Chapter 20: Yes, I'm Jealous

Dane POV

Ravyn was surrounded by crystals and someone was breaking into the shop.

Cyran again? Cyran's rogues?

Ravyn screamed, "YOU!" She knew the person. Dane could smell her fear and hear her rapid heartbeat. A shadow loomed, stalking her.

"Dane? DANE!"

Lilia bit him, rousing him out of his dream. He'd fallen asleep with the pups after dinner, and all of them were awake and howling because their daddy had a bad dream.

He soothed his children, letting them know that their father was alright and that he just had a nightmare. He stroked their soft hair and kissed all three of his boys. 

Lilia cuddled the pups and summoned their Aunt Azandra in to help explain nightmares to them. While Azandra looked after the pups and sang to them, Lilia pulled Dane aside. "What is it?" she demanded.

He shook off the haze of sleep in his mind and stared at his mate with intense blue eyes. "Ravyn's in trouble at the Bloodstone."

Lilia's eyes sharpened. "My father? And did you see Jude in this vision?"

Dane shook his head. "That's the most disturbing part–she was alone."

Lilia growled like a shifter woman. "Have Azandra watch the children. I think my father and I are overdue for a chat."

Moon Goddess, how he loved his mate.

* * * * * *

Jude POV

"How dare you insult my honor! You want to follow your Dark Faerie sweetheart to your doom, fine. I just hope your son is ready to take over as Alpha!"

Ravyn smelled like a pine forest during a thunderstorm and the scent overwhelmed him with its power and strength. It enchanted his senses and made him feel almost dreamy. 

His wolf nagged him that Ravyn was his mate, and she was staking her claim.

While he stood there stupidly, she walked away in a huff, calling out in a defiant voice, "I am NOT jealous."

Reeling from her stinging words and the overpowering mate sense, he blindly followed Ylavi and caught up to her near the bookshop. She stood waiting outside the entrance to the shop, named Between the Pages.

"Is there a problem?" she asked in a silky voice.

"Ah … no, I just needed to talk to Ravyn about something." He opened the door for her. "What book are you looking for?"

"A human romance, very popular." She gave him a sultry, playful look. "About a queen who finally finds her king after having been disappointed in love."

His eyebrows shot up, and he gave her his best flirtatious look. "A human love story, hmmm? I normally like books on history, music, and business."

"Perhaps you ought to broaden your tastes," she said lightly.

"Tell me about this human love story. Is this king also lovelorn?"

"Oh yes, and he wants his queen to move to his kingdom, but she's unsure if she wants to leave her people."

He didn't feel anxious about that, because Ylavi already told him she would be willing to move to Silverpaw territory and give the crown to her daughter. "What would make her do that?"

"Maybe reading a love story together," she said, her eyes sparking with desire.

The smell of the books comforted him. Books on every subject lined the shelves and beckoned readers to browse. Melisande hunted for her particular book while Jude wandered to the history section.

As he leafed through a history of the Elf-Goblin Wars, he heard a shrill voice berating a shopkeeper. It took him a moment to realize who the voice belonged to, and he couldn't believe his ears.

"HOW can you not have the most popular human book of the moment?"

"We sold out quickly," stammered the shopkeeper. "They need to print more–"

"Then I suggest you go to the printer IMMEDIATELY and demand a copy, you stupid human."

Jude peered around the bookshelf and his teeth sharpened at what he saw. Queen Ylavi stood glaring at the meek young woman who ran the shop. The woman's lips trembled and she shrank from Ylavi.

Jude marched over with the book on the Elf-Goblin Wars and handed it to the shopkeeper. "I'll take this, please."

"Yes, sir." The shopkeeper shot him a grateful glance. "Right away. Ah … we should have new copies of SEARCHING FOR THE STARS tomorrow."

"Wonderful. Reserve a copy for me, if it's not too much trouble."

He paid for the book and strode out of the shop–or attempted to. Queen Ylavi pulled him into one of the aisles hidden by piles of books. Nose to nose with him, her wings brushing his arms, she said in a low, icy voice, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. How can a powerful queen act this way?" Her attitude reminded him of Lady Yelna and also of the Hemmings in Graywolf City.

The minute those words left his mouth, he felt his energy being drained. Queen Ylavi clutched him, holding him in a dark embrace. Fenrir's guts! She wasn't going to wait for the wedding night to suck the life out of him. 

"You are mine," she whispered. "Forget about Ravyn. You need me."

"WRONG."

He was about to risk biting her when Ravyn ambushed him from behind, hugging him and pulling him free of Ylavi's clutches. How had she known? How could he pass up the opportunity she handed him?

He turned and kissed Ravyn with even more passion than during that encounter in his bedroom. Surrounded by the books they both loved, they kissed each other as if they were living that human love story. 

Definitely better than biting Ylavi! He might pick up something nasty from her blood, anyway. He should have listened to Ravyn.

His wolf was doing a joyful dance at hearing him admit how wrong he was.

Ravyn's lush lips invited him to linger in this haven of books. He felt like a completely different person than Jude Faolan, widowed Alpha. 

His wolf Arcturus jumped up and down. "Mate mark. Mate mark. Mark her."

Queen Ylavi made a sound more suited to a ravenous bird of prey than a graceful faerie monarch, and Jude and Ravyn slowly broke apart. Jude grinned wickedly at Queen Ylavi. "I think I may have found my mate–and even if I haven't, you aren't the kind of woman I want to spend another minute with, much less a lifetime."

"Because I got angry with a shopkeeper?" she huffed. "That's rich, especially coming from an arrogant Alpha."

"I am that, and I know what I want. Farewell, Your Majesty."

He took Ravyn by the arm and left Queen Ylavi standing alone surrounded by books.

* * * * *

Ravyn POV

The Goddess Brigid must have tapped her on the shoulder and made her turn around when she had only gone a little ways from the bookshop.

Maybe it was the predatory gleam in Queen Ylavi's eyes, so different from the wise, courageous princess who had stood with everyone against Cyran, Absalom/Hades, and the Dark Goddess. Ravyn had seen a different queen even a year ago when she attended the opening ceremonies of the Shifter Parliament. Queen Ylavi was considered one of the best rulers of the modern age, and certainly the best queen the faeries ever had. 

But when it came to husbands, future faerie kings should probably think twice!

"Should we go back to your shop?" 

Jude's question intruded into her thoughts as they walked side by side in the cool, crisp evening air. 

"We're headed that way. I thought you might stay at the inn tonight," Ravyn said. "I was thinking about staying with the Chalices."

With a lopsided grin, he replied, "Anyone would feel welcome in their home."

She took his arm. "But I think we need to talk in private."

Especially after kissing him in the bookshop in front of Queen Ylavi. Hot color touched her cheeks at what her Cresta family, all of whom could be wildly enthusiastic about their mates in public, would say.

Mates.

Was Eirika right? Was Jude Faolan her mate?

And why should she worry about what her family would think anyway? She wasn't some precious object to sit on a shelf gathering dust. As much as she loved Llia, she had a heart and passions and desires. After all, Lilia had pursued hers with Dane!

Ravyn and Jude didn't make conversation on the walk to the Bloodstone, both lost in their own reflections. The shop's wooden sign painted with a glowing bloodstone crystal was a welcome sight.

Inside, she noticed that the staff had straightened everything. The displays of crystals, including petrified wood from the Brighmere Grove, looked attractive. Despite her long absences, and Anneliese's, the shop seemed to run just fine. 

"You have some beautiful things here," Jude said in a dreamy voice, fascinated by the glittering objects. "That one almost seems alive."

She followed his gaze to a tanzanite crystal with light flashing inside. "Good eye. All of these crystals are living in a way. They hold energy and you can channel energy through them.This one, though, is particularly special. Lightning struck it and got trapped inside it."

"And it's still there?"

"Yes. Caught within the crystal."

Jude shook his head ruefully. "And here I used to think they were just pretty objects."

"They're more than that. Tanzanite encourages people to love again."

He stiffened. "Is that a hint?"

"No. And I owe you an apology. I didn't know she had become a Dark Faerie."

"You couldn't."

"And I shouldn't have–"

His strong hands gripped her shoulders and she felt a thrill at his touch. "I'm the one who needs to apologize. You were right about her–and right to step in and rescue me from my own d*mned stubbornness."

She took a deep breath, and inhaled his spicy, strong, masculine scent. "And you were right–I was jealous. I'm still jealous."

When she spoke the words, she felt like she'd just set out on a wild and carefree adventure. A bit frightening and also freeing.

Jude's brown eyes widened with delighted hope. "Your kiss already said that, Ravyn. But thank you. After days of denial, I need the words."

"ME? What about you and your strictly political mate?"

She couldn't help being shocked at her own boldness.

He threw back his head and laughed joyfully. "When I rejected Wise Woman Eirika's advice, I should have known I'd be in for a lesson I'd never forget."

His arms wound around her and he pulled her against him. The heat of his body scorched her even through the wool of his suit. Her body molded to his as though they'd been designed to fit together. He took her face in his hands, staring into her eyes while she brought her face closer to his.

"Jude," she murmured.

His scent, his strong hands, the warmth surrounding her all made her resistance vanish. He was strong enough to realize what his heart was telling him. So was she.

"I can't possibly fight it anymore," he confessed in a raw, passionate voice. 

"Neither can I."

She felt like she was riding a wild wind, and where it would take her, she didn't know.

Jude's eyes glowed golden. "Good. I want you, Ravyn. No matter what the Crestas might think … especially Lilia … and to h*ll with what my children will say. I love them, but they didn't cure my sleep troubles … you did. I don't care what anyone thinks … do you?"

"Goddess Brigid's fire inside me, no," she whispered, and was just about to kiss him when Daxius' voice shattered their romantic moment.

"Get away from her!"