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“Of course, my love, anything you desire,” he says in probably the most honeyed tone that I’ve ever heard from any male ever. He dips his head to me, and then motions for me to lead the way back to the castle. Between him and Sebastian, I’m not sure which one’s the sweeter of the two. I have my gigantic teddy bear. I have my secret little science nerd in Sebastian. I have Kaedyn, the brains of the operation, and then there’s Hollis, the most down to earth even tempered one of us all. If I had to describe myself. I’m more of a wild card than anything else. I guess that means that’s something else for Egon to figure out later.
Chapter44
Hollis
I am taken abackby how Bella ended up using my gift, my ability to move the earth and to shoot the spires of stone up out of the ground and then to cause that earthquake and split the Earth wide open. It just amazes the hell out of me. Even I have issues with doing that maneuver properly all the time and yet my mate’s first time and she succeeds. I am beyond stunned. There’re not even words to describe the feeling that I’m having right now. Looking over everything that she’s pulled off. I’m guessing the she-wolf that she was against was just as shocked as I was and didn’t expect the ravine coming at her. She was probably thinking that Bella was going to end up losing control of the gift and not being able to reach her like she missed the first time. I guess it sucks to be her, and that Bella has gotten much better than she actually figured. I also noticed that she ended up using Kaedyn’s power as well. The gust of wind knocked the she-wolf off her legs was shocking, so that’s two out of three mate’s powers used. I would love to see her near the water and see if she could use Sebastian’s gift as well.
This whole situation is becoming curiouser and curiouser as time goes on. It’s amazing to see that she’s able to manipulate the elements. I know the first time she used my gift; it appeared to have shocked her. Maybe it was a happy little accident. At least that’s all I can assume. I was quite happy that she used her own gift to retrieve the female from the ravine and then closed it using mine. I’m at a loss for words, having seen everything that’s gone on this evening. I know we’re all gonna have a long conversation after this dinner is over. Or maybe it’s good to put it off till tomorrow. I don’t know what her intentions are concerning Egon and whether she’s bringing him into the fold the very first night that she knows him. History dictates that she takes time to get to know us. So, keeping that in mind, I’m pretty sure history is going to repeat itself. He seems hesitant to approach her after seeing what she could do, and I honestly can’t blame him.
Stepping up alongside him, I rest a hand on his much larger shoulder. Tilting my head off to the side, trying to get him to follow me away from where Bella is. “Are you okay, man? I know that was interesting to watch.” He glances back to where the ravine once was, and then over to our mate, who is currently between Sebastian and Kaedyn, being held and hugged and comforted after what just happened.
“Yeah, it is shocking. I mean, I heard stories about the Spirit Wolves and what they can do. But I never thought in my lifetime I would see one for real.” Nodding along, I understand what he’s saying. If I did not witness it for myself, I wouldn’t believe that it had occurred.
“Well, Bella is quite special. And we are lucky to have her,” I say in a low enough tone to not draw attention to us. “Don’t worry man. If she wasn’t interested in you, she wouldn’t have fought as hard.” He looks back at Bella, who is now chasing Sebastian around the tree. He had stolen her drink from her and she’s trying to get it back.
The sound of Egon saying oh catches me off guard. I wouldn’t picture a man his size using such a soft word. “What do you mean, oh?” He shrugs as he watches Bella never taking his eyes off her.
“I’m used to seeing females meeker than our mate. I mean, even for my size, I’m a big softie. And I prefer to be gentle with the ones that I love versus being the big brute that everybody paints me to be all the time.” His soft tone and how he describes himself catch me off guard. He looks like a Viking. If I had to say, he looks like he could beat the living tar out of Thor if he ever had to go head-to-head with him, and yet he claims to be soft and gentle. This man is a paradox, and I am not sure how Bella will handle him.
I hear King Flint summon Egon back up to the royal box. Reluctantly, he turns to leave and walks back over to where his parents are. His brothers come over, tap him on the shoulder and give him, what I guess, are their most gentle bro hugs. Out of the three brothers, he is the largest and from what I can tell the strongest. Flint is not the warmest father that I have ever seen. But I can only assume that because of everything that has been going on and all the random attacks over the last ten years, only the strong survive. The Fire Wolves are the only pack that rivals the size of my people. Their wolves are definitely much larger, and they build the men heavier than mine. I make my way over to Bella, Sebastian, and Kaedyn and watch them scuffle over the last few remaining cold drinks. I laugh as I watch them interact with each other and it draws their intention back to me.
“Where’s Egon gone?” Bella asks as she looks around me, trying to see if he had followed me over. Shaking my head softly, I see a semi-defeated look in her gaze.
“It is nothing bad Bella, Flint ended up calling him back over for some sort of discussion. Let’s face it, you threw everybody off using mine and Kaedyn’s powers.” She looks back over where the ravine had once been and then back at me.
“Trust me, it shocked the crap out of me, too. I was getting angry, so I stomped my foot and next thing I know a spire of rock comes shooting up out of the ground and almost impales my opponent.” Shrugging her shoulders, she looks back to where the spires are still up out of the ground. “It was definitely a happy little accident.” Her voice is more jovial than it was earlier, but I can tell that the whole incident is bothering her slightly. Looking back over at the spires, I concentrate on them and then make a motion with my hand flipping my palm from facing up to down and then using a pushing motion down to the ground. The spire that I am focused on recedes back into the earth. Bella stares at the motion that I make and then looks at the other spires that she erected. She puts both hands out in front of her and repeats the motion that I had just done. Only when she does it, all the spires left recede into the ground, whereas I had to focus on one at a time. Arching a brow, I stare at her in wonder. I have seen no one have that much control over a new gift in such a brief period.
Arching her brow in return, Bella gets a mischievous look in her eye. Kaedyn has the bottle of water in his hand, getting ready to raise it to his lips. With the flick of her hand, the water shoots out of the bottle and squirts him in the face. Bella grips her sides laughing so hard she falls to the ground and starts rolling around. Shaking my head, I cannot believe she just did that to him. Kaedyn laughs as well and next thing I know, Sebastian flicks his wrist and the water shoots Kaedyn in the face, just like Bella had done. Shaking my head at the antics of my other three mates, I can’t help but laugh.
“You guys seriously crack me up. Three out of the four of us are supposed to be rulers. And we are all standing around acting like a bunch of children.” Still laughing, Bella stares at me and the bottle of water in her hand.
She’s got that look in her eye again as she twists off the cap. She raises her hand above the open bottleneck and the water moves out slowly and forms into an orb. She drops the empty bottle to the grass and then, with the forward motion of her hand, sends the orb of water at me. I’m in such a state of disbelief that I don’t bother moving and the water crashes right into the center of my chest, soaking me. Shaking my head, I just walk away to head toward the castle. “Come on children, let’s go get dressed; dinner is going to be ready in about an hour and we still have to be at the ball.”
Rolling my eyes, I head toward the stairs at the side of the castle where our room is located. Upon entering the castle, I see a bunch of servants running around making final preparations for tonight’s ball. Apparently, some women that were adding the roses to the different vases are already gossiping about what Bella has done. The she-wolf that Bella defeated has been undefeated for many years in all forms of competition. The women are quite happy that for once she got her tail handed to her. When they notice it is me behind them, they shut up immediately and finish their tasks quickly. Opening the door to our room, there are several bouquets of flowers across every available surface. The last one is a set of jet-black calla lilies. The lilies are as black as Bella’s fur. There are several blood-red lilies mixed in to symbolize Egon’s hair, I suppose. Smiling, I sit on the bed waiting for Bella to come in. When she arrives, her hands fly to her mouth, and she continually repeats “Oh my god” repeatedly as she looks at all the fresh flowers.
“I’ve never seen so many black flowers in all my life.” Her voice holds a wonder to it, like a young child discovering something for the first time. She walks to each vase and inspects the flowers within it. She buries her nose in each of the blooms and smiles before moving to the next one. I notice Egon is watching her while he stands in the doorway, leaning his shoulder against the doorframe. Motioning to the flowers when I catch his attention, he gives me a nod. So, it definitely was Egon that had the flowers put in the room.
“You guys didn’t have to do this,” Bella says with her back to the door, not realizing mate number four is there.
“We didn’t,” I say firmly.
Bella tilts her head to the side, questioning me as she stares. Slowly she turns and looks back toward the door and catches sight of Egon. Without any hesitation, she closes the distance between them. Leaping up, she wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him soundly on the cheek. His enormous arms wrap around her, making her look like a child-sized doll in his arms. The stark contrast of their size is shocking. Especially since I know the size of the beast contained within her breast. They are speaking in hushed tones and all I can hear are the soft whispers of their voices but not make out the words. Motioning to the rest of the guys, I herd them to the other side of this suite so we can prepare for the dinner ball to celebrate Bella’s victory.
Chapter45
Belladonna
All I feel iswarmth and love being wrapped up in Egon’s arms, with my legs dangling below me. He smells of fire, that soft, sultry smoky tone that reminds me of a good barbecue. His soft words are uttered mere inches from my ears of how proud he is of me, and it sets my heart aflutter. He slowly sets me down and then takes my hand to lead me around the room to the different vases. At each vase, he tells me about the flowers in it and where he had gone earlier today to pick them. Not once in my entire life has a male ever done something so thoughtful and romantic for me. The third vase we stand before is full of black and blood-red calla lilies. He pulls his long ponytail forward and then takes my braid. Holding them side-by-side he motions to the vase. The colors are surprisingly similar. Smiling, I get what he means by putting the two colors together.
He walks me around the rest of the room to the last of the flowers, telling me of their stories and their histories, taking great care when it comes to details. This is the type of man that would make a great king. Do not get me wrong. I love Kaedyn, Sebastian, and Hollis. But I do not believe any of them have the backbone to be the king that these packs need. I catch Egon up on the battles that I have fought to get to him. He is shocked and upset that a female must fight so much just to obtain her birthright. He tells me how spoiled the females in his village are and how they don’t lift a finger to help anyone unless it benefits them. A soft growl escapes my lips when I hear this.
Listening to Egon speak makes me think of a bygone era where men were really men and treated women as if they were the most precious thing on the face of the earth instead of just a commodity to continue their bloodlines. He catches me studying him and he stops. “See something you like my Queen?” he asks playfully as he brushes a lock of hair back behind my ear.
Reaching forward, I hold on to his braid and run my fingers over the length of it, feeling how soft and thick the hair is. “I believe I see something I like before me. But I wouldn’t want him to think of me as a brute after everything that has happened today.” I glance away for a moment before looking back up at him. “I’m not sure how much of my history you’re aware of.” I pause dramatically as I try to ponder how I want to say what’s on my mind.
His large hand comes out and cups my cheek, engulfing it. “Whatever you need to say, I will listen and pass no judgment,” he says, smiling as his lips ghost over mine with the faintest of touch, sending electric currents through my body and straight to my core. It’s kind of funny that my hottest kiss to date is also my gentlest.
I stare up at this behemoth of a man. He is practically a walking and talking mountain. The corners of my lips curve up. “My father was frightened of me.” Glancing down briefly, I draw in a fortifying breath before looking back up again. “He was verbally abusive and sometimes physically as well. Never toward my brother, of course.” The words rush out and I close my eyes as a reaction. It’s a habit of mine. When I would do things like this, my father would strike me. I tremble slightly in Egon’s hand.
