The princesss chosen inh.., p.1
The Princess's Chosen (Inheritance of Hunger Book 2), page 1
The Princess's Chosen
Inheritance of Hunger - Book Two
Kathryn Moon
Copyright @ 2020 Kathryn Moon
The Princess’s Chosen
Inheritance of Hunger - Book Two
First publication: Oct 6th, 2020
Editing by Meghan Leigh Daigle
Formatting by Kathryn Moon
Cover by Covers by Combs
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by Kathryn Moon
ohkathrynmoon@gmail.com
Created with Vellum
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Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in, or encourage, the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This is a Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance and is not suited for those under the age of 18.
Created with Vellum
For Desiree,
for drawing all the threads together with me
Contents
1. Bryony
2. Bryony
3. Aric
4. Bryony
5. Bryony
6. Aric
7. Bryony
8. Cosmo
9. Bryony
10. Bryony
11. Cresswell
12. Bryony
13. Aric
14. Bryony
15. Bryony
16. Bryony
17. Cosmo
18. Bryony
19. Wendell
20. Bryony
21. Bryony
22. Bryony
23. Daniel
24. Bryony
25. Bryony
26. Owen
27. Bryony
28. Bryony
29. Bryony
30. Bryony
31. Bryony
32. Bryony
33. Bryony
Epilogue
Pre-order The Kingdom’s Crown Today!
Acknowledgments
Also by Kathryn Moon
About the Author
1
Bryony
“Mmm, yessss…"
I winced as my knife scratched against the porcelain dish, wondering if I was imagining the piercing stare of my grandmother flick in my direction from the other end of the dining table.
"Ohhhh, yes! Yes!"
Cosmo sat to my left, his shoulders shaking as he stared down at his plate with wide eyes and a smile pinned between his teeth. Camellia was slouched in her chair at the center of the right side of the table. Her Chosen Sam was kissing her shoulder and holding a bunch of grapes over her lips, while Igor had his face buried between her legs, where she'd thrust him beneath the dining table after the soup course.
Lady Pru watched the scene with an amused interest and an avid appetite for our steak and kidney pies, while the rest of my Chosen tried to remain impassive, uncertain where to put their gazes.
"Ahh! Ah, yes, finally!" Camellia cried, accidentally taking a grape into her mouth at the precise same moment as her climax, so that she came while choking lightly, her knees banging into the underside of the table and making the dishes rattle.
Candlelight shimmered, and for the first time since Camellia decided she had to be 'served' at our dinner, I watched with interest, waiting to see what the Hunger would do.
There was a great groan from under the table, and Sam moaned and shuddered against Camellia, who spat the grape on the table. There was no transformation I could see, and I realized as Sam began to palm at Camellia's breast and rut against her side—almost falling off his chair—that she'd put the magic directly back into them.
My stare turned to my grandmother at last, meeting her eyes across the miles of table. Was that really what she wanted from me? A useless display of carnal satisfaction?
"Take it to the hallway, Camellia," Grandmother said, with a weary sigh.
Camellia giggled, but Sam at least did us the favor of dragging my sister up out of her chair and hauling her toward the nearest hall, Igor chasing after them on his hands and knees with his pants hanging loose. Their grunts and moans started up again a few moments later, and Lady Pru snorted into her napkin as Wendell took a deep gulp of his wine, his eyes sliding to me with sympathy in his stare.
"How long do you plan on visiting, Grandmother?" I asked.
"Are we unwelcome, Bryony?"
Yes. "Of course not. Only unexpected. I wish you had come to see the festival too," I said.
Grandmother hummed and took a bite of her pie, her head shaking. "Dusty common festivals aren't really my form of entertainment, dear."
I gritted my teeth, fingers clenching around the handle of my knife, wishing I could reach for Owen, who frowned at her dismissal.
"And how was your journey?" I asked instead.
"Rough," my grandmother growled. "The roads are bad and…you know I approve of Camellia's appetite—" There was a great exclamation from the hall as if in emphasis. "But it does grow tiresome when confined in the carriage."
I resisted the urge to make a disgusted face, and instead hummed and took a slow bite of food. "We noted the condition of the roads on our own travels," I said mildly.
Grandmother raised an eyebrow. "And yet, you decided to forgo taxes?"
I set down my fork and knife and folded my hands into my lap where my grandmother wouldn't see me wringing them. "I observed that the condition of our people was much worse."
The other occupants at the table, and even the guards in the room, seemed to watch us like opponents in a sporting match, eyes volleying back and forth, waiting to see who scored next.
"Is that so?" Grandmother asked, frowning. I nodded, and she turned her focus to her meal. "I see. We'll discuss this more tomorrow. Do you have a young woman who can attend me this evening?"
I glanced at Lady Pru, who took the initiative. "We do, Your Majesty. I'll see to it now if I might be excused."
Grandmother and I both nodded in answer, and Lady Pru left the table with a quiet squeak of her chair on the tile.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" I asked, studying my grandmother carefully. Even in the warm candlelight, she did look…weary. It wasn't a quick journey from the capital to here, and if I'd been trapped in a carriage with Camellia and two of her Chosen, I was sure I'd look much worse.
"No, dear," Grandmother answered, less snappishly. "Nothing a good soak and a decent sleep can't do. Now explain to me why you need two stewards."
"The council appointed Daniel Farraque," I said, glancing around the room and realizing the man in question was missing, for once, which was strange for him. "I appointed Lady Prudence. She suits me better, and Farraque manages the laborious end."
"Well, the palace looks decent enough. Last I heard, it was nearly uninhabitable," Grandmother murmured, looking up again with her eyes narrowed. "You manage festivals and repairing the castle, but not the roads?"
I couldn't restrain the laugh in my chest, and I shook my head. "Honestly, I haven't spent a dime outside of my own pocket. I'll explain it all in the morning."
"Oh, will you?"
We stared at one another, the room watching the silent battle of wills. Since when did I stand up to my grandmother, even in this passive challenge? Since you've learned her faults and found your own strengths, I thought, wishing I could go to one of my Chosen and settle myself into their lap.
There was a male moan from the hallway, and I shook myself, glancing at Owen and holding out my hand. His eyebrows rose, but he stood obediently from his seat and moved to mine, taking my place when I stood and gestured for him. His arms wrapped around my waist, and I released a long sigh as I sank into his chest, settling my plate on my own lap and offering him a bite. It wasn't orgasms at the dinner table in full view of my grandmother, but it was what I wanted in the moment. Owen kissed my temple as I took my own bite, his hands soothing at my back.
"Tomorrow it is. I've had enough of willful young women," Grandmother muttered.
I woke the next morning as Cosmo rolled me over his chest to land between him and Wendell, ready to fall asleep straight away again, when I heard the door and looked up with eyes narrowed.
"Where are you off to?" I croaked, watching Owen attempting and failing to tiptoe out of the room.
He gave me a sheepish grin and shrugged. "I wanted to go and check on the new horses. We still don't have a proper groomsman—"
I sighed and relaxed back into the heap of warm flesh surrounding me, waving my fingers at him. "That's fine. Say hello to them for me. Love you."
"Love you, Mistress," Owen called back, and I found myself grinning as I snuggled into Wendell's chest, pulling Cosmo's arm tighter around me.
"How long do we have until the battle axe com
It took me a moment to sort through the words, and then I snorted against Wendell's chest. "Don't call her that…not where she might hear you, anyway. I don't know. Camellia will be asleep late, she always was the last to rise. And then she'll turn up wherever she thinks she's least wanted." I frowned at myself and huffed, turning on my back to glare up at the ceiling. "She's my sister… I wish I liked her better."
"Her performance last night was designed to irritate you," Wendell mumbled.
"She wants the crown?" Cosmo asked.
"I don't know. Maybe. She likes being better at the Hunger than me."
"She's not better. That was a highly unoriginal display. The one in the hall was worse, and I had a direct view," Thao said.
I opened my mouth to ask and then thought better of it. "I think…I think I should be prepared for anything."
"Your grandmother still doubts you have the Hunger, doesn't she?" Wendell asked, and I nodded. "Do we need to prove it to her?"
I blew out a long breath between pursed lips and then wiggled my way up into sitting, digging my fingers through tangled strands, until Cosmo sat up too and started to comb gently through them, making me sigh. "I've been trying to sort through that. I don't object to being open with my affection and interest for you all. And we haven't really tried to hide our activities around the palace. But if my grandmother wants me to be Camellia, I never will manage to satisfy her. I desire you all, I crave you, I plan on satisfying us all but—"
"But your priorities are to your kingdom and people, just as they should be," Thao growled, rolling his face into the pillow, the sheet on his back slipping down to reveal his perfectly rounded ass. Wendell's hand found mine and Cosmo's chin rested on my shoulder, all three of us taking a moment to admire the perfection. "Stop it," Thao said, laugh muffled.
"The only thing you need to prove to your grandmother is that you do serve Kimmery, exactly as you are," Cosmo murmured, kissing my earlobe and making me shiver. "I'm not sure that requires a live demonstration, but…"
"But if it does, you consent?" I asked, laughing and craning my neck to make room for him to cover it in nipping kisses.
"If I might be excused, I have some objection to letting the old crone watch me," Thao said, turning again and exhaling, Wendell taking care of brushing his silky hair back. "Wendell is very pretty to watch though."
Wendell laughed and grinned at me with a shrug. "For Kimmery, I suppose I might be pressed upon," he said, leaning in and brushing his mouth against mine.
I accepted the kiss and then started to make my way out of the bed, my nightgown tangling around my knees as I crawled out.
"That's transparent, you know. I don't know why you bother," Thao called.
"Because it makes her feel nice," Cosmo answered for me. "And because it feels good when we lick her through the lace on her breasts."
I tried to glare at him, but all I managed was getting a good look at them piled together, Wendell's washed out beauty nestled between their warmed earth tones. I could always just stay in bed with them and make Grandmother come to find me, my thoughts suggested helpfully. It wasn't a bad idea, but I shrugged it off.
"Has anyone seen where Farraque got off to? He vanished after we arrived back at the palace, and I haven't seen him since."
"Missing him?" Thao asked, dry and sarcastic, leaning heavily into Wendell's side, his hand sliding under the covers in Cosmo's direction. In the back of my head, I wondered what it would mean for Wendell and Thao to include Cosmo in their sex, and if it was something I needed to worry about. It would have to wait for the moment. They were all grown men, and for all I knew, it'd already been discussed.
"No, but considering how he likes to be underfoot, I'm feeling a little suspicious," I said.
"I have a theory," Wendell offered, glancing between a smirking Thao and a panting Cosmo, a soft smile on his lips. "I think he's avoiding your sister. He's unmarried and you're not claiming him. If she sets her eye on him, she may end up Choosing him, and then his role for the council is spoiled."
"We should, mmph, we should set them up," Cosmo said, grunting and falling back into the pillows, revealing the bounce of the sheets over his lap.
"I feel like I'm being set up," I said, wetting my lips and watching Cosmo start to squirm.
"Do you know how to suck cock?" Thao asked me, Wendell throwing back the sheets to reveal Thao's fist around Cosmo's dark length, Cosmo's hips doing the work of thrusting.
"I have a little instruction," I murmured, my feet drawing me back to the bed, eyes on the liquid seeping at the end of Cosmo's cock.
"There you are," Grandmother snapped as I appeared in the doorway of an eastern study that overlooked the woods.
Cosmo's hand was in mine, his smile still loose and cheeks flushed from the attention we'd served him this morning. Mine probably were too for that matter, and I'd decided I could dress as I usually did around the palace—corsetless and in a dress that offered easier access for my Chosen.
Grandmother seemed to freeze for a moment, looking me over again more thoroughly, her eyebrows raising and shoulders softening slowly.
"You look…well. Is this average infatuation or…"
"Or the Hunger?" I asked, helping myself to a seat on the couch, Cosmo making us a plate from the foods laid out over the table for my grandmother. It was a little bit of a dull palette for my usual breakfast, but we'd left our own breakfast with Wen and Thao in the bedroom.
"Would you be disappointed if I said it was both?" I asked as Cosmo moved to sit next to me, feeding me a slice of toast with jam.
"Not if that was the truth," Grandmother answered.
Her hawkish stare didn't have the same effect as it once had, still piercing but not injuring me like only a couple months ago.
"I've grown fond of my Chosen since I met them, and with that grew the Hunger," I said, and Cosmo's arm stretched across my shoulders.
"Fond? Bryony, the Hunger is more than fondness," Grandmother scoffed. "That's not how we work."
"No, but it's how I work," I said, glaring back at her. "Believe me, it surprised me too. But this is not just infatuation."
"I am glad if you're enjoying yourself here on your little sojourn in the north, playing at commanding our council—"
I sat forward, fingers digging into the cushions beneath me."What do you want, Grandmother? Me to prove it to you?"
"Of course I do, you silly girl! This is the fate of our kingdom we are discussing," Grandmother answered a laugh. "I see Camellia's faults, don't think I don't. But if she has the power, then she can rule."
"Rule? Like Mother does?! From inside her bedroom? You won't live forever, Grandmother, and I've seen Mother leave her chambers three times in the past year. Who is ruling this kingdom?"
"Bryony!"
I gasped, and my eyes dropped to my lap, discovering my hands clenched to fists in my lap, only then feeling the bite of my nails in my own flesh. My face was hot, and my pulse was loud in my own ears.
"Show her," Cosmo whispered gently, his palm spread over my spine. "It's all right."
"Perhaps the young man might leave so we may speak privately, granddaughter," my grandmother said in a low warning tone.
I glanced up into Cosmo's gentle stare, his brow tangled with concern, lips still swollen from my kisses. I snatched the plate from his hand and smashed it down against the floor, my grandmother gasping as it cracked and shattered between our feet. Cosmo only smiled and fell into me as I grasped at his collar, pulling him in for a deep, demanding kiss, drinking him down in great gulps as my grandmother snarled my name across the table from us. Cosmo moaned and melted into me, his arms wrapping around my waist, pressing me to the arm of the couch we were seated on, ready to drag me under him.
