The Heir's Breeder

12

 I have been here for over two months. The last full moon, I stayed in Tristan's room, on the balcony. We had talked before and later into the night, he came to the edge of the woods and I painted him for a bit. The painting isn't done but sometimes at night Tristan will shift and I continue.

Rose has been tutoring me on more "proper mannerisms" for court. Even though I am not going to that dinner, I do like visiting Tristan and sometimes that comes with having to follow "protocol". The whispers around me have never changed: they still call me his breeder, but it hurts in a way it had never hurt before. Tristan and I...our relationship is different. He is my favorite person to be around, my friend, and the fact that wolves see us differently hurts.

What scares me the most is Tristan's father coming. The King Alpha scares me so much. I have heard stories about him, and they are never good.

"I can feel you fidgeting, Fate," Tristan says. It's dark and we are both supposed to be asleep, but I haven't slept well the past few days.

I smile to myself, "I can't sleep." I move my body a bit, looking over toward his face in the dark. "It's too hot."

Tristan laughs. "It's almost winter." Then he stiffens. There is a pause before he reaches his hand over me and presses his palm to my forehead. He moves it for a second then releases a breath.

"Is everything ok?" I draw out.

"Yeah, just try to sleep," he pulls me tight to him again.

I wait a few minutes before wiggling out again, "You're too warm." I shift my body to face Tristan. He runs his hand down my face, then places his hand on my forehead again. I wait, staring at his piercing hazel eyes through the dark. "Are you sure everything is ok?"

"Yeah..." he trails off and I wait for him to say more but he never does. Our eyes just keep staring into each other. So much swirled behind his eyes. It looks like the night sky is somewhere deep in his mind—like the planetarium I once saw. Neither of our breathing was loud but I could still watch our breaths mix between. We are too close and yet, not close enough.

Something is pulling at me—pulling me to him—and I can only do so much before I give in. It was a relief when his lips were finally on mine. It has been so long and this tension has been building and building and having it finally released is exhilarating—freeing.

I forgot how soft his lips are; how much he takes control and makes me feel safe. I'm not sure how long our lips are locked together before he moves to lay on his back, pulling me on top of him. My legs are on either side of his torso, straddling him. From this new angle, I felt powerful—like I am the one in charge—for only a moment before Tristan took over again. I sink into the kiss, loving every second of it—until he pulls away.

"Sleep," is all he says between gasps for breath. I don't move, even when Tristan tries to pull me off of him into our normal position. Instead, I simply lie down on his chest and close my eyes; wiggling a little to show him that I am comfy and not moving—to which he stiffens slightly then gives up and tries to sleep.

___________________

"You smell like him," Rose says, while I take off my night dress to get into the bath. Tristan was once again gone this morning when I woke up. It has been a lazy morning for me, the sun already high above the horizon when I finally decided to bathe.

"I sleep next to him every night. What did you expect?" I laugh a little, lowering myself into the water—it is warm but not too hot. I lay my head, with my hair tied up, back against the tub, closing my eyes, and sigh.

"No, you smell...different. More like...him," I brush off her comment. When Tristan and I first started sleeping in the same bed, she said the same thing. "What did you two get up to last night?" If there is one thing I have learned about Rose, it's that she is nosy. It is always well-meaning but she likes to know what is going on with the people she calls "friends" and I happen to be one of them—so if Tristan—and that just means more fun for her.

Rose gasps after my nonresponse, "Did you two do it?" She jumps up and down, excitedly.

I sit up, opening my eyes. "I don't know what you are talking about," Rose never drops her grin as I speak, totally confused. "Isn't the dinner tonight?" I ask, hoping to change the subject.

"It is," Rose finally sits back on the floor, her head level with mine. "It is so boring," Rose draws out the "so" and then goes on about how much she hates it. I smile to myself a little then lean my head back, enjoying this feeling.

I don't think I had been properly cleaned in years before coming here. Baths had quickly before a favorite of mine. I love the feeling of floating and the warmth that surrounds me. I also love getting to feel clean. It was something I desperately lacked in the barn.

The passes by normally. I don't go to visit Tristan, knowing that he is very stressed today, no matter how much I ache to see him. I spend the morning outside in the garden, playing with the pups and occasionally helping to groom the young wolves who are still learning how to behave in their wolf form.

Eva lets me help her prepare for dinner after stuffing me full of food for lunch. She has become somewhat of a mother figure for me—even though she is not old enough to be my mother. Between her and Rose I have a friend to gossip with and a mother to take care of me. And then there is Tristan...

The kitchen is full of laughter, as always, but serious tones come out frequently due to the event tonight. "Ugh, I hate these dinners," Eva says, rolling out some dough, "The males are so entitled and get...grabby as we serve."

"Have you spoken to Tristan about it?" Everyone has started to get used to my calling him by his first name, while the rest still use formalities. I tried once to refer to him "properly" but when he found out about it, he shut it down very quickly. "I'm sure he wouldn't allow it," I finish, focusing back on the potatoes I am peeling.

"I have actually—well, Elizabeth has," Elizabeth is the head chef in the kitchen. She has always been very kind to everyone but she doesn't chat much, mostly keeping to herself. "There is not much the Heir can do without causing too much of a problem. He has apologized about it, wishing he could do more, but this is the state of the world we live in."

I sigh in agreement. That has been the thing I have been learning about the most—the state of things. Tristan has always tried his best but he can't do much without the King title, or even the official Heir title. He tries his best but he has to fall in line while he waits for the throne. And no one can suggest Tristan becoming King Alpha because that would be suggesting the current one will die—treason. Politics has become so annoying to deal with and I stay out as much as I can.

After Eva forces me out of the kitchen, I find Rose again, in Tristan's room cleaning. I lie down for a bit on top of the bed, still slightly overheated and tired from last night. The hotness comes in waves. I usually don't notice it when I am around wolves but when I am by myself—especially in Tristan's room—it shows up and makes me so uncomfortable.

"Fate?" Rose pulls me from my rest; I'm not sure how long I have been out for, "I am going to now." I look out to see the sun is barely starting to set—it is still earlier evening. When I look back at her confused she continues, "I have to work the dinner. Will you be ok on your own?"

I lie back again, still a little hazy from my nap, "I'll be fine. Try to have fun tonight." Rose laughs and then says goodbye, closing the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi hi,

I know it has been a while. I didn't know what I was doing with this chapter and then I did. Good news, I know about the next few chapters so the updates should be weekly again. 

I only have a few weeks left in the school year which is crazy cause I feel like the semester just started. I average 10-15 hours of homework a week so I try to have balance when writing this.

What are your thoughts? Do you like Fate? Tristan? Rose? Any predictions of what is going to happen next? I'm a slut for engagement as you know.

Anyway,

See ya soon,

Abbey J