Queen of the Beasts *Sample*

Chapter 25

"What do you think of this one?" Griffin asked for presumably the thousandth time, but his voice fell on deaf ears.

My caramel coloured eyes were looking at everything but him and my focus was only on the world around me. I watched as people hustled through the market, their arms loaded with fresh fruits or new textiles. Vendors competed for the attention of customers, showcasing all they could in the small window of attention they were given. Each cart and stand was lined with vibrant colours whether it was bright fruits and vegetables, fragrant spices, or wild flowers. Humans were everywhere, often so disgruntled with the congestion that they paid no notice to me or the prince. There was children laughing and old friends hugging so there was no time to fret about royalty and the unnamed woman who lived in the palace. And it all would've been a beautiful sight if I wasn't so tightly wound.

"Violet." Griffin pushed, his voice becoming slightly irritated.

"Yes, sorry." I replied with a minor shake of my head. I immediately zoned in on the intricate, white lace that he was holding in the palm of his hand. It was stunning and expensive, I knew that, but my heart and mind were elsewhere. So my eyes flashed up to the hopeful vendor, "It's lovely, but not for me." I said apologetically.

Griffin murmured additional thanks and shot the old woman such a kind smile that her cheeks heated with a deep blush. I took a few steps away from him, knowing that Oliver was trailing closely behind, but knew me well enough to give me some room to breathe. Besides, with his slight limp he would have a hard time catching up without being conspicuous. Even with all these people swarming around just being away from Griffin's constant questioning and Oliver's protective gaze eased some of the anxiety that was plaguing my mind. I just needed to think without the constant reminder of the situation I had put Oliver and his men in.

Unfortunately, it was short lived.

"Come on, Lettie." Griffin almost groaned.

He had quickly caught up to me and grabbed my hand. With a single smooth motion he pulled me around to face him. I think it was supposed to be kind, or maybe even playful. But the assertive gesture made me jerk away from him as my mind flashed with thoughts of Thorn and his unwanted touches. My eyes darted around to find Oliver. When I found him watching from a reasonable distance my heart beat slowed a fraction.

"Violet, what's wrong?" Griffin asked, his voice softer now. Those ocean eyes searched my face and he took a step closer, like he was desperately searching for something he was missing. Clearly, he had seen my panic, no matter how brief it had been, no matter how hard I tried to control it. "I know that it is a confusing concept but it truly makes sense. We need to have a lavish wedding. The shop you buy your wedding dress from will earn enough money to support three families for a year, not including all of the popularity it will receive once the public knows where your dress came from. All of the food our guests will eat will be bought from our farmers. The flowers will come from the best florist who can then afford to pay his workers better. Think of this wedding as a way to provide work to those who need it. It will boost the economy in so many ways and it's a wonderful thing for our people to look forward to."

"It's not that." I whispered. I had once thought of myself as a brilliant liar and a self-reliant creature. But keeping my secret from Griffin was becoming harder each day. His softness, his constant concern, and his desire to please me were wearing down on me. My gaze dropped down to the wild red dress I was wearing and I toyed with the ends of my equally red hair, knowing that if I saw his sadness I would break.

"Is it the lace then? Your dress can be made out of whatever you want. I just thought you would look.... It doesn't matter what I think. This is your wedding." Griffin stated, clasping my hands in his. He tugged me closer than raised one of my hands to his lips, tenderly kissing it, "I just want you to be happy."

"I'm not upset about the lace." I confessed.

"Then is the rogue attack still upsetting you?"

"Yes."

Oliver was the one to come up with the lie after we had been ambushed by Thorn and his pack. He had insisted on telling the king, but I had asked him to hold off. He could move his guards around as he wanted and strengthen the patrols that circled the palace but I needed to be the one to tell Griffin what had really happened and why. But telling him the whole truth was almost impossible. Every time I told him we needed to talk he would assume it was about the wedding or our relationship and his eyes would light up. He would give me that boyish grin and I would see those dimples. I couldn't bear to be the reason that he lost his smile. So I continued to lie and he continued to believe me.

Now, he was steering me away from the dense crowds and pulling me towards a side street. I watched Oliver tense, but he remained stationary, casually speaking with some of the other palace guards. I just let Griffin tug me along. Though we were no longer in the thick of the bustling bodies it was almost impossible to ignore the glances that we received from the public. He had not announced me yet but there were rumors of our potential wedding going around.

"These things happen, Lettie." Griffin whispered, smoothing one of the stray hairs away from my face. "I'm so sorry that you got caught up in such a violent attack and I'm so grateful that Oliver and his men were there to save you, but this is simply a matter of royal life. I know that you were a rogue at one point- and I'm not saying that you would ever attack innocent people- but you do have to understand their mentality a little bit. They live with constant desperation. It makes them unstable. I'm not defending them, I'm just trying to get you to understand that rogues can be unruly and cruel, but it's not the end of life as we know it."

"I do." I agreed.

I expected that smile to light up his face, the smile that always took over when he felt that I had opened up to him, but it didn't. It seemed he was beginning to read me better. He took a small step closer to me, those intense eyes still searching. I was terrified of what he could find.

"There is something else, isn't there?"

"Yes." I blurted, the truth tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop it.

Griffin took another step closer to me. His head dipped down a centimeter so he could look into my eyes and as he did so his messy hair dripped down his forehead. It took everything in me to keep my hands by my side, to prevent myself from brushing it back. Ever so slowly he raised his arms up, one on either side of my body, trapping me against the side of a building and I let him. Maybe I wanted him to be so worried about me.

"Tell me what's going on." He breathed, his heavy eyebrows furrowing with concern.

"I can't," I whispered, turning away from his steady stare.

"Lettie, please. I just want to make everything better. Seeing you like this is torture. Let me make it better."

"I can't," I repeated, "Not yet."

Then I pushed my way around him. He could've held his ground, could've kept me there pinned against that wall until I submitted to him. But when I placed my hands on his chest and pushed him back he went willingly, almost crumpling. I knew that I would've seen a hurt expression if my eyes hadn't been watering so overwhelmingly. Before he could see how upset I truly was I dove back into the crowd, knowing that Oliver would find me and take me home.

****If this chapter gets 20 votes within a day's time I will update for three days consecutively! (otherwise the once a week update will resume which is still pretty decent I think)****