Chapter 59

Adolph sighed. He hadn't thought about the fiasco that was his first marriage in a long time, but he promised to tell her so she could set her doubts to rest.

"I told you that my sister, Raven, had a son before Basil was born She had him when the war was starting to get rough."

Adolph was the only heir to the throne. He'd been young, not even in his twenties when Raven had her first child and Adolph had ascended the throne. His father had left him his crown and the war when he died. That much fighting had a way of pulling at a werewolf's sanity without a mate of some kind.

"I was losing time," Adolph said, shuddering. "Not fully days, but hours at a time. As you know it's one of the first signs of going rogue."

Laurel nodded, shuddering at the thought. To be so young and already pushed to the edges of what his mind could take was heartbreaking.

"While I was on the front lines, Olivia Mirabelle fell in love with the idea of me," he said, his lips twitching wryly. "Whether it was started by Minister Mirabelle as a bid for the throne or not, I don't know, but when I returned, I was told that she and I had a great love story. Olivia was beside herself telling me she loved me, that she wanted to be my wife, that we were mates, but there was nothing in me that agreed."

If anything, he had been opposed to the idea and put off by her fanatical belief in it.

"Why did you marry her then?"

"For Raven and my nephew."

She frowned, "What do you mean?"

"He was the first born male. She and I are twins. He had a legitimate tie to the throne for as long as I remained unmarried, unmated, and without an heir." Adolph growled at the memory. "Her husband's pack had already been attacked, by who I'm not sure, but it was clear that it would keep happening as long as he had a legitimate claim to the throne."

"I thought when she married, she gave up that tie."

He smirked, "That's how it's supposed to work, but if I had died, he would have been the only heir and bloodline is the most important thing to the nobility."

She nodded with understanding.

"The only way to stop it was to get married I was anxious," he sighed, shaking his head. "I knew I couldn't keep fighting in the war without having a mate to anchor me, but the army needed my strength if we were going to win."

He'd promised his father that he'd defeat the vampires or die trying, so he had done what needed to be done.

"The kingdom needed someone to act as luna and I needed an heir. The ministers were pressuring me It was the best solution at the time, but that's all it ever was for me."

Laurel frowned, "She loved you."

"She loved the idea of me," Adolph said. "She never got the chance to know me, so caught up in her fantasy and my heart wouldn't allow me to care to know her anymore than I had to. I respected her as my wife and the mother of my son, but that was all."

He looked up, thinking back to Olivia's dreamy smile, pleading with him to love her, to give in and participate.

"I shouldn't have agreed. It's a decision I have to accept and regret most days."

"Why?"

"I knew what she wanted of me or what she thought she wanted of me and I did nothing to stop it. I let her continue with her fantasy. I let Tina and Minister Mirabelle fill Basil's ears with it and the whole kingdom."

Laurel squeezed his hand, "I don't think that's fair"

"It was selfish," Adolph said. "I grew up with what could only be called a great romance Part of me wanted that for Basil, so he could know what happiness could be like, but it backfired."

He scoffed, "My son is married to a woman he thinks is his mate and I'm not convinced she is."

Laurel gasped, "What? What do you mean?"

Adolph lifted a shoulder, "A feeling Something in the way they interact His wife doesn't seem"

He hummed and shook his head, "Not sure what it is. It's just a feeling. Part of me thinks that if I had been able to give Basil what I had as a child then he wouldn't be married to her Maybe he would still be married to Laura. Maybe they could have been happy, but that's all in the past now."

Laurel worried her lip. She doubted that she could have been happy with Basil, but she could see how he would think so. Still, if Adolph had found his mate back then, what would have become of her?

"But, the moon goddess works in strange ways," he chuckled. "My mate is a young woman, younger than my son. I don't know what she was thinking, but I'm grateful to have you."

Adolph smiled, squeezing her hand, "Does that clear up the misunderstanding?"

Laurel looked at him, "You were never mates."

"Never."

"And you never marked her?"

"Never."

She fiddled with the ring, "Is this ring special?"

"If I had never met you, it would have never seen the light of day again."

Laurel blew out a long breath, hoping the warmth in her cheeks didn't mean she was blushing too brightly. Did he have to give such romantic answers?

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

Adolph winced, "How could I tell you as your mate, as a king, that I had been forced to marry a woman I could not love? For the sake of my pride, I let it go on instead of revealing the truth Raven is the only one who knows the full story besides you."

Laurel nodded, looking at Adolph. His handsome face seemed relieved of some tension as if telling her had freed him of some burden.

"Could you love me, Laurel?" Adolph asked, turning to meet her gaze. "I know our age difference is a barrier, but could you, one day, love me with all of your heart the way I love you?"

She swallowed and worried her lip. She could say no. It would be safer, but it would have been a lie.

"Yes," she gasped. " I think I already do."

He smiled and leaned in to kiss her sweetly before pressing their foreheads together.

"You have no idea how happy those words make me."

She smiled. Her eyes burning with tears.

"Can we never mention Olivia again?"

"I think I can do that" She smiled, feeling a bit like teasing him. "If you teach me how to fly."

Adolph groaned, pulling back with a little howl, "She didn't tell you about that!"

Laurel giggled, remembering Raven demonstrating how an eight-year-old Adolph stood on the branch of a tree with fake wings made of bedsheets and twigs strapped to his arms tried to fly.

Watch me, Rae'! I'll be the first werewolf to fly ever!

"Maybe some other day, my love," Adolph glowered at her, his face bright red, as she tried to smother her giggling. "I should have told her husband every embarrassing story from our childhood when I had the chance."

"It's fine," she chuckled. "You sounded adorable."

"I'm sure," he huffed. "Have you given any thought to the invitations yet?"

"Are you going to tell me why it's so important that I choose?"

He scratched his head, "I was told by a reputable source-"

"Your sister?"

He wrinkled his nose a bit and she laughed, "A highly respected source known as my sister that it could be overwhelming for you So I should let you choose some things free of tradition."

She smiled at him and wondered if he knew he looked staunchly against the idea of having anything deviate from whatever was traditional.

"Well how about you show me your choice and let me choose from there?"

He eyed her a reached into his pocket and offered it to her.

"You've been carrying this around all day?" Laurel asked.

He shrugged, refusing to meet her gaze as she opened it and gasped. The words were the same, but the font was curling and ornate. She squinted and frowned. It seemed familiar for some reason. She thought of the kingdom's banner and gasped.

"This is the same font as the banner?"

He nodded, "Very traditional. It's the same font that was used in the garden's gates. It's covered by vines now, but"

"What's it say?"

He hummed, "It roughly translates to *fidelity, love, and courage.*"

She looked back at the letters, trailing her fingers lightly over the swirling script and the drawings of azaleas and lunar flowers along the edges.

"When they're made, the azaleas will be in red ink and the lunar flowers will be in silver Specialty ink that's made out of the flowers. Our names will be gold" He pointed out the other differences regarding the cut of the paper and the envelopes they would go in.

The more she listened to him, the warmer she grew. He looked at her and met her gaze, flinching as he realized that she had been looking at him.

His face reddened. She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I think it's perfect." She smiled, "Let's go with these."

His eyes widened and he smiled, soft and loving before kissing her gently.

"Perfect."