Ileus: The Dark Prince

The next moment Iona nuzzled in his palm and then reached his chest and Ileus—he wrapped his arms around his sister. Tears rolled out of his eyes as his chest heaved with sobs. "Iona!" he said in a low hoarse voice. "I missed you!" He placed kisses on her forehead continuously as he cried and cried. 

His sister had finally come back. She was free from the dark forces. Ileus was the happiest man in the world today. He was standing with his wife and his sister. 

Kaizan came to stand right next to Anastasia and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as the two watched the brother and sister. While Iona was yelping and nuzzling and nipping him like a child, Ileus was only laughing and crying. "Gods, I missed you thick head!" he said. 

Jealousy stabbed him like a shard of pointed glass as Rolfe, who was standing just a few yards away, watched them. All his thoughts of abandoning his mate vanished in that second and all he wanted was to peel the white wolf away from Ileus. She should have been with him and not with her brother. She should have been kissing him and not her brother. Wait. He hadn't even kissed her once to show his prowess when she was in her human form and that thought killed him as if he had missed an opportunity of the lifetime. He regretted not rushing to show that he was her mate. He watched the two with clenched jaws and narrowed eyes. And this was the first time he realized why the girl purred every time he went near her. It was her wolf who was calling her mate. 

Over the next one hour, the fortress had become a haze of so much activity that Ileus was hardly bothered as to what was going on. It turned out that the demon prince, Rolfe had revolted against his father and was exiled from the kingdom. He was on their side. 

It took a lot of coaxing for Ileus to make Iona shift back to her human form. Despite their wounds, both he and Kaizan carried Iona to the grounds on the outside. It was a different matter that Iona yelped all the way to the grounds in her brother's arms. She had shifted for the first time and her wolf loved freedom. Going back to the human form was not a welcome thing. Ileus stayed with her patiently along with his friend, Kaizan, until she shifted back. And he knew that any extra dose of emotion would make her shift back instantly. 

When they reached back to the fortress, Ileus found Rolfe and his General were sitting with Yion and they were discussing things via hand gestures. Smell of meat roasting, cakes and bread baking and thick creams in soup wafted through the rooms. He didn't know what happened in the time when he was gone, but when he came back, he found that some demons were actually talking to faes. Language was a great barrier between them and they ended up talking in signals. 

When Iona came face to face with Rolfe, she said in demonic language, "I can explain." She was extremely shy and her face was flushing a deep pink. 

"Yes, I would very much like to hear your explanation and I think I will have to recruit you as my translator because I am not able to understand a single fae word!" 

Iona suppressed a giggle. She looked at her brother who still had a possessive arm around her shoulders—his arm an eyesore to the demon prince. He had to coax the girl to be with him as soon as possible. To his utter chagrin, she stood on her toes and kissed Ileus on his cheek. Then she hugged him tightly and said something in their language. It was frustrating for Rolfe as he couldn't understand anything she spoke to him. And why the hell did she kiss him again? Jealousy flared. His horns, which were curled behind, started moving up and they straightened. The demon was unable to control his rage. Although he kept his mouth close, it was apparent from his horns that he was furious as hell. 

His General, Arel, shook his head lightly fathoming his prince's problem. On the inside, he was extremely happy that Rolfe had found his mate—the first royal mate in thousands of years. Even his father's brothers were married to women who weren't their mates. It meant something so large—a royal with a mate was given preference to rule the kingdom. If they got married and accepted each other, then Rolfe would become the legal king of Galahar… over his father. And that is why Iona had to be protected fiercely. He had to make every demon vow an allegiance to their queen. He watched the little werewolf girl who had just shifted for the first time. His gaze went to Yion and they both knew that a lot had to be talked about. 

"Can we talk in private?" Iona requested Rolfe, interrupting Arel's thoughts. 

"You won't turn into the dark witch?" he asked, as a muscle flickered in his jaw. 

Iona laughed softly. "No, I have left all that behind me." 

And he knew that she was telling the truth. Rolfe gave a tight nod, even though on the inside he sagged with relief. He got up and guided her to a room. Ileus and Kaizan also left them. Ileus had to talk to his wife… urgently. When he reached the room, he found her sitting on the fur pelt, staring at the fire. She was still wearing the same clothes and didn't turn to look at him. He walked to her, knelt behind her and curved his arms around her. He buried his face in her neck and murmured, "I am sorry but I didn't wake you up because I didn't want you to get involved in the battle." He was aware that it must have been such a shock for her. 

After what seemed like eternity, Anastasia said in a low, hoarse voice, "Why didn't you tell me that you are my husband? Why did you hide it from me? Why didn't you tell me that I was pregnant with a child back when I was in Draoidh? How much do you want to protect me, Ileus?"

Ileus jerked his head back. "You remember?" he asked, his voice laced with stunned disbelief. 

She turned to look in his eyes and climbed his lap to straddle her legs around him. "I remember everything, Aly." A sob racked her body. "I remembered everything the moment you sent that thought in my mind. You said that I should give birth to our baby even if you die. She threaded her fingers in his hair and said, "I was sleeping at the time thinking it was a dream, but when I heard the sound of battle on the outside, I knew that it wasn't a dream. Memories came flooding back to me." She stopped to take a breath. "I love you so much…" she licked her dry lips. "That it hurts me, Aly." She pressed her lips and then the next instant they were all fangs and blood and lips and tongue. 

Two rooms away, Iona sat down on a fur pelt as Rolfe stood by the window, looking at her intensely.