Once Upon a Pack (Royalverse, #1)

by Ari Wright

God, the way he smiles. I’ve never seen him so happy. Is that what I look like these days? It’s how I feel. Even now, watching my angel gaze over her shoulder and kiss Asher… I’ve never been more content. The harsh lines on Dair’s face soften, too.

Ivy smirks at the bulge pressing into my boxers. “You must really like omelets.” Asher chokes, and Dair snorts, both sounds every bit as funny as her joke. A loud laugh bubbles out of me. I shake my head in mock disapproval. “Such a naughty princess.”

Insulting a queen while she’s on her throne. Not smart.

“I think I have been, actually,” I tell her. “Better. What did you call it? Using my evil for good? I’m trying, baby. I swear. And I keep thinking I’ll come home and tell you all about it. But somehow, every night, when I get back here and see your face… it’s not enough.” Another breath sloughs out of me, and I slump forward. “Why is it so much easier to talk to you when you’re asleep? This is bullshit.” Her lips twitch. Just the smallest bit—but the bare hint of a smile sends my stomach sinking and soaring. Has she been awake this whole time? I see the answer before she opens her big blue eyes. They blink up at me, bleary but full of so much softness, my throat starts to fill all over again. The shy version of her smile graces her mouth. “You’re you.” She reaches for my hand again, tucking it under her chin again. “I missed you.”

Well, damn. I must be even more twisted than I thought, because the idea of this sweet, soft little omega barking to get to me sends a bolt of arousal down to my spent dick.

It twitches beside her cheek, and she casts it a dry look. As if asking, Seriously? I tug at her hair gently, recapturing her attention. “You barked to get to me?”

Hell, if it were the only way to give her what she needed, I’d burn the whole world to a smoking heap.

I fucking live for the thought of having you. I just want to make sure it’s the best thing for you, too. Because that’s what matters.”

“You matter, Dair.” Those three simple words hit me like a bullet to the heart. Pain explodes where the pounding organ twists, squirming away from that… Impossibility.

“This way, you always have a star handy. I figured my girl deserves as many wishes as she can make.”

“She’s like a special key that opens all three doors,”

Bast grins wider, and Ivy joins him. Always partners in crime, those two.

Something warm aches behind my ribs, stretching to fill my whole chest. Pride, I think.

After all, you don’t say no to a queen.

“I don’t want to mess up.” He hums, his chest hitching into a purr immediately. Like the big, gooey softy he’s become. Asher and I might make fun of him if we weren’t just as marshmallowy over our omega.

she sways up onto her tiptoes to kiss his flexing jaw. It works. The tight lines around his mouth vanish, and he dips to kiss her back, not giving a shit if he smudges her makeup. Dair might be evolving, but he’s definitely still Dair.

“Putting your stalking skills to good use for once,” she teases. “I’m so proud.” Dair rolls his eyes, but his purr gets more insistent. “Yeah, yeah.”

Until I’m completely naked, standing at her altar. And—no. Fuck all of this to hell. I’m going to kneel at her altar.

“That’s my girl. C’mere.”

My jaw drops as I gaze down at them, memorizing the sight of the three most powerful men in the palace on their knees. Letting me use them. Ride them.

Dair slides his hand around my neck, squeezing tenderly. His voice is somehow rough and soft at once as he praises, “Good fucking girl, telling us what you need.”

I just had him on his throne. I made demands, took whatever I wanted, and decided when we were done. I soaked slick all over the crown prince and the literal seat of his power. And he loved it. He loves me.

“Haven’t you heard? I’m not a princess. I’m their queen.”

“My queen doesn’t apologize to me.

Because how the guys love me has nothing to do with what I am. It’s who I am. I’m what they love. I’m what’s made them whole.

I hand our dozing princess to Dair. With a few brisk steps and a hard yank, I tug a set of deep blue sheets from the bottom drawer of the antique. When I shake them loose, my scent sours with a distinct edge of chagrin. “Stars?” Bast asks, half-grinning at the pattern. “Seriously?” They’re clearly sheets for a kid, leftover from my many summers here as an adolescent. When I see their quizzical looks, I clear my throat. “I had these when I was young. One of the housekeepers tried to get rid of them when I got older, but… the stars reminded me of Ivy and how she liked to make wishes. I couldn’t seem to get rid of them.” Bast’s shit-eating grin has me glowering. He snorts, “Oh, come on. That’s cute as hell.”

I send Ivy that thought and she gives me my favorite look—half innocent angel, half witty tease.

But being Ivy’s partner-in-crime will always be my favorite role.

I’ve been the queen for about forty-five minutes. Yeah, Bast replies, and they’re already cheering for you. Iconic.