LYALL:
I was seated on my throne, listening to the men talk about everything that bored me. I was on the verge of banging my fist against the table before me and dismissing them before I remembered Aria and immediately zoned out of their conversation.
I'd seen her this morning right in front of the gazebo. She'd opted to sit by the fountain and I was going to pretend it wasn't because Sheila had asked that she be the only one to be there.

I knew she was mad at me. She had every right to be.
Yesterday, I'd returned from the neighboring pack with only one person and place in mind. Aria and her room. But I'd been accosted by Mason and had gotten into a heated argument with him, one that had Sheila appearing before I could disappear.
She'd managed to calm me down before stirring me into the dining room. None of my pleas for her to let me go up to my chambers had worked. She probably thought I was lying.
Sheila wasn't happy. I could tell from the way she silently ate. From the way she kept tossing her food from side to side and replying to me in a monotonous manner.
I knew there was so much to apologize for but how could I do that if I didn't mean it?
I could only apologize for hurting her and putting her through a lot. But I couldn't apologize for finding my mate and getting romantically involved with her, hence the reason I was yet to speak to her in regards to Aria.

After dinner, she'd kept me back at the dining table begging me to try the dessert she had learned to make for the first time and because I didn't want any problems, I sat back and ate a few spoons before deciding I was full.
But she had other plans in mind. She wanted us to take a walk by the gazebo and lose a little energy so I did that also, distractedly listening to her chatter about how her day went and how she missed me.
And when it was time to sleep, she begged me to remain in bed with her. I don't know how she was able to get me to do that but I made up my mind to escape next time.
Aria was the first person that came to mind as soon as I woke up. I could sense her anger and worry. I could sense her jealousy that stemmed from the fact that I'd slept in bed with Sheila and not her.

I knew I had a lot to apologize for and had planned on seeing her briefly that morning but I'd been carted away by Palace duties, having to attend to several issues at a time before the meeting was called.
"Your Majesty, surely, there are ways to avoid situations like these."
"What situations?" I asked, rubbing my forehead and hating that I'd left my imagination back in this sweaty courtroom.
"Rumors," He replied. "There are fast-spreading about the Queen losing her throne to a maid and it's starting to create a rift."
I almost laughed. "What stupid rift?"
"There are people in support of the fact that you have a maid as your concubine. The poorer population to be precise. They see a chance for them to matter and for their voices to be heard so they don't seem to care. Then the richer population only seem concerned about the Queen losing her position as Luna. They don't want it to happen or things would be jeopardized by a novice maid."
"And that is why a meeting was called? To talk about this?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Why does no one ever talk about something more important? Like the state of the economy? Security? Other aspects. Why does it always have to be you men circulating gossip and bringing it to my hearing like I care?!"
Silence fell in the room. I looked from one man to the other before shaking my head and pushing to my feet. "I will not be engaging in this conversation. No one should call for a meeting that isn't important if they don't want to be severely punished. You all are dismissed."
As the men exited the room, low chatters floated to my hearing. I heard every word they said. I didn't miss one and as much as I would have loved to punish a few for their harsh words, I let it go.
"Have Aria appear before me," I spoke to the guard manning the door. "Make sure you carry it out discreetly."
With one nod, he exited the room, leaving me to my thoughts and minutes later, she appeared, looking really displeased.
"Lock the doors" I waved the guard away. "Leave us alone."
As soon as the doors to the courtroom clicked shut, Aria turned to me with raised brows.
"Why am I here?"
"Because I need to talk to you. I hope you have no problems with me wanting to talk to you?"
"Oh, I do," She chortled. "A lot. Firstly, I don't want to be here, talking about if I have a problem with you calling me here."
"So where do you want to be?"
"Back in front of the gazebo, having the time of my life. I don't want to be here."
I pushed to my feet and walked towards her but she backed away from me and recoiled when I reached out to touch her. "You're mad at me and I totally get it. But can you at least, hear me out?"
She shrugged. "Fine then. But be quick about it. We don't want your wife showing up and getting upset that you are with me."
I made a mental note to reply to that statement later. "Let's sit."
We did.
"Sheila is starting to make me participate in everything. She made me have dinner and a whole other things. I didn't have the chance to leave and I was also careful because I didn't want her getting upset."
"I totally understand that," She smiled. "It's okay. I mean it."
"You don't. You're lying and I can see it in your eyes. Hear me out at least?"
"I don't think I can be able to do that," She smiled. "It's okay if you want to spend time with her but don't go making me feel so important only to make me feel otherwise later. I think we're done here. I'd like to take a leave."
"You don't want to do that," I pushed to my feet at the same time she did, grabbing her by the arm before she could leave.
She let out a heavy sigh before turning to me with a glare on her face.
"What exactly do you want from me?!" She screamed, her voice echoing around the whole room. "What? I don't want to be around you anymore. I don't want to make this an argument so I am walking away! Why won't you let me?"
"Because I can't," I sighed and raked my fingers through my hair. "You think it's that easy for me but it isn't. Trying to juggle all of these is really hard and you don't even appreciate that I come through for you."
"Appreciate that you come through for me?" She burst into laughter. "Do you forget that you belong to me as much as I belong to you? That nothing matters? Not even your wife! Nothing is rational when it comes to the bond we share and I try. I try so hard to be logical and understand that sometimes, things don't go the way you want it. But here you are, making me feel like I am demanding for so much. Making me feel like I don't have the right to own you fully!"
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she spoke. I knew she needed to be out of here. She didn't want to be close to a man who made her feel like she was unimportant. Maybe I was asking for too much. Maybe she didn't want me as much as I did and in order to avoid embarrassment, I knew the best thing to do was to walk out and never return.
But I still had a hold on her. I didn't let her go. I pulled her against me and without a word being said, I lowered my head and kissed her.
All logical thoughts flew out of the window and I was left a wanting man with no respect for himself. She had a way of making me feel that way and right now, nothing else mattered. She was in my arms.