Chapter 275: Wolf Mate Dragon Lover Wanted Fucking Criminal

Jaxon Valerios had served Maddox Drakencrest through wars, coups, assassination attempts, and one diplomatic dinner that technically counted as an international incident. None of it prepared him for the moment Guinevere Lunaris looked at Maddox and Kael Ashenvale and asked, with genuine warmth, how long they’d been partners.

"You’re Kael’s..." Her voice trailed off.

"I am the most important man in his life," Kael chimed in.

Her eyes widened, then reddened before she could stop it. Horror followed by grief flooded into two dragons at the same time. Even with Maddox’s static matebond, it hit like a wrecking ball aimed at his ribs.

She blinked it back, and her face rearranged itself into something supportive that did not match the emotions she was feeling.

"I think it’s wonderful that you’re so open about it."

"Open about WHAT?"

"Your relationship. How long have you two been together?"

Neither Maddox nor Kael was understanding what was happening.

She picked up on their confusion and pivoted. "I’m not familiar with the terminology your community uses and I don’t want to mislabel the dynamic. I meant how long have you two been engaged in cohabitation and as partners of life in general?"

Every man in the room died a different death at her question.

"I’m Kael’s brother."

"Oh." She blinked. "I didn’t realize you two were that close. Lunaris is very accepting of all partnership structures."

"No. His actual brother."

"Of course. Chosen family is just as valid as biological family. I didn’t mean to diminish your bond by using traditional labels."

Kael produced a noise that could only be described as a man’s soul leaving his body through his sinuses.

"We have the same father," Maddox clarified.

"I understand. That’s increasingly common and nothing to be ashamed of."

Maddox stared at her. Then at Kael. Then back at her.

"It’s not ROMANTIC, Guinevere. We’re BROTHERS. We are related," Maddox tried again.

"So you’re biological."

"YES."

"And you live together."

"Yes, because it’s a FORTRESS. Everyone lives together."

"Of course. Communal living. Very progressive."

Kael was shaking from the effort of not laughing.

"Guinevere," Maddox said slowly, in the tone of a man who had started this conversation as a king and was finishing it as a customer service representative. "I am not Kael’s partner. I am not his roommate. I am not his chosen family. We share a father who produced us. Sequentially."

"Understood. Thank you for the clarification. I want you to know that however you identify your relationship, I’m supportive."

"I IDENTIFY IT AS BROTHERS."

"Absolutely. And that’s valid."

From across the room, Jaxon was facing the wall. His shoulders were convulsing.

"King Solveil is being notified as we speak," Octavian, the Luminari Master Mage announced. "I don’t want to put her through another portal. Both Luminari and mage magic could trigger her."

Guinevere’s head turned towards Octavian. "Does your King know about the possibility of the rune situation?"

"The rune situation," Octavian repeated.

"Yes," she answered. "That and I also don’t think I am the woman you are referring to. It’s very early. I’m sure he has a packed schedule and I don’t want to waste his time or expose him unnecessarily."

"Your Highness, You are speedrunning a process that should have taken months. Your light needs to calibrate with the sovereign’s because you are not equipped to hold it yet."

"Thank you for that context. I haven’t had the opportunity to familiarize myself with your community’s literature yet and I want to honor that with proper research before meeting with your sovereign."

"You are part of our community," the Master Mage said. "You are a Luminari. You do realize that, correct?"

Guinevere blinked a few times. "Yes. I heard you mention that earlier and I affirm your statement. With respect, you told me earlier that Luminari are born with the light and it manifests in adolescence. I received mine a few days ago so the timeline doesn’t line up."

"In six thousand years of recorded Luminari history, exactly one woman has carried the light and she is in this room. Your light signature is a mirror of the King’s. I WOULD KNOW. I don’t need a second opinion. You are the prophesied queen of Solveil and the only outstanding question is how you’d like to be addressed. The position has been filled. By you. Without an interview."

Maddox’s nostrils flared and his dragon rumbled under his ribs like distant thunder. Neither Luminari reacted, having long since gone deaf to Kael doing that exact shit all damn day.

Kael rubbed his jaw with his free hand, the other still locked on hers. "She wants to close the knowledge gap. That tracks."

"Full disclosure," Guinevere said. "My prior engagement with Solveil’s security infrastructure ended with a fire-at-will order for trespassing, resisting arrest, accidental destruction of fountain infrastructure—"

Maddox’s hand was over her mouth before the sentence finished, which was fair because even she knew that one should have stayed inside. It started as disclosure and ended in a confession.

"What my wife means is she had an unscheduled tour of the Citadel that involved some miscommunication with the guard rotation. Nobody needs the details. As for what to refer to her as, she is the future High Queen of Velkaris," Maddox said without skipping a beat.

The words landed on Guinevere like a dumpster full of bricks dropped from a rooftop. Her chest seized and her heartbeat relocated to her skull.

She and Kael had sex. Kael was Maddox’s brother. Her wolf said she had mated with Nicholas Shadowfell. She wound up naked in a man’s bed this morning. Put it all together and it sounded pretty damn bad.

Maddox was not going to want her as his queen the second he learned that stuff. But if there was a military contract between...

Holy shit.

Her train of thought was derailed because he just said Velkaris. The continent. This man was the Dragon King. How in the fuck did her father sell her to the dragon king?

The room was tilting again and it wasn’t from blood loss. She was going to be sick because of how loaded that statement was.

She needed to splash water on her face and she needed a moment to process that alone without Kael holding her hand or her supposed husband looking at her.

A week ago she was the runt daughter of an Alpha who had remarried. A runt whose value was on borrowed time. She knew the math. Tonight she was apparently a prophesied queen, a wolf king’s mate, a dragon’s lover, and a wanted criminal.

Maddox’s hand moved from her mouth. Both he and Kael were saying things to the Luminari Master Mage. Guinevere didn’t wait for permission. Ignoring the searing pain in her side, she was off the ground and moving to the bathing chamber in a blur before anyone realized what had happened.

Maddox’s hands were frozen mid-air where her head had been. Kael was staring at his hand that had been holding hers and was now empty.

Both of their heads snapped up to her at the same time. Neither of them looked pleased about the arrangement.

CRACK.

White light flashed. The noise scared Guinevere this time. She gasped in surprise.