Leighton

37. Changing Scent

Estelle

I woke up to the sound of jets engines reving down. My eyelids felt heavy and an overwhelmingly sense of calm washed over me as I inhaled a familiar scent.

It took a moment for my senses to fully return and the memories to catch up with me. I tensed and I felt the arms I was encased in tighten around me. My heart started to race until I heard a familiar voice whisper in my ear.

“It’s okay princess, you are safe now.”

Hot tears of relief filled my eyes and threatened to spill down my face as I opened my eyes to see Leighton, himself staring at me.

He did nothing but stare as I held my breath expecting him to disappear.

More memories started to return, of him appearing out of nowhere in the castle. Due to the thick smoke I couldn’t see anything and I tried to snatch my hand away when he grabbed it until I felt the faint trace of sparks.

Raines call of mate in my head had stopped me using my powers but when I realised he was here to get me I hadn’t wasted any time sending the prince smashing into the ground. Following Leighton wherever he lead me, how I ended up in his arms was fuzzy.

“You were spelled.” He could clearly sense my confusion. “The witch had to break it so we could leave.”

I shifted in his arms to look and see how he was taking about. Esme one of the most powerful witch’s that resided with us at Britannia was sitting behind us. She smiled weakly.

“How.. how was ?” I didn’t understand how I could be spelled and not know.

“We suspected they might place a tracking spell on you, to prevent you leaving. With the trouble they went to, to get you there we figured that not only are you important but this place too.”

“Is it normal not to feel a spell ?” I asked.

“When it’s cast by a powerful witch.” Esme nodded at me. “Thankfully she cast it in a rush so I was able to break it.”

She looked exhausted and an odd shade of green.

I felt Leighton arms tighten around me. I took a deep breath of his scent, letting it calm me. My eyes threatened to close again in the safe cocoon he held me in but my head was spinning with confusion as to why my father had come to my aid. I shifted a little uncomfortably in Leighton arms, wondering how I was going to explain this to him.

“We will be descending soon. Leighton come see me in my office once you get my daughter settled.” My father voice rang out from behind me.

“I’m fine father.” I couldn’t help but feel this was my mess and I couldn’t hide back and let anyone else get hurt.

I don’t know what Leighton had said to my father to get him to come help me. I could only hope it meant he had changed his mind about me marrying the prince. Was it possibly that somehow Leighton had changed his mind.

The plane started to descend and the noise got too loud to continue our conversation.

When we arrived at home Leighton didn’t release me from his arms, simply carrying me effortlessly down the stairs. However he paused at the bottom, unsure where to go in an unfamiliar environment.

Behind us my father cleared his throat.

“I’ll see you in my office. I’ll let you…” He signed. “Have a moment.”

Leighton didn’t wait to answer but walked us towards the castle.

“If you put me down I can show you my room.”

“Just tell me where to go.”

“I can walk Leighton.”

“I don’t want to put you down. Not yet.”

I gave him directions to my room. The longer I had been in his arms the stronger the sparks felt but they were still dimmer than before.

“I can’t believe you are here.” I told him when he eventually sat me on my bed. I reached up to pull him down to me. His lips crashing against mine.

I had no hesitation kissing him back. His body pressing against mine as he pushed me back down into the bed so he was laying over me. Pausing he pulled away.

“I’m here…I’ll always be here.” I didn’t get to answer as his lips were on mine again. His tongue parting my lips and I didn’t complain. His hands slid the straps of my dress down and his lips eagerly moving from my lips seeking out my n*****s and it didn’t take long before the now familiar ache between my legs became too much to bear.

“Leighton.” I groaned, my hands fisting his hair. “Please.”

His fingers reached between my legs and I gasped in pleasure as one entered me. I could feel an orgasm building already and he didn’t wait for me before he was inside, his c*** filling me completely. My walls stretched to accommodate him and as soon as he pulled out and pushed deeper I felt waves of pleasure wash over me.

He paused for a moment to let me ride my high before he started to move again. His hands reached under my a** tilting my hips towards him as his pushed deeper inside me. I rocked against him, rubbing my sensitive c*** against him as he drove into me again and again. I felt him still this time as he came, causing me to me to gasp out in pleasure and a new wave hit me.

He didn’t move for a moment, he just stayed deep inside me, feeling my body twitch in pleasure before gently removing himself.

“Come on we need to go and find out how we sort this, I need you back.” He said, reaching out his hand to pull me up.

“I’m back.” I told him, his statement pulling me out of my post climatic trance.

“I know.” He was staring at my mark. “But we need to remove that and … I need you to smell… well like you.” There was a hint of disgust in his words and I had to look away.

“Smell like me?”

“Your scent, it’s now like his.”

I had forgotten about the mark and I didn’t realise my scent had changed. Suddenly all feelings of joy left me. I bit the inside of my lip to give my self something to focus on that wasn’t the blatant rejection I felt right now.

I shunned his hand and pulled my clothes back into place. Letting my hair fall around my shoulders it at least concealed the mark but it didn’t stop me feeling dirty.

I didn’t wait for him to get ready I left the room and made my way towards my Dads office. Ignoring him calling after me until I felt his hand in my shoulder.

“What’s wrong ?” His eye were filled with concern.

“I’m taking my repulsive smell away.” I snapped at him, knowing this was all really my fault.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t need to.” I moved on, arriving at his office to find my father sat at his desk.

He didn’t speak when I arrived and his eye moved from me to Leighton as I felt him appear at my shoulder.

“So.” He stared, leaning back in his chair. “We can now assume we are at war.” His face set in a determined line. “King Adalfudis will demand you back.” Leighton growled at this but father continued. “When we refuse it’s safe to assume he will come for you.”

“I need to challenge the Prince for Estelle. It’s the only way to remove her mark.” Leighton told my father.

“If I were Adalfudis I would keep the Prince there, hoping you would do that so I could trick Estelle into returning. I think we need to defeat him first, you might get your opportunity to challenge him later.’

“But will the people fight for us if he isn’t marked as my mate?”

“Your people will fight for you Estelle, they will accept your choice of King, but Leighton can’t be King without defeating the Prince.” He suddenly looked old. “The Prince won’t let you go now anyway, he can’t make another his Queen while you were his mark. There is only two possible outcomes now. Leighton defeats the Prince and can claim you for himself …or you belong to the Prince and he will rule Britannia, and Adalfudis will use you to to achieve his goal.”

“What’s his goal?”

“To become invincible. If he can master all the powers of the royal wolves then he will be unstoppable, he will rule over all wolves with no one to answer to. If he doesn’t kill you for your powers he will use you and his son to rule through, attempting to breed more wolves with the potential to harness these powers.”

“Why were you letting me marry him, if you knew this was his plan.”

My father was silent for a moment. I felt Leighton hand on my waist and I needed it to calm my racing heart.

“At first, when I made the deal I wasn’t thinking about anything other than losing your mother. Then you arrived and I knew I had to do something, but we had to be smart about it. Playing along with the idea seemed best, and then you accepted it so easily. We know the Prince was smitten with you so we hoped that maybe you would be mates and everything would be well.”

“You mean you hid your head in the sand and hoped your problem would go away.” Leighton all but growled. I leant closer to him to calm him down before I remembered he didn’t like my scent anymore.

“Remember who you are speaking to.” My father snapped. “But yes, it was only more recently I realised the true dangers and I attempted to work out how to extract Estelle from this arrangement.”

“Do we know how to do that now ?”

“We defeat the King. Ideally we would have made an alliance with the Prince to prevent further war between the kingdoms but now, if you want your mate he has to defeat the Prince and you will have to rule both.”

I didn’t look at Leighton, would the bond be strong enough for him to want all that, now I repulsed him.

“You don’t repulse him.” Raine spoke to be for the first time since I woke up.

“It feels like I do.”

“You can’t blame him, imagine another scent all over him that you couldn’t replace.”

I knew I would be a jealous wreck in that circumstance but it didn’t help me feel any less repulsive with this ugly mark on my neck.

There was a knock at the door and father told Jackson to enter. I saw Leighton visably relax that his friend was here.

“Nice of you to show up.” Leighton joked the relief apparent also in his voice.

“We had to take the scenic route. Nice to see you princess.” He nodded at her. “So have you figured out how we fix this so I can go home.”

“I’ve had the best witches in the country working on it. They are on their way to fill you in, they can explain some of it better than I. We need to be ready, King Adalfudis won’t sit around for long.”

There was another knock at the door as Esme walked in the door, I heard a collective gasp as another witch, Ara followed her into the room.