13. Weston

Chapter 13

Weston

I could barely focus with the feelings seeping through the bond. Delight, intrigue, attraction. I didn't know whom she was with, but I wanted to find that person and snap off his or her limbs.

"Dismissed," I growled when the meeting had come to an end. The various shifters gave me cagey looks, knowing something was wrong but not really wanting to find out what it was.

"What's up?" Micah asked as I stood and gathered my things. He was the dragon commander—the same rank as me. Together we oversaw the armies and guard.

"Nothing. I gotta go. My—the captive has a meeting with the royals."

He and I were constantly on shaky ground. The old and mostly untrue adage that wolves didn't get along with dragons was accurate in our case, but even still, his look held commiseration and pity. "Heard about the true mate. Tough break."

He had no idea—especially since she was out right now with someone who had clearly interested her.

A list of who it might be scrolled through my head as I handed off my stuff to a palace assistant and stalked down the hall. I could feel the pull of her throbbing in my core, her location somewhere to the northeast. Stationary.

"Beta, there you are." Hadriel jogged up to me, then kept jogging to keep pace.

"Why aren't you with Aurelia?" I growled.

"Yes, about that. Don't worry, she is in great hands. She went out to the flowers to check on her moon lily thing and Arleth sent her back with Hannon."

Hannon.

The fucking phoenix.

Trust Aurelia to find the one being I could not kill.

"They're out— Well, I can tell you know where they are," Hadriel said. "Fuck this running. I'm doing way too much of it today. Anyway, sir, they're just talking."

That feeling of attraction rattled my nerves. Hannon was handsome. Anyone with eyes could see that.

"They're about to be fucking done talking."

"Yes, well, if I may." He cleared his throat nervously. "You do not have a claim on her, sir. She is newly out of an abusive relationship. It doesn't matter that it wasn't romantic. She needs to find her feet. She needs to figure out who she is. Your crowding her isn't going to make her come around. She's stubborn, remember? She needs to find an attachment to you on her own, outside of the push from the true mate bond."

"She found an attachment to me on our way here. She's denying it, instead of deepening it."

"You can't blame her for being wary of an attachment formed after you took her against her will. You're the only male she's known outside of her village. She doesn't even know her wolf. You need to give her time."

"So that she can find an attachment with someone else?"

"So that she can realize she doesn't want an attachment with someone else. And come to trust that nature chose wisely."

I reached the back door and, instead of pushing it open, punched it. Glass shattered. Wood tore away from one of the hinges.

The feeling of her finding someone else attractive caused rage to run through my middle. Everything in me screamed, Mine! End the threat to my claim!

But Hadriel was right. I'd burned her life down and propped myself up as the only safe space she had to run to. It wasn't fair. Aurelia was in a new place with a new animal. An alpha animal, too, one pushing and pulling at her. She needed a little freedom to meet new people and figure things out. She didn't understand how to work with her primal side, and she'd need time to learn her wolf and merge everything together. My role right now should be supportive, guiding her through this time. It was what an alpha did. What a mate did. I had to trust that Aurelia would see, in time, that we fit together. That it wasn't just an attraction, an urge; not with us.

I took a deep breath to calm the rage. If it wasn't for the years of high-level training and constantly working on my control, this would've been beyond me. As it was, it took every ounce of effort I possessed to turn around slowly, unclench my fists and jaw, and stay inside the castle.

"Make sure she is dressed. We have an appointment with the royals." I pushed forward.

"Oh, and sir?" Hadriel huffed. "Fucking jogging. Why do people do this for fun?" He caught up to me again. "Just so you know, it was accidentally mentioned to her that you two are true mates. She didn't know what that was, so then it was explained."

I slowed. "And?" I looked over at him. "Was she mad?"

"No. She seemed kind of dazed. I don't think she really knew how to take the news. It didn't have the same impact on her as it would on... well, normal people. The hazard of not growing up as a shifter, I guess. Or with any friends. Or people who even wanted to talk to her."

Just my fucking luck. My true mate—a legendary thing, a gift from the gods—didn't realize the significance. The hits just kept coming.

"Go get her ready," I said, picking up the pace again. I needed a cold shower, or maybe to fight. I doubted the king would be pleased if I threatened him, so a shower it was.

Five minutes before our appointment, Hadriel brought Aurelia to meet me outside the throne room. Her new clothes wouldn't be ready from the seamster for several days, so she wore one of Hadriel's outfits, the jacket sleeves rolled at the wrist and the pants rolled at the bottom—basically swimming in his clothes. Hadriel and Vemar walked behind her wearing similar outfits. The only things obviously different were their shoes—Aurelia wore her boots while the men wore their velvet shoes.

Despite her odd attire, she was simply radiant, her smile infectious and her glow mesmerizing. Her long black hair, cut through with slices of white, fell around her beautiful face, her skin sun-kissed from her time outside. Her agile steps were more like a glide, her walk purposeful and effortless. I couldn't wait to see her wolf run.

"Aurelia," I said as she approached, my ill humor evaporating immediately in her proximity.

She spotted me, and her step faltered. Her gaze intensified as it lingered on my eyes and then roamed my face, pausing on my lips. Her eyes dropped, scanning my shoulders and turning hungry as she surveyed my chest. When she met my eyes again, I could see the heat burning within her. I could feel it within our bond, reacting to me the same way I was to her.

Flashbacks from yesterday played through my mind: ripping off her clothes and pinning her against the tree with my body; my cock plunging into her, as deep as I could go, locking her to me; the pack watching us establish a four-way bond, knowing who she belonged to.

She must've had similar thoughts, because her answering desire fanned my flame higher. I hadn't realized either of us had moved until we stopped just inches from each other—her looking up at me, chest heaving, my hands dusting her hips.

"Hi," she said breathily.

"She was just reminded that a pretty face or even a mythical creature will never compare to her mate, " my wolf said.

He was absolutely correct.

My wolf's smugness worked into a grin on my lips.

"Hey, baby," I replied, confident she would come around.

"Gu-guess—" She closed her eyes while clearing her throat, and I knew she was trying to wedge in a little distance between her primal desire and her logical, unemotional brain.

All I needed to do was prove to her logical side that what she felt for me was genuine. She fit with me perfectly, as did her wolf with mine. I'd questioned it when I first met her—I hadn't understood how I could have been mated to a criminal—but getting to know her had brought me around. I couldn't wait to watch her feelings for me blossom and grow.

Besides, I loved a good chase.

I could feel my wolf's anticipation at the prospect.

She tried again. "Guess how many combined dicks we have between us."

She gestured at Vemar and Hadriel, who waited patiently behind her. Hadriel had a little smirk, and I wondered if it matched mine. He'd clearly picked up on all the same things.

I shook my head slowly, falling into those sunburst eyes. "Give me a hint?"

"At least two, but those aren't on the jackets." Her smile intensified as Vemar guffawed.

"I heard you met Hannon," I said lightly.

She radiated joy. "Yes. An actual phoenix! How cool is that? He seems really nice. Do you know him well?"

"Fairly well. I speak with him often. He's kind, and he's a gentleman."

Hadriel inclined his head in approval as Aurelia nodded. I felt no desire coming through the bond. The last bit of tension within me eased.

"Yeah, he seemed it," she said. "I spoke to the dragon queen's brother... who is a phoenix. While dragons flew overhead. While standing in a beautiful garden on the grounds of an actual castle. This does not seem like real life."

I answered her with a smile, while still standing within inches of her.

"He'll be in here." I gestured toward the door. "He can read emotions—he's essentially a human lie detector. They are also going to give you a type of elixir that pushes someone to tell the truth."

Time to start truly earning her trust.

"I thought about using it when I captured you from your village, but read your journals instead." She frowned at me, but no anger came through the bond. She no longer held resentment. That was probably the most promising thing of all. "You should know they have your journals, have looked at them, and have both your and my notes regarding them. I'm sorry about the invasion of privacy."

I meant it. I felt sick knowing that other people were reading her private thoughts. That I'd had to do it. I imagined it was a vulnerable feeling, especially with all she'd gone through, and it wasn't fair to keep dragging her through it. We didn't have much of a choice, though. They needed to see what the reality of her situation had been, how Aurelia had been pushed into her trade, and that I was telling the truth when I said she'd had literally no way to escape. Nothing proved her innocence better than the emotional accounts of the events.

She nodded mutely and took a deep breath. "Shall we?"

"I'm proud of you," I murmured. "I'm proud of you for being willing to put yourself through this. For being so strong."

Her eyes opened up all the way down to her soul and then filled with tears. "Thank you," she whispered.

I wanted to wrap her in my arms but refrained, instead turning to open the door.

The royals sat on the dais upon their thrones, equally representing the law of the land. To the side of the queen, a step down and in a smaller chair, sat her brother. Surprisingly, the seat to the side of the king was occupied by Calia, a fairy in the high court of the fairy kingdom who'd come to visit the royals for a few months. I'd known she had arrived in the kingdom, but hadn't been told she'd be sitting in on this interrogation. Arleth, the king's mother, sat off to the side with several elixir makers I didn't know very well. The crates of Aurelia's product sat in the center of the room, and a smattering of Granny's drugs lined a table beside them.

A shock of fear swept through Aurelia and she froze, her wide eyes staring at the king.

"It's the monster from the library," she mumbled, so low I could barely hear her. She started backing up. "I've changed my mind. Fuck this. I decline my invitation!"

"He's going to listen." Hadriel caught her by her shoulders and started pushing forward again. "He's not going to judge you yet."

"He looks like he's going to tear my arms off and play the drums with them."

"He always looks like that. He almost never rips arms off, though. It'll be fine." Hadriel pushed her harder, grunting with the effort. "Why the fuck can't I move you? You weigh all of a hundred pounds."

Vemar reached out to help, and I stepped in his way. The warning look I sent had him backing off.

"I won't let him hurt you," I murmured to her. The king would be able to hear me, but he might as well know where I stood before we got any further into this. "They are just going to ask you questions, and then let you go."

She stopped and looked at me then. I ducked my head so our faces were level, allowing her to search my eyes for the truth. Through our bond, I could feel her trust in me overshadow her wariness, and she nodded once. I nodded once in return. Aurelia took a deep breath and allowed me to guide her forward, even as her whole body shook. A solitary chair waited for her in front of the dais. Her seat didn't look overly comfortable, but neither was the vibe of the room.

She had no choice but to endure it.

Aurelia

Hadriel and Vemar stood behind me as my self-appointed support system. I hadn't known it, but the two of them were a sort of pair, working together after the fall of the curse to keep the castle running smoothly.

They couldn't be more different—the large, imposing dragon was utterly laid-back, while the much smaller wolf was loud and crass and blindingly colorful. Even if the worst possible outcome came to pass, it meant more than I could ever say that they stood behind me now.

Weston positioned himself at my side, his power and confidence soothing my nerves and relaxing my muscles one by one. This wasn't primal. My reaction to him now was built on the sort of unwavering trust one could only garner through repeated, intense danger. He'd already seen me safe through the dangerous situation with Alexander and gotten me through to this point. He remained by my side now, even as I faced one of the worst set of circumstances I'd ever been in.

"Hello," said a beautiful woman who sat on the dais in one of the matching thrones. She was the dragon queen, obviously. Her blue eyes shone with authority and power, her stare so much more intense than that of her brother. The effect nearly turned my spine to water. "You may state your name."

I took a moment to collect my courage against her stare, ignoring the king's golden-eyed menace altogether. "Aurelia Silverwood."

"Has Weston explained how this is going to work?" she asked.

"You're going to give me an elixir, Hannon is going to catch any lies, and you're going to ask me questions."

"That's the gist of it, yes." The queen motioned toward the table. "Weston?"

Weston crossed to where she pointed, picking up a little vial and turning toward me with a shuttered expression. I could feel his anger and wariness through the bond. He hesitated in pulling out the cork, fire kindling in his slate-gray eyes.

"It won't hurt her," said the queen softly.

Weston approached me, looking frustrated and apologetic.

"It's okay," I told him, reaching out my hand with a comforting smile. My heart swelled with the knowledge that he was so worried about me, primal need to protect me or not. This wasn't his wolf; this was the man. That meant something. "I'll be okay."

My fingers brushed his as I took the vial, electricity sparking in the touch. I gave him a wink as I pulled out the stopper and drank it down. Then winced. I couldn't place the taste, but it wasn't great.

"We've heard and read several accounts of why you started making drugs," the queen said. "Based on your earlier conversations with him, Hannon has authenticated those accounts. I'd like to hear it in your own words."

"I won't be as reliable as they are," I told her honestly. "I've read over some of my journals, and I've remembered some things, but until Weston took me from my village recently, I'd sort of glossed over the trauma from those years. Hidden it in my memory. I can't tell you why. Survival, maybe? Acclimating to the life as I knew it? Trying to protect myself? I'm not sure, though I am more than willing to tell you what I remember."

Then I did just that.

The timelines were easy to recall, but some of the details were still fogged over with age. When I started to explain the process I'd used to figure out how to make the actual drugs, though, my mind started to float, the sharpness of my thoughts turning fuzzy.

"I think this elixir is starting to work." I touched the back of my hand to my warm cheek. "It's making thought more difficult. Does that clear? Because it's going to get in the way."

"That's the point. It'll make it hard for you to fabricate stories," the queen said. So far, no one else in the throne room had uttered a sound.

I furrowed my brow. "That's faulty logic. It'll make it impossible for rational, coherent thoughts, and harder to remember my past. Forget about explaining what I know about the coating Granny placed on my product."

"Your drugs, you mean?"

I sighed. "Sure, my drugs." Frustrated that she was intentionally missing my point, I shook my head. "I'll go with this for a bit to see how badly it'll mess with me, but if it gets much worse, I'm going to stop the effect."

"Stop the effect?" asked the woman from the garden with poise and gray hair. She must've been of high standing to be in this room. I found it odd no one had told me who everyone was, not that it really mattered. Her gaze swung to Weston. "Did you allow her to bring in some other chemical or drug?"

I tensed, not liking that they might try to implicate Weston.

It was Hadriel who spoke up. "She's got nothing but her knickers. She can render her products ineffective. I've seen her do it."

"You, too, with ‘the product'?" the queen asked Hadriel, her professional and authoritative tone smoothing into longstanding friendliness. It was clear they knew each other well. Hadriel hadn't been lying.

Hadriel shrugged. "I told you, love, it's complicated."

The queen shook her head and refocused on me, her tone hard now as she said, "I want to see you brush off that elixir."

"Okay, but it'll stop working, not that it is working very well now. My name is Dermia Foothold, the harbinger of fungus. I am the princess of a distant land with a mermaid for an assistant. I never see the bitch. She's always in the water. My?—"

"Enough." The queen put up a hand as Hadriel and Vemar both spat out laughs.

"See? She is very creative," Hadriel said. "It is an absolute treat watching her take her hallucinogens, I'm telling you."

"Hadriel, quiet!" the king barked, and a wave of fear washed over me. Hadriel shivered, feeling the power, before hunching down.

Ordinarily, that might make me defiant, make me want to stick up for him. When that monster looked at me, though, I just wanted to hunch down with Hadriel and make myself as small as possible.

"Have you seen this before?" the queen asked the poised gardener.

The woman shook her head. "It's powerful. It should be working."

Didn't these people ever sample their products? They should know the effects intimately.

"It's trying to goad me into telling the truth," I relayed, "but if I apply a little resistance, it just breaks apart. Meanwhile, my mind is fuzzy and I'm annoyed. I'm going to brush it off. I hadn't planned on lying, anyway."

I closed my eyes and shook the effects from my system, much more easily than with my product. When I blinked my eyes back open, the dragons wore scowls and Hadriel was saying, "That's normal for her. It scared the shit out of us the first time she did it."

I lifted my eyebrows. "So. Where were we?"

The queen scratched her nose, clearly perplexed. Unlike the wolves, the dragons seemed very expressive. "Right, well.. ." She cleared her throat. "Let's start with the basics."

We went through a typical day in the village. I answered questions about making the product and how I'd learned to improve it. I had to pause, feeling my face heat as I tried to think of how best to word my response.

"Um..." I said slowly, really wishing I hadn't promised to be completely honest and upfront. "Granny was able to procure a journal from this kingdom. From the court, actually. It helped immensely."

"One of my journals?" the queen said, her eyes darkening with anger. Power surged through the room.

Fuck, dragons were scary.

I impressed myself with my steady tone. "Not yours, per se. Someone who was learning di-directly from y-you." Well, almost.

"She stole one of our journals to help you make drugs?" the queen said.

"Yes. It worked."

She shook her head, mystified. "Do you feel bad about any of this? For the part you played in killing people?"

I felt my spine straighten of its own accord. Weston and Hadriel both stiffened.

" My product does not kill people," I replied. "It is habit forming for some, but it is not chemically addictive. You can see the differences in my product and what ends up in the markets. Granny's coating—apparently added to make it look like candy—is what's harmful. The only purpose I can imagine it serves has to be the addictive quality, but it's not a good business plan to make people sick. The actual journey—the high—is the part I make."

"How do you know what the coating does if you didn't have a hand in making it?"

"Because, apparently unlike you with that truth-telling elixir, I sampled the product to know what it does and how the body reacts. I took several of Granny's products, enough to addict me and to kill me if it wasn't for Weston. I made note of every effect. I am now intimately acquainted with how it works."

"How and where did you get several of them if they weren't created in your village?"

My stomach clenched. I knew my escape that one night from camp was a dereliction of Weston's duty. He'd done it to help me. I wouldn't repay that kindness by tattling on him.

I lifted my chin defiantly. "I don't want to say where or how or why. It's enough to know that I took them to figure out how they were altered from what I routinely turn in, which is what is in those crates."

The king leaned forward, his voice a rough growl. "I can make you say where and how and why."

Weston stiffened. This time I didn't, nor did I hunch. Fuck that guy. Pain wouldn't make me bend, and they probably planned on killing me, anyway. The queen, at least, didn't seem overly interested in pardoning me because of my upbringing. Fine, so be it. But I would not allow Weston to go down with me. I drew the line at making others suffer for my sins.

I met that menacing golden gaze and said, "All due respect, dragon, no you cannot. I do not break under torture, and I no longer fear death. Do your worst."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vemar puff out his chest, nodding in what seemed like approval. It seemed I had something in common with the mad dragon. I liked him more for it.

"She's protecting someone," Hannon said, watching me closely.

Weston's head jerked my way, and I realized belatedly he'd been staring at the king, his body tense. Now his gaze probed mine before realization dawned. The tender warmth coming through the bond momentarily stole my breath.

"It's me," he told the royals, his tone concealing his emotions. "She's trying to protect me." Now it softened as he spoke to me. "I already told them I knew you planned to drug me and that I let you do it." He turned back to the royals. "She bought Granny's product with the gold I gave her."

I clenched my jaw, unhappy that he was putting himself into harm's way on my behalf, but I didn't say anything. If things got worse, I'd find a way to excuse him of any wrongdoing. I assumed the dragons would be all too happy to take their grievances out on Granny's drugmaker rather than their prized commander.

"How did you know which product was Granny's?" the queen asked me.

I huffed, running my fingers through my hair. I explained about the design, unable to keep my anger in check.

"She didn't even change the fucking wings! It looks utterly absurd. Fairy wings on a butterfly? Ridiculous. It would've been a simple fix, not to mention I did that drawing when I was a kid. I can draw one so much better now."

The woman off to the side of the king—the one with beautiful blond-white hair so light it nearly matched my streaks, and flawless, radiant skin—spoke for the first time.

"The middle was originally a fairy?" Her voice was clear and pleasant even though she was visibly annoyed. "Why?"

I felt my face redden. I suddenly found myself really hating this interrogation. I hadn't realized parts would be so embarrassing.

"I've always been fascinated with the fairies. They seem so mystical and magical. I never knew I had magic, so that greatly appealed to me."

The queen looked over at the woman, I assumed to make sure she was satisfied, before continuing. We went over what I'd seen in the city where I bought Granny's products and how I reacted to the alterations. I described the people I'd spoken to, including those in the alleyway, before Hadriel gave his account of the tavern where he'd heard about my capture. He also described how badly I'd been beaten when Alexander tried to forcibly remove me from the camp, though I had no idea why.

"Let me get this straight." The queen adjusted herself in her seat to get comfortable. "You had the chance to go back to Granny, but you chose instead to come here and face punishment for the part you played in her organization?"

"I had the chance to go with Alexander," I answered. "I hadn't yet learned Granny was still alive. I'd rather die at the hands of your petrifying king than end up with Alexander."

"And now?"

"And now I just want enough time to derail Granny's organization, dismantle her product, and say goodbye to my new friends. After that, I'll accept my punishment with grace, whatever it may be. As I always have."

"You always have what?" the queen asked.

"Accepted my punishments with grace."

The queen studied me for a long moment as a line formed between her brows.

"And this?" She pointed at the crates before stepping off her throne.

"Crap, you're tall," I blurted with a release of breath. "Is everyone in this kingdom fucking enormous?"

"They're dragons, love. That's how it goes," Hadriel murmured.

"This is not dangerous?" the queen asked. "It's not addictive? I can pick out any of these things at random, from any of the crates, and you'll eat it?"

"Yes," I said.

Hadriel raised his hand. "So will I."

The queen looked at him before shaking her head. "It wasn't smart taking this stuff, Hadriel. What were you thinking?"

"In my defense, she did it first. But seriously, look at it. That stuff is a mess. It's way different than the finished product Granny sells." He pointed at the table. "Have her crack it open and show you."

I lifted my hand. "I would like to point out that taking just one is not an ideal test of my integrity. Granny's coating needs to build up in the bloodstream before it kills. Three, I believe, will be plenty. I'd happily take three of any of my products, either all the same or all different, whatever you prefer."

All movement in the room ground to a halt as several pairs of eyes widened, the gaze of each person in the room sticking to me.

I raised my eyebrows and shrugged. "If you're going to test something, you need to be thorough," I explained. "Taking just one of Granny's final products makes you sick, but it doesn't kill you. Not until it builds up."

Vemar barked out a laugh, and I had no idea what was so funny. It was starting to worry me that these people made medicinal elixirs that they didn't thoroughly test or maybe even understand. How'd they ever get so good at it?

The queen looked at Hadriel for a moment before turning and taking one of Granny's products from the table. She handed it to me. "Show me how much of that is yours."

I did as she said, peeling off the coating and pointing to the crate holding the sleeping agent.

"This is what I gave to Weston. My product, I mean, not Granny's. It's that one, there. You can see the likeness." I read the name from the wrapper. "Huh. Dream Time is actually a good name for it. Clever."

"And this?" She handed me another.

"Ah, the relaxant, yes. In human form, this just settles the nerves. It's fairly mild."

"Too mild," Hadriel said. "I was bored."

"The fail-safe on this one is shifting into your animal form. It'll negate the effects. Now we are learning, however, that when this is taken in wolf form, it loosens the pack bond. Or something to that effect. Weston will have to explain it."

"I did," he replied. I nodded.

"Fail-safe?" the queen muttered, looking at Weston, then Hadriel, before shaking her head again. It was clear none of this lined up with what she'd been expecting. "Your explanation this morning, Weston, was the first I've ever heard about that. I don't understand how something like that could be... baked into a recipe, and I don't know how I've never heard about it before now. I've investigated Granny's product extensively. I, quite simply, don't believe it. I can't. Given all I've learned, it doesn't make sense."

"Let her show you." Hadriel pointed at me. "She can show you. I saw her do it in your old village."

The queen stared at him for a long moment.

"Be that as it may, Aurelia, you are still the foundation of this company." She moved the crates around to get at the right product. "You're the backbone. Without you, it doesn't exist."

"Of course it does," I said in annoyance. "That coating can be applied to anything similar."

"It takes three to five uses for the addiction to kick in." The queen bent to grab the product. "We thought it was two at one time, but it doesn't happen quite that fast. People would conceivably be fine if they just did it once or twice."

"Unless they did it within a twenty-four- to forty-eight-hour window, depending on the person," I replied. "Then that coating, which I think has some sort of poisonous element, builds up like I said. It took me three doses for a fatal attack, but I hadn't had anything in my system already."

The queen stopped in front of me with her hand out, offering the product. She was looking at Weston, though. "I'm going to have her take this. You're okay with that?"

"That? Yes. Granny's? No."

The queen shook her head yet again with a small, disbelieving smile and finished handing it off. I popped it into my mouth.

"My point being," the queen said, "that they don't get addicted right away. They keep taking it because it is, by far, the best on the market. It's the best high, the most fun, the best... stress reliever. It's the product you make that keeps people coming back until the hook."

"I take full responsibility for that." I clasped my hands in my lap, part of me having known it would come down to this.

"She doesn't feel remorse," Hannon said.

Surprise evident in her tone, the queen asked me, "You don't feel bad that you were making drugs?"

"No." I felt Weston's frustration come through the bond. "My life is not a fairytale. I was making products that were less dangerous than some of the medicines you sell. If people want a vacation of the mind, I'll make it for them, no problem. If they want to relax, or need something to chase away sorrow, I've got it. The only thing I feel bad about is that coating. That and the stupid fucking butterfly."

The queen braced her hands on her hips, shaking her head as she looked down at me. She was not as scary as that golden-eyed monster, but still plenty intimidating. My wolf was on edge in her proximity. "I really don't know what to say. I find it difficult to believe you had no idea about any of this. I can't fathom it. The maker of the drugs didn't know it was hurting people?"

"All due respect, love, but if you saw that village, you'd get it," Hadriel said.

"Yes, I intend to further question the group that went." The queen narrowed her eyes at me. "Weston, I don't know what to say. I understand this is complicated, but she made the drugs. She made them. She kept people coming back, they got hooked, and some of them died. There must be consequences."

"I accept that," I said.

"She means it," Hannon replied, looking hard at me.

Anger and something akin to violence kindled through the bond, but it didn't show on Weston's face. I tried to send calming feelings back at him. I'd already told him I'd accept what came, and Hannon was right—I meant it.

"I will, however, give you time," the queen told me. "I expect you to show us how you make that product, and let you try to figure out how Granny makes hers. I will be watching you, but I will allow you to try to do what is right. Is that fair?"

"Very," I said. It was all I'd been hoping for, actually.

"How do you feel?" The queen couldn't hide her curiosity about my product.

"Can I have one, and I'll tell you how I feel?" Hadriel raised his hand.

"It hasn't kicked in yet. It's a slow-release product. It seems more natural when the stress melts away incrementally, like soaking in a hot bath." I summoned my courage and stood. "It is time for me to demand some answers of my own. There are things you need to atone for, as well."

The queen towered over me. She didn't back up or seem threatened in any way. One of her eyebrows arched. "Things I need to atone for?" A little smile played across her lips. "How so?"

"You have been profiting off Granny's drugs. I highly doubt it costs that much to make, yet you sell the elixir needed to stave off the addiction at a cost only the rich can afford. And multiple doses are needed for it to work. You judge me for making drugs, yet you have your hand out, just like Granny. Additionally, you broke the laws of my kingdom. Her product is now legal there. Your people unlawfully crossed the shores under false pretenses, abducted one of their citizens, and kidnapped her from her home shores. You are not innocent. None of your people have clean hands. How do you plan to atone for all of this?"

"Fuckstains on wooden shoes, don't challenge that dragon," Hadriel murmured out the side of his mouth.

The queen's eyes sparked fire. Weston took a step closer to me. The king leaned forward, and suddenly I wondered if I'd made a huge mistake.