To Viktor's surprise, she didn't try to run, she didn't try to take the documents and tear them up, she didn't even notice when Viktor took the pen from her right hand, she just watched as Justice Stalzbourg left and gave Viktor his congratulations in a hair-raising drawl. He was glad she wasn't outraged, it would have been bad for the baby.

Viktor wasn't an idiot. She was common, she was American and had her pretty head filled with all sorts of notions about her 'rights,' she was young, he knew she'd make demands that would favor her family. And when she made it clear she used him for sex, he knew he made the most advantageous decision.

He wasn't going to give her any leeway to abort their child, take birth control after their child was born, destabilize their marriage with infidelity, or leave the family. He wasn't going to let the family send her off on dangerous engagements, the guardianship clause would make it much harder, though not impossible, for the rest of his family to sink their claws into her. If he hadn't struggled with sterility up until this point, he would have afforded his wife more freedom, and he certainly wouldn't have married her .

But a series of very unlikely, very specific chain of events brought them together. A small town American girl to a European crown princess, it was an impressive feat, a real life Cinderella story, one that he realized had the potential to help his ambitions in expanding the family's influence westward.

Having an American princess was bound to make the Americans he would be dealing with more receptive. Klara had the potential to be capable when it came to cultural soft power, Americans loved the idea of the underdog, the outsider, the Cinderella, especially all wrapped up into a pretty young woman.

Europeans, especially those in the Germanic countries where the royals' political influence was strongest, would probably find her to be a passing curiosity, they were less interested in royalty than Americans, or even British people were. The Kronenburgs relied less on the obsession of tabloids than certain other royal families, the wealth generated from GQR Industries could afford the family more privacy. They were also not reliant on tax dollars to fund their lifestyles (though they still were granted some here and there because of tourism,) which meant less scrutiny from the public and less pressure to parade themselves in archaic, overdecorated military uniforms and stupid hats in the name of tradition.

He hoped Klara would find some solace in that, she didn't seem like the sort of woman who would enjoy such a tacky display.

At the present moment, she looked defeated, her lips parted, shallow breath passing through, her eyes wide and unfocused, her body ever so slightly teetering.

"What's wrong, my sweet little wife?" Viktor asked, mocking her, rubbing the salt in the wound. Klara flinched, not answering him. He approached her from behind, removing the blanket from her shoulders with virtually no effort. He placed his hands at her arms, gently feeling up her arms until he reached her shoulders and gave them a firm grip. She didn't try to break away from him, but she didn't lean into his touch either. "Did you think I was going to offer your family any of my wealth so freely?" He asked.

"I understand, but a guardianship?" Klara swallowed hard. "I came willingly, why did you do something so-"

"My dear, sweet wife." He said as though he were trying to comfort a crying child. "You signed something without reading the fine print. In time, you'll understand that this was done to keep you safe."

"Safe?" Klara's words soft and morose. She wanted to call him out, he, the justice, and the guards quietly intimidated her. "I don't feel safe, Viktor." She attempted to leave the study, but Viktor blocked her from doing so.

"You're safer here than anywhere else."

"I know." Klara's eyes misty. "I believe you... I would have been safer never knowing you."

"While I can't deny that is true." Viktor conceded. "Your self pity is, how should I put this... pathetic."

"Pathetic?"

"Do you know the lengths other women would go to be in your position?" Viktor asked her bluntly. "Klara Abspoel, able to crawl out of her dying small town by being so bright, so pretty, somehow marries a prince, and has the audacity to pity herself."

"Just a few minutes before I saw that guardianship clause, I thought I could be happy with you. But I guess I'm just the white trash woman you knocked up and you need to keep me in line." Klara did not raise her voice, but her eyes were alight with anger.

"Remind me, Klara." He was getting annoyed with this very quickly, he was about ready to just sweep her off her feet and abscond to their wedding bed. "When did I call you white trash?"

"You didn't, but it's on the tip of your tongue." Klara's voice was still even. "And I'm sure there are plenty of women who would kill to be in my position, but I had something good. I had a good job, living in a European city and not living paycheck to paycheck, now I'm basically a child in the eyes of the state."

"Is your ambition really limited to making spreadsheets for several decades?"

"You're not the first man to ask me that question." He wasn't the first person to ask that question. "I wouldn't expect a sexist pig like you to understand."

"Oh Klara, do you have any more contrived feminist jargon you'd like to throw at me? I'd love to see if you could come up with anything original." His voice saccharine, paternalistic, amused that she'd think he of all people would care about being called sexist. She had a lot to learn about the world outside of her university and office job.

He lifted the hem of her nightgown and pressed the pads of his fingers gently in between her thighs, his fingers sinking between her inviting folds without any force. Her cunt wasn't just wet, that squishy triangle of flesh comprised of swollen red folds and inner thigh collected the arousal leaching from her.

"Klara, Klara, Klara." He clicked his tongue. "Dishonesty is a horrible way to start off a marriage."

"I told you the truth." Klara couldn't have sounded less confident.

Klara was humiliated, her body and mind were at odds, and her body was dangerously close to overpowering her mind, close to the point where he could do whatever degrading things he wanted to her and she'd thank him and beg for more.

"I'd prefer not to gag you on our wedding night." Viktor brought up his fingers, wet and viscous, easing them into her mouth. "But I will if you keep lying to me."

Klara's resolve hung by a thread, she looked at him through heavy-lidded eyes, plump lips wrapped obscenely around his fingers, only adding to her shame, to her rational mind, this was a horror show.

And to make matters worse, a much darker train of thought joined the internal war between body and mind.

A horror show? Please! You're aroused, you can't be that angry or afraid.

Cut the strong independent woman act, you're lying to yourself. You're into fucked up things, you wanted him to do all sorts of fucked up things to you. He's giving you everything you've ever wanted. Is there even a limit to what you'd let him do? If you were genuinely a feminist and not just doing it for show, you'd have much stronger boundaries.

Viktor withdrew his fingers from her mouth. She was too within her own mind to understand the dirty things and sweet nothings he said standing only inches from her. All Klara could perceive was his muddled voice, so close, so low, so directed at her, and how his breath, the hum of his voice animated her nerves. When he kissed her, she closed her eyes, surrendering herself to him, her body relaxed in his arms, his hold on her the only thing keeping her from collapsing on the floor. She let him snake his tongue into her mouth, he tasted like the fine liquor he drank entirely too much of, intoxicating her further, dragging her down further into the recesses of her mind.

How many men, especially men like him, would marry a woman who let themselves not only get fucked after the first date, but groped, gagged, and finger-fucked during the first date? He probably didn't believe you when you told him you only had two partners, he didn't want to be seen entering that opera house with you for a reason.

He picked her up, carrying her bridal style out of his study and towards his bedchamber, their bedchamber now.

The bedchamber had been decorated last minute with white rose petals and lit with candlelight. It was remarkably beautiful, the white rose petals suited the green of the bed. It pulled Klara out of her own thoughts for a moment.

He didn't place her on the bed, a trail of rose petals lead to the bathroom, also decorated with roses and candlelight, a steaming bath drawn. He removed her clothing slowly, piece by piece, and looked at her nude body as though it was new to him. There were minor changes, her skin glowed and she gained a little weight.

The thought of what she might look like in a matter of months sent a jolt of blood to his groin. He never looked at a pregnant woman in such a carnal way, but he was eager to see how magnetic his wife would be as the months passed.

Viktor placed his hand against her belly, his thumb stroking the smooth skin, as though introducing himself to their child. He smiled, though there was a melancholy in his eyes. A wife, a child, it didn't seem real, it would be a while before he stopped expecting to wake up from a dream, or that the danger surrounding his life would take Klara from him as quickly as he took her for himself. The only way was to insulate her as much as possible from other royals, the resistance, any number of people or wesen that could snuff out his one chance at fulfillment.

Klara could tell he was experiencing his own flurry of emotions.

Of course he is. You gave him what he always wanted, what he thought he couldn't have, all because you were at the right place, at the right time, with the right body. He's too kind to you, so affectionate even after all the bile you spewed at him. He's too good for you, yet he thinks you're something special, something worth protecting, something worth marrying, you'd better not give him a reason to change his mind. He was right to call you pathetic, you should listen to him, he might make you into something worthwhile.

The part of Klara's consciousness that harbored her greatest insecurities continued to cruelly rationalize his actions, tearing herself apart piece by piece until she was decomposed, the dirt on the bottom of his shoe he once threatened to have her lick.

"What are you thinking?" Viktor asked as he removed his clothes, finally pulling her out of her head. Klara held a pause, trying to find the right words, stealing a glance of her now-husband's body before stepping into the bath.

"You would have never married me if you weren't sterile." Klara stated as she sank into the water. Viktor didn't immediately answer, joining her before he said anything.

"Well, yes." The irony of him saying that as he affectionately pulled Klara close to him was not lost on her.

"You don't love me." Klara blurted, not responding to him washing her body. She knew she was a mess, she was grateful for the bath.

"Do you remember that last night we were together? By the fireplace?"

"Yes."

"It crossed my mind." Viktor avoided giving a a clear answer, washing her oily, tearstained face.

"What does that mean?" Klara wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"I had feelings for you before I knew you were pregnant." Viktor confessed. "I must say, you sure know how to be callous with a man's heart."

"You got what you wanted." Klara would offer him no apology.

"Yes." His hand squeezed her sensitive breast. "I did." He lowered his mouth to her neck, gently kissing and sucking.

Viktor finished washing her up, Klara reluctantly returned the favor, that dark part of her mind telling her she was ungrateful and stubborn.

No, I shouldn't have to deal with this, I don't deserve any of this.

She didn't want to make this so easy for him.

The pair were silent, not making anymore conversation when they exited the tub and he dried her hair. Klara's mood swings from scared to relieved, to scared again, then angry, then despondent, all while aroused confused the ever living hell out of Viktor. He'd afford her some time to adjust, but this couldn't keep up.

The pair went to bed. Viktor initiated their consummation, warming her up with kisses, lovebites, and his long and slender hands. His mouth teased her nipples and his cock was engorged and hot against her body. The mental image of Klara's breasts filling with milk made the head leak with precum, it took all the discipline Viktor was capable of not to fuck her right then. Even though she was aroused, skin flushed, pussy wet, breathing heavier, it was like she was actively resisting her arousal, biting back moans, not arching her back or wrapping her thighs around him, doing her best to seem like a dead fish.

"I have never met a woman who denied her own pleasure like you are right now." Viktor said frustratedly. "Don't worry, I'll find out how to relieve the burden of your ego."

How rich coming from him.

And how rich of her to think she could resist him for very long. He kissed up and down her thighs, each point of contact from his thin lips reverberated with pleasure. She gasped, alerting him to his success.

You can't fight this, why even try? He makes you feel so good. This is too good for someone like you, you don't deserve any of this.

"That's" His lips traveled half an inch upward. "So." Even closer. "Much." Now dangerously close. "Better." He growled before his greedy mouth licked, sucked, and kissed every surface of her cunt. He even gently nibbled at the outer labia, he could practically taste the shocks of pleasure that racked through Klara's body.

He lifted his face from her cunt, shooting a smug look towards his frustrated wife.

"Isn't it easier to just let me give you what you need?" He was all haughty, he was well on his way to getting exactly what he wanted from his new bride.

"Yes!" Klara as much answered as supplicated without any hesitation. At least for tonight, he won.

"I'm going to take such good care of you." Viktor promised. He would take good care of her, he wanted that sweet, submissive side of her to be a feature and not a fluke. She would understand why he did the things he did eventually, she'd be grateful for it, she'd calm down and accept her place by his side.

"Viktor." Klara moaned softly, her hand snaked down her belly to her cunt, fingering herself. "Now, please."

He didn't have to be told twice. He grabbed her wrist and removed her hand from between her thighs. He positioned himself so he could look into her eyes, so their bodies could make as much contact as possible. He finally consummated their marriage, feeling her eager core envelop him.

"God!" He exhaled. "You're so beautiful."

Klara had nothing to say to him, but her needy moans told him all he needed to know. He intended to be gentle on his wedding night, but Klara bucking her hips, trying to change the pace and the intensity compelled him to properly fuck her.

"Can't even enjoy something slow and intimate on your wedding night?" His voice darkened.

Klara didn't respond, she couldn't form sentences, the muscles in her limbs and back no longer so tense, she felt as though she was melting into the bed, fully surrendered to him, there was nothing in the world except her husband railing her.

"You should appreciate whatever I give you, I shouldn't indulge your whims like this, especially after that display earlier." Viktor hissed when he felt her clench around him, drawing him in further, as though trying to convince him to fuck her like he was trying to put another baby in her. "God, you are fucking stunning."

It was a relief that she was so responsive to him, it gave him a crucial advantage over her. She'd be his vision of what a princess should be, pretty, feminine, and eager to please, not like the cutthroat women that occupied the aristocracy. Though she was intelligent, though she had the moral ambiguity to protect the illegal finances of the royals, she did not have the cunning to be like aristocratic women, and he imagined she would not take it very well if she realized her loyalty had been the cause of multiple deaths.

Klara was crown princess now, even with the guardianship, she was still incredibly powerful, more than she clearly knew.

It made her protests of no longer being an independent woman and all of that tripe even funnier to him. Americans didn't understand power at all.

She'd learn though, perhaps she was learning now, seeing as she was on her back and taking his cock and loving every moment despite her futile attempts at protest.

She was radiant when she came that night, her eyes practically sparkled in the dim candlelight, her lips and cheeks were tinged with blood, her breasts heaved with each heavy breath and sustained moans. Her body, fully surrendered to him in her afterglow, only became more perfect when he accepted her surrender and came as deeply inside of her has he could.

The newlyweds basked in the afterglow, Viktor laying on his back under the covers and allowing Klara to curl up against him, resting her head on his chest.

"I apologize for the lack of a honeymoon as I investigate my cousin's murder, but I promise to make it up to you."

"Which place were you thinking of taking me?" Klara asked sleepily, her hand rubbing his chest, the rise and fall of his breathing was practically hypnotizing her, making her want to sleep deeply in his arms, to wake up in the morning without any of the real world problems surrounding their marriage being on her mind.

"That's the wonderful thing about being royalty, we can visit several countries on our honeymoon if you so wish."

"I'll leave the honeymoon plans to you then." Klara said with a yawn.

"In that case, I'll find a suitable hotel suite, we'll do nothing except romp around in bed, and not venture into the outside world for a month or so."

Klara didn't answer, her lips curled in a small smile as she slept sweetly. Viktor knew better than to think this would he the end of her complaints about the guardianship, but he would take this moment as a small victory.

Across the ocean and several timezones, it was evening in Portland. Captain Renard was filling out tiresome paperwork at his desk when his vibrating burner phone presented itself as a welcome distraction. He eagerly answered it.

"Sebastian."

"I have news, not about Adalind, but I think you should know." Sebastian's meek voice came from the other line, he was concerned, but it was rare that he wasn't concerned.

"What is it?" Sean asked, his interest piqued, he couldn't imagine what could have happened outside of Adalind that would be so important.

"Viktor just married, he is going to be a father."

"Viktor? He's sterile. Are you sure?"

"A woman he was having an affair with got pregnant. Viktor had it on good authority that the child is his and so they married, but..."

"Yes?"

"He put her under his guardianship."

"What do you know about this woman?"

"Her name is Klara Abspoel. She was an accountant with the family, and she is an American. They only became lovers recently."

"Guardianship... I never expected the family to bring back that tradition." Sean sighed deeply, recounting some incidences of forced marriage and the very patriarchal nature of marriage in the family. "At least he'll be distracted."

"Are we not removing her with Adalind?" Sebastian sounded surprised.

"No, considering she's pregnant with his child, Viktor will be less motivated to get Adalind's. He's not going to want that child in the way of his own child's success. This is the best news I've heard all week."

"You are not concerned for Miss Abspoel?"

"A common American woman in the royal family, likely doesn't know about Wesen, and under guardianship of Viktor of all people? If I were hedging bets, she isn't going to know her baby's gender before being assassinated. Perhaps the resistance could take that up, but I have my hands full with Adalind."

"Of course." Sebastian spoke in deference.

Sean heard a knock at his office door. It was Nick and Hank.

"I have to go. Keep an eye on her, and report back to me if you learn anything important." Sean said before hanging up and inviting his two detectives in.