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Through Bella, all things are possible. We watch her walk around the gardens with Kenna for over an hour. I watch Bella describe what had happened earlier. Kenna squeal catches everyone’s attention, and all the guards are now on high alert. Her and Bella hug tightly and bounce up and down together. It’s at that moment. Hayden, the eldest son of King Flint and Queen Kenna comes out onto the back patio. “Father told me what’s going on. I’d like to take you guys to go meet my brother. Before the trials begin tomorrow.”
We nod in agreement and follow him through the castle. We leave out the front gates and go across what seems to be a mini desert. As we walk it changes from sand to lava rock. There are literal pits of hot bubbling magma strewn all around outside of a building. That monster of a man that we had seen earlier exits the building with two partially formed swords in his hands. Next thing we know he drives both of them into the magma, holding them barehanded, twisting the metal in the magma itself. He leaves one resting on the edge, half in and half out of the magma pool. The other one he withdraws. The magma drips off the length of the blade, leaving it glowing white hot almost all the way to the handle. Heading back over to the anvil that’s next to the magma pool, he starts to hammer and shape the metal while it’s still scOrching hot. Half dozen or more strikes hit the blade before he turns and sinks it back into the magma again. He rinses and repeats the process until we come upon him. He wipes his hands on the leather smock that he’s wearing. His eyes blaze to life, catching Belladonna’s scent on us.
“These are Belladonna’s mates,” Hayden says as he motions to us.
Egon moves forward and looks each of us over. “Welcome brothers this is my blacksmith chambers. You’re welcome to try your hand at it if you wish.” Emphatically we all shake our head no.
We can barely tolerate the temperature over here. And unlike him, we are not built for this kind of heat. I would almost say this Hell on Earth with as hot as it is. He’s strutting around his area with his low-slung jeans. With the leather draped around his hips down to his knees. I guess only to protect his jeans. “Brother, I wish to just have them come and meet you. Since the earlier disturbance almost had both of your wolves running rampant through this place.” His gaunt cruel smirk plays upon his lips as he stares at his older brother.
“He did wanna rip somebody’s throat out for getting in his way, didn’t he?” His words are growled out and if I didn’t know any better, I would think they were aimed at us.
Kaedyn moves forward and offers his hand to Egon. “I’m Kaedyn, if you don’t remember.”
“Oh, I do remember somehow a little Air Wolf was chosen first.” He growls as he speaks. His large hand encompasses Kaedyn’s much smaller one and gives it a firm shake. I can tell that Kaedyn’s rattled but I give him credit. He stands firm, not showing any weakness to the Fire Wolf before him. When he comes to Hollis, Egon’s demeanor changes. Earth and fire have never had an issue. They tend to work hand in hand, so Hollis is greeted with a hug and then a fist bump.
When it is my turn, he sneers. Fire and water tend to cancel each other out after all. His problem isn’t with me, which he explains, it’s the arrogant princes from the Water Kingdom that he has an issue with. Kaedyn quickly explains to him what happened in the in the Water Kingdom and how King Mateo acted. The glow of Egon’s wolf blazes to life and we can watch the fur ripple across his broad shoulders.
Egon looks up and turns his head briefly to catch the wind, we all take notice that Bella’s scent is drifting to us. I watch as he struggles to contain his wolf. His brother places both hands on him and pushes him back to the other side of the magma. This way only the burning smell will fill his nostrils and not the delectable scent of our mate. And if I hadn’t witnessed it twice, firsthand. I would not believe it myself.
Hayden turns around and starts to explain to us. “The first trial tomorrow, Bella will have to try to learn to do some blacksmithing. Even if it’s just to make a dagger, she needs to make the attempt. The second is swordplay, where she needs to be able to battle. And final is the two strongest she-wolves will fight as their animal to the death. Winner takes the mate of their choice.” I know Bella is gonna enjoy the last one because everything and anything is fair including elemental powers. Everything is on the table for that last battle. So even if she doesn’t fare well with the other two. The final one she will definitely rise victorious.
We say our goodbyes to Egon and Hayden leads us back to the castle. We hear the sound of swords clashing and return to find Belladonna sword fighting with Kenna. Both women are wearing protective gear for practice as Flint keeps moving into correct Bella’s stance and grip on the blade. He comes over and catches us up on everything that’s going on. It’s then that Hayden steps forward and takes his mother’s place. Bella glances him over and pays him no mind showing no interest whatsoever. But at five foot ten, and just under two hundred pounds, he’s probably the better person to be her teacher. Since it’s easier to learn to beat a larger opponent than one of equal size. As they fight, he tells her what she’s doing wrong. Tells her how to correct it without touching her. Hours go by and Bella is showing no signs of fatigue. As the sun starts to set. The shadows come out and play and start to move through her hair as if they have a mind of their own. The shadows also move the length of her gown giving her almost a Grim Reaper persona. It’s now that Hayden understands who he’s against. The shadows welcome her home. This is going to be one of the more interesting mate trials that we’ve seen to date.
Chapter40
Hollis
Last night was probablyone of the roughest nights that we’ve had to date sleeping with Bella. After discovering that there is a male here that is hers and the fact that her wolf wants him is probably the cruelest twist of fate that I’ve seen yet. I ended up having to draw her out of bed and take her with me into a separate room to sleep. That way, the others can actually get some rest. She had a very fitful sleep, everything waking her up, putting her on edge all because of the fights today. She knows that she’s gonna have one hell of a battle on her hands. She also knows that the outcome will cause the death of yet another she-wolf.
I hate to say it, but I think taking lives has become almost second nature to her now. That fact by itself is disturbing when killing used to upset her, according to what Kaedyn has told me. Now it doesn’t bother her at all. I hope that cruelty isn’t a genetic thing. Because the fear of her becoming like her father is becoming very real. With each life that she takes, she becomes a little colder and a little crueler when it comes to the idea of something else dying. From what Kaedyn told me in the beginning, it was a big deal. It was hard for her to come to terms with it. Now, it doesn’t seem to faze her at all, and that by itself bothers me.
I run my fingers through my mate’s hair, trying to keep her calm as she tries to finish up the last bits of her sleep. But to what end will we go today to ensure her survival? I don’t doubt for a moment that she will rise and become victorious in the battles today. Not one bit of me doubts that our mate will be the last wolf standing. But it’s at what point do we say enough is enough?
Bella slowly wakes up and glances around the room, trying to catch her bearings. I run my fingers gently through her hair, trying to help her wake up slowly. She smiles when she realizes it’s me and then kisses my cheek rising from my lap. She moves about the room and goes into the closet to get dressed. She picks out black leggings and one of my oversized T-shirts. I have to laugh because my T-shirt is practically a dress, but I understand why she chooses it. It’s long enough to cover everything, yet short enough that she can still move around, maintaining some semblance of dignity. According to her, how she was raised, a female does not walk around with her body on display for all to see. Especially not a mated female, which she is.
She draws in a slow, deep breath and then passes into the adjoining room and looks at everyone else that’s still sleeping. She laughs as she points out that Kaedyn and Sebastian are wrapped in each other’s embrace, clinging to each other like lovers. She can’t help herself but smile at the two of them. She knew something was going on behind the scenes, but chose not to say anything. She’s a much better mate than all of us deserve. Her thoughtfulness for all of us is amazing. She reaches out and caresses both of their cheeks, kissing them lightly, and then laughs as they curl tighter against each other. I can’t help but to laugh myself about what’s going on in their subconscious that they’re not aware of as they curl toward each other again.
She laughs even harder as they wrap themselves around each other, trying to get closer than they already were. She motions to the door and as we head that way, movement catches her eye, and she watches them grind against each other, dry fucking gently in their sleep. Evidence of their arousal stains the fronts of their shorts as they move. She laughs again softly, and they wake up just as their lips were about to touch. They jerk away from each other quickly and Kaedyn almost hits the floor. But her hand shoots out, and a wisp of shadow catches him, keeping him from hitting the floor hard. She smiles, looking at both of them, and then moves over to that side of the bed.
“You know, I’m okay with this, right?” she says with her brows furrowed, motioning between the two of them. “There’s nothing wrong with it.” She reaches out and caresses both of their cheeks. “You love who you love and that’s it.” She says it with as much passion as possible before backing away. A smile crosses her lips and then she heads out the door to make her way to the dining hall.
Rushing down the hallway, I’m practically running to catch up with her as she glides down the hardwood floors. She moves her hand before her and the door opens of its own volition, throwing themselves wide open. We catch Flint and his family off guard as she heads toward the opposite end of the table to take a seat at the foot. She motions to me to take a seat to her left and as soon as Kaedyn and Sebastian catch up, she motions for Sebastian also to the left with me and Kaedyn to her right. She is purposely sat us in the order in which we’ve arrived with Kaedyn sitting alone at her right hand. She’s making a bold statement to the Fire Kingdom that even though she knows deep down the son at the end of the table opposite her is her true and probably perfect mate, her other half of the coin, so to speak, Kaedyn is her first mate, and that’s why he’s alone on her right. I can watch the eye twitch on Egon as he stares down the table at the statement that she’s made without saying a word.
Flint smiles and motions to his family, introducing each child or should I say grown man. Each stands at the mention of his name and lightly bows his head. Flint goes over the order of today’s events. “For your benefit Belladonna, I have moved the wolf on wolf, fighting to the end of the night to happen at dusk.” He gets the most sinister grin as I see the flames flicker in his eyes. “I wouldn’t want a Shadow Wolf to be without the shadows.” His tone is ominous as he makes the statement. And the same feral grin crosses over the blood-red lips of Belladonna.
With the flick of his wrist, he motions to the servants, and they lower the lights in the room. A candlelight breakfast seems to be the order of the morning. He knows Bella does not favor the bright lights, so he’s just made the room more comfortable for her. His sons sit staring down the table at her as the green glow amasses in her eyes as she finally relaxes, being within her element. She’s more content and happy with the lights lowered. Flint makes a motion at Egon and smiles. “Your mate’s comfort is the biggest thing you must pay attention to. It is right up there with safety being of the utmost importance.” He has a warm, fatherly grin which differs from what I’ve been told, especially barring his actions.
The mate trials or challenges, however you want to call them, unfortunately pits female against female vying for the right to take one aristocrat as a mate. Bella, so far has gone three for three. Three mates, three successful wins even though the third mate was not a royal, but she still won the competition, regardless. She looks around and then slowly stands up. Her poise is perfect, and her face betrays nothing. She tilts her head to the side, looking each of the sons over, her eyes locking with Egon’s and the color flaring to life even brighter than it did before. His flare as well matching her reaction.
“I wish to thank you Flint. We didn’t exactly get off to the greatest start.” She pauses, formulating what to say next. I can tell by the twitch in her eye that she’s trying to restrain herself from letting loose. “The only part of this whole trial that concerns me is the forging. Sebastian…” she motions over to him, “Is an artisan as well, but he mostly works with stone and more delicate things. I do not know how to use a forge or the tools within it. I know necessarily I don’t need to win all three. But I would like to at least be competent enough that I don’t burn myself to ash,” she says, and I can watch the fur ripple over Egon’s arms. The stress and the strain is evident in how tense his muscles are. You can smell it rolling off him, thinking about his mate getting burned. He looks at his father and he gives him a nod.
Egon stands. His large imposing frame looms over the table. “I would like to offer to teach you how to use the forge.” He’s straining with his words, struggling to hold himself under control. “But my wolf will not allow me within your presence without crushing me to you.” A soft smile plays on his lips for a moment before the hard exterior crashes back down, hiding away his emotions. “I would like to propose to teach one of your mates how to use the forge. Since I know mates share memories. He can share with you what he’s learned.” Egon’s proposal is probably the smartest one that I’ve heard to this point.
We look between each other, and Kaedyn motions to me to take him up on the offer. “I accept,” I say as I stand. “I appreciate your offer to teach me to teach her.” I bow my head in deference to him and I can see some of the tension drain from his shoulders.
I’m guessing he’s happier that I offered to join him at the forge, seeing as the Earth Kingdom has the better relationship with the Fire Kingdom. He smiles, looks at his father, then back over at me. “We will leave after breakfast. I’ll teach you everything that I know just so we can keep her safe.” With that being said, we both sit down and then his youngest brother Brenton stands up.
“So it’s decided already.” His attitude and fiery temper blazes to life. He’s tall, and he’s definitely a built a little heavier than the oldest son. But he seems to be a bit more cocky and uneven tempered.
