CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

“ T hat was barely a knock,” Kate admonished as Vincent let himself into Brayden’s apartment.

The king shrugged. “Tough.”

Brayden would have heard them approaching in any case, so he wasn’t worried.

Vincent was running out of patience.

To be fair, he wasn’t a patient male by nature, and the fact he’d been poisoned for the past few months wasn’t helping matters. So, yeah, he was out of patience.

“Bray!”

“Yeah, I heard you.” The prince said, walking out of the bedroom, doing up a pair of sweatpants.

Vincent narrowed his eyes as Brayden ran a hand through his dark hair and leaned against the doorjamb. He looked calmer than the last time he was here.

Interesting.

“Brayden, I’ve come to speak with Willow,” Kate said. “We have an invitation for her.”

“There’s no need,” Brayden replied, lifting his as Willow took her place under it.

Had Craig been mistaken?

“Kate, meet Willow,” Brayden introduced. “Baby, this is our queen. Vincent’s mate.”

The human smiled kindly, though it was obvious she was still nervous.

“Nice to meet you. Um, your majesty.”

“Kate will do fine. After all, we are—will...er...hopefully will be family. Oh damn. Darling, I’m sorry. I’m as useless as you.” She said, casting him a look.

Vincent frowned at his mate and shook his head.

“If we could all stop calling the king useless, it would be super great,” he said, ignoring Brayden’s smirk.

“Willow has agreed to return to Maine with me and spend a week learning our ways. Afterward, she’ll make her decision.” Brayden announced.

Vincent could see the strain on the prince’s face. His half smile showed he was relieved but still worried. He could only imagine the pain his brother was going through. In fact, he had some experience with that. Mating was not always straightforward and without its challenges.

He turned to his queen, and they shared a knowing look.

“It will be wonderful having you at Castle Moretti, Willow. I can introduce you to many of our former humans who can answer any questions you have,” Kate said gently. “I was going to host a cocktail party this evening to get started.”

Willow peered up at the prince, who shook his head.

“Let’s wait until we get back east. Willow needs to pack, and we want some time together while she adjusts.”

“Thank you for the nice offer, though.” Willow said.

Vincent watched her wriggle her hands nervously in front of her and smile at Kate.

The poor girl was terrified, and Brayden was watching every single fucking movement she made.

Protective. As any mate would be.

Craig was right.

A vampire as powerful as Brayden would be dangerous if he lost his mate, and so it was absolutely essential they all do what they could to make Willow feel safe.

Frankly, though, Vincent thought it was better to enforce the change and deal with the aftermath. The mating bond was strong enough to overcome the breach of trust. Too much time and worry created unreasonable fear and suffering. Still, until one had experienced the complete bond, it was hard to understand the unbreakable bond between mates.

He nodded to his brother.

“I will see you at the airfield tomorrow night.” Brayden said firmly.

“Fantastic,” Kate replied. “Hopefully, you will be with us for the ball. It’s a Victorian theme, so we’ll have beautiful gowns and jewels to dress up in. Oh, how I miss the fashion of that era.”

Brayden let out a little cough. “Yes, well, we were all a little different back then.”

“What is the celebration?” Willow asked boldly, and for the first time, he saw the strength of spirit within her. Of course, Brayden wouldn’t choose a wallflower.

Vincent had a feeling all would be well in time.

But then again, what the hell did he know about human women.

“It’s the annual royal ball held each year on the anniversary of my coronation,” Vincent answered.

Kate laid a hand on his arm. “We host over three hundred guests. Some years it’s held on the great lawn, but this year, the grand ballroom will be decorated in all its glamour. We’re even having a jazz band.”

“For a Victorian-era theme?”

“Oh yes. Jazz began near the end of the Victorian era. We loved it, didn’t we, Brayden?” Kate grinned. “The king isn’t much of a dancer, but he was forced to step up in order to get my attention.”

Vincent frowned.

“These two will never let me forget it either. I hope you can dance, Willow. Your mate is quite famous on the dance floor.”

He watched as Brayden pulled her closer against his side and glanced down at her possessively. The love between them was obvious, leaving no question about whether Willow was the one.

Of course, Brayden now had the solid ring around his iris so that left no doubt.

If she could accept him, Willow would be loved by the prince beyond anything she could ever dream. It would be more than anything a human man could offer him.

And she would become a princess in the Moretti royal family.

Still, he wasn’t about to shock her with those details.

Brayden would damn near kill him.

Kate leaned into him with a sigh. She’d clearly seen the love pass between the two lovers. Vincent wrapped an arm around her, and they shared a smile. He remembered the moment he realized he loved Kate. He had been such an idiot. When they had finally gotten together, the fireworks had lit up the skies.

His cock tightened at the memories.

That had been a very hot night indeed.

The poison was leaving his system and his strength was returning. While he wasn’t fully recovered, he certainly had enough energy to pleasure his queen. His hand slid down onto her hip, and she laid a hand on his abdomen and her nails dug into him.

A silent groan rumbled in his chest.

“Let’s just take it one step at a time.” Brayden replied, smirking. “No pun intended.”

Willow grinned back, shaking her head.

“We will see you both on the jet.” Vincent replied and opened the door for Kate after they said their goodbyes.

She began to walk off, but he grabbed her and pulled her up against his chest. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“My lord?” She gasped playfully.

Pushing her up against the wall, he nudged his knee between her legs. “We have some lost time to make up for. I want these panties off, and your legs open for me.”

Dude, take your smooth moves elsewhere. I can hear you in here!

Vincent groaned, shook his head, lifted his mate into his arms, and teleport them to their room.

You might have learned something, brother. He quipped back.

Pfft. The prince replied.

Yeah, he had a point. Brayden had always been the wild one in that respect.