Chapter 58

ANSEL POV

Where is she?

Ansel scanned the room for what felt like the hundredth time. He’d been searching for Karin since his discussion with King Mair and a few others who bombarded him with questions about his father and to congratulate him on the way the polls are only growing more in his favor. It was politics, and while he knew he had to play the game, he couldn’t wait until the entire thing was over. Continuing his search, he started to link her, but he soon spotted her. Walking over, he immediately noticed something was wrong.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, but she wouldn’t look at him. He lifted her head with his finger. “Karin, what’s the matter?” Before she could speak, from his peripherals, he saw Edwin entering the ballroom from the same direction that she did. The moment he spotted the two, fear laced his face, and he speedily exited the castle. Ansel breathed harshly. “What did he do?”

“Please don’t.” She grabbed his hand. “Please? I don’t want a scene and I also don’t want him or anyone else ruining tonight. He said some things to me, but I’m fine. I just want to spend time with you, okay?”

The plead in her eyes made him calm slightly. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

He sighed. “Then I will let it go.”

Karin smiled softly at him. “Thank you. I really want us to have a good time.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him gently, and after a moment, he kissed her back. Still, his anger loomed. He didn’t know what Edwin had done, but he was going to find out even if Karin didn’t want to tell him.

“I think it’s time to pay a surprise visit to my older brother,” he said to Jeff.

“Absolutely. Let’s sort this out tomorrow.”

He wanted to solve it tonight, but remembering the gleam in Karin’s eyes as she took in everything around him made him contain his anger. She was right. This night was about them, and he would not let his brother ruin it, but tomorrow would certainly be another story. Turning his attention back to Karin, he took a long look at her. “What’s the matter?” she asked.

“Nothing, you just look so beautiful.” He swayed her to the music, enjoying the way the blush on her cheeks increased and a big smile poured onto her face.

“Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome. As strange as it sounds, I’ve actually been having a great time tonight. I never realized how excited Blue Moon gets for the ball.” He smirked. “Oh, and might I add that I’ve been asked several times by people visiting from other packs about the beauty that came with me on my arm.”

“Oh please,” Karin said, giggling. “Now you’re just overselling.”

“I promise I’m not. They would approach me, and before I could get a word out, the raving would start. It got to the point I felt jealous that not one person had taken the time to compliment me on my new robes.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Try not to get a big head about it, though.”

Karin tilted her head back and laughed at the playful pout on his face. “It’s not a competition, Ansel,” she said.

“Maybe not for you, but I’ve always been the center of attention.”

She shook her head in amusement. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, these stockings look great in theory, but they are driving me mad. I think I’m going to take them off.” Ansel looked down at her legs and then back up at her.

“I think I should help you with that,” he said as he continued to eye her. “In fact, since they’ve been so much trouble, I think I should teach them a lesson and rip them to shreds.” His eyes tinted and she slowly backed away.

“Uh-oh…”

“Mhm.”

“Ansel, we’re at a party.” She looked around, hoping that no one would notice his shift in demeanor. “We can’t do that here.”

Reaching out, Ansel pulled her to him again. He whispered in her ear, “I can’t help that I find you so sexy. If anything, it’s your fault for being so bewitching that it turns me almost feral.” He flicked her earlobe with his tongue and held her steady when her knees buckled. “Are you saying that you don’t want me as well, Little Wolf?” Hearing the erratic beat of her heart, he smirked against er skin. “That’s what I thought.” He took her hand and escorted her off the dance floor.

“Sir Ansel, could you spare a mo—”

“Not now!” Ansel barked as he brushed past the onlookers with Karin in tow. Peering around, he zeroed in on one of the rooms in the castle. Reaching it, he jiggled the knob, and the door opened. Entering, Karin shut the door behind them, and they grabbed each other at the same time. Their kiss was as heated as their desire, the two stumbled backwards in the dark as they frantically pulled at one another’s clothes.

“Don’t stop. Oh, please, don’t stop…”

Ansel and Karin froze at the sound of moans coming from the other side of the room. He put his finger to his lips and Karin nodded as they continued to listen to the familiar voice.

“Doc…oh…Doc…”

“Joy…”

“Holy…”

“Fuck,” Ansel linked, finishing Karin’s statement. He squinted his eyes, and the rocking of the desk near the corner of the room made him stifle his laugh.

“They’re under the desk.”

“And apparently so into it they don’t even notice we’re here. I’m shocked. You should have seen how shy he was when they first met.”

“Well, he’s not shy anymore.”

“H-how did you even—oh yes, oh God, yes!”

Unable to take it anymore, Karin and Ansel fixed their disheveled clothes and crept from the room, locking the door for their friends.

“Well…that was…I do not know what that was,” Ansel said chuckling, causing Karin to laugh as well. Interlocking their fingers, he nudged his head toward the side entrance of the castle. “Come on, there is something that I’d like to show you.”

“Alright.” They exited the castle and Karin’s lips parted at the amazing garden she soon found herself in. Like inside the castle, dazzling lights that weaved throughout the tall hedges gave the garden a magical glow. From where they stood, it seemed like no matter how far she peered out, the garden never ended. “It’s like a maze,” she said, and Ansel nodded.

“That’s exactly what it is. It’s one of the many wonders of this castle. People visit just to see if they can discover the maze's secrets.”

“Have you ever gone inside?”

“Of course. I was the one who designed it.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“Mhm. The entire castle was a project of mine. When I first saw it a few years ago, it somehow called out to me. I knew I wanted to fix it up. I wasn’t sure what I would use it for, but I knew that when it was finished, it would be beautiful.”

“And you were right,” she replied with a soft smile. “Now, the biggest ball in Blue Moon is held here.”

“My father’s doing. He wasn’t interested in the castle until he saw the finish product, and then suddenly its restoration was a fantastic idea.” He pointed out towards the maze. “Would you like to go in?”

“Absolutely.” Hand in hand, Ansel and Karin entered the maze. The tall hedges concealed them and soon the castle was no longer in view. They continued to walk further inside until they approached a stone slab that contained several names. “What’s this?”

Ansel rubbed his hand against the letters. “The secret of the maze. The most secluded part of the entire thing holds the names of people who could finish it. When they return to the castle, they tell the staff, and their names are engraved. It’s a way to keep a piece of them in Blue Moon, which seems to make them happy.”

Karin traced some names with her finger. “Wow. This is amazing, Ansel. I—wait a minute,” she said as she looked up at him. The smirk on his face made her scowl at him.

“I was waiting for you to figure out my true intentions.”

“You tricked me to get me all alone.”

He chuckled. “I would say I’m sorry, but that would be a lie.” He caressed her shoulders. “I’ve been wanting to remove that dress since I saw you come down the steps.” Ansel tangled his hand in her hair and clashed their lips together. Hearing her moan, he backed her toward the solid wall. He broke their kiss and turned her around. “Don’t worry, the guards have specific instructions not to let anyone enter.”

Quickly dressing, Ansel and Karin made their way from the maze and back into the castle. “Everyone is going to know what we were doing,” Karin grumbled. “My dress is completely ruined.”

“And again, I would apologize, but I’m not sorry,” he said. “Next time, have the seamstress clad you in something sturdier.” She shot daggers at him with her eyes, and Ansel fought the urge to laugh.

Seeing Maggie and Henry approach, he heard her groan under her breath. “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

“Sir Ansel,” Maggie said with a smirk as she looked at the tattered bottom of Karin’s dress. “How are you this evening?”

“I’m well. Though I have to say I’m concerned about what I was told about the maze.”

“Oh, what and what’s that?”

Ansel adjusted his lapels. “Apparently, someone defaced the signature slab. There are several claw marks that I’m certain will be there forever. Whatever they were doing must have been intense for them to react that way.”

Henry and Maggie muffled their laugh at the pink of Karin’s cheeks. “Maybe we should go to the bathroom?” Maggie suggested. “I think if we move quickly, we can salvage your dress.”

“Thanks,” Karin mumbled as she trailed behind Maggie to the bathroom.

Henry folded his arms over his chest. “Boss, I get that sometimes the mood strikes, but in the maze?”

Ansel shrugged. “All the other rooms were taken. Besides, the way you and Maggie are always all over one another, I’m certain you’ve done worse.” Unfolding his arms, Henry gave Ansel a bashful look as he opened his tux jacket, revealing most of his shirt buttons were missing.