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first shift?”
    “Tomorrow. Mara will have their uniforms ready by then. The Captain will brief them on etiquette and my guards will take over your safety at night, if I am not up to the task.” His lecherous grin left her in no doubt that he was going to take guarding her body very seriously indeed.
    “Are all of my guard shape shifters?”
    “Of course. It is a requirement for the position.”
    Interesting. Perhaps claws and fangs were more useful than they looked. “What is on the schedule for the rest of the day?”
    “A small dinner with a few dignitaries and then meeting with the court events coordinator, we have a formal wedding to plan.”
    “We do? I thought today’s announcement was all that you needed.” She was genuinely puzzled.
    “It is all I needed, but your people have differing traditions. You have rites and events that you need to keep.”
    She smiled, a small tear coming to her eye. He was so much more than she had anticipated. She was so wrapped up in her feelings that she almost missed the surge of hate as she passed the open doors to the audience chamber. “Whoa. That was nasty. The people around here are mostly pleasant, but there are some who really despise me.”
    He sounded pleasant , but there was a threat to his tone, “Is there anyone who has spoken to you in a less than polite manner?”
    “No. But when they project hate it, it is hard to miss.”
    He sighed heavily, his guards tightened around them and were visibly alert. “Only one week and they will be unable to attack you.”
    “Six more days of it?”
    “Yes, and the closer you stay to me , the safer you will be.” The hard muscle of his arm flexed around her waist and she wove her fingers with his on her hip to calm him.
    “I will know when they are coming, even before they do. But they only get to attack me when I am entering the throne room?”
    “Indeed. It has to be done in front of witnesses.” He sighed heavily again. “It is one of our oldest traditions. If a woman with no appreciable bloodlines marries the heir or occupant of the throne, she has to prove her ability to defend both her life and the life of any heir she may bear. It is archaic, but still law.”
    “We have some funny ones back home as well. The owner of every hotel in Hastings, Nebraska, is required by to provide each guest with a clean and pressed nightshirt. No couple, even if they are married, may sleep together in the nude, nor may they have sex unless they are wearing one of those provided nightshirts.” She nodded at his look of disbelief. “The Citadel has a few , too, you can’t use your mental skills to train animals to engage in any behaviour that they would not engage in in nature.”
    “Interesting and you will not distract me. I don’t want you going anywhere without either your guards or my own.” It was an order. There was no mistaking it for anything else.
    “Yes, your Majesty.”
    He winced. “Don’t call me that. If you must use a title, call me Sir.”
    “Ah, is that why Von calls me Madam?”
    “Yes. I don’t like the extra strictures of title unless I am dealing with other heads of state.”
    “Ah. A rebel. It’s a good thing to know.” He was removing his hand from around her waist and she found that she missed it. They stood in front of two closed double doors.
    He placed her hand on the back of his wrist and took a deep breath. “Cocktail hour. I do so hate it.” He nodded and the doors swung open.
    Aleyn leaned over and whispered in his ear as they started to walk into the room full of courtiers and dignitaries, “It’s show time.” Then raised her head and sailed in at his side. In for a penny, in for a pound.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Eight
     
     
    Aleyn swung through their bedroom door and immediately ran to flop on the bed. “Well that was fun. Let’s never do that again.”
    He chuckled and started to strip off his shirt and trousers, pausing to remove his boots. “I would apologize,