Chapter 34

“Elena.” King Harvey pauses walking and turns to face me. He is guiding me by hand to the armory room because he has a surprise for me. “How do you feel about me now?”

I squeeze his hand tightly and enjoy the warmth of his hand, and that he smiles.

“King Harvey… after what happened, I do understand better what you meant… but you did defend me sooner…”

“I know first-hand what it is to be alone on battlefield, Elena. I may be stronger than you by werewolf blood, but…pain is pain. You were correct that I swore to protect you. Yet… Elena, I am sorry to say I don’t fully grasp…the pain of words. Logically, Elena… I get it… but perhaps my heart is more calloused.”

I swallow dryly. “Once we have children… that will die, King Harvey. Or…when you see me hurt.”

“…I do not wish to see you hurt, Elena.” King Harvey whispers steely. His eyes soften as he gazes down at me. “…I am beginning to understand… the scent of your tears rips my heart out.”

“Huh?” I breathe, absolutely confused. “Really?”

“Elena,” King Harvey exhales. “I love you. Of course, it drives me insane.” He collects my small hands in one swoop and kisses them both.

King Harvey stands in front of the bookcase and runs his hand through the books then pulls out an emerald book.

We are standing at the end of the hallway that his study is in.

The bookcase slides to the right and a steel door appears. King Harvey places his hand in the center of the door and it opens to a deep grey room.

“K-King Harvey…” I realize I have been silent and didn’t return my affections. “I am sorry for my delay; I love you too…”

King Harvey leans down with a sweet smile and kisses my forehead. “Thank you, Elena.”

Placing his hand on the small of my back, he walks me into this room, and I see a massive steel pot in the center of the room, suspended by a metal pole at either side of it.

It bubbles and boils aggressively. There is lava in the pot.

“King Harvey, there is lava in that pot!” I exclaim, carefully stepping around it and stepping back. The heat radiating off the pot makes me sweat.

Naturally, I find my hand placed on his chest over his heart for comfort and stability.

King Harvey runs his hand down mine soothingly. “Yes. We are not human, recall?”

“…so, your weapons are not normal?”

King Harvey smiles. “We use a blend of special metal. It needs a high level of heat to meld.”

“I see. You do this alone?”

“Mother taught me. She made all of Father’s weapons.”

I stop thinking and blurt out. “You want me to do that?!”

I understand traditions but I am human, and this is lava.

King Harvey smiles at me, and I can see a spark of curiosity and confusion shining in his brown eyes.

“Elena, you are human. I am sure you can do the traditional method, then I complete it with a final dousing of lava. We shall take turns.”

“Oh.” I breathe. “Yes, that is very logical.”

King Harvey grins at me. “I will not throw you in lava, Elena.”

Then he laughs, he roars with laughter, enjoying my shock.

Rolling my eyes at him, I just allow him to laugh. This certainly kills the tension we have had this past day. All the emotional trauma makes it feel like it has been a month of worry and fear.

“Thank you, King Harvey.”

I look around and see tucked into the far-right wall is a set of armor. It is a traditional silver piece of knight’s armor. It is as wide as King Harvey is and just as tall. It is his. There is a red cloak that hangs off the back of it, and the blade in its hand is stabbing the ground.

The wolf’s head that is on my pen is on the back of the blade, as a charm.

I look at King Harvey, who smiles. “Yes, Elena, we do match.”

“It is your logo?”

“In a way, yes. The red eyes are a homage to my father.”

“That is so cool!” Without thinking, I move and take the sword from the knight’s hand gently. The sword in my hand has a velvet grip and feels very lightweight. “Can you teach me?”

King Harvey takes the sword from my hand and places it back in the knight’s hand.

“You are my mate. I will protect you.”

I nod. “I know, but we could spar, and I like swords…”

“Do you?” King Harvey closes the gap between him and I and kisses me deeply.

As we pull away for one another, I see his eyes are unashamedly silver, I realize what I have done. He is turned on by me.

I blush and try to close the gap between us, but he wraps his arms around my waist and squeezes me to his chest.

Breathing deeply, I attempt to regain my composure. “If you are not around… King Harvey, I should know more than one way to defend myself. A sword is a good idea, it comes with a shield…”

Looking away, I try to find a way to break free but there is no way out. King Harvey simply stares at me.

“I will teach you, Elena, eventually… you are correct. I may have to go sign a treaty, who knows. But you must allow me to protect you first in case of danger.”

“Yes, I understand.”

King Harvey releases me and I walk back to his armor. I see a golden wolf head, howling, engraved on the chest piece of his armor.

“Your mother made this?”

“Yes.”

“Wow.” It is a beautiful wolf’s head, complete with white gleaming fangs, it looks so lifelike I can almost hear the howling.

“Would you like to see me in my armor, Elena?”

“Yes.” I turn to face him, as he is standing behind me, but I place my hands on his chest. “Wait a moment,” I breathe, trying to contain my fluttering heart and new idea. “Can you make my wedding ring?”

“It would be my honor, Elena. I have never made an item that small.”

“Thank you, King Harvey.” I whisper.

“Your hands are very delicate…” King Harvey stares down at me, his eyes overflowing with hunger. “You are very delicate… I would have to be gentle.”

“Well!” I huff the blush. “Yes, and I am human. Behave!”

King Harvey smiles. “I cannot wait for us to marry.”

I need to distract him. “Go put your armor on, King Harvey.”

With a smile, King Harvey goes off and in a red blur he puts on his armor.

Now, he stands in front of me, tall and gallant. King Harvey fills out his armor perfectly. The shine of his armor makes it hard to look at for very long, and I notice the helmet on his head even has pointed ears.

“Teach me how to make something, King Harvey.”

“Only after you knock me down, Elena.”

What?!