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Cautiously, I approach her with my hands raised, trying to placate the force before me. In my smartest move to date, I turn my head to the side and bear my throat to her. I offer myself in full submission to my future mate and close my eyes, trusting she won’t harm me. She floods my senses with her scent of fresh-baked cookies, making my mouth water. Her silken lips caress my pulse point, working their way up to my jaw. The deep rumbling of her wolf sets mine at ease.
Lithe fingers caress my neck as she holds me in place. The feel of the ivory of her canines running over my flesh makes my cock stir to life. I hear her draw in a deep breath as her free hand runs up my inner thigh until it rests over my groin. “I smell your need, Kaedyn.” Her grumbling voice is more wolf than woman. Her tongue flicks out over my throat before she opens her mouth wide and grips my neck. I am at her mercy. One wrong move and she can rip my throat out. Suddenly she releases me, then moves to check my father over.
Thankfully, none of the other kings followed Bella on her attack. At least a bit of my pride is left intact. We move back into the banquet hall as if nothing happened. Bella is sitting between our moms, picking out different materials for her coronation gown. Shaking my head, I take a seat next to my brother. “How did I end up with an alpha female?” I whisper to my brother. Both of his eyebrows shoot up as he looks between Bella and me.
“Are you shitting me?” Amun always had a way with words.
“I shit you not. I wish I was lying. She drove father and I to our knees with just her voice.” The words tumble out of my mouth in a rushed whisper.
Amun does a double take and then grips me by the back of my neck, pulling me to him. “Whatever she wants, you better give it to her, if that’s the case.” He sits back and looks at me pointedly. I have a feeling I’m in for the ride of my life, or it’s going to be cut short.
Sitting back, I reach for my drink, then look up where the girls are. All three women are missing, and I panic. After that brief run in with Relic, I’m concerned there may be another attack before the run later tonight. Amun is on my tail as we rush out onto the balcony, only to find our father and the two other kings looking into the yard. Mom is tucked into father’s side as they look out into the field.
In the field, two large black wolves romp and play on the grass. Bella’s wolf is twice the size of her mother’s and leaps over her with ease. Bella stops romping and looks at her mother and sends her running toward us. We watch the woods as Bella puts herself between us and the woods. The shadows whip wildly around her as her body tenses.
A pack of Wildlings break through the underbrush, heading toward Bella. Their wolves are even smaller than the Air and Water Wolves. It’s a suicide run, or they are up to something. Bella lets loose with a bark that stops the entire pack in their tracks. Her hackles are raised, and her thick obsidian fur stands on end, almost doubling her size. She stalks forward, her head held high at an angle to force dominance on the smaller wolves. A growl escapes her muzzle as she gets closer to the pack, and we watch most of them curl in on themselves.
“This is why Bella was sent to the graveyard to exist,” Bella’s mom tells us sadly as she watches her daughter.
Bella shifts back to her human form and stares at the pack before her. One by one, they shift to their human forms. The alpha moves to stand before Bella and we can see his lips moving from here. We watch Bella look back to us, then to the woods beyond the Wildlings. With a terse nod of her head, she turns away from the Wildlings, heading back to rejoin us.
As she climbs the stairs, her low growl becomes audible. “Those bastards!” Bella screams as the shadows lash out from her, breaking the nearby pots. “Do you believe those the males are gearing up to stop me?” We look at Bella, confused.
“Babe? Can you back the conversation up to before you made it up the stairs?” I tilt my head, looking as submissive as I can. The brilliant green glow of Bella’s eyes slowly lessens as she studies me.
“Sorry…” Bella paces for several moments before stopping near all of us. “So, the Fae are frightened by my existence and sent the Wildling pack to stop me.” Bella laughs hysterically. “Those tiny dog sized wolves were supposed to stop me.” She circles her face, pointing at herself with a single finger.
Bella hops up beside me on the railing overlooking the garden. “We also have to worry about the Fae moving behind the scenes.” She holds up her hand with only her index finger extended. “Second, I must establish my bonds and fulfill my destiny as the last spirit element.” She holds up a second finger.
“Third, we need to dethrone father and execute him.” She mentions her father’s execution, as if it was just like planning a dinner party. “Fourth, we need to establish a better counsel to rule fairly for all the packs, not just mine.” She stares at her four fingers, then holds up her thumb.
“I want to do away with the betrothal requirements. Everyone should be allowed to marry who the fuck they want.” Bella pointedly looks at her mother. “Marriage and mating should be an equal choice. Everyone may marry who they want.” Bella crosses her arms over her chest, staring at all of us.
Flint gets ready to open his mouth and Bella turns and stares at him. Her eyes take on a brilliant glow far brighter than any of us have seen before. “You say one negative thing about same sex mating or marriages. I will turn you to ash.” Her fingers turn to talons and fur ripples up and down her arm. Bella’s mom goes so pale looking at her daughter, then passes out.
Chapter12
Belladonna
Mom has never seenme lose my shit, and here I am with my freak flag on full display. We carry her inside and lay her on the bed in the infirmary. Everything seems to be okay on the surface, as I look over at her. There is no scent of sickness on her.
The physicians are working on my mother, and from what I can see, it doesn’t appear that she’s in terrible shape. The physician comes over and stands before me and bows. “Your mother will be fine; she’s just suffering from a bit of shock. I’m not sure what happened that scared her to this point, but whatever it was. It was more than what her mind can handle.”
Glancing between my mother and the physician. I give him a brief nod and then extend my hand out to him. “Thank you for all that you’re doing for her. I appreciate it.” He glances at my hand for a mere second, then bows his head and backs away. I look back over at my mate, Kaedyn. He and his parents are standing next to the wall by the door. “We should return to the ball that’s still going on. After all, it is our night,” Kaedyn says with a smile and winks at me.
Crossing the room, I close the distance between us, then loop my arm in his and look at his parents. “Make the announcement. We’re heading in shortly.” His mother and father beam with pride before heading off down the hallway, returning to the ballroom. Kaedyn’s beta approaches us and motions to the garb that we’re wearing. “Don’t you think you two ought to change before you go in there?” I ponder his query, then look between Kaedyn and me and start laughing.
“Yeah, I believe that would be a great idea, seeing that we’re still wearing our archery gear.” Derrick nods, and then smirks as he heads toward the door.
“I’ll stall everyone. You two hurry and get changed. No hanky-panky until after the ball.” Rolling my eyes, I head off toward my room, leaving my mate standing there, stunned by his beta’s words.
Returning to my room, I sit and sort through all the different clothes we had picked out for the ball. In theory, I’m supposed to go through three gown changes, two tiaras, and then the crown. I really don’t get into all this pomp and circumstance nonsense. Why am I changing my outfit so many damn times? It never made sense to somebody like me. When I was on my pack lands, I only wore one type of outfit, and that was it. Same thing day in, day out. Walk around looking like the grim reaper.
They lay most of the gowns out so I can see the various styles to choose from. Ari and her mother had helped me pick out the gowns at the store the other day. My coronation gown is long and flowing with beautiful gold lace. Looks like something a Grecian Goddess would wear versus someone like me.
The gown I choose to wear is pewter with black lace on the corset top. It’s a strapless number with a sweetheart top that accentuates my bust line. I don’t think anybody that knows me has ever seen me in anything close to being form fitted. I prefer to hide my form underneath the baggiest of clothing. Until now, there was nobody worth seeing what I’ve got. I wish tonight to make an entrance and make my mate’s jaw drop.
Several minutes later, I have myself fitted into the dress. After several failed attempts, I’ve managed to braid my hair to keep it out of my eyes for the evening. I open my door to find Derrick standing across the hall, waiting for me to leave.
