AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kaedyn is laughing so hard he’s almost pissing himself as he looks at me. “Dude, that was hysterical!” he says as he points at me, still laughing.
A low warning growl escapes Bella’s lips as her eyes take on a brilliant emerald glow. “Not nice Kaedyn.” Turning to face me, she slips on elbow high silk gloves. “I have many questions for you about some events. The equestrian seems very cut and dry, but the crafting one puzzles me.” She tilts her head and smiles up at me and I feel as though I’m on top of the world.
“If it’s okay with Kaedyn, I will escort you to the blacksmith and he can give you a quick lesson in crafting.” Her eyes positively light up at the mention of a lesson. Ari, Kaedyn’s sister, comes running in and whispers in Bella’s ear and she turns a brilliant shade of crimson.
“Oh, really now…” Bella says and immediately Arianna blushes and lowers her head submissively.
“What’s going on?” Kaedyn looks bewildered between the two women.
Bella slips her arm around mine and places her hand on my forearm. “Please lead the way to the blacksmith. I’m dying to meet him.” The way Bella says “dying” sends a chill up my spine and an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“Right this way, please.” Cautiously, I lead her down the stairs and across the yard to the side gate to the palace grounds. Unlike a lot of the royal families, my mother allows the town’s children to play on the estate grounds. Bella looks around inquisitively as we pass the shops, heading toward the blacksmith shop. Children stop and stare at her as she walks gracefully through the streets.
A little girl is being picked on by a bunch of older boys and Bella is having none of it. She pulls away from me and moves to stand behind the little girl. “Is there a problem here?” Her tone touches the edge of her alpha power, just putting enough influence behind it to get the boys to back up and bow.
“No… no madam.” The one boy almost stutters.
“Really now?” Bella crouches down and now the boys notice the crown on her head and lower their eyes immediately. “I’m not very fond of liars and bullies.” She shakes her head slowly as she maintains eye contact with the older of the two boys.
“Phil made me do it. Sarah won’t go into the woods with us cause she’s a chicken.” The little redheaded boy said, trying to be defiant.
“I see…” Bella looks from the boy speaking then sniffs at the little girl Sarah holding her stuffy in her arms. “She smells like a pup to me, so calling her a chicken is rude. The only chicken I see is the one that won’t own up to what he’s done.” The boy that has his head lowered looks up suddenly and huffs before walking away. Reaching into her pocket, Bella pulls out a lollipop and hands it to Sarah. “Go home to your momma and tell her what happened. I’m sure she will want to speak to their mothers. If she needs me, I’ll be at the castle later tonight.” She kisses the crown of the little girl’s head, sending her on her way.
Bella walks over and links her arm with mine again and looks between Kaedyn and me both. “My father was a bully. I was never enough for him. The fact that I am stronger than my brother was the icing on the cake.” She goes silent as we continue to walk to the shop. We got to see a glimpse of what Bella has endured and I’m not at all shocked that she turned out to be an alpha. To endure years of abuse will break you in one sense or another. She shows kindness and love because it’s the one thing I can guess she always craved.
Arriving at the blacksmith shop, Clark, Godric’s partner, greets us at the door. He’s taken back at Belladonna’s beauty and poise. A lady of her caliber should not be in a shop like his. He fully believes it is beneath her. “I need to learn to craft a gift worthy of royalty. Hollis told me you were just the man to do it.” She examines him to the point he fidgets under her inspection.
“Yes, your Highness, I can teach you how to make a craft worthy of a royal. Ever hear of stained glass?” He motions to several decorative pieces that hang by the window of his shop that are for sale.
Bella is drawn to the roses that are hanging there and smiles, looking at them. “Stained glass would be the perfect craft for me to learn, I believe. Delicate, elegant and a worthy gift to give.” Bella’s smile lights up the room as she follows Clark over to the workbench to learn how to work with the copper and lead. While she’s distracted, Kaedyn and I purchase the two roses he has hanging in the shop for her and send them back to the castle with one of the guards that followed us.
It’s now that I notice Ari standing in the door frame watching Clark work with Bella. The lovesick look in her eyes gives her away. She’s in love with my blacksmith. Several roses later, Bella has a half dozen flowers she crafted herself. Her eyes lock with Ari and then slowly turns to lock on Clark. “Are you spoken for?” Straight to the point, she catches Clark off guard, and he looks away shyly.
“No, your Highness. I am not considered worthy by most because I come from one of the lower houses and I work here.” He motions to his workshop and the pain is clear in his eyes.
Extending her gloved hand out to Clark, he grips her forearm quickly. “When this is all over and I ascend the throne in the Shadow Court. One of the first things I am doing away with is the need for the caste system. As well as the required rank to take a mate.” Bella looks back to Ari, much to Kaedyn’s dismay, and offers her hand to her. “If you two are true mates or at least compatible mates, you have my blessing.” Bella takes the glove off Ari’s hand and lays it on Clark’s bare forearm. Recognition flairs in her eyes and his glow with the power of his wolf. Ari is crying, staring up at Clark. Her eyes also glow, showing this is a true mate situation.
Releasing Clark’s arm, Bella motions for the three of us to leave. Kaedyn is in shock. His little sister has a mate. Shaking her head, Bella keeps pushing us out the door and back toward the castle. “I need to eat, then rest. Who knows what nonsense will happen tonight? Either way, I need to be at full power for it.” She smiles, looking between the two of us and rests her bare hand on Kaedyn and her gloved hand grips mine, interlacing her fingers with mine.
We walk back in relative silence. The looks given by the townsfolk make me uneasy. Belladonna is the first she-wolf in recent history to have more than one mate. It’s not to say that other females aren’t able to do the same thing. Perhaps their second mate is in another pack? No one knows because of how the packs have been divided by element for hundreds of years.
Arriving back at the castle, we walk up the stairs and are greeted by my mother at the back door. “The next trial has been chosen,” mom says and her tone isn’t making me feel those happy, happy, joy, joy feelings.
“What aren’t you telling us?” My gut tells me my mother is hiding something from us.
Mom winces, then we hear it. The sound of several haulers coming down the road. The calling of the horses contained in them sets my wolf on edge. Bella looks in the noise’s direction, then back to my mother. “Flint sent wild horses from his kingdom for the submission trials.” Mom winces as she looks between the three of us.
Bella laughs as she moves away from us and leans on the rail, watching the haulers backing up to the paddock in the back. It’s almost an unhinged laugh that has me very concerned for not only my safety but the safety of my people. “Flint just did me a solid and doesn’t even realize it!” She laughs as she points to the mustangs and various other wild horses that were sent.
“What do you mean?” Kaedyn questions as he moves slowly closer to her.
“No one has laid a hand on these horses. Not a single soul here. He unknowingly just leveled the playing field.” Still laughing, she hops up onto the railing, kicking her feet. She’s honestly way too happy for the present turn of events.
“So, you’re happy he interfered?” I inch closer to her and lean on the rail next to her, absolutely puzzled.
“Absolutely.” She hops off the rail and starts pacing. “Think of it this way.” She pauses. “No one here anywhere in this province has worked with or been around these horses.” She smiles and leans back against the rail again, almost touching me, looking more confident than ever.
Just before I get the words out of my mouth, the bells ring in the tower. Bella’s eyes blaze to life and she beams. “Let it begin.” Prancing down the stairs, her change in demeanor is concerning as it is frighting to me. Kaedyn shakes his head and leans against the rail next to me.
