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“Yes, we’re fine. Good thinking, calling on the infinite ego of the Fae. We never would have known what the limitations of the circles were without it.” Shrugging her shoulders, she just smiles.
“It’s the only thing I could think of doing. I felt myself depleted. But I was pretty sure since you guys were just on the trees. That you would be fine. That there wasn’t much that they did that was controlling you. I honestly don’t think they saw you guys as much of a threat.” She laughs and then motions to the Fae stuck on the spikes.
“I guess they never saw that coming,” she says, laughing when she walks over and kisses Hollis’s cheek. “That was an excellent move,” she tells him as she smiles at him.
“I don’t enjoy getting violent,” he says. He looks down briefly and then returns his gaze to her. “All I know is that they were hurting you. They had every intention of killing you and I couldn’t stand it.” The big guy is much softer than I expected. At the thought of Bella being injured was more than enough to push him over the edge. She nods slowly and then pulls him in tight for a hug.
“I know what you mean. I was getting worried about what they were going to do to you guys. I knew I’d be able to get myself out, but I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get myself and you guys out at the same time.” She draws in a slow, steady breath and then goes over and checks Sebastian out. When she has the last of his ropes off him.
She runs her hands over his skin, making sure that he’s okay. “I feel so useless,” he says.
Bella looks at him. “I’m not sure what to say. What do you mean, useless?” She’s not understanding exactly where he’s coming from on this. Without being near water, Sebastian couldn’t help to free Bella.
“I get what he’s saying.” She looks between Hollis and me, and then it makes sense.
“Oh no, sweetheart,” she whispers as she steps into his embrace and holds him tightly. “Just because this one time you weren’t able to do something. It doesn’t mean that you’re any less than the others in the bond. Trust me, there will come a time that I won’t be able to do anything, and it will be you that saves me. Because face it, I can’t be night all the time.” Listening to Bella console Sebastian is a whole new adventure for me. I didn’t think that he would feel any less than the two of us just because his power wasn’t able to be used at the moment.
But then again, if I wasn’t able to help Bella, I think it would absolutely bother me, too. I reach over and give him a quick bro hug. “Dude, we each will have our moment, trust me.” He smiles and tries to nod as he rubs the back of his neck. I guess I made him slightly embarrassed.
A sweet grin slowly crosses his lips as he looks between me and Bella. “You know, I didn’t realize how lucky I got till just now,” he whispers it and it makes me wonder what exactly he means by that.
I watch the way he interacts with the others. Is it possible it’s not just chicks he’s interested in? I have no problems either way. I’m more fall in love with the person, not the gender, but then again that’s the way with most wolves. Unfortunately, under Bella’s parents’ rule, same-sex marriages or mating’s were severely frowned upon. I know Hollis and my brother used to partake in such activities after the different princely tournaments we attended. I periodically catch Hollis sizing up Sebastian. He’s lightly built like I am, but he seems to be much more toned from all the heavy work that he’s done. His muscles are slightly larger and more defined on his six-foot two-inch frame. I would have to say he’s easily two hundred and ten, maybe two hundred and fifteen pounds of solid, rippling sexy muscle. I double blink, catching myself thinking of him as something other than a bond mate.
I know how Bella feels about these things. As long as we are honest, she’s okay with it. Even though I know I’ve caught Hollis staring at him more than once in more than a familial way. I debate bringing the subject up now, but with all that’s going on, it’s something that I’ll have to talk with her about later when there’s less stress on all of us. Bella smirks at me, and I have a feeling that she knows exactly what I’m thinking about. Shaking her head slightly, she looks in all directions and then back over to the three of us.
“We’re close to the Fire Kingdom. I would say Kaedyn makes the call. Let’s shift and run through the woods to get there. Everybody is gonna be looking for the car and watching for it. I highly doubt they’re gonna be looking for a pack of wolves running through the woods heading to the castle. Let Flint know that we’ll be coming in hot and that the gates need to be open when they hear me.” I take what Bella says to heart and quickly turn and make the phone call she requests of me.
Flint is horrified that they attacked us on the border of his land, and he’s willing to send the guards out to meet us. I repeat to him exactly what Bella said, and he has no choice but to accept her wishes. After all, if he has any hope of one of his sons being chosen, he needs to play nice. Taking the hint after the phone call, Bella shifts to her wolf and barks at the three of us to follow. Without hesitation, we strip out of our clothes, shift and run after her. Bella is leading the way, blazing a trail for us through the woods, heading toward the Fire Kingdom.
Chapter37
Belladonna
My paws diginto the shifting soil beneath me as we run headlong toward the Fire Kingdom. The primary routes to the castle are being watched and apparently they’ve decided that it’s time to kill me. I’m still not 100 percent sure who it is, but I know the Fae are involved. The Fae are the ones that probably orchestrated the Orc attacks. They’re also the ones that probably set up my brother to die, thinking that he was the one that was gonna be the Spirit Wolf and not me. It’s easier for a male to collect a pack of females and have them all get along than it is for a female to collect the pack of males and have them not kill each other.
As we approach the inner sanctum of the Fire Kingdom. I stop and howl, letting my voice carry. Its haunting tone can be heard for miles ahead of us. Once we reach the edge of the forest, we listen for someone to answer me. The resounding howls that come back to us are a welcoming tone. Flint is already aware of us on our way in, and he is also aware of the attack on our caravan. A dozen wolves come running from the castle itself toward us.
My lack of trust in others these days sets my fur on edge. I’m not sure what’s worse: the thought of possibly being betrayed right here, right now, so close to our destination. Or that I have been attacked more times than I’d like to count, and each time keeps becoming more and more deadly. It doesn’t matter that it was the Fae or the Orcs or any of them. Hell, the first attempt to end my life was probably my father. I think him sending me to the graveyard was his own death sentence for me. Hoping to forget that I exist and leave me there to die alone. But unfortunately for him, I thrived.
Now, as I watch these wolves come running toward us, I try to count heads and notice who’s who. I don’t even know the names of the princes of the Fire Kingdom yet. I know their scents from what I can tell, none of them are in this pack that’s coming out to join us. I put myself in front of my mates and send out a mass of shadows in front of me, almost creating a wall. Thus, they would know who exactly they’re coming out to greet.
Stopping short, the one wolf shifts back to his human form. And he’s a rather handsome male, but definitely not a mate. I appreciate the male form with all its intricacies. “My Queen,” he says, dropping to one knee before me. “We have come to escort you back to the castle. Please allow us to do our jobs.” I lower the shield of shadows before us and I walk forward and lightly lower my head to him.
Accepting that as my answer, he shifts back and puts us in the middle of the pack of his warriors. All of us run back toward the castle gates just before the first volley of arrows starts land all around us. Answering arrows come back from the Fire Kingdom itself. Then, to my surprise, there are balls of fire flying through the air. I’m expecting some sort of mage or something like that standing on the ramparts. Instead, it appears to be Flint and his three sons. They’re sending volley after volley of fire over our shoulders, hitting whatever it is that’s chasing us. Each volley lands harder against the soil, shaking the earth beneath my feet. We make it across the last stretch, running through the gates just as they start to close.
They left a half dozen of the warriors outside guarding the gate, keeping whatever it is that’s coming from getting past. Once inside, we make our way toward the center of the courtyard. Flint meets us with robes, throwing one over each of our wolves’ backs, allowing us time to shift without our bodies being seen. For this boon, I am thankful. Reluctantly, I shift back. As I shove my arms through the sleeves and look over toward the gate. “What was after us?” I question. I was more concerned about getting to the castle instead of looking behind us as we ran.
“Orcs,” he says plainly.
Nodding slowly, I look at the gate and then smile. “Let me out.”
Soon as the words fall from my lips, a horrified look crosses his face. “I can’t do that.”
Laughing. “Yes, you can. Do it. I’ll end this faster than your men can. Your males can trust me. It’ll only take a few moments.” He glances at me and then over at the males that have already assembled. My mates nod in agreement with me. They know that my ability to end it will probably be the quickest and cause the least amount of bloodshed, at least on our side.
Opening the gates, I hear his wife scream not to do it, not to let me out, not to take the chance of losing my life over these foul creatures. I smile and wave at her and walk out the gates. My other bonded mates remain within the gate, and I motion for it to close. I walk between the assembled wolves that are out front, holding the line. Bathing the earth in front of them in fire to keep the Orcs at bay.
I touch the back of what I can assume to be the leader of these wolves. “Let them pass,” I say calmly and then step out before them.
