WILD

fourteen

It was 8AM, and neither her or Orion got any sleep.

After they finished their ice cream, Orion insisted on going to bed, but Lorena didn't want to. She wanted to stay awake and talk. There was so much she wanted to know about him and this strange new place that was now her home.

Back in her room, they ended up cuddling on the bed, talking about everything and anything. She found out that he was a prince in line for the throne, which didn't surprise her as much as it should have, considering the way his house looked. She hadn't even gotten to see half of it yet.

He asked her about her life back home. She didn't want to talk about it at first, but he coaxed the information out of her. She told him about her mother and father, her old alpha who she now hated, her friends, and how she was okay growing up with close to nothing. It made her family closer and she didn't feel like she was missing out on anything.

"That sounds nice," he admitted. "I wish I could get away sometimes."

She cocked her head to the side, absentmindedly playing with Orion's fingers. "Well, you're a prince, right? Book a vacation. Who can stop you?"

He hummed as he watched her play with his large hands and he buried his nose into her sweet-smelling hair. "I have duties I have to take care of here. I can't just leave my kingdom unattended to."

Lorena frowned. "You said you're only a prince, right? Where's the king or queen?"

Orion stiffened. "My father is dying."

Lorena stopped what she was doing and quickly turned to look at him. To her surprise, he didn't look upset. He made peace with that sad reality.

"I'm sorry, Orion. I had no idea."

"And my mother..." He stopped. There was no doubt the alpha was warming up to his future queen quite quickly, but he didn't need to go into details about something that brought him to a place as vulnerable as that.

Lorena wanted to know, but she also saw the look on his face and knew not to push it. "If you don't want to talk about her, I understand."

He nodded. "Maybe some other time."

There was a small knock on the door and the two of them turned to look and see who it was. Max was coming in to run Lorena's bath again and she almost rolled her eyes, but she wanted to start this day off on the right side of the bed.

"Lorena, I-" She looked towards the bed to see the couple wrapped around each other. "Your Highness. Am I interrupting something?"

Lorena smirked at the befuddled look on Max's face. Orion caught it and pinched her side gently, reminding her to behave. She almost protested out loud as Orion pulled away, his warmth next to her slowly ceasing to exist. But she had to remember: they weren't a thing. Not yet, at least.

And if she was honest, she didn't know if she wanted it to get that far. Then she remembered that she didn't have much of a choice.

But she would be a liar if she said lying so close Orion didn't feel amazing.

"Nope, she's all yours. I was just leaving. I know she'll be better behaved today, Max."

The she-wolf scowled and Orion playfully stuck his tongue out at her. She stopped scowling and all she could think about was how badly she wanted that tongue down her throat and all on her-

Ooh. Shit.

Max smiled. "I sure hope so. We have quite the day ahead of us. Now leave so we can get her ready for the day."

Orion slipped back into his sneakers that he left at the foot of the bed as Max shooed him out of the room.

"Lorena, I'll see you later today!" He winked at her and she laughed as Max shoved him out of the door, shutting it behind him.

She rolled her eyes playfully and clasped her hands together in front of her.

Lorena stood and faced her, approaching her carefully. "Max, I feel like I owe you an apology. My behavior yesterday was outrageous." Max had nothing to do with the situation. Orion was her boss and he was right. Any problem she had would reach his ears directly from now on. Let's see how long that lasts.

She bashfully pushed a stray strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear. She jumped slightly as she felt Orion's mark on her neck with her fingertips.

Max was confused. "It's perfectly fine. I can't imagine what you're going through." How could someone with so much will and fire in them be able to apologize so sincerely and politely and without airs?

Max ran her hand over the soft skin on her arm and cleared her throat. "Shall we get started?"

Lorena nodded and smiled warmly back. "Sure."