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“She’s here!” I call as I continue my way to the balcony where dad told us to go stand. Ash and Jonquil finally catch up, and we take our places by the rail on the balcony above the yard. My emotions are all over the place when I first catch the scent of fresh-baked cookies drifting up to me, my mate’s scent. Dad escorts Bella out to the middle of the yard and shifts himself. Dad’s wolf is just a little smaller than mine, and I know this is for my benefit.
Dad’s wolf comes up to Bella’s hips, and she smiles looking down at him running her fingers through his tawny fur. Backing away from father she smiles and finally looks up. We can see the eerie green glow of her eyes from up here. That shade of green can’t possibly be human. She does a sweeping bow, looking up at the three of us before her lithe form is engulfed in shadows. The monster that emerges from the shadows is nothing short of terrifying. She turns into a beast of legend, a dire wolf. Those wolves were damn near indestructible and commanded the shadows like you wouldn’t believe. Her wolf walks over and stands besides father’s and he looks like a puppy compared to her.
A small white wolf darts out onto the field and darts in and out of the black wolf’s legs. It’s now that I see Kaedyn walking out to stand next to Bella. The little white wolf shifts and it’s his sister Arianna, showing the size difference more. “I almost feel bad for whichever of us ends up with her,” Jonquil says as he leans back against the wall, looking at Ash and me.
“Why would you say that?” Ash questions as he looks from where Bella is, then back to Jonquil.
With a dismissive move of his hand, he motioned down to the gigantic black wolf in the middle of the yard. “They will never take you seriously as a leader with a mate whose wolf is larger than yours.” He glances down at the yard again, then back at us once more.
“If Gaia blessed me with a mate, then so be it.” I make my stand about the mate situation just as I hear us all get summoned to the dining hall for dinner. I make it down the stairs and through the hallways, feeling the anxiety levels rising.
Just before I raise my hand to open the door, it opens of its own volition. Mom is standing there on the other side, smiling, scratch that, beaming. Joy ebbs from my mother’s every pore as she practically bounces on her heels. “Quick, come in here.” She yanks me inside and drags me to the table to sit directly across from Bella.
“Belladonna, this is my eldest son, Hollis.” Her gray-green eyes suddenly blaze to life and look like glowing emeralds.
Her eyes rake over what of me she can see, and I’d like to think that she appreciates what she’s looking at. All it took was for my brothers to enter the room to break her concentration on me. “These are my other two sons, Ash and Jonquil” The glow fades from Bella’s eye as she looks my siblings over. She started glancing between the three of us and her eyes narrow as she turns to look at my parents.
I can tell that she’s studying each of us as she compared to our parents. “Hmmm… Hollis has Idris’ skin tone. Ash has Bethane’s color. Jonquil is a nice blend of the two tones.” Kaedyn nudges Bella, and she turns quickly and growls at him.
“Her assessment of our tones is pretty spot on,” I say gently, trying to ease the tension between the two lovebirds.
“Come, let’s sit and have dinner. We can talk and get to know each other before tomorrow’s hunt.” Father motions to the staff and dinner is presented to us.
Chapter15
Belladonna
Sitting across from Hollis,I can’t help but study his features. He reminds me of a famous model. His beautiful ebony skin is absolutely flawless. His cheek-bones are pronounced as well as the line of his jaw. He reminds me more of the paintings of the pharaohs in Egypt. I try not to stare at him too much since this whole taking multiple mates thing is still messing with my mind. Kaedyn feels my uneasiness through the bond and rests his hand on my thigh, trying to settle my nerves.
“So, Idris mind telling me about how these trials go. I read the three books and, to be perfectly honest, it doesn’t seem like it can be as simplistic as the books depict.” I have to break the silence and blurt out what was on my mind besides my potential mate across from me.
Idris smiles and motions toward Hollis. “My son will walk you over to the blacksmith in town so that you can ask as many questions as you need.” Hollis blushes furiously at the mention of being my personal escort.
“Okay, I also read there’s an equestrian event and a hunt.” Arching a brow, I glance from Idris to Bethane, who’s now squirming in her seat.
“About that…” she says, looking sheepish. “Because of a recent discovery, we are changing how the equestrian event is being done,” Bethane says, almost wincing as the words escape her lips.
“The whole thing is bullshit!” Jonquil says as he crosses his arms over his chest. He’s the smaller of the three barrel-chested brothers.
Tilting my head to the side, I’m puzzled by his statement. “Why’s that? Besides the obvious wolves and prey thing?” Smiling, I try not to get that feral look I get when I’m talking about food.
“What my uncivilized brother is trying to convey is that there’s a female that has targeted our older brother since day one. Her family owns the stables…” He leaves the statement hanging, and I connect the dots quickly.
Flexing my fingers, my nails turn into claws briefly, then return to normal shortly after. “So… short version is that she will more than likely use that to her advantage and set her competition up with some of the worst stock she owns.” Leaning back in my chair, I bring my wine glass back with me as I look between the brothers and their father.
“Your mate is very perceptive, Kaedyn.” Idris says as the dinner plates are being removed and the dessert tray is being wheeled toward the king and queen.
“How hard would it be to summon all the eligible females here tonight?” The gears are turning a million miles a minute in my head as I rise to my feet to lean on the back of Kaedyn’s chair.
Idris and Bethane exchange a glance, then look up at me. “All I would have to do is sound the bells in the tower. The invitations went out with that as a gathering summons for the eligible females,” Idris says, still thrown off by my question.
Smirking, I take on a more feral appearance. “Summon them. I feel like stretching my legs and hunt tonight. After all, it is the hunter’s moon tonight. Call the audible before anyone else throws a wrench into the machine.” Tactically, it’s a sound decision and gives me the edge. I barely touched dinner knowing that a hungry wolf hunts best.
Within seconds of my request, Idris has the bell in the clock tower ring. Standing slowly, I hand my crown off to Ari and wrap my cloak around her shoulders. Bethane takes my arm and leads me out onto the back patio. As soon as the first females arrive, I make my way down to stand with the rest of the rabble. One female stands out from the crowd. She’s already bragging about how she spent time with Prince Hollis today and that he saw her specifically.
King Idris raises his hands, silencing the crowd. “We decided to shake things up this year. Since this is the largest turnout in over a hundred years, we’ve decided to start the trials tonight.” Many of the females complain about the change. The only one not complaining is the loudmouth female saying that Hollis can’t wait to claim her as his.
Staring at Kaedyn, he leans over and says something to Hollis. He pales considerably, then shakes his head profusely. “Where’s the shadow Princess? I hear she’s so ugly poor Prince Kaedyn has to put a pillow over her head to breed her.” The loudmouth female calls out.
