Page 32 of The Wolf King's Chosen

“What about this?”

Xander sat up straight with his legs crossed, staring out the window at the drizzle of rain beginning to fall. Lexi came out from the walk-in closet wearing a velvet-textured wrap-around dress, the color of a stormy night sky. His eyes widened, and his heart seized in his chest.

“That is … perfect.”

He was breathless, looking at the way the dress danced around her curves, showing off just enough patches of her legs and bosom. It was something that could be worn in both a formal and casual setting, with a stern folded collar at the neck, the skirt hugged her hips, and flared out just above the knees.

She had brought some clothing from home, and he had also made a note of her size so the tailors could design new and fresh dresses for her. The dress before him was from the latter.

“Are you sure?”

Xander tried to reassure her that she was always a vision to him, but she wrinkled her nose and pursed her lips at him the way most women do when someone they love gushes over them.

He let her be once the dress had been chosen, heading into the private dining area to greet the guests as they arrived. The first royal couple there was Addisyn and Tyler, then Fletcher and Madison, and lastly, of course, Declan and Taryn. Even though he had met the siblings at his mate’s birthday party, Xander was astonished to see how much the sisters actually looked alike, with each acting as older and more outgoing versions of the other.

“Tell me,” Taryn asked, taking him by the arm while Declan stood away. “Where on earth is my baby sister?”

Xander was about to open his mouth and decree the delay of her arrival, but he saw her in his peripheral vision coming down the hallway in heels that signaled that magical song in his heart.

She was a vision, all right. Her hair was wavy and playful, her lips painted a darker shade of purple to match the velvet storm of her dress, and her scent was the enchanting vanilla and lavender. Lexi turned into a child the second she laid eyes on her sisters, all of whom ran to her with an intensity only siblings could ever know.

She giggled beautifully as they swarmed her, taking each one into her arms and jumping for joy. It both soothed and pained Xander’s heart to see how much she yearned for home and how difficult it had been for her to find it with him.

Declan interrupted his musings with a hand on the shoulder.

“Charming, isn’t she?”

“Uh-huh,” Xander replied absent-mindedly. “If I didn’t know any better, I would have said that she’d bewitched me. But no, it’s just her.”

Declan came to stand in front of Xander, blocking his vision of his future bride. He was starting to lose himself in her, which he knew, either way, was going to hurt like hell.

“You sound like a man in love,” Declan quipped.

Xander narrowed his eyes at the fellow king, clenching his jaw so tightly that he felt the bones cracking like logs in a fire. No one could know just yet how he was feeling. It was still all too confusing to comprehend.

“Let’s make our way to dinner then, shall we?” Stephen said, opening the dining room doors to the guests.

An opulent room with flowing shades of light blue and green accents housed their dinner, with tall windows exposing the faint patter of rain that fell in the canvas of darkness beyond. They feasted on chicken, turnips, potatoes, maple-glazed carrots, and freshly baked sourdough bread.

Lexi chatted with her sisters the entire time, leaving Xander and the kings to locate their own common ground of conversation. Xander adored the gleeful energy coming from his bride, her contagious free laughter echoing throughout the dining hall.

Her essence, her presence, her joy, her wonder, he drank it all up that evening, unsure when he would get to ingest it all again.

The tone of the evening started to change when dinner commenced, and the servers cleared the table. Lexi came to Xander, sat next to him, and gripped his thigh.

It sent golden shivers through his body, a warm glow rising in his stomach like fluttering butterflies.

“I think we should tell them in the sunroom,” she whispered. “What do you think?”

Up close, Xander could see all of the lovely details of Lexi’s face. Her eyes implored him for an answer, their shade darker and more disturbed than usual.

“That sounds fine, darling,” he said, touching her hand that remained on him. “Are you all right? Is there any way I can assist you?”

She closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Maybe just to stay by my side. I don’t know how my sisters are going to respond.”

He promised that he would, then, out of nowhere, she planted a quick peck of a kiss on his lips. It made him dizzy for a second, like a cartoon character with hearts dancing over him.

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