I took a deep breath as I stared at the pole in front of me. It wasn't like before, though I almost wanted it to be. I wasn't dancing for money, trying to impress and seduce random men with nothing but the roll of my hips and the limited curves of my body. I wasn't playing into some fantasy that they had. Now, it was just me and the pole in my basement. Instead of having a glittering bra on I had on of Ajax's tee shirt's tied at the waist, keeping it close to my body, my legs barely covered by spandex shorts.

But I needed this. This was one of the only releases I knew. 

Tomorrow I would be walking across a stage, accepting my degree. All fours years of my hard work would finally pay off. But in the crowd I wouldn't see a proud mother. I would see Ajax, his parents, and numerous people from the werewolf community. They would all flock to see their future queen receive her degree in a cap and gown. It was a beautiful reality, one of love and glamour, but it wasn't what I had expected. I had been in control of everything for years and life had tossed me about in response. I needed something to use up the excess nervous energy, to make me feel stable for a while.

My hands grabbed the cool metal, listening to the upbeat music that was playing. This wasn't like the strip club. I was dancing for me now, because working out in a gym just wasn't enough for me. I needed to move, to empty my mind, and do what I did best. 

So I felt the music move me. I had my eyes closed for the majority of the time. My head would tip back. My arms would shake with the effort to support me in intense positions. my thighs would would clamp together around the pole, allowing my arms to drop and my shoulders to relax. When the music slowed I would twirl around in lazy spins. When it would pick up I would swung from the pole with all my strength. 

It took me six songs to get through all of my nervous energy. And because it had been a long while since I had even touched a pole I was covered in a light sheen of sweat and a little out of breath. No, a normal gym was not enough to sustain me. 

"That's all I get?" Ajax's voice made my eyes snap open.

He was sprawled out on a comfortable fabric couch directly across from me, with those wild green eyes locked on me. And he looked every bit of a future king. Confident in a charcoal suit with flashes of colour in his tie and pocket square. Not a trace of stubble on his face and a keen expression of understanding on his features.

"How long have you been sitting there?" I demanded, wondering how I had seen him come in or heard him sit down. Though with the bliss and the music it made sense.

"Long enough," he replied with an easy smile. "I have to say that this was an infinitely better performance than anything I've seen previously. I would've paid thousands of dollars for this months ago. You would've had me on my knees, begging so fast, baby."

It seemed unbelievable to me. I was standing there in shorts and a  tee shirt- his tee shirt with a rugby logo on it- and not a lick of makeup was on my face. My hair was pulled into a sloppy ponytail and a coy smile had never graced my lips. If I had been at the club there might've been five dollars on my stage.

But the erection in his pants certainly didn't lie.

"I just needed some time to think, or not think, I guess," I admitted, glancing away. I hadn't meant for this to be sexual. Though the idea of him being aroused by me was flattering it wasn't what I needed right now.

At that his cocky smirk faded into a frown and he straightened up, looking even more business like than before. "Come here, sweetheart."

I dawdled over to him, bare foot and sweaty, but unembarrassed. When he indicated, I sat on his lap, not caring that I was wrinkling the smooth, expensive material of his trousers. But I did stiffen at the feeling of his cock against my thigh.

Ajax didn't seem to care about that. He brushed stray strands of hair away from my face, only looking concerned about my well being. Over the months that we had lived together I had noticed a change in him, subtle and slow, but in moments like this it was so obvious. Before he would've tried to seduce me regardless or assumed that I had installed the pole to infuriate or entertain him. He would chase me like it was all a game. 

Not anymore. 

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

I shrugged.

"Come on, you wanted to be a teacher and you can't even explain your thoughts?" he teased. "How on earth are you going to explain long division or sentence structure?"

At that the corner of my mouth tweaked up. 

"My world changed very quickly, that's all. Instead of having my mother at the ceremony, I'm going to have a dozen random wolves there. And now that I know the truth about my dad..."

"I can force him to come," Ajax offered, sounding so determined already. Though he had gotten much softer with me he was still all raw power and dominance with others. "If that's what you want you don't even have to say another word. I'll send Noah out to round him up and he'll be there tomorrow."

"No!" I said too quickly, then softer, "No. I don't want anyone forced to come. I would feel even worse knowing that they didn't want to be there and they were forced to support me. I know that all of this is for the best. I have tons of love and support from within this house. Everyone else can either decide to do the same or they can stay away. I don't want to use my power to enable relationships that weren't supposed to exist in the first place."

"But, you've never had a real relationship with your father," Ajax pressed. "This could be a good place to start."

"Please, he doesn't need another reason to come into my life now. I'm sure that rumors spread very quickly when it involves a royal. He will crawl out of the woodwork in time. How he approaches me first will really help me determine how I feel about him," I mused, tipping my head so I could relax against Ajax's strong shoulder.

"How so?"

"Well, he might come to me in search of money. He might beg forgiveness because I'm a queen or will be soon. He could even try and get back together with my mom. I'm sure that my power would sway him."

"That's unlikely," Ajax blurted then winced when he realized what he had said. 

"Why?" I demanded, straightening up once more. "You've looked into him, haven't you?" I demanded.

"I did," he ventured carefully. "After you arrived at the palace and we had all the issues with tracking down your mother I asked my dad to start following him and show me what he could find."

"And what did you find?" 

Ajax studied my face, looking at me so intensely that I had to glance away.

After a moment of silence he spoke again. "You're stressed. Too stressed for me to add more to your plate. Tomorrow is an exciting day and I won't let anything ruin that for you. You've worked too hard to be worried about this day. I promise, that when you feel you're ready, I will tell you everything I know. I don't want to hide anything from you ever again, but I don't want to overwhelm you either."

"Promise." I jutted my hand up, holding out only my pinky.

Ajax smiled again and locked his pinky with mine. "I promise, sweetheart."

~~~Distraction Section~~~

Hey all! I read all of your suggestions and loved many of them. You guys gave me so many ideas to progress forward which led me to another little surprise that I will reveal in the next chapter! The next chapter will be posted on the third. I hope you are all doing well and are healthy!

Question of the Day: What is your favorite joke?

Here's mine, it's super lame so prepare yourselves. 

What do you call a three legged donkey?

A wonky!