A Flutter

*Maddox*

The sun is up as I blink my eyes and check the time. I’ve woken just before my alarm is set to go off, so I quietly switch it so that it will not sound. There’s no reason to wake the beautiful woman sleeping next to me.

Rolling back toward her, I take her in. Her eyes are closed tightly, and her long lashes flutter every once in a while. Perhaps she is dreaming. I hope that her dreams are sweet.

I hope that I am in them.

She’s curled up with one hand under her chin, reminding me of a cherub, of a precious angel, and as I listen to the sounds of her soft inhales, I remember how good it felt to finally be inside of her the night before.

We’d made love for the first time, and she had made me feel sensations I hadn’t experienced in years. The countless faceless women I’d been with since my wife passed all faded away as I remembered what it was like to meld into another person, to give and take with them, not just to receive pleasure but to gift it to my partner as well.

All I can think about as I remember what needs to be done that day is that the world will seem much colder once I slip from this bed.

I don’t want to leave Isla.

With a heavy sigh, I pull myself from the bed, my gaze lingering on her face for as long as possible before I must turn and go into the restroom.

As I go about my business, I think about how strange it is that I’ve become attached to her so quickly. She’s such a sweet, innocent little thing, so very different than Rebecca ever was. Yet, that hasn’t stopped me from being attracted to her, from wanting her, from longing for her when she’s not around.

I haven’t figured out just yet whether or not this is just a sexual infatuation or there’s a chance it might be more. But if it is more… I know that will be a problem.

When I said I’d never take another Luna, I meant it. Having feelings for this girl won’t change that.

Sure, if she becomes pregnant with my heir, that will be helpful in appeasing the distant Alphas who think that I need to be replaced on the throne because I can’t promise longevity and stability.

But Isla bearing my child doesn’t mean that she will be my Luna—and it doesn’t mean I can let her stay here forever either.

I need to get all of this sorted out.

For now, however, I have another task to take care of.

I shower quietly, the early rays of the sun streaming in through the frosted bathroom window. I don’t want to wake her. She looked so peaceful when I awoke, I thought she should just stay there in my bed for as long as she wants.

When I’m done, I dress and walk out to see she’s still asleep, so I write her a note and leave it on the nightstand where she will see it when she wakes.

My plan is that this trip will only take a few hours, and then I’ll be back. While it will mean more work for me to finish later, which will take time away from Isla, at least I will have an answer to the nagging question I need a response to.

Did Alpha Ernest forgive the debt to Isla’s parents?

Beta Seth meets me in the hallway, handing me a protein shake in a tumbler I can take with me. “You’re always thinking, Seth,” I say.

“Well, I remember how hungry you were yesterday, and I figured we didn’t need a repeat today.” He smirks at me, and I feel like telling him Isla and I hadn’t even had sex yet when I was famished the day before, but I realize it’s no one’s business. So I keep the comment to myself.

“While I’m away, keep an eye on Zabrina,” I tell him. “Make sure she stays away from Isla.”

“Of course,” he tells me, and he has never let me down once in all of the years that he’s been my Beta, so I have no reason to think he will now.

“Be certain those guards stay posted outside of Isla’s room, too. I don’t want her to have to worry about anything while I’m away.” I turn and look him in the eye so he understands how serious I am.

“Are you going to be gone for a few hours or a few weeks?” Seth asks me, chuckling under his breath. I narrow my eyes at him, and he stops laughing.

I know he was just teasing, but I can’t laugh about Isla’s safety. It’s not as if I’ve had particularly good luck with the women I love staying safe.

Did the word love just spring to mind?

It was way too early for that.

Care about—the women I care about.

As we approach the exit where I have arranged for my driver to meet me, I see that guard who has been stationed outside of Isla’s room coming back inside. It takes me a moment to remember his name, but then it comes to me.

“Oh, good morning, Private Wylie,” I say. “How are you today?”

“Good, Alpha King Maddox,” he says, making the sign of respect. As he hits his chest with his fist, I notice a smudge of something black on his hand. It looks like grease, which I think is odd.

“What have you been up to?” I ask him.

His eyes widen slightly and he says, “Oh, uh… just out for a run, sir. I like to… shift before the sun comes up and take a run before duty begins. Unless, of course, I’ve been on the night shift, which I wasn’t last night.”

He seems nervous. Perhaps he’s just not used to talking to someone of my stature. But then, the other night, he’d seemed confident.

“Were you running by the garage?” I ask him. The garage that houses all of my personal cars, as well as many of the vehicles that belong to the kingdom and the military transport vehicles isn’t too far from where we are standing.

“The garage?” he asks, his forehead crinkling. “Wh-why would you….”

“You have grease on your hand,” Seth points out. “Maybe you stepped in it, got it on your paw, now it’s on your hand.” Seth shrugs, and I wish my Beta didn’t always have to be so explanatory of everything.

“Right!” Private Wylie says, turning his hand over to look at it. “I guess that’s what those big buildings over there are. Ha, ha….” He lets out a nervous laugh. “I wasn’t paying that much attention, I guess. I tend to get a little lost when I’m running.”

“Same,” Beta Seth says.

I shake my head. It would make sense that he would step in some spilled oil or something and not realize it. All kinds of vehicles come and go from that garage.

Private Wylie makes the sign of respect again, careful not to smudge his clothes, and then he heads down the hallway, and Seth opens the door for me. I am about to tell him to keep an eye on that kid when my driver, Godfried, interrupts.

“Car’s all ready for you, sir,” he says, saluting me the same way everyone else does.

“Thank you, Godfried,” I tell the older gentleman who has been my driver since I became king. He was my father’s driver before that. He’s old enough to my grandfather, I reckon.

“Don’t worry about us,” Seth insists. “Everything will be fine here.”

I nod, sure he’s right. I’m not leaving that long. It’s not as if I’m always here. I leave for various occasions frequently. Meetings, social events, even to take a military detail out into the pack lands when I have to squash a potential uprising.

Nevertheless, a heaviness settles over me as I carry my protein shake to the car. Godfried opens the door for me, and I slide into the back across from two of my commanders.

“Good morning, King Maddox,” Lionel, the older of the two says.

“Good morning, sir,” Helena says with a nod.

I manage a smile at them. “Good morning. Thank you both for accompanying me on such short notice.” As much as I can handle myself in any situation, it never hurts to have a bit of muscle along with me, just in case it’s needed, and these two are a couple of the strongest warriors I have.

“Of course, sir,” they both chime as Godfried starts the car.

As we pull away from the castle, I look back at my home through the window, thinking I’m acting silly. I’m just going to Willow pack, and it’s only about a hundred miles away. I’ll be back before dinner.

Yet, that sense of foreboding from earlier is still situated in my chest cavity, and I can’t help but think something bad is going to happen while I’m away.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flicker of movement in the top right corner of the building, and my eyes move to look more closely at the window there. The drapes seem to be stirring, just barely. I narrow my gaze—that’s impossible. I swear I see the outline of a woman standing there for just a moment, but then she’s gone, and I am left with my mouth hanging open because that room has been locked up for years.

It's not possible for someone to be in there unless they’ve managed to steal the key.

I check my pockets, and the only key that still exists is on my keychain, where it always is.

So… no one could’ve been standing there. It had to have been my imagination.

“Are you all right, King Maddox?” Lionel asks me. “You look troubled.”

Blinking a few times, I turn to face him. “No, no, I’m fine.” When I turn away, only the turrets of the castle are visible because we’ve traveled so far.

It had to have been my eyes messing with me. That’s the only explanation. I didn’t see anyone. I didn’t see anything.

How else could I explain why the curtains would be moving and the figure of a woman would be standing in an empty room?

Rebecca’s room.