Chapter 15

Hannah

I whirled around at the sound of the voice, meeting the sharp gaze of a beautiful woman across the room.

She had silver hair that was coiled neatly into a plait around her head, on top of which sat a delicate golden crown that matched her shimmering golden gown. Her eyes were the color of honey but sharp as daggers as she met my gaze, and despite her slightly hunched spine from age, she had a regal appearance about her.

As she strode across the room, a servant girl scurried along at her elbow, although it seemed she didn’t need to lean on her for support.

This was the queen, I quickly realized; the Queen of Lycans.

Neil’s mother. Or apparently not, as I’d just learned.

Before I could introduce myself, Hannah stepped in the way. “My Queen,” she said with a graceful curtsy. “You might not want to come closer. This newcomer is wearing perfume smuggled from the Werewolf lands.”

The queen’s eyes widened, her weathered hand flying to her chest. She stopped in her tracks, even taking a step backwards.

“Perfume? But I am highly allergic. Who is this woman?”

Hannah glanced over her shoulder at me with a sneer. “She is Prince Neil’s so-called ‘fianceé’.”

I felt Neil bristle beside me. “This is Serena, Your Majesty,” Neil quickly said, and the way that he didn’t refer to her as ‘Mother’ wasn’t lost on me. “My apologies. I wasn’t aware that my fianceé was wearing smuggl—”

“I was just telling Hannah that it’s not smuggled.”

The others turned to look at me. I felt my cheeks flush under their gazes, but I kept my spine straight and, although it felt awkward as hell, I curtsied and dipped my head. I think I heard Hannah and some other ladies snicker, no doubt because my curtsy wasn’t executed properly.

“But we do not wear perfume here,” the queen said, still keeping her distance. “Only Werewolves wear perfume.”

Neil’s distaste flickered through our mate bond. “Careful,” his deep voice rumbled in my mind.

But I lifted my chin and said, “I made it myself. Using ingredients gathered from the forest just outside the castle.”

The room seemed to fall silent at that. Even Neil seemed to blink in surprise.

The queen’s hand fell to her side. “You… made your own scent?”

I nodded and reached into the pocket of my gown, producing a tiny glass jar—I’d stolen it from the kitchens, figuring that it wouldn’t be missed. It was full of a thick, creamy balm made from the herbs and flowers I’d picked yesterday.

“May I?” I asked, holding the jar out to the queen.

The queen hesitated, eyeing the jar suspiciously. “What is in it?” she asked, as if it might be poison. I wondered if that traitor Neil had executed had tried to poison her in a similar fashion.

“Coconut oil, honeysuckle, sage, and wild lavender,” I said. “All natural ingredients, I assure you.”

A ripple of whispers worked its way across the room, ladies leaning close to one another and covering their noses with the sleeves of their gowns. Beside me, the three princes remained silent, impassive.

Hannah’s hands clenched into white fists at her sides, “My Queen, I wouldn’t—”

“I’d like to see it,” the queen said, holding out her hand. “Even from here, it smells so sweet.”

With a small smile, I walked up to her and handed her the jar. She gave me a curious look for a moment before she uncorked it and carefully wafted it beneath her nose, keeping it away from her face just in case.

“Ooh,” she murmured, her eyes lighting up. “It does smell wonderful. It’s so… relaxing.”

I felt my shoulders relax at that. “You’re welcome to keep this bottle,” I said. “If it pleases you… My Queen.”

An involuntary thrum of approval sprang across the mate bond before Neil quickly pulled it back. I resisted the urge to smirk at him over my shoulder.

“Thank you. What a lovely gift.” The queen, smiling, dipped her finger into the balm and dabbed a bit of it onto the inside of her wrist, then sniffed her skin and sighed dreamily.

Hannah’s eyes were wide as saucers. “My Queen—”

“Hush, Hannah. Do not make a fool of yourself.” The queen corked the bottle and handed it to her servant, who pocketed it. Hannah seemed to tremble with rage, but finally went silent. The queen asked, “You’re well-versed in making perfumes, I take it?”

I nodded. “Perfumes, tinctures, balms, lotions… If there’s anything you need, I could try to make it for you.”

When I finished speaking, I held my breath, waiting. Getting into the Lycan Queen’s good graces would seriously help me during my time here. If she favored me, then maybe I would be more likely to make it home safely.

To my relief, the queen nodded. “Actually, I do have trouble sleeping these days. If you could make anything to help…”

“Of course,” I answered quickly. “I can make you a balm to put behind your ears at night—lavender and St. John’s wort. It’s quite simple, actually.”

The queen’s eyes lit up. “That would be wonderful. Thank you, Serena. You’re very kind.”

With another wobbly curtsy, I turned, returning to Neil’s side.

His arm brushed mine as I rejoined him. I swore I felt that hum of approval down our bond once more.

…

The evening passed in a blur after that, a whirlwind of conversation and food and wine. I avoided speaking too much after my conversation with the queen, not that any of the other ladies attempted to speak to me. Hannah in particular was fuming all night and wouldn’t even look at me.

I had, after all, embarrassed them all.

Because none of the gifts that they presented to the queen were received nearly as well as my balm.

By the time Neil said it was time to leave, the moon was high in the sky and the fireplace had turned to nothing more than glowing embers. The corridors of the castle were dim and quiet as we made our way back to my room, aside from the occasional guard passing by.

“You did well tonight,” Neil said somewhat gruffly as we strolled.

I glanced up at him with surprise. “You think so?” I rubbed my hand along the back of my neck. “I was worried I stood out too much.”

“Well…” He shrugged. “You did stand out. But Serena’s home is far enough from here that it’s reasonable to assume that your strange behavior could be attributed to that.”

“I see.” I pursed my lips and looked away.

Neil inhaled sharply and turned to me as we reached my door. “You didn’t tell me you were so well-versed in herbology.”

“It’s what I went to college for, believe it or not,” I said proudly. No one in the Werewolf world ever cared where I went to college or what my degree was in—all that mattered were my looks, which were what got me ahead in the modeling business.

But I had worked hard for my degree, and it was something I took pride in, even if I didn’t bring it up often. And it was, unbeknownst to most, the reason why my perfume business had taken off. I knew my stuff.

“Hm.” Neil seemed thoughtful for a moment. “Your fish last night was fragrant. You must have painstakingly picked the herbs.”

“I did my best.”

“I see.”

There was a brief silence between us, and… Maybe it was the wine going to my head, but the flickering of a nearby torch caught the blue in Neil’s eyes, and I couldn’t help but notice the way he was looking at me.

Smoldering would have been putting it lightly.

In those moments, I recalled our kiss—the sweet taste of his lips on mine, the warmth of his body brushing my skin. It was wrong, but also so right, and I wanted to taste him again. If his look was any indication, then I think he wanted it, too.

But the look was gone just as quickly as it came. In a flash of black fur, he turned on his heel, his cloak whipping out behind him.

“Don’t forget about training tomorrow,” he said gruffly.

And then he was gone.