The baby leaned into his forehead, and stilled.
Jolie’s eyes filled with tears, but she quickly wiped them away, and turned on us with hands on her hips. “Fill me in.” She looked around the room, and her eyes widened when she saw Klaus. “Klaus? What are you doing here?”
“He’s decided to assist us after all,” Nico explained.
Klaus smiled. “I’ve come to assist with guarding you,” he explained and then looked at her stomach. “And your child.”
“Thank you,” she said. She came the rest of the way into the room, stopping on my right, and looked at the map. She scowled a moment, and pointed at the location of the new school she had created. “What about the school? What happens if they’re attacked?” she asked.
We all looked at each other. We hadn’t really thought about that.
“I’ll have a few wolves go to guard it and the kids, but I don’t think they’d stoop so low as to attack children,” Rhys said.
“They’re not really kids,” she said. “They’re teenagers. I would consider Gavin a threat, and they should as well. They may be young, but they can still do plenty of damage.”
She wasn’t wrong. Gavin may not have been as strong as Rhys or Andras, but he could kill plenty of humans and his fire would destroy vampires easily enough.
“Plus,” she continued. “What better way to hurt people than to kill their children.”
We all tensed at that, because she was right.
“Okay,” Rhys said. “I’ll get a few to protect them.”
She nodded, and resumed looking at the map. “You think he’ll attack Atlantis?”
“I doubt it,” I told her. “He would have to get his armies to Atlantis first. Not even Nico can teleport there.”
“It’s warded,” she said. “That’s why.” She was silent a moment and then snarled. “If they hurt Pookie, I’m going to tear their arms off.”
“Pookie?” Klaus asked.
“Her pet kraken,” I answered.
His eyes widened, and he looked at her with awe. Yeah, she was pretty awe-inspiring.
“I’m sure they won’t hurt Pookie,” I assured her. If they were smart, they would stay away from her pet. I didn’t want to see the rage she’d unleash if they killed Pookie.
“They better,” she growled, her eyes glowing a moment, but then reverting to normal as she resumed looking at the map.
“So, who is babysitting me?” she asked. “Aside from Martin, Sharla, and Klaus?”
“Andras, Silverowl, and me,” I answered.
She looked at me with wide eyes. “You’re staying behind?”
I shrugged. “The others will be more instrumental out there.”
“And, you don’t want to leave me without at least one of you here,” she guessed, nodding. She took a step to the side, so our hips touched, and then leaned her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her tightly against me. Touching her completed the bond, and everything felt perfect.
“You’re still tired,” Nico accused.
She glared at him, a glare that could frighten even alphas. “I told you, the baby woke me up. And, I’m always tired now.”
“Jolie—” Rhys started, but she turned her glare on him.
“I’m not leaving,” she said, finality in her words.
She could order us to do just about anything as our queen, and we would have to do it. Yet, she rarely chose to order us around. Normally, she gave us suggestions or asked us to do something to avoid the orders being backed with magic. It was extremely considerate, and we all appreciated it.
Nico disappeared, and then reappeared behind me with the love seat. “Sit,” he ordered her.
She glared at him, but huffed and sat. I felt cold without her against my side, but shoved those feelings aside.
Leona sat next to Jolie, and started petting Jolie’s hair. Jolie leaned into Leona, and her entire body relaxed.
Leona coming to live with us had worried me initially, but having a girlfriend here turned out to be just what Jolie needed. She needed another female she had a bond with that she could relax and vent to.
I would have preferred to fill that role, but I was happy with our current situation.
“What happens if they focus the attack?” Deryn asked Rhys.
Rhys sighed. “This is where it gets frustrating. Where would they focus an attack? Our house? Or the elves or dragons, since they already attacked the mages and the werewolves? Or simply the city to cause chaos?”
“I hope they start with us,” I said, smiling. I was more than ready to crack that Trident Douche’s head open. I had never hated anyone, but Justina had been the first, followed quickly by Trident Douche.
“It’s hot when Fox is angry,” Jolie whispered to Leona.
“I can hear you,” I reminded her, turning to give her a smile.
She smiled back. “I know. Turn around. I was enjoying the view.”
I obeyed and then flexed my buttock muscles a few times, which made her burst into a fit of giggles.
“Fox,” Rhys growled.
I wiped the smile from my face. “Right, sorry. Serious, Fox.”
Chapter 20
Leona
I hadn’t been too sure about these four males when I first met them. Jolie was special, much more special than any of them knew. She deserved to be worshipped, and surprisingly enough, these males seemed to worship her.
Well, not truly, but they genuinely loved her and would lay down their lives for hers, so it was enough.
And, they were pretty good guys.
I walked in my room and screeched. A huge frog sat on my bed. It made a ribbit sound, jumped off, and moved towards me. Only one person would pull a prank like this.
“Nico!” I screamed.
I heard him chuckle wherever he was in the house, and then he appeared in my room. “What?” he asked.
I pointed at the huge frog. “Don’t ‘what’ me! Get that disgusting thing out of here!”
“Aw, you’re going to hurt his feelings,” he accused, as he headed towards the frog.
A week after I had moved in, Nico started pulling pranks on me.
The other guys told me it was his version of hazing. They said it would eventually taper off, but not soon enough for my liking.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I couldn’t resist. I saw it and just knew I’d get that screech out of you.”
“Jerk,” I mumbled and tore the blanket off my bed. “Now I have to wash this.”
He disappeared with the frog, and I sighed.
All in all, it was worth it. There was so much here that we missed out on in Atlantis. I loved Atlantis, but I also really loved video games and movies.
“Another prank?” Deryn asked, leaning his shoulder against my doorjamb.
I nodded. “Big frog.”
He smiled. “That means he likes you.”
I rolled my eyes. “We’re not toddlers.”
He moved out of my way, and followed me down to the laundry room. “Where’s Thor?”
I shrugged. “Not sure.”
“You haven’t talked to him today?” he asked, disbelief coloring his tone.
I stopped and sighed. “We had a fight.”
“I’m sorry,” Deryn said, and he genuinely sounded sorry.
I turned and looked at him. “Why are you werewolves so damn territorial? It’s irritating.”
He smirked. “What happened?”
“Some guy hit on me while we were at a bar, while he was in the bathroom. I turned him down, nicely, and that made Thor mad,” I explained.
Deryn chuckled. “He’ll apologize later today. I’d bet money on it.”
“We’ll see,” I said, and resumed walking.
“Don’t worry, he won’t end your relationship over this,” he said, still following me.
“How do you know?” I asked, stopping again to face him, hiking the blanket up higher in my arms.
He smiled. “I know wolves, and while I do
n’t know Thor that well, I do know him a bit. He truly cares for you. He’s just feeling hurt that you didn’t tell the guy to take a hike. It’s a stupid wolf thing. He’ll realize he is overreacting and call and apologize.”
“So, it’s like the time you got all rage monster when you saw Martin hug Jolie?” I asked, smirking.
His eyes turned gold a moment, but it was gone before I could say anything. “Yes,” he said. “Exactly like that.”
“I hope so,” I muttered, and returned to my trip to the laundry room.
“You know, if you love him, you should just tell him,” Deryn whispered beside me.
I turned, wide-eyed. “What?”
He shrugged. “Just saying. If you do love him, it would help him calm down if you told him that. Knowing you love him would at least let him know you’re not going to end the relationship anytime soon. It’s not an agreement to be mates, but it soothes the beast in us so we aren’t worried about staking a claim.”
“Whatever,” I mumbled, and pushed open the laundry door with my foot. I paused, and looked back at him. “Thanks, Deryn.”
He smiled. “Anytime. Oh, and dinner will be ready in about an hour.”
I let the door close behind me and exhaled. They sure didn’t act like princes. But, I was glad for that. Especially, since Jolie definitely didn’t act like a princess.
I smirked, remembering all the times we played in the mud, and how mad the guards would be when they took her home and had to explain why she was so filthy.
Eventually, her father stopped making her wear dresses, and just let her be.
Those were some of the best days of my life.
When she disappeared, exiled, it broke my heart. If I hadn’t had Colton, I doubted I would have come out quite as sane. Not that I was fully sane, but I definitely would have lost a few more screws without him.
I needed to take a trip and go visit him. I’d have asked Jolie if he could move here, but I doubted the guys would be okay with that. As it was, if I ended up mating with Thor, I wasn’t sure if I would be allowed to stay here and have him move in. Or, if I would have to move out with him. I didn’t really want to leave Jojo. She needed me. Maybe not forever, but she needed someone who could contain her powers, at least until she mastered them.
Once her child was born, it would be easier to train her. As it was, the child added to her instability.
After we killed the Douche of Atlantis, our lives would improve dramatically.
I wanted to do it. I wanted to be the one who sung him into his grave. To watch his eyes and ears bleed as I punished him for what he had done to Atlantis, to me, and most of all, to Jolie.
Chapter 21
Jolie
“Stop kicking me so hard,” I grumbled at my belly as we drove to the elves’ territory so Kara could tell us the gender.
“He or she is just excited,” Rhys said and set a hand on my belly.
The baby kicked him three times, and then pushed against my rib cage so hard, that I gasped in pain.
“Shit,” Fox whispered, and pressed against the lump near my ribs. “We’ve got to stop the baby from doing that. It’ll end up breaking one of her ribs.”
I gasped for breath and closed my eyes. I wasn’t sure what was going on in there, but the baby had been extremely active lately.
“I’ve got this,” Leona said, and leaned around from her seat in the front to sing softly to the baby.
I couldn’t hear her words, but they were soothing, melodic, and it made us all relax.
“You’ve got to teach me that,” I whispered, a smile on my face.
“Yes, Princess,” she said with a teasing wink.
We climbed out of the vehicle, and Nico put a shield around us. I had been surprised when they agreed to go to Kara, instead of making her come to us.
They had kept me prisoner in the house for so long, I didn’t even know what date it was anymore.
“There they are,” Katar said, opening the door and smiling at us.
“Father,” Fox said and hugged him.
“Shoo,” Katar said, pushing Fox to the side. “I need to get to my favorite.”
Fox’s mouth dropped open. “I can hear you, you know?”
Katar hugged me and placed a hand on my stomach. “Hello, Daughter.
I smiled, leaned around him, and stuck my tongue out at Fox.
“Hello, Father,” I replied.
“Ready?” he asked.
I exhaled. “As I’ll ever be.”
Honestly, I was more nervous than I wanted to admit. I didn’t care what gender the baby was, but I also had a dozen names to pick from still.
We walked into the house, and Kara had me lay on the examining table. “It’s going to be cold,” she told me and squirted jelly on my stomach.
I shivered, which made Kara chuckle.
My four mates took up places around me. Fox stood at my head, rubbing my cheek with his thumb while his hand cupped my cheek.
The other three stood on my sides, staring at the screen that would show the ultrasound, and where Kara would be able to tell us if it was a boy or a girl.
Kara smiled at the guys. “Breathe, boys. It’ll be okay.”
They exhaled as one, apparently having been holding their breaths.
She placed the wand on my stomach, and a weird black and grey image shown on the screen. She moved it around, looking at the baby, but avoiding the baby’s genital area.
“Everything looks good. Nothing is out of place,” she said.
She started to move towards its butt, and then it shifted into a wolf pup. She sighed. “Deryn.”
Deryn’s mouth had dropped open. “Did it? How? What?”
“Son, order your child to switch back,” Katar said, though his wide eyes made me believe this wasn’t a normal occurrence.
Deryn leaned down and whispered, “Now is not the time to be a pup. Shift.”
The baby squirmed a bit.
Deryn growled, his eyes turning into his wolf’s eyes. “Shift,” he ordered the baby.
The baby popped from wolf to human in a blink.
“Blue rupees!” I gasped.
“That is not normal,” Leona whispered. “Right?”
“Definitely not,” Deryn said.
Kara moved the wand again, unperturbed by my strange child. “It’s a—”
“Boy!” my mother said as she popped into existence.
Kara’s mouth snapped shut. “You’re such a brat!”
Mother giggled, and then disappeared again.
“I swear, I’m going to figure out a way to make her corporeal just so I can smack her,” Kara growled. She turned and smiled at us. “Congratulations. You are having a boy.”
The guys were silent, which was worrying me.
Nico set his hand on Deryn, and then they all placed a hand on each other.
“What are you—” I started to ask, but they all blinked out of existence.
“Where did they go?” Leona asked with a scowl.
“To celebrate,” Katar said with a smile. He walked to me and set his hand on mine. “Males always want a boy to take on their mantle. They wouldn’t have been disappointed with a daughter, but they don’t want you to see how much this excites them.”
I rolled my eyes, and sighed. “Boys are so weird.”
Leona came over and watched as Kara continued looking at the baby. “You’re having a baby, Jolie. It’s so crazy.”
“I know,” I whispered. “At least that narrows down the name decision by half.”
Kara chuckled. “Still having trouble?”
I nodded. “I can’t decide. I like several of them, but none of them feel like they’re perfect. You know?”
She nodded. “I understand completely.
“Especially with it being a hybrid. If it had been Fox’s then figuring out a name would have been at least a little easier. But I can’t incorporate all the races in one name,” I said.
“Well, technically the baby will ha
ve two names,” Katar said.
“What?” I asked.
“The first name and the middle name,” he reminded me.
“Oh, right,” I said and nodded.
“Can we bond with our little boy before you leave?” Kara asked, already squatting down.
“You may,” I said with a nod.
She whispered to the baby then put her head against my stomach and the baby pressed against her.
Katar took his turn and then led me to the living room. Kara brought me a milkshake, and I greedily gulped it down.
“So good,” I gasped between gulps.
“Where’d they go?” Fox asked from the other room.
“Living room, dear.” Kara called out to him.
They walked into the room and smiled at me.
“Done celebrating?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.
“Yes,” Fox said unabashedly and sat beside me. “How’s your milkshake?”
“Amazing,” I answered and resumed drinking it.
“We should get home,” Rhys said. “Martin and his family will be arriving soon.”
I wanted to go home to see Martin and Sharla, but I wanted to finish my milkshake. I still had more than half of it left. I didn’t want to chug it down without enjoying some of it.
“Take the glass,” Kara said when she saw my internal dilemma.
I smiled, stood, and then kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Mother.”
“Anytime, Daughter. Just bring it back when you come visit again. Or, remind me if we visit you first,” she said and hugged me.
“Okay,” I agreed, hugged Katar, and then waited by the door.
“I’m not sure how I feel about a little male Jolie running around,” Leona whispered. “Add in those four, and it sounds like you’re going to have your hands full for the next eighteen years.”
“Don’t remind me,” I whispered. “I’m stressed enough with the pregnancy. And I’m trying really hard not to think about delivery.”
She hugged me. “It’ll be fine.”
The drive was filled with quiet, excited murmuring from the guys, but I tuned them out as I looked at my hands, clasped in my lap.
Royally Enraged: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (Her Royal Harem Book 4) Page 14
