Free Web NovelChapter 24: Consider It Done.
Samantha was curious about what was going on in the King’s tent. Inasmuch as the king couldn’t perform his conjugal rights, there was still so much that could happen.
Her mother had told her to rest assured but she didn’t want to buy that crap and that was exactly why she had come into Kane’s tent.
The guards tried to stop her, but she lied and claimed he was expecting her, so they let her in.
When she entered, there was no sign of him in his bedroom. However, her gaze caught his outfit lying on the bed. She ran her fingers over it gently, then picked it up and hugged it tightly to herself.
Samantha sat on the bed, remembering the day this animal skin had been gifted to her cousin.
It was the night he became the king; the elders had handed him a pair of lion skins, which gave him the territory and the sole license to wear them. No one else was allowed to wear it in the tribe, or in the whole of the North.
The Luna was allowed to wear a lioness’s skin. Unfortunately, no one had been able to wear that for as long as she could remember. Instead of marrying her, the king had chosen to marry a weakling like Arianna, who would never wear such a thing.
Arianna didn’t even know the value of these things... the lady was selfish and centered entirely on herself.
Samantha hissed, standing up from the bed and placing the animal skin back down.
Kane was in the inner room. She wasn’t supposed to go there, but curiosity got the better of her. Her wolf warned her, but she didn’t listen.
Samantha entered, her eyes beholding the gorgeous man sitting in the water. His heavily muscled arms were resting on the edge of the bath, and his handsome face was tilted upward.
His eyes were shut, and for a second, Samantha wished he would call out to her, inviting her to join him. The thought of him hugging her and stripping her bare in the water made her body ache with longing.
Never had she been intimate with a man. It wasn’t that others didn’t want her... she just wanted Kane and him alone.
Then, his eyes flew open. Her eyes widened in shock, not expecting him to catch her off-guard like that. She felt deeply embarrassed when he harshly sent her away.
With her lips twisted, Samantha found herself waiting in the bedroom. She kept cursing herself, hoping that Kane would not be angrier than he already was.
In less than ten minutes, he came out, making her feel even more terrible. His instructions had been incredibly harsh, but she didn’t dare counter them.
"I am still waiting for your answer, Samantha," Kane said, kicking her out of her thoughts. Her eyes quickly drifted away from his toned abs and back up to his handsome face.
"Mother sent me to ask if you needed wine," she lied, lowering her gaze.
Kane chuckled, his hands moving to his waist. "You are not being honest, dear cousin. Why would my aunt send you all the way here just to ask me about wine? She would have sent a servant instead."
"I found you in the inner room. Maybe she was trying to avoid a servant seeing you in such a situation."
"It would have been better if a servant had found me in such a state than you."
"W-what?" Her eyes widened in shock, finding it difficult to believe his words.
"Yes, Samantha. You are my cousin, and because we grew up together, you are like a sibling to me."
"What are you trying to say?"
"It must have been embarrassing or uncomfortable for you to see me like that."
"Forgive me, Your Highness, but it is no crime for cousins to marry each other in this tribe," she reminded him, just in case he had somehow forgotten.
"No, I never said it was," Kane replied casually as he sat down on the bed. He wasn’t taking the conversation seriously at all, and it was beginning to make her heart bleed.
Is that truly how he saw her? Just a cousin and nothing more? If the answer was yes, then Ragnar had been right all along.
"So why are you sounding like I committed a crime? Who knows if the Moon Goddess has destined us to be together?"
His eyes lifted in surprise, and then he chuckled. "Don’t be stupid, Samantha. I am married, have you forgotten?"
"She is not your mate."
"And are you?"
"No," Samantha said. But in her mind, she secretly added, not yet.
"Good. I don’t want you to ever say this again, and stop playing with such words," Kane told her. "You were joking, right?"
With tears welling heavily in her eyes, Samantha nodded. He stood up from the bed and walked over to where his trunk was.
"Good. I don’t want you to harbor such thoughts. We are cousins."
"I understand."
"Tell my aunt not to worry about wine. I don’t need it tonight, but I will call for it when I do," he instructed.
"Sure."
"You may leave," Kane said, turning his back on her.
He didn’t even bother to ask if she was fine or not. Samantha left the tent, her blood boiling. There were eyes on her, but she ignored whatever anyone was thinking until she got back to her own tent. She buried her face into her soft pillow, letting out a sharp cry that didn’t travel far.
She wished she could strangle that stupid princess... maybe only then would the king finally look at her.
Samantha lifted her face from the pillow, wiping her eyes. She was actually grateful that Ragnar wasn’t here right now; he would have joyfully laughed at her. That boy didn’t care about her feelings at all.
"Are you alright?" her mother’s voice called out.
Samantha turned and found her mother standing in the tent. She couldn’t control her tears any longer. "No, Mother."
"Who upset my beautiful daughter?"
"Arianna. I want her dead, Mother. If she is gone, Kane will finally become mine."
Aunt Freya looked at her daughter for a second, her heart aching to see her in such a state. She stepped forward, gently wiping away the tears with her thumb. "Consider it done, my daughter. You just sit back and wait for the good news."
