by L. Rose
“Is he always like this?” Cedrick asked as he released Alex from his arm. Alex stumbled back a little, but Thorn was there to steady him.
“Nate’s a grumpy pain in my ass,” I told him, taking his hand as we walked toward the door. “But I wouldn’t have him any other way. I love the douche.”
I heard Nate grunt; it was light, so I knew he liked what I’d said.
“He grows on you, like a fungus,” Ezra teased and then tripped when he moved out of the room. Laughing, he shoved at Nate who’d been the one to mess his steps up. “See what I mean.”
Cedrick, who was smiling, nodded. We walked down the hall, and as we did, the people moved out of our way, bowing in respect. Only one woman stepped in front of us. She bowed so low we got a view of her ample breasts just about ready to spill out of her dress.
“My lord, it is good to see you.” She straightened and smiled coyly while twisting a strand of her hair around a finger. I wanted Alex to light her hair on fire.
“Elizitenth, we’re very busy at the moment. We’ll speak later,” Cedrick told her. We waited for her to move. She didn’t. Would throwing her out of the way look bad?
Her eyes moved down to our joined hands. She raised her gaze and said, “When am I able to move back into my room beside yours, my lord? I have missed you.”
“Oh fuck,” Ezra muttered.
He fucked her.
She was in a room right next to Cedrick’s? Wait a goddamn moment. We were put in a room next to his.
My powers rushed through me. My teeth, claws, and body grew. I dropped Cedrick’s hand and spun to face him. “You put me in her room?” I snarled.
“She’s in my room?” the harpy shrilled.
I snaked a hand out, grabbed her around the neck and smiled with all my teeth showing when I heard her choking. Slowly, I turned my head to her. “Shut. The fuck. Up.” I shook her and looked back to Cedrick.
“I see what you mean by possessive,” he commented over my head. Was that a smile on his face? I would knock it off as soon as the wiggly bitch died.
“Love, let go of her,” Asher said coolly. “She isn’t worth it. This is mild since you have both completed the bond. If it occurred after, the woman would be dead by now.”
Cedrick’s eyes flashed. He looked down at me and cupped my cheeks. His thumb traced over my lips, ignoring the sharp teeth. He didn’t look repulsed by me, how I looked, or by my actions. All I could see in his eyes was warmth.
“My beautiful Paige, she means nothing to me. She never has and never will. You are my everything from this day and until my last breath.”
I dropped her and called back my powers. “You have a way with words, Cedrick.” I curled my arms up around his neck and pulled him down so I could kiss him. I needed to show her he was mine.
The woman staggered to her feet, rubbing her neck and breathing hard. “D-Does she know how many women you had on that floor? One woman was never enough—” She broke off on a scream when I lunged for her.
Arms circled my waist and I was lifted off the floor and flung over a shoulder. “Let me go. She deserves to die. They all do.” I kicked, punched, and yelled at whomever was carrying me. All I could focus on was the whore being shoved aside by Nate. “Punch her, Nate. I give you permission.” The asshole just laughed and made his way down the hall.
A door opened as we went through. The last thing she saw was my middle finger before the door closed again.
“Put me down,” I demanded. I was placed on my feet, and I glared up at Cedrick with my hands on my hips. Then I kicked him in the shin. “You put me in her room! You had many women please you!” I kicked him again.
“This was all before you captured my heart and soul, my beautiful.” His hands landed on my shoulders, and he rubbed up and down my arms. “There will never be another woman in my life and bed but you.”
I snorted and punched him in the stomach. “How can I satisfy you when you’ve had multiple women on your floor there to just jump into your bed? There’s only me, Cedrick. You tied your knot to little old me, and now you’re stuck. I bet you’re regretting it, asshole.” I threw out my hands in frustration. “Well, tough shit, you’re stuck with me forever.”
He grinned down at me. “I wouldn’t want it any other way, Paige Alice. You’re more than enough for me. In fact, I now understand why you need so many mates.”
I gasped, suddenly wanting to mess with him more since it annoyed the hell out of me he’d known I was his mate and he put me in a room where his former plaything slept. “Are you saying I’m too much?”
“No!” he cried, then groaned. “Does anyone want to help me?”
My acting skills weren’t the best, but I thought I would try for the moment since I wasn’t ready to forgive him for being inconsiderate. “You’ll all regret taking me as a mate one day. I’m an over-the-top psycho.” Before anyone could see, I pinched my arm so hard it brought tears to my eyes. Then I thought I should really stop messing with him since he’d come into a relationship where I already had five partners. It wasn’t fair. I had to find a new way to torture him. Though, killing all the women in their sleep could make me happy too.
“Fucking fix her. She’s leaking again,” Nate growled.
“She doesn’t have her period anymore. She talked for hours about how grateful she was about it after she figured it out. So it can’t be that,” Ezra said. Now I just wanted to punch him for that comment.
A slow clap caught my attention. “She could win an Oscar for that performance,” a cool, rich voice said. Spinning around, I spotted Cedrick’s mother and two of her mates sitting on a couch. One of them was smiling up at me and clapping. He winked.
“What do you mean?” Cedrick demanded as he stepped up beside me.
I slapped him in the stomach. A few laughed, but I ignored them and said, “You brought me to your mom after my little reaction out there?” I glared up at him and then released the glare to gaze back to his mother. Cedrick resembled his mother a lot, only he was more masculine, of course. He even had her white-colored hair.
I bowed. I couldn’t help it. She looked more queen than I would ever be. Elegant. And all she was doing was sitting on a couch. Hands landed on my waist and pulled me back up.
“I’m sorry you saw that, Your Majesty.”
“Please, call me Castilina, child.” She smiled. “You also have nothing to worry about. I understand your reaction, and I’m grateful to know you care for my son deeply enough to want to hurt others before you.” She took her mates’ hands. “I have had my moments also.”
One of her men laughed. “We lost count of the people she threatened over us.”
I grinned. “It’s good to know I’m not the only one.”
She giggled. “You’re not, and my son is the same I predict. Except with your already bonded grooms.”
I nodded, thinking of the guard when we’d first arrived.
“Six altogether, how lucky are you.”
My chest expanded with happiness. “Very.”
“May we get back to where your tears went, beautiful?” Cedrick questioned.
The one who’d clapped laughed. “She pinched herself to bring them on. She was playing you, son.”
“Son. Why does he call you that?”
“He is my mother’s mate. Kiered and I have spent time with all of them more than the father we had. They treated us with kindness and patience, teaching us so much. We see them all as our fathers and long ago asked them to treat us like we were their own.”
I gazed up at him, taking his hand in mine and squeezing it. “That is the sweetest thing ever. I forgive you for putting me in her room. For now.”
Cedrick laughed. He lifted my hand and kissed the back of it. “Thank you… I think.” I grinned before he faced his mother again as he said, “Mother, may I formally introduce you to my wife, Paige Alice. Ghoul queen.” He glanced around and added, “I would also like you to meet our bonded males, Asher Evans, Thorn Jones, Alex Smith,
Ezra Morningstar, and Nate Felan. Everyone, this is Castilina, my mother.”
Castilina smiled warmly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all. This is Juri.” He was the clapping one. “And this is Grandith. My other mate, Yeno, is off getting more food for me, even though I’m stuffed to the brim.”
“They never do listen,” I teased my own men.
She laughed. “No, they don’t.”
Cedrick sighed. “We are standing here.”
Castilina brightened. “How about you all leave us for some girl time?”
“Not happening,” Yuri clipped. He glanced up at me. “No offense to you, but after everything that has happened to our mate, she will have two mates with her at all times.”
Nate grunted and I caught Thorn, Asher, and Alex nodding.
“We know that feeling well,” Ezra said. I couldn’t say I blamed their protectiveness. I would have been the same if one of my mates disappeared for hours having God knows what done to them.
The queen frowned. “Yes, I am sorry for what Therolidi did to you.”
I waved a hand in front of me. “It was nothing compared to what was done to you. I’m so very sorry.” Tears filled my eyes. Now seeing her, speaking with her, even when it was a short moment, it pained me to know Castilina had been treated the way she was.
Her own eyes filled with tears. When her hand came out, I went and dropped to my knees, taking her hand in both of mine.
“We will heal from the physical and mental wounds inflicted upon us. It is why I think we’ve been blessed with so many mates.” She gave me a wobbly smile, which I returned.
“Your people usually don’t have so many mates?”
She shook her head. “No, usually we only have one. But I wouldn’t want it any other way. My men complete me in different ways.”
Nodding, I grinned and said, “I know exactly what you mean.” I was surprised with how comfortable I felt with Castilina. Her people must have loved her as queen before they thought she perished. However, since she was coming back from death, would it be received well or had her former husband turned people against her? If he had, could she handle the situation on her own? She could still need Cedrick’s support. “You understand I have to leave here tomorrow, and Cedrick has said he will come?” She nodded. I gripped her hands tighter. “I can’t have him come if I know your people will be disgruntled over your appearance and cause you trouble. You need all the support you can get if that happens.”
More tears filled her eyes, and she looked up over my head. “You have been blessed with a magnificent wife, son.”
“I have, Mother.”
She gazed back at me. “Even though you know it will pain you to have a bonded away from you for a long period of time, you are willing to sacrifice that to help me?”
“Of course,” I said instantly. I would never want Cedrick to regret coming with me, nor worry about his family every day.
She leaned forward and cupped my cheek. “You honor me, child. I assure you, my people will rejoice at my return. I shall not use his name, but he ran this kingdom down. I did what I could to stop him. My people saw this. They know I will rule strictly but fairly. Cedrick would lose himself if he is not at your side in this battle you take.” She smiled. “You are a brave woman, Paige Alice. What you’re about to deal with is beyond what anyone else has taken upon themselves, and you do it for your people, yes, your family also, but you show your people the strong female you are, and they will respect you always.”
As I dipped my head, feeling my cheeks heat, her hand dropped away. A throat cleared, and I sensed the queen look up. “Our mate doesn’t do well with compliments. As far as she’s concerned, she would rather run into battle than have people say nice things about her,” Asher said.
Castilina laughed. “I can see that, and again it shows me what an admirable woman you are, Paige. Now rise, child, and stand by my son please.”
I did as asked. Cedrick curled his arm around my waist again. Castilina looked at us with fondness.
Sudden power surged into the room. Panic filled me until Alex called, “It’s okay.” Then I relaxed.
The queen’s eyes glowed, much like Cedrick’s had. It then extended to around her body, and she floated up to her feet with ease. Her hand shot out, and she moved it in all different directions. “I bless this union. I bless the union Paige Alice has with all of her bonded mates. I bless your travels and pray you all stay safe through your hardship.”
In a blink, she was back to her normal glow. Still looking wonderful, no older than thirty, and yet she would have to be older because Cedrick seemed in his late twenties.
“I wish you all the best of luck, and I do hope you will visit when you can.”
“Of course we will,” I reassured her. There wasn’t a chance I’d keep her son away from her.
“Thank you.” She smiled, then laughed lightly. “I’ll leave my tears for the actual farewell tomorrow, which will embarrass Cedrick.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll cry with you, and then the men will really freak out.”
She snorted, then covered her mouth in surprise. “I do like you, Paige.”
“Thank you. I like you too, Castilina.”
A knock sounded on the door right before it came open without anyone saying anything. Kiered walked in with a bright smile upon his face. Behind him, he dragged Xi in by the arm. Xi didn’t look angry, maybe nervous with his frantic eyes searching the room.
“Mother, I have wonderful news,” Kiered announced. “I would like you to meet my mate, Xi Huang.”
My mouth dropped open and a shocked noise fell out, which had Xi glaring my way.
Castilina clapped her hands and said, “This is a blessed day. Juri, go and collect Yeno. He needs to be here. Xi Huang, welcome to the family. It will be a pleasure to get to know our son’s mate.” Juri disappeared in a blink of an eye.
Xi bowed low. “Thank you for accepting me; however, it was not needed because I am not his mate.”
“Say what?” I said through the link.
“Xi’s being stubborn,” Ezra stated.
“He’s being protective,” Asher said.
“I agree. He knows what we walk into, and he doesn’t want Kiered to care for him or worry,” Alex shared.
“But then how did they find out they were mates if Xi’s not accepting it?” I put in.
“What happens when two people come together sexually?” Thorn asked.
Nate snorted. “Bam, they find out they’re bonding as mates.”
“Xi had sex?” Shock had me coughing.
My men laughed around me.
“What do you mean, Xi Huang? You do not want this bond with my son?” Castilina sounded confused and a little hurt for her son’s sake.
Kiered stepped forward. “Don’t worry about what he says, Mother. He wants this bond and he cares for me as I care for him.” He glanced back at a scowling Xi with a warm smile and soft eyes.
Juri reappeared with Castilina’s third mate. “What’s this I hear of more blessed news?” he asked. He came forward to clasp Kiered’s arm and then shook his hand. “Congratulations, son.” He glanced to Xi. “Is this fine warrior your mate?”
“He is, Yeno.”
“I am not,” Xi stated.
Yeno’s brows dipped. “What’s going on?”
“Kiered, my dear, you cannot have a mate who isn’t willing to accept you. It always turns bad for the both of you,” Castilina said gently.
Kiered sighed. “He does accept me. He’s just being stubborn and trying to protect me.”
“Why?” Grandith demanded, now standing beside Castilina with his arms crossed while glaring at Xi.
“Because of what he is,” Kiered answered.
The queen straightened. “What are you, child?”
Xi’s eyes flashed with pain. He closed them quickly and then reopened them, hardened. “I am no child, and that is another reason I cannot be with Kiered. I am over fifty thousand years old. I am a chim
era, and my other half could kill Kiered instantly.”
“Are you saying your other half won’t accept Kiered as yours?”
Xi’s jaw clenched. “He accepts him. However, it doesn’t make it safe.”
Nate stepped closer. “I know my beast isn’t the same, but I always used to worry for my mate, if I accidently shifted in a moment of weakness and they were near, but I know my beast would do anything for our mates. He wouldn’t harm one hair on their heads, unless they were being stubborn.” He shot me a look, and I rolled my eyes. “Even if we were injured, we would recognize our mates and keep them safe. Have faith in your beast because they are a part of you also.”
Ezra shifted closer. “I agree. Hellhounds don’t have the best temper, and I know I’m only half one, but I know my beast side would never harm a mate. You can have happiness in your life, Xi. I know my father would want this for you.”
“My beast is different than others. We have three minds inside of one. I cannot be certain something won’t happen.”
“Do you not trust my son?” Castilina asked softly.
“I….” Xi’s hands fisted. He looked to the floor, but then nodded.
“Then if you do, trust that my son can take care of himself. That my son will accept you as you are, all of your beasts as well. My son will not only charm you and make you happy for the rest of your days, but he’ll also have your beasts wrapped around his finger so that none of them would do him any harm because, as it’s been said, you are a part of those beasts also, and you will love him with everything you have in time. Just as they will. Do not be afraid of something that could be so wonderful. I wish I hadn’t listened to my parents so many years ago by putting status before love. Then again, I wouldn’t have my sons, so it is as it was meant to be. Just how you two were meant for your lives to cross and find each other.”
“Your mother is amazing,” I sent to Cedrick.
He smiled down at me. “She is. It’s why the people love her. She leads with her heart.”
I could tell Xi was dumbfounded. He didn’t know what to say or do, but he kept his eyes on the floor as no doubt thoughts ran around in his mind.
“Should we leave?” Alex asked, always the kindest out of all of us.
