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Healer Rhea's POV

"Gods, I don't remember this ride being so damned bumpy." Rhea rolled her eyes and continued to look out the window.
"You drank nearly three whole bottles, Rom. What did you expect?"
"That I have much more of a gut and could handle it. How are you not feeling it?"
"I am. Though I know my limit. And you did not have to order full glasses, my King." He smirked once more, as it had been the best sort of tease on her behalf to revert back to his title.

Though he adored his nickname whispered from her lips just the same. As though it was a secret between the two of them.

"How else was I meant to be sure I favored it? My party planner gave me a task and I wanted to make sure I managed to the fullest." As Rhea began to fiddle with her cane, she soon laughed the mere second Romulus reacted to another bump in the road.

So she dug into her satchel and passed over a tonic. "What the hell is this?"
"A hangover tonic. If you're feeling awful now, wait until tomorrow." That had been enough of a reason and explanation for him to down the entirety of it. Good thing they were signal dosages, or else the King would not be functional for the rest of the day.

Speaking of which, she still had loads to get through, and she squirmed in her seat to straighten herself—How was it that her thought started at her daily checklist, and reverted to yesterday's fondling?

"Are you sure you're well?"
"I told you the last time I haven't felt any pain." She informed, going once more to dig through her satchel and conform to her list.
If only the King hadn't tugged it down, demanding her attention.

"I want transparency, Rhea."
"I haven't anything to share. I'm just unsure as to why I felt it the first time."
"It's simple. He wasn't the male for you. I don't have to explain to you that there are some that don't care to learn about how to pleasure a—"
"Romulus, respectfully, I don't want to hear about your former conquests, alright?" His face had turned still until a smirk curled as he leaned forward.

"Is this jealousy I'm hearing?"
"No, but it could come in the form of a smack upside the head..."
"It is."
"...Or the nose." He huffed, but his cocky grin certainly didn't shimmer down. Not when the blush in her cheeks had taken hold, and he once more tugged the distraction away. "What?"

"It's simple, Rhea. He wasn't gentle, and you weren't as healed as you are now...I have plans for the first time we lay together on our Honeymoons." Now that omission of the truth had caused her eyes to bulge.
"What?" She repeated, and Romulus could only back into the cushioned upholstery.

"Hm, I plan to make you delirious with pleasure. As a mate should, before exploring something new."
"A mate?" Now it had been Romulus' turn to still, but the way his head tilted hadn't at all been what he meant. Though he nodded, hoping she hadn't caught his surprise. "Yes, we will be mated by then. Formally, after we come together."
"And that is where you'll bite me."
"Claim. I will claim you."
"Anything else I need to know before then?" The question hadn't meant to cause Romulus to make such a face, but it was rather entertaining to see it as though he had tasted something sour. "Here I thought it was a simple question."

"It is. I am just unsure of how to word it properly, given that you do not understand how a wolf couple interacts with one another."
"I know that I don't need a Heat to wait to get pregnant. If that's what you're getting."
"No, but that is a lovely reminder. Though I will gladly wait until you are comfortable. If that is something you are interested in, to begin with." Rhea perked her lips, but not liking how he blatantly changed the topic. So she simply leaned back as he had just moments ago as she hummed along.

"A pup, tempting. But don't think I haven't noticed that this is the second time you've ignored that question."
"Damn you for being so perceptive."
"Oh damn me, hm? We're not far from the castle, and you know I'll walk the rest to avoid you, my King." He groaned as he placed a hand on her knee, keeping her once again in place as he leaned forward.

"I am not well versed in a human and wolf pairing. A bite could mean many things. For a wolf, it means I have accepted to claim them, and they join the interworking of my family—My pack. It's very different than the construction of an entire pack territory. But as a human, I am unsure if it will act the same."
"I won't turn into a wolf, will I?"
"No, don't be absurd. Though your beast would look breathtaking in any realm. But no, you will not be granted the ability to shift. You might, however, gain something."
"Being vague doesn't suit you, Romulus. Spit it out." The hold he had on her tightened, as he was growing rather fond of her feisty attitude, but not when he was thinking of the correct words.

"We will be able to Link, to an extent, I believe. But I do not know what else will happen to your body. Given...Given the state you are in."
"The state I'm in? What state is that?"
"Not at a hundred percent, and you cannot get angry with me, love. You said those words before." To what could only be described as a snarl from Rhea, he had felt at ease to continue. "I am not sure how it will affect things."
"Besides planting your seed in my womb, I wonder."
"It is more than that, female. Shifters, witches, blood suckers—Whatever it is—"
"Vampyre, Romulus, that is the title they hold."
"Sure—They all have a sort of existence in the world, and the combination of a wolf and human is still fairly new. Even with your research, I still wonder what else could happen between pairings." Rhea nodded, she hadn't a clue how the Kingdom would feel about her 'mating' the Alpha King, but it was bound to happen.

She hardly doubted there would be a chance to escape, not when Romulus was so very sweet—But come the night, he would investigate straight away as to why she wasn't in bed.

"Does your wolf like sleeping in my room?" She asked, and that had backtracked them, now she had been the one to change the direction of the conversation. While he was thankful for it, he couldn't pass things so easily.

He wanted to tell Rhea the truth—But the truth wasn't always so easy to hear when faced with a choice.

"Yes, my beast still finds comfort in your bed. But we have a promise to uphold."
"I only ask because you were moving in your sleep last night."
"I apologize, I may have been a bit restless then." She hummed, but that only ignited the sense that there was much more on the female's mind than just the ball in question.

"And, would you like to join me for lunch?" Rhea perked her lips in an attempt to read through her planner again as it was rather tempting. But with the hours starting to count down, she was truly feeling the onset of these being the last preparations until things are set to go.

"I need to make sure you're eating, Rhea. Or else I'm left with you taking care of yourself, and after yesterday—I'm not too sure I can trust you are doing an adequate job." Rhea laughed, she couldn't help it.

"I can promise you if you were to compare the life I'm living now to prior to my running away—I think you'd be well versed with how little I really eat."
"I understand at one point in your false life that you had to fight for your next meal, it isn't like that any longer."
"That's an outright lie, I might not be fighting physically, but in this castle, everything is mentally exhausting." He sighed, but even as the carriage had come to a slow pause, he had gotten out and turned directly behind him in offering his out for Rhea.

Knowing she wouldn't ask for help if she needed it.

Yet when presented, she had grasped him tight as could be, given that they did spend the good part of the afternoon sampling such delectable wine.

It was well worth the afternoon, and he hoped that with Rhea's presence at lunch that Wilhelm wouldn't disturb them with business. Not when he's under the assumption that she thinks he's handsome.

Romulus felt a sense of proudness being able to escort Rhea to the grand entrance of the castle, but it was soon ruined as she knew the expectations of court and hurried to fall back in line and used the support of her cane instead.

Just as she expected, there had been a few lingering people awaiting the King, attempting to seek his counsel for numerous issues. But he was very adamant that they await until they could be properly heard, which was fair, but gave Mithwell the opportune time to weave his way right beside Romulus.

In all honesty, Rhea had been fortunate not to see Mithwell in the public eye beyond the council meetings—But that did not sway her any further of liking the fellow than before.

"My King, I hope you had an enjoyable afternoon." The sleazy male commented, and Rhea already knew that the bastard had an inkling as to where they had spent their time.

"Yes, I did. If you were worried about how I spent my free time, Councilman Mithwell. But unfortunately, I have more pressing matters with my Council Woman, at the moment. Given the fact that the ball is just days away."
"Ah, and heading to the wineries across the ways is presentable? Hm?" Rhea had tutted as she came forward in the conversation, glaring at the odd male out as though he was nothing but dirt under her shoes.

"Careful, Councilman, as I recall, I still have a favor to ask."

"And what business do you have taking the King out—"

"I was given the task of putting together a Ball, and it just so happens that I needed the King's decision in a choice of wine. Which thankfully, he had time to place into his schedule. But we were quite productive, weren't we?" The king eyed Rhea for a moment and then nodded.

"Yes, she makes the argument of standardized testings almost impossible to beat. But no matter, we're due for lunch. Though I'm not sure if Wilhelm will be present." It was an absolute lie, given that they were most definitely going to return to Rhea's private rooms, but he could speak so openly with this male.

Yet amongst the conversation, Rhea had stalled instantly as she eyed both the wolves before her. There was something here that was left unspoken, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it, so what better way to take hold of the situation than forming it as your own?

"You're free to join us, Mithwell. I'm sure you can put in a word about standardized testings—Keep the young mind fresh for their time in the courts." She issued, and either male had shot their attention from the other to Rhea.

Perfect. It had done exactly what her father had described it would do in this sort of instance. And damn it, she needed to keep these gentlemen on their toes.

It should be expected at this point—Not to mention she still needed to find out who was making deals with that damnable Rogue King.

"Splendid, I just need to send these few documents—I'll join you both in a bit." She said, tilting her head promptly as she left the King's attentive circle, but the two had continued to follow her until she was no longer in sight.

"How long are you going to humor that female?"
"Humor her?I'm not doing anything of the sort. And for what it's worth, you should be careful how you tread. I might believe that you are banking on the fact that she is human."
"That's surely a part of it. Humans are getting too comfortable." Romulus had to start his pursuit to the private dining hall on the off chance that Mithwell had caught his eyeball.

"Comfortable...Do you believe that they are comfortable in my Kingdom?"

"They getting to—"

"Let me rephrase this, Mithwell. Are they not meant to become comfortable in my Kingdom? We start another war, they will lead in flocks towards Creasan. And we do not need their numbers to multiply. So yes, I would hope they would grow at ease here. And within the next few generations we have gained our own numbers, haven't we?"
"Yes, with half-breeds." There truly was no point in wasting a breath, but there was no persuading the king elsewhere...And instead, he had found himself coming to a halt.

How long had this painting of the previous King been hanging here?
He recalled that his father wanted to honor the wars, but when in his reign had it been decided?

"The late King had warranted the wars, but both he and my father was responding to the same torture. Heartbreak. Did you know that?"
"What are you getting at?"
"My father was suffering the loss of my mother. As was the King...That is where we are similar—If we can hold that similarity, why could there not be more?" The question had dwelled for another moment before Romulus decided that Rhea couldn't beat them to the dining hall, and instead picked up the pace.

"We are stronger, faster—Smarter!"
"Really? I'm starting to question your views on such. But I suppose we can put it to the test, I wish you luck." But that hadn't been enough, Romulus had never caught how Rhea managed to verbally slaughter the males before her, but he had front-row seats in this instance—And he was duly excited.

For every concern she brought up, she brought the facts to Mithwell's careless comments—It did make for an entertaining lunch, but at one point he wondered if she would risk it all to tackle the male across from her.

The mere idea had awoken his beast, the very one who seemed to be asleep from the early drinking. But he wasn't surprised, not when it was starting to become the norm that every male was starting to become a threat.

Something that Romulus hadn't realized until Rhea had mentioned Ray so fondly—It nearly escaped him that it was a play they were going with still, that the two humans were so readily in love that it blindsided anyone who asked.

Though Rhea had given Romulus and Mithwell a pointed look when she used Ray in the context of their thoughts. "My King, clearly the kindling of a councilwoman and a soon-to-be councilman is biased to one another opinion on the matters at hand."

"I highly doubt, that after all I brought to the table, that is where you draw the line. I understand the concern about putting pups together with halfies blooded and full-blooded humans, but even you admitted that pups do not feel the impulse until they hit puberty." Mithwell had opened his mouth to deflect but sighed—

"It isn't right, not at all. Wolves and humans need to be taught differently. What pup will listen to a human?"

"Would you like to put that to the test?" She said with narrowed eyes, and even he flinched back. "A pup will listen to those we place as leaders. They listened to me as a Healer and I've whiteness plenty of classes where a human is at the front of the classroom with mixed kids in attendance."

"Where?"
"You think the territories are able to fund and flourish their land? The one-room classroom was the biggest upgrade Red Moon had fought for for years. If you want to implement these changes, are you prepared to fund them throughout?" That stalled his approach, but like any male that hasn't visited the territories, he responded with ease.

"What is there to fund? A teacher, supplies? That's eas—"
"No, it's not that simple. If you employ someone from the Kingdom to these territories, they are going to need a place to stay and a salary—Not to mention they most likely have a family to take with them. If we start segregating here, it will not end well. Wolves will get higher education. It's already a shame that those with higher positions are able to get the education, even when they don't deserve it." She hadn't meant to imply anything, but Mithwell's fist slammed onto the table, making the silverware clatter in response.

"My King, she is making accusations!"
"Hm? Have you two made peace yet?" He dwelled, trying to keep both his smile and wolf below the surface. "This female is out of her league! Spewing nonsense and falsehoods."

"Falsehoods? Or are you attempting to hide something?" She said with narrowed eyes, yet the moment Romulus heard the chair scratch against the tiled ground, his wolf had enacted much quicker than he had intended to.

Eerily too soon.

With the two males standing tall, Rhea had looked between them both. Romulus' gaze was solely on Mithwell, while his was on her. There was no doubt that the King would defend her, but she truly had a disadvantage.

Not only because she was human, but because of her injury—Yet it seemed well-balanced considering who was on her defending side.

"You are making this lunch turn sour, Mithwell."
"Me?! You're the one who's—"
"I didn't say anything, nor pointed any fingers. You've outed yourself, and I would like to add that to the filing of my stance. Now you both have to excuse me, I've had enough wolf testosterone for the day and I have meetings to attend to." She stated, all while patting her lips with the napkin and getting to her own feet.

Again, completely unthreatened.

She bowed her head to the King, similar to before as she hurried away—Knowing that Romulus, and his chivalry, would get him in trouble if she were in active danger.

Leaving the situation was the best-case scenario.

Though, she found it awfully lonely considering the plans they had formulated on their ride—Truly, it was short-lived with fowl company.

"Now what is that frown for, female?" The voice startled her, but it was clear as to who it was. Even if she couldn't name any time speaking with him directly, or outside the meeting room.

Turning around, she caught sight of Drex, the King's General.

"Sir Drex, how are you this afternoon?" She asked, completely formal and evasive to the question he asked. Though the smirk he wore told her that he knew exactly how she evaded his questioning.

"It's a fair day. I saw your males in the training grounds, they show signs to become promising warriors."
"They deserve the best."
"Indeed they do. Yet you escaped my first question—I'll have you know, you reek of anger." He claimed, closing in on her figure as she craned her neck back to get a better look at him now. "Do you always smell females in passing?"
"Only one's that have caught my attention, yes." Gods be damned, how was it that she was getting so much unwanted attention when she declared herself to another?

Was there a trick being played?
Are her fates being tested?

Even looking at Drex, she had to admit, he was a very nice-looking male. But images of Romulus were already swarming her. "Alright, to answer your question, I am angry because I just came from a lunch with the King and Mithwell. Surely that's justified."
"Justified? I'd offer you a drink for managing more than five minutes with that damned male. Gods, he gets under my skin every damned day." A growl rumbled through his chest, and it did wonders to Rhea's senses as it was all that she could hear.

When Romulus did it, it made her feel safe.
Secure.

Another male doing it, offered something much different.

"I apologize...But I am glad I did come across you, Lady Rhea. I had a question to ask of you." That was peculiar, given that they truly were operating on different ends of the Kingdom's spectrum, but she tilted her head regardless.

"I will be happy to help wherever I can, Sir Drex." He snorted, which seemed very unbecoming of a General, leaving Rhea's guard to fall quickly down as he shook his head.

"Drex is fine. I was wishing to ask if you would like an escort to the ball tomorrow?" Never, not in any reality, had she thought she would be asked to the ball by another male.

Damnit, why hadn't she thought of this possibility?

Her lack of reply had caused Drex to smirk once more, completely unphased by her enthusiasm or reply. "I understand if you have a date already, given that you have two males at your side constantly." Ah, perfect, an escape.

"Actually, Drex...I was waiting for Ray to ask me. Silly of me really, but he's—"
"He's the one you've got your eye on, I understand. But has he made the effort to ask?" Rhea blanched as she hadn't thought of how to go about this, any of it!

How was it caring for a whole pack as its only devoted Healer was considered easier than managing her way through court?

"He has his mind on other things at the moment, which isn't unusual of him."
"Yet he works so closely with you...Surely he's caught the signs of what a female wants?" Now that had earned him a narrow brow paired with a crossed set of arms. "Oh? Are you claiming you know what I want?"

Watching the male's head tilt had caused a small smile to erupt on her face, and a bit of light laughter. "I apologize, Drex. This has taken me by surprise...Truthfully, an escort or date was the last thing on my mind. And given that I'm going to be busy throughout the night to make sure things are up to standard, I will not be that grand of a date." The wolf seemed to digest all that she said before rising back to attention and humming.

"Then I ask you to grant me a dance, as my ego is bruised and cannot handle much more."
"I can certainly do that, Drex. Though you'll have to bare with me for it." She claimed, gesturing out her cain and he hummed. "Enjoy the rest of your day, Lady Rhea. I look forward to seeing all that you've created tomorrow." And with that, the General had left.

And with him, the last of Rhea's sanity.

______

Date: 07/10/23

Time: 4:00 

Words: 3866

Author's Note:

Romulus had the chance but couldn't find the words, surely they'll be a time after the Ball to explain just how important a Mate is to a wolf.

Also, I'm picture Drex as a gentle giant but will not hesitate to show his loyalty.