Black Rose:My forever Alpha

Chapter 18

Scarlett’s POV

The trumpet echoed through the palace before sunrise.

It sounded like a demigod had blown it, there was power and an undeniable ease that he had gone to battle and was returning.

Draco was home.

I should have moved.

I should have gotten up, dressed and walked to the courtyard like every other woman before me, with my head held high and my demeanor calm and my spine straight.

That was how it was done but I sat frozen.

What if he brought someone? A new concubine.

What if she was beautiful, blood born and handed to him like a prized mare? Draco wouldn’t refuse her.

I pictured the same blank and broken look I had on when I first found myself in his palace.

What if history repeated itself right in front of me?

My stomach turned.

Maybe I was going to be sick.

***

When I finally came out of the room, I was already late but he wasn’t in the court yet.

I walked through the hallway and down the stone steps. The other concubines had gathered at the steps of the main courtyard, they wore their finest silks around their anxious shoulders.

Hanna stood in front of them all, her hair pinned up like a crown and her mouth twisted in satisfaction.

I shook my head at the sight of her. She was the poster girl for ‘doing too much’.

“Oh,” she said when she saw me, “she finally emerged.”

“I almost thought she wouldn’t come,” Lirah added. “How tragic it would be, if she missed the grand parade of her replacement. I know I would hate that I couldn’t see the shock on her face.”

I said nothing.

Because any reply to them would have given away my feelings, the fact that I was terrified.

“We keep telling you, he always brings something back,” Hanna continued, her voice filled with venom and low. “I guess that's part of the joy of the conquest, gold, weapons and women.”

“I hope you’ve packed up your things, you’ll probably get to help her settle into your old room,” Lirah said, smirking.

I clenched my jaw and stood still, my chin held high. I wasn’t going to be ashamed of what another person did.

I waited.

The gates opened slowly, the metal weight pulled back by a number of men.

His soldiers entered first, there were rows of them, all dressed in their battle dirty armor. Behind them, there were wagons being pulled by horses. There was silver, silk, books and other precious jewels.

The bounty from a defeated pack.

And then I saw him.

Draco.

He was riding his horse, covered in a thin layer of dust, his dark hair had been ruffled by the wind.

When he entered the courtyard, his gaze scanned the lineup, past Hanna, past all the other concubines and his eyes locked on me.

Just me.

He didn’t immediately come down from his horse.

He looked, and then he nodded politely at the rest of them.

Before he swung off his horse and walked straight to me. I calmly searched behind him for her, for them.

Any sign of the new girl tethered and humbled, shackled like I had been.

But I didn’t see any chains.

Sure as day, I saw girls.

They were young, clean faces and walking on their own, they were free.

I frowned, they didn’t look like I had. Maybe they were gifted to him.

Would he select one for tonight? And maybe by tomorrow she’d wear my silks and expect me to show her the ropes?

When he reached me, he didn’t say anything right away.

He simply held my gaze, studying me like he needed to confirm something, that I was still here or to confirm that I knew what would happen.

I took a breath. “You’ve returned.”

“As promised,” he said softly.

“Where is the girl you took?”

I prayed there wouldn’t be more than one.

His mouth twitched.

“I only took what belonged to the kingdom. Nothing for me.”

He turned then to the soldiers that were still trooping in behind him.

“These women,” he said, his voice loud and commanding, “are now a part of this palace. But not as trophies of the battle. They are free citizens under my rule, give them shelter and feed them, offer them work either in the town or in the halls. They are free to choose their path.”

The air in the palace shifted.

Shock ripped down the concubines on the steps.

Even Hanna’s carefully painted face slipped.

He continued. “Any man who harms them will face the full punishment of my court. Do you understand?”

A chorus of “Yes, my King.” rang across the court.

He turned back to the concubines. “All of you, prepare for a meeting in a fortnight.”

A meeting? Between Draco and the concubines.

That wasn’t normal.

In fact none of this was normal.

The crowd began to disperse, I stood where I was.

Draco looked at me. “You’re quiet, why?”

“I thought you’d bring a girl back.”

“I didn’t.”

I didn’t know what to say because a part of me didn’t believe it and the other part of me believed everything he said.

He reached out and brushed a loose strand of hair from my face. “I need a bath.”

My breath hitched.

“Then let’s go take a bath.” I said quietly.

***

His private bathroom was very warm, carved with stone. I undressed him slowly, not because he asked me though. I wanted to do it, so I removed every piece of fabric he had on.

When he stepped into the pool of water. I followed him.

I took the bath cloth, dipped it into the water and began to wash him slowly.

I didn’t do it the way a servant would, I did it as his woman.

His eyes didn’t leave mine.

“You don’t have any questions about what happened out there?”

“I already know what happened.”

“Oh? You do?”

“You remembered what I told you.”

There was a long pause.

“Yes I did.”

The water swirled around us as I set the cloth aside, and I climbed into his lap, with one of my hands trailing down his chest, my hips settling on his.

He didn’t stop me.

He just leaned back, with arms spread, enjoying the moment and letting me take whatever I wanted.

When I sunk down onto his c**k, I did it slowly, taking him inch by inch with my eyes locked on his. He growled softly as his lycan lurked behind his eyes.

His hands gripped my hips but this time I wasn’t being dominated and neither was he offering me anything.

I was taking him.

And he let me.

Because this time, I was the one claiming him.

After I climaxed on top of him, clenching my p***y walls hard around his length, he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against his chest.

And for once I felt exactly as he saw me.

As a woman in power.