Chapter 233
The smell of seasoning and roasting meats filled the mansion’s dining room. Across the long table, meats, cheeses, vegetables, and fruits of all varieties had been laid out: Wagyu beef burgers, foie gras, escargot, pule, white stilton gold, Yamashita spinach, le bonnotte potatoes, white jewel strawberries, Densuke watermelon, and more. To top it all off, the chef had made blueberry pie with French vanilla ice cream topped with gold flakes for dessert.
From the head of the table, Andrew examined the spread. He nodded to himself in approval. Princess Aurora had more expensive tastes than Crystal, but it wasn’t anything that he couldn’t accommodate, especially that night.
Everything had to be perfect.
Andrew’s hand drifted to his breast pocket. Feeling the small square box still there, he sighed quietly in relief.
A knock at the door drew Andrew’s attention away from the table.
“Come in!” he called out.
Parker entered through the double doors, Princess Aurora trailing behind him.
“Your Highness, I have Her Highness Princess Aurora here to join you for dinner,” Parker announced.
“Thank you, Parker,” Andrew replied. “That will be all.”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
Parker bowed to both Andrew and Princess Aurora before leaving the room.
Andrew turned to Princess Aurora and smiled. He took in her pale pink turtleneck dress, the ruby heart in the center of the dress’s neck, and her matching pink pumps. He admired her bouncing golden locks, crystal blue eyes, and cherry blossom lips.
“Good evening, my princess.” Andrew swept down to take her hand and kissed the knuckles. “You look exquisite.”
Princess Aurora raised her hand to her lips and giggled.
“Thank you, my prince. You look very handsome yourself.”
Andrew chuckled and pulled a chair out for Princess Aurora. She gracefully accepted the seat, and Andrew sat down beside her.
Princess Aurora’s eyes widened at the selection of food.
“My, look at all this!” she exclaimed. “It all looks so delicious. Are we supposed to eat everything?”
“Just eat what you want. Don’t worry about the rest.”
“But where will it all go?”
Andrew couldn’t help admiring Princess Aurora a little more in that moment. It was a relief to see that she cared about wasted food, unlike her father.
“Anything that we don’t eat will go to the homeless shelter that I took you to visit during our tour of the werewolf world.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
Princess Aurora’s eyes swept over the food again, pausing momentarily on the various meats before taking in the other dishes.
“I don’t know where to start.”
“Might I suggest the Wagyu burger?” Andrew placed an enormous burger on each of their plates. “It’s the thickest and juiciest burger that you have ever had.”
Princess Aurora licked her lips slowly, seductively.
“I do love things that are thick and juicy,” she said.
Andrew purposefully ignored the inuendo behind her words. He decided that it was just his own filthy mind filling in the blanks. There was no way that sweet, innocent Princess Aurora would suggest something so crude.
Princess Aurora gingerly picked up the burger, her pinkies raised. She bit at the burger, grease dripping down her chin. Andrew smiled slightly.
“You have something right…here, let me get it for you.”
Andrew grabbed his cloth napkin and dabbed at Princess Aurora’s chin.
Princess Aurora trembled at his light touch. She swallowed her mouthful of beef and grinned as the moment brought back memories of their first time together in Howler Park. After he finished cleaning her, she leaned forward and gently kissed Andrew on the lips.
“Thank you, my love,” she said softly.
“Here,” he said, scooping escargot onto their plates, “have some of this next. It might sound like an odd pairing, but escargot goes surprisingly well with Wagyu beef.”
Princess Aurora tucked a curl behind her ear.
“If you say so, I’ll give it a try.”
As dessert was served, Andrew knew that the time had come. He patted his breast pocket, emboldened by the box within.
“My princess, there’s something that we need to talk about,” he said.
Princess Aurora set down her forkful of blueberry pie and pushed her plate to the side. She folded her hands in her lap, giving Andrew her complete attention.
“What’s that, my love?” she asked.
“Well, I wanted to tell you that I have come to care about you quite a lot since we started seeing each other.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet.”
Princess Aurora reached over and grabbed Andrew’s hand. Andrew squeezed her hand tightly.
“I have been giving our relationship a lot of thought…”
Princess Aurora’s heart fluttered.
“Yes?”
“And I think that we fit very well together.”
Princess Aurora’s face lit up with joy.
“I think so, too.”
“I also think that a union between the werewolf world and the human world would strengthen werewolf/human relations greatly, especially since you are a well-loved hybrid.”
A splash of pink matching her dress spread across Princess Aurora’s cheeks.
“Oh, I wouldn’t call myself ‘well-loved’.”
Andrew ran his thumb over the back of Princess Aurora’s hand.
“I would, and so would many other people. You are the jewel not just of King Frederick’s heart but of the entire human world—and you are quickly taking the werewolf world by storm as well.”
Princess Aurora’s cheeks darkened. She lifted her hand to her lips and giggled.
“I don’t know what you’re getting at, my handsome prince, but flattery will get you everywhere.”
“What I’m getting at, my princess, is this…”
Andrew reached for his breast pocket and pulled out the small box. He then knelt down on one knee beside Princess Aurora’s chair and opened the box to reveal a 3-carat princess-cut diamond set in rose gold. He looked up to see tears streaming down Princess Aurora’s cheeks and a broad smile plastered on her face.
“Princess Aurora of the human world,” he said, “will you do me the honor of becoming my Luna?”
Both of Princess Aurora’s hands flew to her face. She alternated between covering her lips and fanning her eyes to stunt the flow of tears. Enthusiastically, she nodded.
“Yes,” she said. “Dear Goddess, yes! I will marry you.”
Andrew took Princess Aurora’s left hand and slipped the engagement ring on her ring finger. He kissed her knuckles, then stood up and kissed her properly on the lips.
Princess Aurora wrapped her arms around Andrew’s neck and pulled him in closer. She parted his lips with hers and slipped her tongue into his mouth. Andrew’s eyes widened, and he carefully pried himself away from her.
Princess Aurora glanced up at him from under her lashes, her look of elation replaced with one of confusion and hurt. Andrew ran his hand down her cheek.
“Don’t worry, my princess. We’re engaged. We have all the time in the world for matters like that.”
Andrew gave her another peck on the lips.
“I just want to enjoy your company.”
“I want to enjoy your company, too,” Princess Aurora replied, “all of it.”
“And we will, someday. For now, let’s focus on each other’s minds before we focus on each other’s bodies.”
Princess Aurora sighed quietly.
“Of course, my love.” She glanced at her ring and smiled from ear to ear. “We do have the rest of our lives for that, after all.”
“Yes, the rest of our lives,” Andrew echoed.
