Of Rogues & Royals

Conflicted

CAMILA POV

My brothers headed out to their first stop on their rounds. I was assigned to stay behind and wait on their new piece of ass. I guess this one was destined to stay around, so I might as well be nice.

But y’all.

What.

The.

Fuck.

She’s a nightmare.

I waited almost forty minutes for her to change because she didn’t like the clothes I brought over for her this morning. Cody had found something more feminine for her to wear, but I swear she must have sewn it herself in the time she made me wait out here in the hall. We’d have to skip the first farm because I’m sure they were that far ahead of us.

We walked outside the pack house, and there were two horses waiting for us. My black stallion, Boomerang….well, Boomer for short, was on high alert- knowing I’d be out soon. We had a tame paint horse ready for her. You’d think I’d asked her to walk on water as I hoisted myself up in my own saddle and looked back to see if she was settled.

“Um, I don’t ride… those…”

I tried not to openly judge her, but I’m sure I failed miserably.

“It’s fine. She is super chill, I’ll guide you.”

“No no…. I simply can’t. Surely you have a vehicle around here?”

I narrowed my eyes, and realized this just got much more interesting.

“Of course. Give me just a few minutes. I’ll find something you’re more comfortable with..” I may not have my wolf yet, but I could feel the growl in my chest.

I gave Boomer a peck on the nose and promised a run later before linking the stable staff to come grab the horses again. I walked behind the event barn to our little garage and smirked devilishly at my plan. I looked coyly over the supped-up golf cart we had that would be a perfectly proper solve for what Janessa was wanting. But instead, I swung my leg over my filthy ass dirt bike and peeled out, headed to my new darling sister-in-law.

Before I rounded the corner, I slowed so it seemed safe and easy. Gradually coming to a stop right in front of her. She peered over her sunglasses at me like I was a f*****g i***t.

“Surely, there is something else?” Her judgment was thick. “I have to be presentable for the ceremony tonight.”

“This is very tame. Either this or the horses. Your pick.”

She sighed, and I saw her weigh her options before clicking her tongue and conceding.

Oh, f**k this was going to be fun.

She waltzed up to the bike as if it was an alien spacecraft.

“Just swing your leg over. Hold onto my waist and we’ll head to the boys. Slow and easy.” I bit back the mischievous smirk that threatened to betray me.

She tried to hold her mini dress down as she swung her heeled leg over. I didn’t even want to warn her about the hot pipe. Let her learn the hard way. f*****g bitch.”

The second she was situated….five minutes later…. I sighed with contempt before peeling out of the pack house and spraying mud in a rooster tail of urgency. Her squeal of terror and fury was so incredibly worth it. I was almost disappointed she didn't go flying off the back. Oh well, still time to fix that.

I beelined it for the Akerson’s farm, knowing that’s where my brothers would be at this point. But I made sure to take the most difficult route with all the ramped hills and mud puddles. I could hear Janessa’s pleas and expletives cursing me to the Goddess and back. This was so much better than horseback.

I didn’t toss her off….but I may have been trying to.

When we reached the farm, there was the perfect section of soft earth that I slid the bike into, causing a shower of dirt to rain down on both of us. My brothers were on the front porch, and I could physically see them trying not to laugh at the sight of their mate covered in filth, top to bottom, and peeling her nails out of my torso where she had clung for dear life.

I was proud of myself. Any amount of chastising they could do wouldn’t put a damper on how f*****g perfect that was.

Now I had very little time to figure out just how to destroy this b***h before she could lay claim to my brothers. Because, Goddess damn it all, I would not accept this worthless piece of stuck-up s**t into our family.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CODY POV

I had to bite the insides of my cheeks to not smile at the sight of Camila sliding to a stop in front of the Akerson’s farm. We were just about to head to the next stop. Billy Akerson had everything ready to show us, so we wrapped pretty quickly here. His crop was thriving and the improvements we made to the irrigation system were making a huge impact. So, thankfully, it was a quick visit today.

Janessa was fuming as the last rain of mud and dirt settled over her perfectly made-up face and styled hair. I was slightly annoyed. It had taken me six tries to find something this woman would actually wear- and now it was covered in filth. Colby had the same look of controlled humor on his face as we faked irritation with our sister.

Colby gave me ‘the look’ and I sighed, trotting off the Akerson’s front porch. I could feel the mortification rolling off Janessa, but my father was trying not to lose his composure. He was bursting at the seams trying not to break into hysterics.

Good luck with that- he snickered through link.

Fuck you, Dad.

I approached the girls and grabbed Camila in a head lock, holding the bike upright in one hand and dragging my sister off it in the other. I flung her straight into a mud puddle and gave her a wink before turning to console my mate. She was glaring daggers at my sister and my wolf bristled into a protective stance in my mind. But he was protecting Camila. Not Janessa. Strange.

“Let’s get you back and cleaned up, okay?” I traced my finger over her cheek, swiping at a smudge of mud. “Maybe we can find a gown for you to wear tonight.” The sparks lit under my touch, maybe I just needed the reminder that they existed.

I stepped my leg over the bike, and it sunk under my weight. Janessa wrapped her arms around my waist, and I could feel her angry glare toward Camila again. My sister practically growled- even without a wolf- but the look my father gave my mate sent a chill down my spine. f**k. This was not going well. Colby and I shared a conflicted look before I took off on a smoother, way less fun, path back to the pack house. This was bad.

I coddled Janessa all the way back up to our room and got her back in the shower, denying her s****l advances once again.

“Surely you can call an Omega to fetch me something to wear? Join me, Cody. I haven’t gotten to taste you yet.”

“Fucccccck Janessa. I know. I want to, Little Mate.” My body was practically pulling me into the shower with her, my d**k in control and my skin aching to feel the tingles again. “But I know how particular you are, so I don’t trust anyone to get it right. Give me a few minutes to see what I can come up with... I’ll be back to join you soon, okay?”

Her hooded eyes looked over me in lust. Even caked in mud she was still ridiculously sexy. All I wanted to do was scrub every speck of dirt off her tall, thin frame. But- my head was swimming again and I needed to talk to my mother. So I peeled myself out of the bathroom, and pressed my forehead onto the closed door to regain control.

“I heard she may be having a tough morning…”

“Goddess, Mom! You scared the s**t out of me.”

“Oop, sorry. She okay?”

“Yeah….Camila…”

My mother’s smile instantly faded any frustration that I was feeling. I knew she did that on purpose. I was such a mama’s boy. But I really didn’t care.

“What do I do, Mom?” I asked defeatedly, walking over and leaning down, resting my forehead on her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around my massive frame and lightly scratched my back, instantly comforting me.

“Come on, let’s get to work.” I followed her back to my parents’ quarters and we flipped through the ridiculously long racks of formal gowns my mother had here. She had another ungodly large closet at the palace that kept most of her fancier ones. “She’s much taller than me, so we’ll need to find something with some length.”

I grabbed two gowns in different shades of purple and one in a deep fuchsia color. She nodded in approval, and I returned to our room to set them on my bed before tip-toeing out and back down to my mother’s room. Janessa called out, but I ignored it, needing my mom’s advice right now.

She was sitting on the couch with a steaming hot cup of tea, her legs pulled under her and her elbow draped over the arm rest. She patted the seat next to her and I flopped down, covering my face with my hands to try and block out the complexity of this situation.

“So you’re accepting and marking her tonight…publicly, in front of your pack..” She peered carefully over her cup, eyebrows slightly raised, and conveniently her projection was up so I had zero read one her true and actual feelings.

“Yes? I mean, yes. Yes. We are doing that.”

“Why do you hesitate, Cody?”

“I don’t know, Mother. Why AM I hesitating? I just don’t know if she is a right fit for this family.”

“Well, she will be if she is the right fit for you. And your brother.”

“And how do I know if she is the right fit for me?”

“Is she not your mate, Cody? Just because she is mated to Colby doesn’t mean she has to be mated to you. Do you not feel the pull?”

“No, I do. Sparks, scent, pull - all of it. I just don’t know if it’s….right.”

“I don’t understand, Buddy.”

“Yeah, well, that makes two of us. Colby thinks it’s just because we loved Ainsli for so long, but I don’t know Mom- I just can’t put my finger on it.”

“Then reject her…” I visibly winced at that. Okay, good sign. My initial reaction was pain thinking of rejecting her. “Okay, or not.” My mother corrected. “But you need to make this choice for you, Co. You can’t make a choice just based on what your brother wants. So what if it’s sticky for a while? It will blow over and things will even out.”

“I can’t reject her mom.”

“But will Ranger accept her?”

“He will have to.”

“Baby, we’re behind you. Whatever you want to do. But I’m worried that this isn’t an immediate and natural choice for you. Just….listen to Ranger, okay? Your brother is dutiful- to a fault sometimes- and I don’t want it influencing you. Don’t be afraid to challenge him.”

“Damn, Mom. You really don’t like her, do you?”

“I reeeeeeeeeeeeally don’t like her. But if she is what you want, I’ll learn to like her.”

I chuckled at the resemblance of this same conversation with Colby. What was Glamma up to here?

“For now, I plan on accepting her and marking her at the ceremony tonight. As does Colby. But I’ll listen to Ranger. I promise.” She cupped her hand over my cheek and smiled softly, but the waves of worry were starting to slip through her projection wall. My mother was strong, but we meant the world to her. The door swished open and my dad came bursting in, with his shirt halfway pulled up over his head, talking a mile a minute.

“Sorry, I’m late, Baby! f*****g rounds took forever today. I swear Colby seemed to be stalling coming back to the pack house. I’ve been waiting all day to wrap those pretty little legs around my—HEYYYYYYY Cody. s**t. Didn’t realize you were in here.”

“Gross, Dad. Gross. Cover up that flab, nobody wants to see that.” I smacked his exposed stomach with the back of my hand. He was ripped and didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. I credit my good physique to his rockstar genes. He flipped my arm and grabbed me in a head lock, cutting off all air. I struggled against him for a few minutes before tapping out. He was f*****g strong.

“I should get back.” I sighed.

“Yeah, I’m sure your mate has been missing you both.” Dad gave me a wink. My other Dad walked in, thankfully not half stripped. He ruffled my white blonde hair and his aqua eyes were also laced with concern. He may be King, but his family always came first.

“Love you, Mom.” I looked back over at her before crossing through the door.

“Love you, too, Buddy.”

“What!? No love for us?” Jacob called out, trying to pull me into a hug- and I darted out the door.

“Love you both. Goddess. f**k!”

“LANGUAGE!” Both of my dads called out and I trotted down the hall to our quarters, a stupid grin on my face. But I quickly had a sense of dread and excitement as I approached our door. These emotions were so conflicting.