Chapter 20

Elena’s POV

King Harvey’s laugh morphs into a roar as I peek at him through my hands. He throws his head back and wipes tears from his eyes, then stares at me with a sweet smile.

“Elena.” King Harvey places his warm hand on my shoulder and grins. “I know you did not anticipate this. This is standard for romantic rooms.”

“It is gross!” I shiver and step away from him, worried he will think I am a prude.

I am thankful he is aware of what these rooms hold in them! I would look stupid trying to seduce a werewolf with plastic.

King Harvey nods. “…those will not be used in our marriage.”

“Marriage,” I breathe. “You have called it mating this whole time.”

King Harvey studies me a moment, then opens his mouth. Two fangs greet me. “Elena, I do want our togetherness to be fair. You and I shall mate, then wed.”

My stomach flops around in my body out of fear. “Yes… but why not the other way around?”

“No time.” His face darkens and he becomes grim as he takes a seat at the edge of the heart-shaped bed.

We will have to share a bed again; this is the second time we have… I feel sick.

It seems as hard as I try to get used to King Harvey and being with him, the more I accept it, yet the more fear I feel. Am I enough as human to keep him happy and safe? Can I be a proper luna? How can a human satisfy every itch of a werewolf?

Easing myself down, I take a seat next to King Harvey and place my hand on his knee. The red plus bathrobe doesn’t even cover his knees. My hand rests on his black pants. When I realize how close I am to his crotch, I move away.

King Harvey as normal, studies me with a stone face and says nothing.

Damn it, all I wanted to do was comfort him, but I had no words! And was that like flirting with him?

Ugh. My stomach drops a bit.

“King Harvey,” I begin, to kill the heavy silence between us. “I have to ask… are you happy here, with me?”

“Am I to be happy with another woman, Elena?”

My heart crystallizes at his words and simplicity. Is he saying I am the answer to him? The answer to his loneliness?

“…King Harvey, forgive me.” I turn to face him, not out of the courage in my heart but plain necessity. “You can have any woman in the world, all of them, even. Why me?”

King Harvey sighs. “My mother asked my father the same on their wedding night.”

“You have not spoken of your parents, King Harvey.” I whisper gently.

“My mother and father had an arranged marriage, in a way you and I have that, but it is… more carnal with us, my blood calling for you….”

“So, what happened?”

“Father and Mother met on their mating night. He simply had her, after rescuing her from robbers.”

“…he couldn’t deny it?”

“Mother is much like you, trying to be logical.” King Harvey takes the time to stare deep into my eyes. “There is not much logic in blood, Elena. It is just…. taking.”

“Did they love one another?”

“Yes.”

Do you love me?

I don’t dare ask that, I know how soon all this is, roughly a month of being with King Harvey. That is not a lot of time for much of anything.

“Your parents got together because of their desires taking over, and were happy?”

“Yes.”

I nod. “Humans, however, do not have that, our primal urges just get us in big trouble…”

“…pity.”

“King Harvey, what are you trying to tell me?”

“As much as mother questioned father, she did not lead an unhappy life. Nor will you.”

I laugh bitterly at his words. It is not this simple to me, yet I understand why he thinks the way he does, every molecule of his being is saying he is doing what is right. Humans, we always doubt.

“I don’t have werewolf blood, King Harvey.”

“You have the heart of one, and that is what matters. Like my father before me, I have saved you. Here we are.”

Oh.

All the blood flow stops for a moment in my body as I look at the shining pride in his brown eyes.

“You wish to be like your father?” I ask.

“To some extent. You do not wish to be like yours.” King Harvey replies casually.

“No! He seduced my mother, knocked her up, was a good husband until he wasn’t. There is no happy ending here!” I snarl, balling my fists. “Threatened to sell my sister!”

King Harvey pulls me into his chest and holds me tight. “Would you wish I kill him?”

“…what?” I whisper aghast.

“I will kill him, if you wish.” King Harvey repeats with a strength that feels more gentle than malicious.

I blink tears out of my eyes as I sob, not knowing what I want, or what my mother would think if she was alive to witness all this.

Sometimes, I am glad she has not seen how rotten my father is, yet if she hadn’t died, would I even be in all this mess?

I wouldn’t have met King Harvey…

Is that fair trade?

“…I need to forgive him…”

“Are you sure, Elena?” King Harvey runs his hand through my hair smoothly but says nothing, just hums. The vibration of his chest calms me.

“…my mom…” I whisper, as tears continue to blur my vision. I pull away from his stone chest to breathe and he gazes at me tenderly. “Her grave… is just a shallow grave. I had to dig it…”

King Harvey freezes and leans back in shock. “Elena, I will bury her with the highest honors in our family mausoleum, if you marry me not out of obligation.”

The vision and thought of my mother in a beautiful marble casket, surrounded by golden gilded walls.

“I will.” I promise, looking him into his eyes.

Tears stream down my face as he leans down and brushes them away attentively. King Harvey says nothing else as he picks me up and carries me off to the hot springs.

He places me in a nearby chair and to my surprise, shoves his forearm in the water.

“King Harvey?”

“Checking the temperature, Elena. I do not wish to burn you.”

“Oh, you are very kind, thank you!”

King Harvey smiles happily as he walks to another hot spring and feels for the water. Once he trusts it, he places me in the water, then steps in, taking off his robe.

The massive expanse of his chest is littered with scars, small and large, back, and forth on his chest, biceps, and neck.

I only have one scar on my thigh from my father.

King Harvey automatically sees my scar and lifts my leg. Yelping, I swat at his hands to put me down.

His eyes now glow a liquid silver. “What happened?” Even his voice is deeper.

My memory went back again and my father's hideous face came to mind and I couldn't even finish a whole sentence.

"Elena... "

Another kiss blooms between us, and I yelp in the kiss as his hand plunges under water and grabs my thigh. King Harvey holds it in a light grip but runs his thumb over my long scar on my right thigh.

My heart leaps in my throat as he growls in our kiss, his fangs bumping into my lips.