Cecily stands frozen for a moment, eyes wide, not having expected the sight before her. Alex runs a soothing hand along her spine, causing her to immediately suck in a breath and say, “Please, rise. You bestow me an honor, calling me your Queen without even remembering who I was. Our people have been through many hardships over the past five hundred years. It’s my promise to you, I’ll diligently work toward restoring us to who we once were, and right the wrongs thrust upon us. I’m completely devoted to our people and any needs you present me with. Together we can be united once again, not just with those we’ve lost through the consequences we’ve had to live through, but with our roots of nature and the magic we hold within.”
At the end of her speech, the room erupts into applause and cheers. Murmurs can be heard circling as excited subjects begin talking amongst themselves. Adam approaches us with worry evident on his face. “My Queen, please forgive me. I had no idea what my words would cause.” He wrings his hands together as he waits to find out what Cecily’s response will be.
She offers him a smile before trying to ease his mind. “Adam, you couldn’t have known it would break a spell protecting my identity. I’m beyond honored your pack had decided to bestow such a designation to me. Please don’t worry about revealing me, it’s something I would’ve set in motion soon enough myself. Now, how have things been going over the past few days since we left? Did Britany and her son arrive safely? Has your pack begun to settle in more and find rooms for themselves?”
Pride shines from her parents’ eyes with the questions she asks and the concern she shows for her people over herself. I spot Thea out of the corner of my eye, watching things from the edge of the room. She’s standing next to a man with his arm around her and their bodies facing each other, heads leaned close as they talk. My brothers and I stand in a semi-circle behind Cecily, keeping all possible threats from her back.
Adam proceeds to answer all of her questions with excitement in his voice. “The bear shifter, Britany, and her son did arrive. We’ve set them up with a room. They weren’t the only ones to arrive since you left though. Just yesterday, we received twenty-five new shifters. All stuck in various animal forms. We helped them through the transition just like you did for our pack. Once they had a chance to rest, they each stated they felt a sudden pull encouraging them to come here. From what we can tell, it started right around the time you finished reassembling the castle.
“We have all been working efficiently to make do with forging in the woods for food and hunting for meat. There are teams set up for completing the different tasks we thought fitting to work on first. Like I just mentioned, gathering food is a team, then setting up rooms and building furniture, clearing out some of the trees for planting fields, and so on. All of which will be infinitely easier now, remembering the magic we can use.” None of us knows which pack Adam originated from, but he has proven to be indispensable.
Cecily’s mother steps forward and says, “If I may interrupt, we brought with us the original contents of the castle. Some of it may be horribly outdated, but most of it should be useful. I already started setting up this room for you, although I can see now I need to add another throne. Your father has also been helping me to modernize the castle. Electricity and plumbing are just delightful inventions.” She smiles lovingly at Cecily.
Thea approaches us and gains William’s attention, whispering quietly into his ear. Cecily briefly glances at them before continuing her conversation. “Thank you, Mother. I appreciate all of your help, and I’m glad you were able to save everything. Now it’ll feel even more like home, a mix of the old with some new. I know Derrick will appreciate the library.” My ears perk up with the mention. The old royal library? Sounds like my kind of wet dream, all of that history right at my fingertips!
I become distracted with thoughts of what kind of information I can gain from the library as Cecily finishes her conversation with Adam. As he walks away, Cecily’s mother hooks arms with her as they turn to face us. “My dearest Sinopa, I do believe it’s time for you to introduce your mates to us. I see you have one more than I anticipated. Have you heeded my warning to complete your bonds?”
Cecily’s cheeks heat up and her eyes dart around the room, searching for a means of escape from the embarrassment her mother is putting her through. I try to reach for Alex, to slap a hand over his mouth before he says anything, but I’m too slow. “Oh, don’t worry about Cecily completing the bonds. She hasn’t been shying away from it.” Alex gives Cecily a wink as her eyes narrow on him. Her chest gets blotchy with redness, and Klaus swoops in to wrap his arm around her.
Before the conversation can continue, William cuts in, “Hate to stop the conversation here, but we have an issue, Cecily. I didn’t want to just make a decision without talking to you about it first.” Relief flashes across her face briefly before she gives him a nod. He offers her his hand and pulls her off to the side of the room.
Chapter 8
Cecily
Will leads me to the side of the room so we can have a private moment to talk. Of course, the rest of my mates follow behind us. When we come to a stop, Will places a hand on my waist and pulls me flush against him as the others surround us. As a precaution, I put up another one of my soundproof bubbles to keep anyone else in the room from overhearing.
Feeling the magic slide into place, Will digs in. “Thea came to tell me that word of the royals returning is already spreading. Your name is being praised and is raising hope within our people, but because of it, Silas will be receiving the news soon. There isn’t a way for us to prevent him from hearing it. I’m sorry, Darling. I know once he has his memories unlocked, shit will probably hit the fan. I want to send a few of my people to go observe his reaction and to keep an eye on his movements. This way, we won’t be as blind to the situation.”
I lean into his comforting touch with the mention of Silas. To say I was shocked with the reveal of my name is putting it lightly. There hasn’t even been time to discuss a plan for when to uncover not only who I am, but everyone’s memories of their past and use of magic. It sure as shit wasn’t going to be now though.
Peering into his blue eyes, I get a sense of protection washing over me. “Thanks for running it by me. It’s a great idea to send in some spies. Just make sure they remember how to use their magic so they can shift into an unexpected animal for reconnaissance.” He wraps his arms around my back and I tangle my hands behind his neck as he bends down to press a hard kiss on my lips.
“I’ll lead the team myself to make sure it’s done correctly, and send you regular updates.” He tries to give me another kiss, but I’m already pushing him away to get a better look.Surely, he isn’t serious.
My brow furrows as I wait for the punch line and all I see is a flash of hurt for pulling away from his kiss. “You said you wanted to send those you trusted, not yourself, Will! I don’t want you getting anywhere close to him, especially not without me there too. I’m not willing to lose you again. Absolutely not! I forbid it as your Queen!” Taking a deep breath, I try to calm myself down before continuing on, “I can’t bear the thought of being without you right now, my knight.”
He studies my features, trying to determine my resolve. Finally, he responds with, “I love you too, Darling.” This time, I’m the one pulling him in for a kiss. It’s deep and passionate. One that ends far quicker than I want it to. He places his forehead on mine and I just breathe in his spearmint scent, allowing it to relax me. “I won’t go myself, but I’ll have to send Thea instead,” he concludes.
Well, shit. I don’t want her going either. I still haven’t had a proper conversation with her yet. I don’t know how she ended up in the dungeon or why she stayed after arriving there. “Babe, we knew things with Silas were going to end in a battle. Sometimes we have to make decisions we don’t like during war, but it has to be done. You know William wouldn’t suggest it if he didn’t think it was the best course of action.” Marcus’ words are accompanied by a soothing brush of his hands on my arms and his chest pressed against my back.
This really sucks! Letting out a sigh, I nod my head in agreement. “Fine, but know it’s under duress. You better make sure she comes home safe, William. If one hair on her head is disheveled, I’m holding you responsible.” I punctuate my words with a playful pout.
He gives me a pained smile before kissing my forehead and walking toward Thea to work out a plan. Marcus turns me around and I bury my face into his chest for comfort, while the rest of my mates make sure we’re blocked from view. I’m not sure why I’m still so worried about holding up my emotionless mask in front of my people. I know things have changed drastically over the time I was trapped in soul form.
Klaus runs his hand over my hair and says, “I know you’re already thinking about it, but I want to support it with confirmation. Your people won’t see you as weak if you show them you’re just like them. Someone with emotions, who isn’t ice-cold and in control all the time. Showing you’re relatable will be even more enduring, especially considering everything they’ve been through.”
“It’s hard breaking old habits. Maybe you could help remind me when I start doing it again?” I stare into his eyes and he smiles at me. I know I made the right decision in asking for his help. As much as I want to change this ingrained habit, I know it’s easy to slip right back into the clutches of comfort. Allowing myself to feel exposed is going to place me in a vulnerable place until I get used to it.
“Of course I will. I’ll always help you out in any way you want me to,” Klaus responds. I reach up on my toes to give him an appreciative kiss and thread my hand with his. I turn around and find my parents waiting just beyond our small circle. My mother wearing a smirk, and my father glancing anywhere but here, says they saw the few sweet moments I just had with my mates.
I’m so thankful to have them back in my life, but I sure could go without the embarrassing moments. I justknowmy mom is waiting to ask about my bonded status again. Which reminds me... “Alex, no more talking about our intimacy with anyone who doesn’t share our mark!” I swear he’s just asking for a prank now.
“But, Angel! Where’s the fun in that? You know I’m the devil perched on your shoulder. Speaking of, you still have two of us left.” He wiggles his eyebrows up and down. “What do you say we go find our suite in this place and have some private time. Bet we could dash out of here before your mother asks again.”
Marcus takes this opportunity to smack him on the back of the head. “Not cool, bro. Don’t make me gag you.”
Alex’s eyes light up and he can’t help but try to get in one more quip, “A gag would be wasted on me, that’s something for us to use on Angel when we don’t want others to hear how much pleasure we’re inflicting to her sweet body.”
