Chapter 15
“Joy?!” I shout almost as loud as her. I can’t believe she’s standing at my door. She beams and rushes to hug me.
“You two know one another?” Maggie asked with her eyebrow raised.
“Yes! Joy was locked up with me when I was with the dealers.”
Joy and I embrace tighter. “I never thought I would see you again,” she whispered.
“Me either. Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?”
Releasing me, she poses. “I’m here to help you seduce Sir Ansel.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Now are you going to let me in or am I going to continue to freeze my butt off?”
“Yes, of course, sorry.” I moved to the side, and allowed her and Maggie in. “Now spill.”
“I’m a b-girl,” she says. My eyes widened and she shook her head. “No, it’s not the same as it was, believe me. The place I’m at is nothing like the one that my piece of shit mate sent me to. It’s nice and they treat me well.”
I want to be supportive, but I can’t help but to feel sad for her. Joy has a heart that is rare in this world. It is kind, protective, and still good, even with all the pain that it had to endure. For everything that Ansel and I have been through, I still can’t imagine what it would be like to have a mate who would not only reject you but steal everything you have and sell you off to your death.
“Well you look amazing,” I say, earnestly. She did. Her curvy figure was back and the bruising on her face had healed. She is a stalk difference from the almost dead woman I’d been caged with.
“I feel amazing, and honestly, it’s all thanks to you and Sir Ansel.”
“Huh?”
“Oh…you don’t know.” She grabs my hand and ushers me to the bed. She sits, and Maggie reaches for the doorknob.
“I will give you two a moment alone,” she says.
“Thank you, Maggie.” When she leaves, I turn to Joy. “Alright, now spill.”
“Well, Sir Ansel saved us all the night of the raid. We didn’t have anywhere to , so he set up housing that could be used until we got back on our feet.” She smiled softly. “I’ll admit it’s been hard. Blood Moon has changed so much that being a criminal seems to be more profitable than trying to find a decent job. I went back to what I know, but I made sure that this time around it was my choice, and I was taken care of, and I am.”
“Then I’m happy for you, although I still don’t understand what I did that helped.”
“You talk some sense into me, Karin. You wouldn’t let me die from my heartbreak. I came up with every excuse of why my mate would do something like that to me, and you shot down every single one.” She smirked. “Oh, and don’t think I forgot about that slap across the face you gave me to ‘wake me from my delusions’. You try that now, though, and I’m going to hit you back.” We erupt with laughter that carries through the entire room. “No really, I do want to thank you. Having your mate reject you takes you to a dark place. I lost myself in the anger and pain for a long time.”
I avert my eyes to keep her from seeing the tears welling in them. “You’re very welcome,” I say, and I know she can hear the sadness in my voice. Hearing her words makes me think about how unbearable it must have been for Ansel when I rejected him.
He’s never going to forgive me.
Not that I deserve it. I pull myself from my thoughts. “You know what we should do? A fashion montage.”
“What do you mean?”
I grin at her, and she immediately laughs. “I mean that I have more clothes and jewelry than I know what to do with. I say that we put on some music and try everything on, whatever you like, you can keep.”
“Oh my God, really?!” she says as she bobbles up and down. “I knew today was going to be a good day!”
I chuckled. “So did I, though I didn’t expect it to include a good friend. Come on, let's get you some gifts and then you can show me what tricks are going to bring the Second Prince to his knees.”
It doesn’t take long before the music is blaring and we’re wearing almost everything I own. Joy poses in front of the mirror. “One thing I will say about Maggie is she has great taste. This stuff must have cost Sir Ansel a fortune…by the way, what’s going on with you two? Everyone in the manor was pretty secretive about it.”
“It’s complicated,” I reply. “To make a long story short, we have a contract. I produce him an heir, he pays me, and I get my freedom.”
“Wow…that, um, wow…”
“Yeah, that’s not even the crazy part. He’s not just anyone, he’s my bonded mate.”
Joy almost dropped the shoe she had in her hand. “WHAT?!”
“Shh!” I shout, glaring at her. “Will you be quiet? Not everyone knows, and I would prefer to keep it that way.”
“But why? This is major news. You’re going to have a baby with your bonded mate.” She scrunches her face. “Wait, if you’re bonded, why the contract? Why not just be together?”
I sighed. “Because I rejected him five years ago.”
“YOU REJECTED—”
“Be quiet!”
“Sorry,” she mumbles. “It’s just, why the hell would you reject him?”
“Sometimes there are things that are more important than the things you want. We were kids with our heads in the clouds. Now the stakes are higher. If everything works out, I’ll be able to help my father. I need to keep focus if that’s going to happen.”
Joy shakes her head. “I don’t see why you can’t do both. You two are made to be together. This is a perfect opportunity to prove it.” Her eyes gleamed brighter than the earrings she was wearing. “This is so exciting. The rumor around Blood Moon is that Sir Ansel is Alpha David’s protégée. Everybody knows when he steps down as Alpha, the Second Prince is going to take his place.” She fanned herself. “Oh my God, that means you’re going to be Luna!” she squealed. “I can’t believe this. Me? Friends with Blood Moon’s—”
“Joy! Please!” I shout. Her face crumbles. “That’s not going to happen, okay? Besides, I’m not fit to be Luna.”
“Karin, you would make an amazing Luna.”
“Alpha David wouldn’t agree.” I picked up and necklace and put it on her. “This looks great on you. Keep it,” I say, changing the subject.
Pulling me in her arms, she hugs me tight. “You do what you need to do, okay? Everything will be fine. I know it will.”
An hour later, Maggie rejoins us in the villa. She playfully scolds us for not focusing on the task at hand. “You two are supposed to be practicing, not making a mess I’ll have to clean.”
I pout at her. “I’m sorry, but one must always answer the call of the runway.”
“This is true, but perhaps we can now answer the call of the Second Prince’s libido?”
I clutch the pearls around my neck. “My word, Maggie, what has gotten into you?”
“You.”
“Wait, are you saying I’m a bad influence?”
She smirked. “You wouldn’t keep Sir Ansel on his toes so much if you weren’t.” I wave her off, but the thought of me affecting Ansel in any way aside from anger and lust makes my heart flutter.
Joy stands and pulls me up. “Okay, so first things first. We need to dress you for the part.” She looks at the massive pile of clothes and frowns. “Do you have anything in here that says, ravish me like the dirty girl I am? Or better, something that screams, take you big coc—”
“No I don’t!” I shout, mortified. I look at Maggie and her face is almost as beet red as mine.
Joy shrugs. “Well unless you plan on seducing him in one of those”—she points at one of my nightgowns—“what is that anyway?”
“My nightgown. Don’t judge, it’s comfortable.”
“Maybe to Ebenezer Scrooge, but nothing about it is sexy. Honey, if you’re trying to have a baby with a man who can make a woman faint just by entering the room, you’re going to need to stop blushing and show some skin.”
Maggie twists her lips to the side. “She may have a point, Lady Karin. I’ve seen some of the stuff that Lady Cherry wears under her clothes, and let’s just say with how skimpy it is, she may as well not wear anything.”
I grimace at the mention of Cherry’s name. Somehow everything I own now feels childish. Maybe they have a point. I wonder if he’s as controlled when he’s with her.
Probably not. He probably can’t keep his hands off her.
Alright,” I say, making up my mind. Maggie, whatever lingerie that Joy suggests, please bring me.”
Joy claps loudly. “That a girl. One battle, a thousand more to go.” She gyrates her hips to the music. “Come on, ballerina, show me what you can do.” I imitate her stiffly and she cackles. “No…just, no. Loosen up! You got this!” Her encouragement makes me feel more comfortable and after a while, I get the hang of it. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” she exclaims. “Speaking of the word yes,” she says, smirking. “Let’s move on the next lesson. I call it the art of the mutual orgasm.”
A Few Weeks Later
Joy worked hard to teach me everything she knew. My brain felt like it was in overdrive, but a part of me couldn’t wait until I got to try some things out. After a few weeks, however, I realized that I would have to wait longer than I expected. Ansel started to show up again, but it always seemed like every time I worked up the courage to try anything, he had to leave.
“Maggie, am I doing something wrong?” I ask as she washes my hair while I lay in the bath. “It’s been weeks and nothing I do is working.”
“Don’t worry, Lady Karin. I doubt it has anything to do with you. Sir Ansel has been distant from everyone. From what I can gather, he’s been busy dealing with the underground casinos and handling an uptick in the Bear Clan attacks on the boarders. I believe he’s overextending himself. He’s exhausted, as I’m sure anyone would be.
I purse my lips, feeling foolish. “You’re right. I know I need to stop overthinking things; I just really want this to work out. Not just for me, but for him. He deserves to be Alpha, and if having an heir solidifies it, I want to provide him one before Sir Edwin has one of his own.”
“That’s really cons—”
Maggie’s words come to a halt as the bathroom door swings open. Ansel strolls in with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He doesn’t look my way, and I link to Maggie,
“Um…do you think that he sees me?”
“Not sure how he wouldn’t see you…in the bathtub…in your villa…”
I swat her hand and glare. Ansel grips into the sink and I can see his breathing harshen. “Um…Ansel?” I call out to him. “Is everything alright?”
“Everything is fine,” he replies, turning around. His face says differently. The primal look in his eyes is back, and the more he watches the water splash against my body, the more they shift in color. “Everything is fine,” he repeats. “I just needed to see you.”
