Free The Lynx Who Purred for a Sidhe Prince by Scarlet Hyacinth Page A

soon be his. But at the
    same time, there were still so many questions on his mind. How
    would he, a shifter, manage to be the consort of the future Sidhe king?
    Corbin could deal with the responsibilities of the position, but would he be accepted?
    More importantly, did Winter feel the same thing Corbin did, or
    was he only marrying Corbin because he had no choice?
    In the end, Corbin sighed and said, “He’s my mate, Dad. I’m not
    sure he realizes it since I haven’t told him. Our connection is there, but it’s not easy to build a relationship when you’re knee-deep in
    political intrigue.”
    “Fair enough.” Nicolas eyed Corbin, as if assessing his honesty. “I
    believe you, and I do like Winter. However, not everyone’s going to
    be so accepting.”

    62
    Scarlet Hyacinth
    Corbin plopped down on the couch and buried his face in his
    hands. “I know. Please, Dad, help me. We’re making the
    announcement tonight before all the guests leave. I don’t want to
    make a mess of Preston’s wedding day, so I’m worried.”
    “Of course you can count on my help,” Nicolas replied. “What did
    Skylar say?”
    Corbin couldn’t exactly tell his adoptive dad that it had been
    largely the Cunninghams’ idea in the first place. Nicolas would
    probably interpret it the wrong way. “He agrees it’s best to make
    haste.”
    “Okay. Now, brace yourself. Here comes your father.”
    Corbin suppressed a grimace. This was the problem with telling
    Nicolas about his impending wedding. Because of his bond with
    Garth, Nicolas couldn’t hide anything from the older lynx. Corbin did not feel at all prepared to face his father.
    Moments later, Garth burst into the room, an expression of barely
    veiled anger on his face. “Just tell me this isn’t a part of some
    harebrained scheme of Byron’s. Just tell me that, and I’ll be happy.”
    “It isn’t,” Corbin said. It wasn’t a lie since he truly did want
    Winter to be his mate. “It’s true that they are encouraging it for
    political purposes, but he really is my mate. You know this, Father.
    You’ve seen me with him.”
    Garth’s shoulders slumped. “I suppose you’re right.” He sounded
    defeated. “I don’t dislike Winter. He’s a good boy. But he’s also royal blood, and that will bring you far too many problems. I wanted
    something different for you.”
    It was a pleasant surprise to hear Garth wasn’t against the
    wedding because of Winter being a Sidhe, but rather, due to the
    implications of the Sidhe being a prince and future king. Even if
    Corbin shared his concerns, he decided he could deal with them when
    the time came.

    The Lynx Who Purred for a Sidhe Prince
    63
    “I can handle it,” he told his father. “Now, I want you guys to be
    ready. We’re telling everyone tonight, at dinner, before the guests
    leave. I have to go talk to Winter. I’ll see you in a bit, all right?”
    His parents let him go, and Corbin headed out of the room to find
    his mate. It was striking how easy it had become for him to think of
    Winter like that. He followed his instincts and found Winter still in Byron’s office, together with Skylar.
    “We just got off the phone with my uncle,” Winter said. “He is—”
    Their eyes met, and Winter suddenly stopped speaking. It was as
    if they were lost in each other’s gazes. Distantly, Corbin noted the
    moment when Skylar discreetly took his leave. Taking advantage of
    their new privacy, Corbin approached the Sidhe.
    “Tell me, sweetheart. What were you going to say?”
    “My uncle is actually supportive of us. I’m surprised. He even
    seemed to know about everything Mr. Cunningham did.”
    Corbin mused over Winter’s words, all the while noting how
    much he liked hearing the word us from Winter’s lips. Still, he needed to address the most pressing concern on his mind. “We can still call it off if you’re not sure,” he told the Sidhe. “Your uncle won’t do
    anything now that he knows we have foreign