I stared at the spot where the King and Queen of the Lycans had disappeared into the trees, their cloaked figures melting into dappled shadows like characters from some strange fairy tale. My fingers were still tangled with Christian's, our picnic half-forgotten around us, and a laugh bubbled up from my chest - sudden, uncontrolled, slightly hysterical. The Queen of the Lycans had just invited me for tea while wrapped in nothing but a cloak, her hair wild from running in wolf form. If my mother could see me now, she'd either faint dead away or disown me on the spot. Possibly both.
"I'm sorry," I gasped between fits of laughter, squeezing Christian's hand. "I just - I spent my entire life hearing about the formality of the royal court, the protocol, the dignity. And my first meeting with t
