Chapter 1
Tir Anghofi
Two Days Before Osian Had Dinner With Gwen
Gweneth Astley strode down the walkway towards home, glad to be done for the day. She loved her job, but sometimes being on her feet all day made her wary. But she loved being able to chat with the different people that came through, and especially the small children who’d come through that day.
She stopped at the mailbox and opened it, then reached inside to remove the mail before closing the box again. She glanced through the mail, then stopped on a white envelope with gold writing addressed to her. She frowned as she stared down at it for a moment, then finally, reluctantly, opened it up.
Gwen stared at the elegant invitation in her hand, furrowing her brow. It was on fine black vellum with gold print—an invitation for a private dinner at Castell Iris. She pursed her lips.
This was not what she was expecting. She scoffed. She hadn’t been expecting anything. She flipped the envelope over. It was addressed to her alone, not to her family. A private dinner with just her and the King? She didn’t like this. Not one little bit. She didn’t know the King. Why was he inviting her to have dinner with him?
Gwen headed up the little path and into the cottage she lived in with her father and her sister, Mari. Her sister was putting food on the table, while her father was reading a book. He glanced up at her before looking back down at the pages.
Mari looked up and smiled warmly at her. “Hi, Gwen. How was work?” She set a plate of fried chicken down on the table, then wiped her hands on her apron.
“Good,” Gwen said, pushing the invitation into the pocket of her bag before she set it down in a cabinet near the door. She’d think about that later when she was alone. It wasn’t something she wanted to share quite yet.
“Did you see anyone interesting today?” her father asked, curiously, setting aside the book he’d been reading.
A typical question from her father. “No, unless you count the children who came in to watch us make donuts today. They each got to make their own and put whatever toppings they wanted on them. They’re all so cute.”
Her father smiled indulgently. “I bet that was fun.”
She smiled back. “It was. It made the day even more enjoyable.” And messy, but she didn’t care. She’d had fun working with them, and that was all that mattered.
Gwen sat down at her seat at the table and watched Mari place a bowl of rice on it.
Alaistair Astley picked up the plate of chicken as Mari sat down in her seat. He turned his attention to her. “And how was your day, sweetheart?”
Mari gave him a weak smile. “It was okay.”
Alaistair frowned at her, his face showing his concern. “The truth, Mari.”
“I found my mate today,” she told him, her throat bobbing as she looked down at her plate.
Alaistair’s lips parted in surprise. “This is good.” He looked over at Gwen.
Mari looked up and met Gwen’s gaze.
Gwen smiled weakly at her sister, but her heart wasn’t in it. She was desperate to find her mate, but she hadn’t so far. She was twenty-one, six years older than her sister, and it didn’t seem fair. She internally shook her head. Life wasn’t fair. “What’s wrong?”
Mari bit her lip, her eyes moving back down to the untouched food on her plate. “He’s a shifter.”
Alaistair dropped his fork, the noise causing a loud clatter as it hit his plate and went flying.
Gwen immediately lifted her hand, stopping it with her air magic, then guided it back to the spot next to her father’s plate. She frowned at her father, then her gaze darted over to her sister.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her eyes watering.
Alaistair’s face immediately softened, and he reached out and took her hand in his. “Mari, you have nothing to apologize for. I was just shocked, that’s all.”
“I’ve upset you,” she murmured, meeting his gaze.
He shook his head. “No, I’m not upset. More concerned than anything. Do we know who it is?”
“Ciarán Kavanagh,” she said quietly, though Gwen saw her eyes light up. Mari liked the fact that she was mated to him; she was just worried about what their father would think.
Her father’s eyes flickered in surprise. “The leader of the jaguar shifter’s son?”
She nodded, her gaze returning to her plate.
Gwen studied her sister. She knew this Ciarán wouldn’t realize Mari was his mate until she was eighteen. She tried to remember if she’d ever met him before, but she wasn’t sure. The Jaguars didn’t really live in a group the way some of the other shifters did. They were spaced out all over Tir Anghofi. But they did have a leader, Brian Kavanagh. Ciarán was his son and would be the next leader. She hoped he would accept a Fae as his mate.
“I just worry about the stigma from it,” Alaistair said quietly. “I don’t want anyone hurting you, Mari.”
“It’s happening more and more, Dad,” Gwen told him. “The Princess is mated to a werewolf Prince.”
“I’m aware.” He sighed. “I just wish I could protect you two more. Ciarán should be a good match for you, Mari. I’m happy about this.”
She looked up and then back down.
“Mari, how do you feel about it, though?” Gwen asked her. “How do you feel about him?” Her sister usually wasn’t this reserved about something.
“He’s very handsome, and he’s kind,” she told Gwen.
“Have you talked to him before?” Gwen asked her curiously.
“No. I’ve never talked to him. When I was coming home from school, I saw him walking down the sidewalk with another male. I’ve never seen him before. He was staring at me, and I dropped one of my books. He picked it up and handed it to me, then asked me what my name was and introduced himself. He called me beautiful,” she said with a small smile. She now had a dreamy look in her eyes and looked more like the Mari that was her sister.
Gwen smiled at her sister.
“Do you think this will be okay?” her father asked, turning to Gwen.
She shrugged. “There are always going to be those that disapprove, but she’s made an amazing match.” It was true. For Mari to be mated to an Alpha shifter was a high honor indeed.
Dinner ended, and Gwen stood from the table. She helped Mari clean up the mess, then grabbed the invitation out of her bag and headed to her bedroom, needing to be alone. She closed the door behind her, set the invitation down on her nightstand, then headed into the small bathroom and took a quick shower, glad to be clean. She smelled like the bakery when she came home, not that she really minded that. Hopefully, her mate had a sweet tooth and wouldn’t mind it either.
Gwen slipped on her nightshirt, then settled down in a chair in the corner, waving her hand to bring the blanket from her bed over to her. She wrapped up in it, then picked up the invitation to study it again.
It was in two days, and it said that casual clothes were preferred, which made her raise her eyebrows. For a private dinner with the King? Or at least she was assuming it would be the King, though the casual clothes part threw her off. Did that mean she’d be eating with someone else? Several people lived at the castle, but she didn’t know any of them personally. She was just assuming it was with the King, but she guessed it might not be.
She bit her lip, then jumped at the knock at her door.
“Gwen?”
She stuck the invitation in a drawer, then stood and headed for the door.
Her father was on the other side. “Elain is here.”
Gwen’s eyes widened as she saw Elain standing in the hallway. Why in the world was she there? They’d never really been friends, more like acquaintances. Elain was a stuck-up bitch in Gwen’s opinion. “Give me a second.”
Her father nodded, and Gwen shut the door, then yanked off her nightshirt and waved her hand to dress in something else. Why was Elain here this late? Why was she here at all?
She walked out of her room and pasted on a fake smile as she eyed Elain.
Elain had long blond hair and stunning blue eyes. She was petite and very beautiful, and she knew it. She loved to flaunt her beauty, and it was the main reason why Gwen had never liked her.
“Hi, Elain. How are you?” Gwen said, reluctantly inviting the female into her room.
“I’m fantastic,” Elain said brightly, her face glowing with excitement. “I just had to come to tell you about my date last night.”
Gwen wanted to roll her eyes, but instead, she just smiled at the other female. Basically, Elain had come to brag. She wondered why. This was the first time the female had ever shown up at Gwen’s home to brag about a date. It must have been with someone important. “Oh? Who did you go on a date with?”
“Osian Baudelaire.”
Gwen felt her heart drop at Elain’s words. Osain Baudelaire was the King of the Tir Anghofi Fae, and he lived at Castell Iris, which was where her dinner invitation had arrived from. “Oh? You had dinner with the King?” No wonder Elain had come to brag.
“Yes. He sent me this beautiful invitation in the mail and invited me to a private dinner,” she told her, her eyes bright with excitement.
Gwen bit her lip. It sounded exactly like what she’d gotten in the mail today, not that she intended to tell Elain that. It was none of her business, and Gwen wasn’t one to brag. “I didn’t know that you knew the King.”
“Well, before the dinner, no, I didn’t know him. But now...” She got a Cheshire grin on her face. “I know him very well. Did you know that he has the power of Allure?”
Gwen’s eyes widened at that. She’d heard of it, the ability to increase someone’s desire with their magic, but she’d never met anyone who actually possessed that power. She doubted very many Fae possessed it. “No, I can’t say I did.”
Elain smiled knowingly. “Yes, and it’s so delicious.”
“So, are you two a thing now?” Gwen asked her. She couldn’t imagine so, given that she’d gotten her invitation today if that’s who she was seeing. Maybe he’d sent it out before his dinner with Elain, though? Maybe she’d get another note tomorrow telling her to forget it? She sort of hoped so.
“I’m sure we will be soon. Osian is looking for a wife,” she said happily. “Dinner with him was amazing too. He’s so sweet and so incredibly hot.” She fanned herself with her hand, making Gwen want to roll her eyes.
A wife? How the heck had she been invited to dinner, then? She knew her family was from a strong Fae bloodline and her grandfather had served under the former King, but she wasn’t anything special. Maybe she was just assuming too much. Maybe the dinner wasn’t even with him.
Her gaze darted back to Elain. The female had implied that she’d slept with the King. The fact that she was calling him by his first name made Gwen wonder exactly how close they really were. “You said you went last night?”
“Yes, I did, and it was such an amazing experience. I’m expecting to be asked to return to the castle at any time,” she said happily.
Gwen nodded, wondering how many females he’d actually had dinner with. How did one pick a wife from a dinner? Or was he weeding out candidates? Was this like a job interview where if she got called back, she was still in the running? “Well, congratulations to you.”
“Thank you so much, Gwen.” Elain stood. “Well, I have to go. Duty calls and all that.” She leaned over and kissed Gwen’s cheek. “I’ll see you later.”
Gwen gave her a tight smile. “Goodbye, Elain. Thank you for stopping by, and congratulations.”
“Thank you so much. I’ll be sure to make sure you get an invitation to our wedding, Gwen. You’ve always been so kind to me,” Elain said as she headed for the door.
She’d never been rude to her, but it wasn’t in her nature to be rude to anyone, so she could hardly take that as a compliment. She shook her head as the other female left.
