14. Equal

14

EQUAL

A s soon as the plane lands, we head toward my house. King Rune—or Paul as he's insisting I call him—says he needs to talk to my dad. The prisoner and five guards are in an SUV behind us. They're waiting to interrogate him until my dad can be there.

I wonder what ‘interrogation' means. I picture some dark basement with the guy tied to a chair while they torture him. I would feel bad for the guy if he hadn't tried to kidnap me.

The succubi and incubi community may be vicious with their words, but I was never kidnapped when I was there. Still, I'd take the vampires any day. And that might have to do with the boy holding my hand.

Damek hasn't let go of my hand since we left the island. He's been so sweet and supportive. It only makes me fall for him even harder.

When we get to the Scott estate, Dad is waiting for us in his conference room. Julien is there, surprisingly, and so is Kaine. I didn't know that he was back, though maybe he came back when he heard what happened.

Kaine's eyes meet mine for a brief second before he looks pointedly away from me. The move hurts more than I thought it would. He was my advisor—an advisor who never wanted to advise me—but we became friends. Now, he can't even stand to look at me.

Damek pulls out a chair for me. I smile at him as I sit down.

Kaine thought he was in love with me, but Kaine doesn't know what love is. He was attracted to me—he had a crush. That was it. And I hope he will see that someday so that we can be friends again.

But will I even see him after Damek and I are married? Possibly I will see him in passing, but even that will be rare.

King Rune, or, er… Paul … catches Dad up on everything that happened with the intruder. I tell the events that I remember, but thankfully I only have to repeat myself a couple of times before they move on.

Julien, who sits across from me, smirks as he pointedly looks at the ring on my finger. "Nice ring, sister."

Everybody turns to look at me.

My cheeks grow warm. "Damek proposed."

Julien snorts. "Duh, you've been planning your wedding for two months now."

"She means that I properly proposed, not just signing an alliance, but I got down on one knee and asked her to be my wife." Damek looks at me with love in his eyes.

I look up at him through my lashes.

Julien makes a loud hacking noise. "Gross. Can you two not flirt in front of me?"

I laugh but abruptly cut off when a chair scrapping echoes through the room. I glance up to see Kaine getting up from the table. He whispers something to my dad though I can't hear it over the laughter and conversation in the room and then he storms off. He's likely just leaving to interrogate the prisoner but the action still hurts.

I'm pretty sure he just wanted to get away from me. Even after all this time, he's still so mad at me.

How can he be mad when I was doing what I was supposed to do? I did what he instructed me to do. Though, if I'm being honest, it was only a matter of time before I fell for Damek.

Julien makes a joke about a ‘ball and chain' that makes Paul laugh so hard that he snorts. Only Julien could make a king snort .

Once Paul stops laughing, he turns to my father. "Michael, while I am here, there is a change to the alliance I would like to make."

Dad sits forward. "A change?"

Paul smiles widely, looking at me and Damek for a moment before shifting his gaze to my father. "As you know, when a couple gets married, the person who leaves their clan also gives up their right to rule and they're queen or king in name only."

Dad nods.

"A couple of months ago, when Damek first told me he wanted to marry Madeline, he insisted that he didn't want Madeline to be a queen consort. He wanted her to rule by his side equally," Paul says.

My stomach knots at his words.

Damek argued for me to rule equally at his side.

"At the time, I told him no. There was no way that I would agree to that. It went against all of our traditions." Paul glances at me. "I am sorry, Madeline. At the time, I didn't see what my son did."

I try to smile, hoping to show him that it's fine, but my head is spinning.

Damek really loves me. And I think he may have loved me for far longer than I've loved him. Why else would he go against his nature and argue for a one year engagement? Why else would he try to give me equal rights to rule? He didn't have to do that.

Paul turns back to Dad. "I know it is unorthodox, but when Damek and Maddie one day take over the Rune Clan, I would like for them to do it as equals."

I sit back in my chair, feeling completely stunned. When I look at my dad, he's rubbing a hand along the scruff on his jaw, a small smile playing on his lips.

Dad looks at me. "Madeline, what do you think?"

What do I think? What does it matter what I think? I'm so stunned, I don't think I could get my tongue to work if I tried.

Julien, who usually stays quiet during meetings like this unless it's to deliver a well timed comedic relief, leans forward. "Maddie, you were born to rule. I know you doubt yourself, but you're amazing. I see it, Damek can see it, King Rune can see it. We all believe in you ."

"I admit, I had my doubts before I met you," Dad says, his gaze on me. "When I was flying to get you, I questioned if it were the right thing to do. But I wanted to meet you so badly and I knew it was the perfect excuse. But from the moment I met you, I knew you'd be perfect for the job. You're excessively kind hearted and that is rare in a ruler."

Still, I don't know what to say. I look from Dad to Damek, wondering why he would fight for me to rule equally. I was satisfied to be by his side as a consort.

"Is this truly what you want?" I ask. "It's your birthright. I don't want you to do something that you'll regret."

Damek shakes his head. "I will never regret this decision. I know that it is right. I want our sons and daughters to know that I fought for you to be my equal. I want them to know that they're worth more than what society expects of them. And I want them to know it is possible to find love, even in a marriage of alliance."

My heart swells at his words.

Damek is more than I deserve, though if he knew I was thinking it he would argue that I'm worth it and more.

"Why don't the two of you go talk while Michael and I talk about the change to the alliance," Paul suggests.

Damek stands quickly. It takes me a few seconds longer to get my legs to work. I think I'm stunned.

My legs feel numb as Damek leads me from the room. He leads me down the hallway and toward one of the sitting rooms on the main floor. I'm barely away when I sit down beside Damek on the long sofa.

"What are you thinking?" Damek asks, turning so that he is facing me. "I can't get a read on you right now."

I lick my lips and try to form the right words. "I'm shocked."

I wish that I could articulate what I'm feeling, but shocked works just as well as any description.

I take a deep breath. "I can't believe you did that for me."

He smirks. "You say it like I'm not selfish, but I am selfish, Maddie. I initially asked my dad because I thought it would make your dad more favorable toward us. I thought it would convince him to let you marry me. But, as time went along, I started really pushing for it because I knew you would make a good ruler. I felt bad for even offering an alliance where you would have to give up your title of heir."

"It's a temporary title anyway." I shrug. "Lucien is going to come back and rule. I know Kaine will do everything he can to find him."

"Maybe so, but you deserve to be queen," Damek says. "And I don't mean in title only. You deserve the world and I wish I could give it to you. But everything that I have is yours—even my clan."

My breath gets caught in my throat.

I know it's no small thing for Damek to offer me his clan . I know how much vampire clans mean to their leaders. The fact that he's welcoming me…

"Damek," I pause, taking a breath, "are you sure?"

"I'm absolutely certain." He gently cups the side of my face, his thumb caressing my cheek. "I've never been more sure about anything in my life. I trust you—not only with my heart but with my kingdom."

I lean closer and kiss him. What else could I do after he said that ?

Damek is the best guy that I've ever met and it doesn't seem real that he would choose me. My heart is so full it feels like it could burst.

Am I supposed to be this happy? Shouldn't I be fighting with my father to get out of this alliance? If anything, I want to fight to move the wedding sooner. I want to marry him now. Today. I question my past judgment when I thought six months was too short of an engagement.

"How do succubi and incubi wait years before they get married?" Damek asks as he pulls back.

I shake my head. "I have no idea."

"Four months." He sighs. "Why does four months feel like an eternity?"

I clear my throat. "They're working on changing the alliance. Maybe we can see about moving the date forward by a month or three."

He chuckles, standing from the couch. "Come on. We should get back in there and tell them that you agree to the change."

I stand up, my head still spinning. Though I'm not sure if it's spinning from that kiss or from the revelation earlier.

I put my hand in Damek's. "Thank you for believing in me, even when you barely knew me. And thank you for choosing me and loving me."

Damek pulls me into his embrace. "I will always believe in you, choose you, and love you."

I grin. "That kind of sounds like wedding vows."

"It's a promise, Maddie." He kisses the top of my head and squeezes me tighter against him.

I sigh and lean further into him, feeling completely content.

I can't wait for us to get married. I want to complete our mate bond and know what he's thinking and feeling. I want us to be connected in all the ways that we can be.

"We're going to have a happy life," I say softly.

He relaxes his grip on me and he looks down. "The happiest of lives."

Together, Damek and I make our way back to the meeting room. Our fathers and Julien are both waiting there when we return.

"Do you have an answer, Madeline?" Dad inquires.

I grin, glancing at Damek, then Dad. "Yes. I want to rule by Damek's side."

Julien smirks. "I knew you were born to rule, you brat."

I stick my tongue out at him, which makes him laugh.