Angel of the lake

Chapter Forty-Three

Once they'd gotten over the initial shock of seeing their King in a pub he rarely ever entered, the demons turned their attentions to Meg.

Claudio didn't blame them. His mate was a showstopper.

Of course, there were rumours spreading around like wild fire on her existence. Rumours of the woman the King had been keeping in his castle for a year now. Rumours about who she was, what she was and where she'd came from—but none of those rumours had ever been addressed by the King himself. Claudio didn't care for them. He was far too busy spending his time on something—someone—else. Beyond the castle staff and a few select allies, word of Meg's existence hadn't been made particularly well known.

And judging by the way the King eyed her like she was his salvation, it didn't take much for his onlooking subjects to put two and two together.

It didn't take long for them to figure out that Meg, the lovely brunette who held all of their King's attention, was his mate—their future Queen.

And after that connection, their curiosity had only heightened.

Though Caspian was absent, she was soon made aware of another group's presence. Caspian's team of mercenaries.

More familiar with their King, they hadn't been as shy in approaching.

And good lord, she'd never learnt so much about the King in one sitting.

She quickly learnt there were three other members to Caspian's team of mercenaries. Luis, the one who spoke too much. Ebony, the one that spoke just enough. And finally Guido, the one that really didn't speak much at all.

But she'd learnt plenty from them already.

According to Luis, Claudio had always been a 'ladies magnet' back in the day. Yes, he went into great detail about Claudio's days in the camp back when he'd woo women to pass the time.

Which Claudio heartily insisted wasn't true. With his cheeks tinged an unusual shade of red, he'd reached across the table to take her hand, assuring her that the demon Luis had him all wrong. That any female that happened to be attracted to him was not courted by him. That any relationship he'd had in the past had been nothing but a fling. That he'd constantly been working towards the bigger picture.

Her.

She'd found his reactions funny if anything.

Megan wasn't sure if she was the jealous type or not. She was deathly jealous of Ruby. Jealous that the demoness had seen sides to Claudio she didn't know yet and might not ever see. Jealous that the demoness was still presently attracted to him in a romantic light. But she couldn't bring herself to be jealous of faceless women from his past. It didn't feel right.

Ebony had then approached the topic of her King in a mature light. She told Meg some stories of him in battles from the past. About how he'd dominate whole armies and crush the spines of his enemies. About how it had been an honour to fight alongside him and how much she had left to learn.

Guido had tied it all together with a grunt of agreement here and there. He didn't strike her as much of a talker.

But after they'd introduced themselves to their future Queen and made their mark, they left Claudio and Meg to their evening, parting ways with friendly smiles.

Though their smiles certainly didn't touch the one their King was sporting.

He was loving his mate's enjoyment. Meg was happy to be learning and he was happy she was happy.

A win for everyone.

Before long, they were able to move into a more private spot further to the back of the pub, tucked away in their own personal corner.