Taken by the Dark Elf King : Monstrous Mates Book One (Monstrous Mates Series 1)

I WOULD’VE WANTED YOU TO, ARKAIN.

That phrase rings in my ears. She cannot have meant it, but there was honesty in her tone. Light elves aren’t tricksters, and what motives does she have to lie? This dinner tonight showed me one thing. That Elvie is as complex and interesting as she is beautiful.

A beauty that grows every second I spend looking at her.

She wants to get to know me. To give things between us a shot. This is more than I deserve and more than I could ever hope for. A chance at something real. To give her a good life filled with happiness and companionship. It’s what I owe her after stealing her choices from her.

I gaze out of the open window in my study. The moon is high in the sky and it casts the lands into a blue hue.

She wants me to court her. Fuck, how am I supposed to do that? Elvie said it would just be about spending time together and talking. Beyond fighting and fucking there is not much that I can recall passing the time with. The first of which I want Elvie nowhere near. The second… I would give my right hand for just one night with her.

The beast inside me agrees, pushing me to claim her. But I cannot. She will come to me of her own freewill or I will live with this incredible ache for the rest of my life.

As I sit and contemplate what courting her would look like the thought dawns on me.

I almost forgot that it was tonight. Looking at the moon there is still time, if we hurry that is. Grabbing my cloak I exit my room and make the journey to her side of the castle. The halls are silent, guards stiff at their posts.

It isn’t long before I find myself outside of Elvie’s door. Before I can change my mind I knock.

“Who is it?” she calls.

“It’s Arkain. Can I come in? There’s something I want to show you.”

She hesitates for a second before calling back, “The door’s unlocked.”

Pushing through, I am struck by how warm her room is. The wonderful floral scent in the air. It’s almost enough to distract me before I realize what I am seeing. I scrub a clawed hand down my face.

Elvie is actually trying to kill me.

Her silver hair is piled on top of her head as she sits in the bath. Steam billows over the sides, the water a milky white, while wildflowers of every kind and color float to the surface of the water. Her silver eyes find mine, her grin mischievous.

I will myself to stay calm but my cock is not listening, hardening at the scene before me.

Elvie is mere steps away. Naked and flushed. I must stop breathing. She tilts her head and waits for me to say something. Quickly, remembering my place, I turn around to face her bed.

“You’re…naked,” I manage to get out though the words sound rough even to me.

“That is how one bathes, Your Majesty.”

“And you allowed me in here whilst you’re in this…condition?” She laughs softly and gods help me. I hear water sloshing as she rises. I can just picture her smooth skin glistening in the firelight. Her nipples hard and begging for my touch. My mouth. The glorious place between her legs is begging me to…I cough and do my best to subtly readjust myself in my pants.

“For a group of beings who prides themselves on being animals, you all are the most fickle when it comes to nudity.” I hear the water slosh as her feet hit the carpet. “I told my lady’s maid about our summer festival where we run through the Merrywood naked and she almost fainted.” There is rustling behind me and I dare not turn my head.

“I am clothed now, you can stop studying my bedspread.” With a deep breath as I try to regain some of my control, I turn back towards her. She is draped in a dark green robe, the material open low enough for me to see the slight swells of her breasts. Her hard nipples push against the fabric and I have to bite down on my tongue to keep from groaning.

“Well, what is it you wish to show me?”

Did I come in here to show her something? I hardly remember with the way her skin is glowing. She looks like a goddess, especially as she unpins her long hair and it falls down her back. Why am I here again? Oh, yes.

Glancing out the window I curse.

“There’s something in the garden I thought you might find interesting. If you would allow me to show it to you.” I take a deep breath steadying myself. “I think you will like this and I want to show that I’m taking this courting idea to heart.”

I peek open one of my eyes at her and there’s a soft smile on her lips. Gods, if she could look at me like that every day I would die a happy male. Without another word she tucks her arm into the crook of mine. She is so fragile and the beast inside me is screaming.

Protect, protect, protect.

“I would love to see it, Arkain. Please, lead the way.”

I feel like I am floating with her on my arm. The hallways of the castle do not even faze me. Nothing matters but her warmth soaking into my side. The way she brushes against me. Her floral scent that I want imprinted on my skin, my bones, my sheets.

Before I even realize it we are here. The garden. The place where our story started. She must be thinking the same thing as she looks up at me with her cheeks pink.

I lead her past the stream to a pond in the back. The moon is at its peak so it should be starting soon. A gasp escapes her lips as she watches the dark water below. Thousands of small creatures float to the surface of the pond to be powered by the moon. One by one they begin to glow, making the black water look like a star-filled night sky.

“Oh my gods.”

“It is only on certain nights, when the moon is bright enough and the night is clear that they will do this.” A lump forms in my throat but I swallow it down. “My mother used to take me out here when I was young. She said that a king a long time ago stole a piece of the night sky for his mate because he loved her so much.”

Elvie peers up at me with a soft smile as the tightness in my chest grows more intense.

“She would say that love has the power to do anything. My father taught her that, and he made sure that I understood to love something and to let it go was to lose it forever. That is why my mother prayed that I would be saved when so many told her to give up hope on me.”

We are quiet for a moment as we watch the fish swim around the pond. Elvie turns next to me and pushes up on her toes. Her soft lips press into my cheek. It is over far too soon and I feel myself craving her closeness again.

“Thank you for showing me this.” My face is hot, but I nod. She looks around the garden and then turns back to me.

“Do you have to be king all day tomorrow or can you spare a few hours?”

“I meet with my advisors in the morning but I can cancel everything in the afternoon. Why? Did you have something in mind?”

Her beautiful face morphs into something that is purely dark elf.

“You’ll see.”