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It takes the better part of an hour to clear the castle and the banquet hall. Egon and Bella retire to his suite as Flint summons me, Hollis, and Sebastian to his office. The other kings are called and brought in on the conference. We catch them up on what’s going on and everybody is shocked. It’s now that my dad says that Bella’s mom stopped returning calls and answering messages for almost a month now. My mother’s attempts to visit her old friend had been shot down by the guard, saying that the queen did not wish to be bothered as she was in mourning. Clearly, all things point to the fact that instead of being in mourning, she was plotting revenge. I guess she just didn’t count on Bella and Egon having similar gifts. She was probably counting on the fact that her daughter might not stand against her, that the maternal bond would be stronger, protecting her from harm from her daughter. Even King Mateo sounds shocked at the turn of events. But I would almost bet that he’s involved somehow. I just can’t prove it yet.
I type a quick message on my phone and send it to Hollis and Sebastian, so I don’t have to say anything out loud. They nod their heads slowly, agreeing with the fact that we all believe they plotted this the moment we left. It doesn’t take a general to figure out when somebody feels that they’ve been slighted or robbed of a position that they’re going to seek revenge in any way possible. I just never thought that it would be a mother against a daughter. After all, Bella saved them both from Grimshaw’s abuse. There are even days that I can’t get too close to Bella because it bothers her. Certain motions still set her on edge. Her worry that something bad is about to happen. The deep-seated fear she’s become so accustomed to is hard to let go of. But unfortunately, you can’t fix the past. You can only prepare and hope for the future for things to be different. We listen to the other kings speak and what they’re saying makes more sense than I would like it too. They suspect as we did, but this was definitely planned, and then it was probably set in motion shortly after we left Hollis’s kingdom.
I don’t know how I’m gonna break this to my mate. But as of right now, the only thing I’m truly worried about is keeping our family safe. There are several courses of action that I could take, but I do not believe anyone will be happy with my plans. Throwing caution into the wind, I decide to take over the conversation. “Gentlemen,” I say and once I have the attention of the kings, I bow my head slightly and then continue. “We have entered a dark time for our kingdoms, one that we could not predict.” I draw a deep breath, trying to channel my father’s calmness the best that I can. This isn’t something that any of us could ever prepare for.
“I’m not sure how far or how deep the betrayal runs, but we must be prepared for rebels to rise and start a war.” I do not take saying the word war lightly and my father knows that for me it’s an absolute last resort.
Grimly, he bows his head, agreeing with my assumption. “I hate to say it, son, but you’re right. I believe the absolute worst has happened and I’m not sure who’s left that we can trust.” My father’s confirmation makes my head spin.
Looking back at the other mates in the bond. They nod their heads slowly, sadly agreeing with me. War is not something I can fully prepare for. “What do you propose, young king?” King Mateo says as he stares at me and then glances over to Hollis and Sebastian, drawing in a slow, deep breath.
I glance down at my hands for a moment and then back up again, trying to regain control of my emotions. “I cannot begin to even fathom what my mate must be feeling at this moment. Discovering her brother and mother changed like they were. The glamour that they had used was cruel enough, but then to be ready to turn on her, that was the true crime.” Impassioned, I say the words, trying to drive home how hurtful this event was for my mate.
King Flint stands beside me, nodding sadly. “What would be best for the kingdom is that Belladonna and my son forge a strong bond hopefully sooner than later, because the Spirit Wolf at full power will not be defeated easily.” He glances down and then over at the rest of us. “I’m pretty sure that you guys have also noticed a change in your abilities,” he says as he reaches behind him and pulls out an ancient tome. It depicts a Spirit Wolf on the cover, and he opens it up to the section about the mates of the Spirit Wolf. I take a cursory glance at the words on the page and stare in disbelief. Not only do Bella’s powers become amplified, as we add each mate to the bond, our powers grow as well. It would seem we gain an immunity to the other elements as well.
Chapter48
Belladonna
The steady clickingof my heels on the floor as we walk through the hallowed halls of the castle draws my attention away from the mammoth man before me. His own boots thud rhythmically as he moves gracefully for his size. As we go deeper into the castle, I notice that we’re going into a part that I haven’t been to before. I can only assume that this is where his private quarters are. We head up a set of winding steps and it seems to go in a spiral. I grip his hand tighter and squeeze it twice just to get his attention. He stops and smiles, his eyes glowing almost a fiery red, as if his wolf is staring at me.
“What is it, little one?” His voice is soft as he turns and steps down two steps to put me at eye level with him.
If I would have known this gentle giant would have this soft of a heart, I would have come here first instead of fighting so hard against it. I resisted coming here with everything that’s in my being because I feared being shackled to Flint and his bloodline. Here I am mated to his middle child and honestly couldn’t be happier. I ponder his question for several moments before reaching forward and gently pressing my lips against his. They’re hard and firm. Each mate is very different in this department: Hollis’s lips are pillowy soft. Kaedyn’s are not thick nor hard and Sebastian’s lips are like Hollis’s, but with a fuller bottom lip and a thinner top lip. I slowly pull back and allow my wolf to surface, staring deep into his eyes.
“I’m just…” I pause, trying to formulate the sentence that’s banging around in my head. I don’t want to hurt him, but I also don’t want to keep the truth from him either. “I’ll be honest with you.” I reach forward and caress his cheek, keeping it in my hand. The roughness of his beard playing at the base of the palm of my hand as I slide my hand down his face, my fingers thread through his auburn beard.
“Your father…” I draw another breath, hesitating to finish the sentence.
“Bella, you can say anything to me. Honestly, my father can be very persistent when there’s something that he wants. That’s how he got my mother, after all.” That boyish smile of his tells a tale of a lovesick man.
I nod slowly, gaining a bit of confidence, and then finally blurt it out. “I’m sorry that I delayed, taking more time than what was necessary to come here. I hope I didn’t cause you any pain or discomfort. Your father interfered in all the games except for the one in Sebastian’s kingdom. It made it very difficult to want to come here.” I lean forward, pressing my forehead against his and closing my eyes. I hope I didn’t just screw everything up between us.
His large hands embrace my cheeks as I feel him pull his head away from me. “Bella, my love, please look at me.” It is the please that catches my attention. My redheaded Viking is the last person I would ever expect to be this gentle. Forcing a smile, I look up at him, still concerned that my issues with his father may have caused him undue pain. He smiles and leans forward and presses his lips softly against mine, sucking the bottom one gently in between his. A boyish smile plays upon his lips as he gently releases mine. Through his beard, I can see what appears to be dimples on his cheeks. I giggle slightly seeing them and then I notice the dusting of freckles across the bridge of his nose, just under his eyes.
“What’s got you smiling beautiful? I’d like to do it again.” I draw the deep breath and then tilt my head slightly and kiss the tip of his nose.
“You just keep being you and I will always smile,” I say softly as he finally slides his hands down my cheeks; down my body, over every curve to rest on my hips.
“Is this what having a pure mate is like?” His tone is soft and wispy, filled with wonder and awe to the point I would think that he saw a unicorn instead of me. That he had witnessed some form of a miracle never seen before by the eyes of man instead of me. I wink at him and then tilt my head again in the opposite direction.
“I can tell you from experience what having a fated mate is like. It feels like almost a phantom limb that you didn’t know was missing was given back to you. It feels like finding that one perfect thing you’ve been looking for.” A giggle escapes my lips and then I look down at his right hip, the scimitar I made for him sits proudly displayed.
My hand reaches out and slides down his ribs to his hip, and then to the pommel of the sword I created with my own hands. “It’s like having the Damascus steel decide to bend to your will and make the perfect ladder pattern.” As soon as I make the reference, he draws the sword from his belt and holds it out between us. All the time and effort of repeatedly folding multiple layers of steel repeatedly to create a unique pattern that only a very skilled, or in my case very lucky, blacksmith can pull off.
Looking over the intricate pattern that I created, his finger runs fondly over several of the lines in the design before looking down at me. “If you put this much time and effort into everything that you do,” beaming, he stares at me, and his eyes blaze to life, “then I am the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have found the one female that will treasure everything right down to the minutest fold in the steel.” He holds the blade up higher between us and runs his fingernail over the pattern, and you can hear each time his nail slides over the slight ridge.
“Your attention to detail outdoes many of the generals and soldiers I’ve ever met. You took what I told Hollis and created this for me.” Stressing the word “me,” he slides the blade back into the sheath that his side.
“You barely knew me, yet you created the one sword in the one pattern that I’ve always wanted. You love without question, and you give of yourself effortlessly. You are the queen that I’ve always dreamed of.” My heart is thundering in my chest, thinking about the ramifications of what he’s just said.
It’s a whole unique feeling with him. With the other guys, I felt as though a part of me was missing that was returned. With Egon, I feel like I found the rest of myself. Much like me, he has a gift that scares the others in his family and the pack. Much like me, he’s been shunned and sent to one of the most hard places to live, the magma pits. People fear what they don’t understand, or the things that they can’t control. I guess we get to learn together what it’s like to be accepted for who we are.
He scoops me up as if I weigh nothing and carries me up the spiral staircase. At the top an ornate door sits runes etched into the mahogany, blessing the door by the night Goddess Nyx herself. The depiction of the Shadow Wolves on either side of the Goddess is accurate. There is one wolf that stands alone, black as night, with a unique aura around it. I stare at the picture on his door that I realize the lone wolf looks like mine. He gently sets my feet on the floor, and I reach out hesitantly to touch the wolf.
“I made this one night when I couldn’t sleep,” Egon says as he runs his fingers over the border of the door. “I had the dream several times of the Goddess herself walking through the pack graveyard calling forth the largest black wolf I have ever seen.” He smiles at me briefly and then returns his gaze to the door.
“I didn’t realize it was you until the last battles.” He leans his shoulder against the doorframe and stares at me. “When you and your mates came running toward the guards, your wolf was further back from Hollis and it made you appear to be slightly smaller than him, so I thought nothing of it. But seeing your wolf in battle, I know this depiction is her.” He runs his fingers over the wolf on the door again.
