago, didn’t I, darling? Almost 8 years ago now, to be exact.
Jareth said nothing, handing the baby back to Kaye.
And now I’m here to collect what’s owed to me.
The woman said, “We had an agreement, Jarth.
10 years without claiming your wife.
Fail and any child conceived in your marriage would belong to me.
” Callie’s breath stopped.
She looked to Jareth, waiting for denial.
“You could have at least waited until tomorrow,” he said coldly instead.
The woman laughed.
“A bargain is a bargain, Wolf King, and you kept your end admirably.
” Well, until you didn’t.
8 years without touching your pretty little mate.
I’ll admit I didn’t think you had it in you.
Such restraint.
All to protect this.
She gestured to the baby, and Kaye felt ice in her veins.
The child was born in year 8 of your marriage, the woman continued.
Well, within our agreement, which means he’s mine.
No.
Kaye clutched her son tighter.
No, you can’t take him.
Henry will stay here with his mother.
Jarth stated.
Take me instead.
Silence.
Jareth.
Kayle’s protest died seeing his face.
He’d known this was coming.
And why? The woman said slowly.
Would I accept that trade? Because it’s what you wanted all along, Jarth said quietly.
The woman’s smile turned sharp.
Well, if you insist.
What are you talking about? Kaye protested.
I don’t understand.
Of course you don’t, little queen.
The woman said he couldn’t tell you.
It was part of the deal.
It would have been too easy for him should you have known.
Known what? Kaye interrupted.
Your husband and I were in love once.
Long before you entered the picture.
He was mine.
Promised himself to me.
That’s not Kaye looked to Jareth.
It’s true, he said quietly.
I’d swore I’d marry her.
A vow he broke, the woman said bitterly.
The moment he laid eyes on you, his faded mate, he took one look at you and suddenly I meant nothing.
Years of promises gone in an instant.
Well, what was I to do against the powerful magic of faded bonds? The woman continued, “Except ask my beloved to prove his commitment.
If he could hold off claiming his supposed destiny for 10 years, he would be free of the promise he’d made to me.
” Her eyes turned cold.
But if he failed, I believe I’d deserve compensation for him choosing to leave me, didn’t I? You wanted him to suffer, Kaye breathed.
I wanted him to regret choosing you to realize what he’d given up.
She looked at Jarth.
But you never did, did you? Even after 7 years of denying yourself, even knowing what it would cost.
I will always choose her, he said simply.
The woman’s expression hardened.
We’ll see.
The child is owed to me.
That was our bargain.
No.
Jareth stepped forward.
You’ve won.
Take me.
Let them go.
Jareth.
Kayle’s voice broke.
I thought you said you would always choose her.
The witch snapped.
And I do.
I choose her happiness here with her baby.
She wants to be a mother.
She can live without my love.
But not without Henry.
Think about it.
Jarth continued steadily.
I’ll finally be yours the way you always wanted.
The woman studied him.
You would come willingly to the fa realm, serve me for eternity.
Be mine? Yes, in exchange for my mate and child living free, unto unharmed.
Jareth, no.
Kaye screamed.
Well find another way.
There is no other way.
Jareth turned to her.
This is the only way to save you both.
He knelt beside the bed.
Listen to me.
You’re going to be fine.
Raise Henry.
Rule the kingdom.
Live.
Callie shook her head.
Not without you.
Yes.
Without me.
Jarth thumbs brushed away her tears.
You don’t need me, Kaye.
You never did.
But I love you.
She gripped his wrists desperately.
We both do.
Please.
You’re my faded mate, he whispered.
From the moment I saw you, I knew.
I tried to fight it.
Tried to honor my commitment to her, but I couldn’t.
His voice roughened.
I couldn’t stay away from you.
So, I made a choice.
You over everything.
Then choose me now, she was sobbing.
Choose us.
I am.
He pressed his forehead to hers.
Through the bond, his love flooded her, overwhelming and absolute.
And beneath it, his certainty that this was the only way.
“I love you,” he said fiercely.
“I have loved every day of these eight years.
” “Jarth,” he kissed her deep and desperate and achingly tender.
Then he pressed a kiss to baby Henry’s forehead.
“Take care of your mother,” he whispered.
Then he stood and Cali felt him begin to close their bond.
“Do we have an agreement?” he asked the woman, his voice going cold and formal.
She smiled, triumphant and cruel.
The child and his mother will live unbothered, unharmed, free to rule and live as they wish.
Her smile widened, “And you, Jarth, will be mine for eternity.
” She extended her hand, and Jareth took it.
“No.
” Kayle’s voice was raw, broken.
They began to fade, Jarth and the woman dissolving like mist in sunlight.
“I’ll come for you,” Kaye screamed.
“Do you hear me, Jareth? I’ll find you.
I swear it.
” The last thing she felt through the bond before it closed completely was his love.
And then he was gone.
Epilog.
Three years later, Callie stood at the nursery window, watching the last rays of sunset paint the sky in shades of amber and rose.
Behind her, she could hear Henry’s delighted giggles as Meera helped him build towers from wooden blocks.
“Mama, look.
” Her son’s voice, so clear now, so full of life, made her smile.
“Big tower!” She turned to find him beaming at her, his dark hair falling into eyes that were unmistakably hers.
Green and bright and full of wonder.
But his smile, that was all Jarth.
Very big, she agreed, crossing to kneel beside him.
The biggest tower in all the kingdom.
Like Papa’s castle.
The question didn’t hurt anymore.
Not the way it had in those first months when every mention of Jarth had felt like a knife between her ribs.
Yes, she said softly.
Just like Papa’s castle.
Tell the story.
Henry climbed into her lap, nestling against her with the easy trust of a well-loved child.
About Papa.
Kelly wrapped her arms around her son, breathing in the scent of him.
“Which story?” she asked.
“The one where Papa saves me.
” Her throat tightened, but she kept her voice steady.
Once upon a time, there was a king who loved his queen and his baby prince more than anything in the world.
As she spoke, Meera quietly excused herself, leaving them alone.
Callie told Henry the truth.
Not all of it.
He was too young for that.
But enough about the brave king who made a sacrifice to keep his family safe.
About love that was stronger than magic, stronger than curses, stronger than time itself.
But Papa’s coming back, right? Henry asked when she finished, his small hand patting her cheek.
One day.
The certainty in her voice surprised even her.
When the time is right.
Do you promise? Henry asked, hopeful.
Callie kissed his forehead.
I promise to never stop believing he will.
It wasn’t quite the same thing, but Henry seemed satisfied.
He yawned, rubbing his eyes, and she carried him to his bed, the one Jarth had commissioned.
As she tucked him in, Henry reached for the ring that hung on a chain around his neck.
Jarth’s father’s ring, the one meant for him when he was older.
He’d insisted on wearing it after she’d told him it was from Papa.
“Love you, Mama,” he mumbled, already half asleep.
“I love you, too, my brave boy.
” She stroked his hair until his breathing evened out, then sat for a long moment just watching him.
This This was what Jareth had given her.
Not just a child, though Henry was more precious than any treasure, but this certainty, this peace, this knowledge that she had been loved, was loved with a fierce, selfless devotion that had defined every choice Jarth made for eight years.
She’d spent seven years thinking she was alone in her marriage.
Thinking she wasn’t wanted wasn’t enough.
How wrong she’d been.
Every moment of distance had been love.
Every time he’d walked away had been him protecting her.
Every sacrifice had been for her and the child they’d create together.
She understood now.
Finally, completely, she understood.
Rising, Kaye crossed to the window.
The moon was full tonight, bright and luminous.
Somewhere in some fa realm she couldn’t reach, couldn’t even imagine.
Jareth could see this same moon.
The bond between them was severed.
She couldn’t feel him anymore.
Couldn’t sense his emotions or his presence.
That connection was gone.
But the love wasn’t.
Love didn’t need a bond.
Didn’t need proximity or magic or even words.
It existed in the choices they’d made.
The son who carried both of them in his smile and his spirit.
“I’m doing well,” she said softly to the knight, to the man she couldn’t reach, but refused to stop talking to.
“The kingdom is prospering.
The harvest was good this year.
You’d be proud.
” A breeze stirred the curtains, cool and gentle.
Henry is growing so fast.
He has your courage, I think, and your stubbornness.
She laughed quietly.
He asks about you every day.
Wants to know everything.
Her hand moved to her chest to the place where the Bond used to live.
I’m not in a hurry, she continued.
I know you wouldn’t want me to abandon Henry to chase across realms looking for you.
So, I’m waiting.
Raising our son, ruling our kingdom, living the life you sacrificed everything to give me.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
But I haven’t forgotten.
I will never forget.
The moon offered no response, but she didn’t need one.
She knew with the same certainty she knew the sun would rise tomorrow that somewhere Jareth was thinking of her too, wondering about their son, hoping they were happy.
And they were, despite everything, they were because he’d loved her enough to let her go and she loved him enough to wait.
not in despair, not frozen in grief, but living fully, raising their son, ruling justly, all the things he’d believed she could do.
And one day, when Henry was older, when the kingdom was secure, when the time was right, she would find him.
She didn’t know how yet, didn’t know when, but she would.
Until then, she would prove Jarth right about her.
And when they finally stood face to face again, she would tell him what she’d learned in their years apart.
That marriage wasn’t just the vows or the bond or the moments of passion.
It was choosing each other again and again, even when separated by realms and curses and impossible distances.
It was faith.
It was patience.
It was love that didn’t give up.
He’d spent eight years choosing her from afar.
Now she would do the same.
Wait for me, she whispered to the moon, to the wind, to the mate she couldn’t feel but knew was listening somehow.
However long it takes.
Wait for me.
Behind her, Henry stirred in his sleep, murmuring something that sounded like papa.
Callie smiled, tears pricking her eyes.
Not sad tears, but grateful ones.
She had everything she’d ever wanted.
A child she adored, a kingdom she served well.
The knowledge that she was loved beyond measure.
And someday when the stars aligned and fade allowed, she would have him, too.
She would have her husband again.
She would find a way.
But for tonight, this life he’d given her, it was enough.
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