Grumpy Alien King by Celeste King
Heather
“Two days,” I whispered into the empty room. “Two damn days.”
It was painful having no one to talk to, especially when it had been two days since the most mind-blowing sex I had ever had. I wanted to talk to Xxuric about what had happened. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and honestly, I was craving more.
I had no idea why Xxuric was avoiding me. I had no idea why he left that night acting like such an asshole. It wasn’t like I even started anything! The whole thing was his idea! He had even gone as far as to skip meals, leaving me alone with Dahrial.
I groaned, burying my head under a pillow. Dahrial was a whole different issue.
The previous night I had tried to broach the topic of the wedding. It was odd that I had yet to hear of anything planned. Well, maybe not since I had sex with his dad and everything, but I doubted that Dahrial knew about that.
“Have you planned anything for our wedding?” I had asked him, trying to be nonchalant.
We were sitting in his room last night after dinner after I had griped about being left completely for an entire day. While it had been awkward and silent, it was better than being alone.
He shook his head. “I’m waiting for my dad to drop the whole thing. I’m surprised he hasn’t said anything about it.”
I nodded, chewing my lip. “I supposed I thought it would’ve been arranged by the time I arrived.”
“Not to be rude, but I am not exactly interested in marrying you. I’d like to put this off as long as I can.”
“I get that. I just don’t understand what my role is in all of this.” It was the most that Dahrial and I had really talked before. I assumed it had to do with my knowing his secret.
He ran his fingers down his face in exasperation. “I just wish my dad would call the whole thing off.”
“Speaking of your dad…” His head popped up, and he looked at me, puzzled. “He’s been pretty absent lately.”
“He isn’t usually around that much.”
There wasn’t any bitterness or malice in his voice. Dahrial didn’t seem to partially mind that his father wasn’t around. I suppose it did make it easier to sneak around with your tutor if no one was watching you.
“Since I’ve arrived, I’ve seen him a few times a day. It’s just odd that he’s been locked away.”
Dahrial shrugged. “He buried himself in work. It’s his thing.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but Rulora walked in. She no longer knocked now that the cat was out of the bag.
If I had thought Dahrial had been coming around to me, as a friend of course, it was nothing like how animated he was with Rulora. He was instantly on his feet, kissing her and asking about her day.
It made me a little bitter, if I was being honest.
“Hello, Heather,” she had said. “We have a lesson.”
“Mm-hmm,” I grumbled and left the room.
It’s not that I wanted to have a wedding with Dahrial. I just didn’t know what I was doing here anymore.
The sex was great, but Xxuric was shut up like a clam. Dahrial and Rulora had at least three lessons a day, and he wasn’t too keen on being around me even when she wasn’t here. To make it worse, there was no one for me to talk to at all.
I let out a frustrated scream into my pillow. My throat was still a little sore from the other night, but it had plenty of rest since I never got to talk to anyone.
I sat up, forcing myself to stop moping. There was one thing I could do…
It may have been a little drastic, but if I was going to be shit out and ignored, I didn’t want to stay in this house anymore.
I quickly dressed before tiptoeing through the house to Dahrial’s rooms. Unfortunately, I did not run into anyone.
I waltzed in, not bothering to care if he was asleep or dressed or with Rulora because I had seen it all at this point.
He was sitting in the corner of his room reading, and his face split into a wide smile when I entered the room. Immediately, his expression fell when he saw it was me. I tried not to let it sting.
“I need your help with something,” I said as he turned back to his book. “Can I use your phone?”
He raised an eyebrow, and then shook his head as if he was clearing the question. “Yeah, it’s on the table.”
I swiped it up. “I’ll be right back.”
I knew the Agency’s number by heart, dialing it swiftly. It was almost comforting to hear Madame Teshie’s voice on the other end of the phone.
“Thank you for calling Teshie’s Universal Brides. Out of this world brides--no matter your world. This is Yves Teshie speaking.”
“Hello, Madame. It’s Heather. I was recently chosen to be a bride for a Dragon Lord on Earth?”
“Oh, Heather.” She sounded hesitant. “Why are you calling?”
“I wanted to know the rules around the wedding. There has been no planning since my arrival, and the groom does not seem enthusiastic about our wedding at all. Is there a timeline of sorts?”
“That is an unusual situation you are in. We do not have many guidelines for how the groom must proceed. However, there is one thing you could do, but it is usually very difficult.”
“What is it?”
“If your groom-to-be signs release papers stating he chooses to no longer be wed to you, you may return and be chosen by someone else.”
I grinned. That would be a piece of cake with Dahrial as my betrothed. He would gladly be rid of me and undo his father’s mistake.
“Please send the papers, Madame.”
