Last time on Blind Hope

"On the right, there are a bunch of trees. On the left, you can faintly see the mountains." He didn't know what else to say, so remained quiet until the scenery changed. "We're entering a city. We'll be at the Mountain Pack-house in about an hour."

"Thank you, William. Thank you." Hope let herself relax and fell asleep still holding Dorian's hand. In truth, William thought that he'd be a better suit for Hope than Hector, but well, time would tell.

~~~~~~~~~~

William pulled the car up to the airport gates. One of the guards on duty walked to the driver's side window and tapped the glass. He waited patiently for William to lower the glass. "Hey, there. Gonna need to see some identification." The wolf popped a bubble in his spearmint gum. William pulled out the a badge with his face, name, and Royal pack symbol on it. The guard nodded his head, looking back at William. "Alright then, Mr. William. Gonna send ya on through. The plane's waitin'. Have a good day." He tapped the car and nodded at the other guard. The other guard simply stretched his hand out beside him and slapped a red button. The gates slithered open and William drove through, raising his window back up. "Majesty," he said, pulling to a stop beside the plane. "King Dorian."

Hope stirred, and sat up, rubbing her eyes. Or at least, she tried to, Dorian's hand was still very much attached to one of hers. And it felt dead. "Dorian?" Hope pulled against him, but the grip only tightened. "William, he won't let go."

"I'm coming," he sighed, stepping out of the vehicle. William threw open the door and the bust of sunlight had both Hector and Horatio snapping to attention.

"Awake! Awake!" Horatio rubbed his eyes. "Ah, that's sweet." He nudged Hector. "Isn't that sweet?"

"Dorian." Hope said again, trying to peel back his fingers. "We need to get up." He snored. "Oh, for heaven's sake." Hope managed to position herself in front of Dorian, pretty much straddling him. "Dorian, baby. Wake up." She took her free hand and found his nose, she let her hand feel to the side of his face. "Dorian!" Snore. "There's no way he's still asleep."

"I apologize, Highness. He is very much a heavy sleeper." William was looking everywhere but them. Horatio and Hector had dove out of the vehicle - just in case something did happen.

"Mi amore," Hope whispered, placing her mouth right next to Dorian's ear. She whispered so softly that William didn't catch what she said next, "I'm going to start taking off clothing for every time you don't wake up when I say your name." She took a breath. "Dorian."

Dorian had never woken up so quickly in his life. He jerked forward, his hands going around her waist. He looked around disoriented, until this eyes landed on a smirking Hope. "I was going to say I just had the craziest dream, but I'm not sure it was." Hope didn't say anything, but allowed William to help her out of the vehicle. "But I'm fine with that later."

"Dory!" Hope scolded. "You were the one who wouldn't wake up."

"I assure you, if you call my name now, I will always wake up." Dorian became leading Hope to the airplane, but then he stopped, looking down at her. "What did you call me?" Horatio burst into laughter and draped his arm around Dorian.

"Why does it matter, ole Dory?"

"Take your hand off of me." Dorian went from teasing and gentle, to harsh and stern in record time. Horatio stepped back with his hands in the air, but he continued to smirk. "And don't ever call me that, Beta." Horatio nodded, still smirking. "You, however," Dorian whispered into Hope's ear, "are now only allowed to call me that." He straightened up, his hand slipping down around Hope as they continued to approach the plane. She yelped when Dorian picked her up bridal style, then instantly relaxed in his arms. "Stairs." He said softly, carrying her up.

"Thank you, Dory." He inhaled, his eyes flashing black. Hope was completely in the dark to what she was doing to poor Dorian. "You're starting to smell differently. Are you okay?" Dorian flushed. Did she not know what arousal smelled like?

"Oh, Queen. He is far from okay."

"Shut up, Horatio!" Dorian growled, setting Hope down in her seat. "William, I give you permission to punch as you see fit." And so William did, directly in the arm. Thwack.

"Ow!" Horatio rubbed his arm and glared at William. "What the heck, Will!?"

"It's Her Highness or Her Majesty. Queen is disrespectful, unless her name follows. Like so: I apologize for my behavior, Queen Hope." William glared at Horatio and took a spot sitting down behind Dorian and Hope.

"Can't you just call me Hope?" Dorian answered that for her, his voice softening as it always did for his mate.

"It's not proper. We are addressed by our titles, same as Alphas."

"But even Alpha's closest friends call them on first name basis." Hope could sense the growing the tension and cocked her head. This was the worst apart about being blind sometimes. Situations were hard to read. She reached out and found Horatio to be amused, Hector surprised, William worried, and Dorian... Well, he was annoyed for some reason.

"True," Dorian cleared his throat, "however, we are Royals. It is different." Hope's mouth twisted to the side and she merely hummed in response. There was no reason to start an argument, especially not in front of others. The rest of the ride was relatively quiet. Horatio kept the conversation going. Dorian never tried to start or end conversation, and so it was mainly up to Horatio to facilitate conversation when Alpha's reached out or came to the castle. Although, he had never imagined he'd be doing it for his Queen and King. The unspoken argument seemed to be bothering the both of them in a strange way. Hope was unusually quiet, and the King unusually snappy. But not towards Hope. Anytime Hope said something, Dorian would always respond with a caring voice.

However, as the flight wore on, Horatio was running out of conversation topics. "That darn economy, huh?" No one responded, and Horatio gave up with a huff. The rest of the flight was commenced in awkward silence.

When they began the landing, Hope shifted in her seat uncomfortably. She could feel the altitude changing as the pressure on her body begin to change. Horatio began speaking again, commenting on their arrival and how relieved he was. Hope didn't hear him, however. She was busy internally freaking out and trying not to show it. Dorian, on the other hand, was to distracted by their fight to notice. He didn't want to start things out on the wrong foot.

The plane hit the ground, and Hope yelped, grabbing the edge of her seat nervously. Dorian's attention snapped to her, ashamed he hadn't been paying more attention. "It's fine, Highness," William said softly from behind her. "We've arrived at the Royal airport. We're going to go down to the waiting vehicles and drive the rest of the way to the palace. It isn't far." Hope nodded, taking a deep breath. She felt Dorian taking her arm and allowed him to help her out of the plane.

"Thank you," she whispered as he helped her into the vehicle. It was just them, with William driving. Horatio and Hector had taken a different vehicle. When the car began rolling away, Hope asked, "Did I upset you? Earlier, when I asked about the use of titles."

"No, my sweet. I was just... caught off guard. People don't usually disagree with me." He paused. "Well, accept for Horatio, but that's his job." Hope nodded, but didn't speak anymore. She was the Queen. Wasn't it her job to also disagree when she though necessary?

"Majesties, we're here." William announced. "We've arrived at the palace."