Kiss of an Empress

It was not difficult to notice his hesitance, and Zee leaned into him further to share her comfort with the wolf she loved. More then once she felt a sigh blow over her head and her frown deepened, though she could thank her much smaller height that such expressions could pass by his notice. It was beginning to worry her, and the rest of the world faded away as he began to speak. Every word she absorbed, trying to anticipate the next or guess upon what had happened to possibly upset him so much. With each new statement her heart pounded harder and as he spoke of the feelings that lingered past his childhood, she wanted to beg him to stop.

His admittance hit Zee like a mighty slap of his paws, and she felt her confidence begin to crumble beneath the weight of his words. "Your presence... stirred her." She repeated slowly, her voice cracking. She broke away from his embrace with a poorly concealed whimper. Every ounce of strength she had been fighting to regain over the last year was suddenly for nothing, and the insecurity began to crash into her once more. If she'd been born larger or stronger, then perhaps others would think twice about trying to sway her husband away from her. If she had been an alpha partner worthy of Sirius then maybe he'd have fought to stop it before his lips had been stolen from her.

Zee squeezed her eyes shut tight, her horned head bowing beneath the pain. She suddenly felt very cold and her body - as if on cue - shuddered violently. Nausea began to eat at the depths of her chest. Deathbelle was not only his first love, but his Empress whom he was loyal to above any other. If the Klein woman commanded him to warm her bed that evening, would Sirius refuse? Would he want to refuse? Every time Zee had questioned that very scenario, she had always been confident that Deathbelle would never cross that line. She was her best and truest friend and the closest thing Zee had to a sister. Never could she have expected this betrayal.

She needed several quiet moments to absorb the hurt, though with each passing moment she felt the pain only grow. Pain turned to bitterness, bitterness bled into anger. Zee would live in the shadow of their forbidden, childhood love for the rest of her life... unless she did something about it now. "When I challenge her for your heart, will you fight on her behalf?" Her words were dry and cold, directed to the water that lapped softly beneath the bridge. Her eyes remained shut tight to keep her tears from spilling over. It did not matter whether Sirius had chosen Zee in the end or not, the only thing that mattered was that clearly Deathbelle had not accepted it.

Already she was expecting him to confirm her suspicions and she curled her lips into a grimace to hide her pain. Or maybe his loyalty ran even deeper then she'd expected, and hearing of Zee's plans he'd strike her down here and now to prevent his Empress from being harmed. Regardless of the choice her warlord was to make, Zee knew she would not waver in her decision. She'd fight for his heart with everything she had, and Sirius would be matched with whomever had the strength to rival his own.