Her Forever
(Book 3)- Chapter 10

Willa’s POV

Large gasps were heard through the crowd. Alpha Seth ran up beside Luna Sadie and held her from behind tightly. Carlos was breathing heavy, his arm securely around my waist and not showing any signs of letting me go. Looking at River and Mom in panic, I felt my eyes on the verge of tears. I had never felt so scared in all my life. Carlos’ claws were piercing my gold sequin dress and soon it could be piercing my skin. Living among werewolves, even though unknowingly, gave me a false sense of security as I lived among Violet’s pack as they looked out for each other. Now that I was seeing the aggressive side of the werewolves that I just learned about I wasn’t so sure anymore, especially with Carlos.

“I said, stay back you overgrown pixie,” Carlos growled. King Orion seemed unfazed, if anything he looked rather amused. Four large fae appeared, three of which looked like brothers. They were sporting fae military uniforms and all had a head and beard full of red hair.

“I suggest ye watch yer tone, puppy,” the tallest fae said. His voice was gruff with a no-nonsense tone. “Let go of the girl and no one gets hurt,” he reached for his sword as well as the two others. Carlo’s grip was tightened around my waist and I let out a small whimper. That was going to leave a bruise.

King Orion glared his eyes at Carlos and before Carlos could say another word I was being pulled into a large chest with a blanket covering from my back side pulling me impossibly closer to warmth. The large wall in front of me was warm and I wanted to instantly melt but before I could find any comfort I heard yelling and growling. Peaking my head out from the blanket, now realizing it was King Orion’s cloak I blushed furiously. Being insanely close to this angel gave me the butterflies I had always heard about in my stomach.

Carlos’s eyes were dark and another fae had his grip around his neck with a silver dagger pointed to it. He smiled evilly piercing Carlos’s skin. His growl was deep and you could see he was in pain. “Impeccable timing as always, Annan.” Annan looked up through his lashes and gave King Orion a wink. “Anything for a future Queen.” Annan again cut Carlos’s skin and I whimpered a bit.

Wait, what?!

“Come now, Darling, you don’t need to see that,” King Orion took his cape and covered my face which had me burying my face in my chest. It felt so intimate but the fear that was floating through my veins pushed it aside as I gripped his cloak tighter. Orion’s hand rubbed up and down my back as the cloak shielded me from unwanted eyes.

As if reading my thoughts, Violet spoke up. “Did you just say, queen?” Violet squealed as Alexso held her closely, not being fond of the threat before him. Many wolves looked on, many in shock, Violet’s mother looked at Luna Sadie in acknowledgment and let out a smile.

“Yes, Willa is my mate, future queen of The Light Kingdom,” King Orion said as smooth as silk. Putting both my hands on his chest to back away, he only tightened his grip on me. “You’re safe now, no one will ever hurt you.” Before he could touch my cheek, Carlos let out another roar.

“She is mine, fucker. She can’t be yours!” My head darted to Carlos who was now restrained by Alanso, Sammy and Caleb. All three started tying silver ropes to his limbs while he struggled.

“Stand down, Carlos!” Seth growled while Carlos backed down showing his neck. Many wolves looked on in amusement on how this was going to play out. One wolf was claiming me while the fae king was also saying I was his. Who was my mate, really?

“How about we do a mating test! I just read about it in one of the history books!” Luna Sadie chirped. “That way there is no question if Carlos ever was a mate. It is really quick and effective and then we can all move on and let the love birds go on their way!” Sadie started taking Alpha Seth’s black-tie off and came up to me and pulled me out of King Orion’s arms.

“I know this is a lot, “ Sadie whispered to me. “Trust me, everything will work out. I know Orion is your mate, the Goddess told me not too long ago.” Orion didn’t let his face show much expression, I had gathered but I thought I saw a faint smile across his lips. “Luna, I’m human, I can’t have a mate. I’m not even meant to be here.”

Little does she know I had double meaning behind that statement. One, being here in a supernatural world and two,… my parents said I was an accident. I really wasn’t supposed to be here.

“It will come in time, the Goddess mentioned you were stubborn and would not easily accept it, but you will soon, promise.” I scrunched up my nose in defiance and she put the tie around my eyes.

“Everyone listen!” Sadie’s voice demanded. “Willa will stand here and hold her hand out. We will have several unmated males come up and hold her hand. Whichever one she feels the bond with by just holding her hand will be declared her mate.”

“That sounds too easy, how can you go off by touching who your mate is?” I rolled my eyes to the blindfold and crossed my arms. Many people laughed which only added fuel to my anger. “Trust me, you will know,” Sadie sang.

The crowd was silent as one by one male came up and held my hand. After a few seconds, they would take their hand away and another would replace it. The crowd was being dreadfully silent and my anxiety was at an all-time high. I could feel eyes staring at me as these males came up, waiting for something to happen. Mom came up behind me and put her hands on my arms. “Willa, it’s alright. Nothing is going to happen, me and River are right behind you. You’re safe.” I nodded slowly, feeling some comfort, but not enough to take away my insecurities.

Another hand came to mine and I felt a squeeze, it was a possessive squeeze and it almost burned my hand of how uncomfortable it was. Stepping back some people started whispering but were quickly silenced by a growl. A few moments later I felt another hand slide into mine. Out of all the hands I felt, this one felt the most welcoming. Butterflies, no large birds soared in my stomach, it took me to a place of comfort I never knew. My chest felt warm and I could almost feel love in it. Love in touch, it was something unheard of. My mind tells me to pull away but my body does the opposite, it wants to lean into it and feed off of it. Fill in the holes of my soul of the pieces missing.

“What is it supposed to feel like?” I whispered slowly to Mom. My voice was shaky, scared of the unknown. The hand squeezed me a tad tighter, only confirming the comfort it gave me. Mom bent down and whispered in my ear, “Like nothing you’ve felt before. It fills you in places you want to be filled.”

There was a long pause and I sighed heavily. “Him,” I whispered so low that I was afraid no one would hear me. There was a growl and large applause that hid away someone’s frustration. The blindfold was taken off of me and there stood before me was the angel that I could never take my eyes off of.

For the first time I saw a large smile on his face, it was captivating and I couldn’t help but blush at the way he looked at me. My mind was yelling at me to stop but my heart pulled me into another direction and that was to be near him.

“Take Carlos away until he can be taken back to his pack,” Alpha Seth commanded as my friends Alanso, Sammy and Caleb drug him away. Carlos was thrashing about, throwing out profanities but I was quickly redirected by Orion’s hand to look at him.

Alpha Seth started addressing the crowd to disperse and to enjoy the party, not just a mating ceremony party any longer but the celebration of the Fae King finding his mate. Fists clenching my dress I saw the crowd continue to murmur and disperse while still looking at me, some with jealous eyes and some with happy faces of congratulations.

Orion held out his hand to me and I couldn’t help comparing his large one to my small one. “Come, Darling. I’m sure you have questions.” With my hand in his, he led me to a more private table and pulled out my chair as I sat down and a drink was automatically set to my right. His arm was draped over my chair and kept me close to his side. I should be feeling a bit uncomfortable the way his side is pressed up against mine but it isn’t.

Violet waved at me from my peripheral and I couldn’t help but look her way. She was smiling and drawing little hearts in the air while Alexo tried to pull her to the dance floor rolling his eyes.

“Willa, I want you to meet some very important people of mine. They will keep you safe if for whatever reason I am not around. Trust only them, alright?” I nodded my head, wanting to question why only trust these few men and not other people in his kingdom.

“This is Annan, my right hand man, my advisor,” Orion displayed his hand out to show me Annan.

“‘Tis a pleasure, your highness,” he bowed and kissed my hand while I blushed.

“Please, just call me Willa.” Annan looked to Orion for confirmation and he nodded his head.

“And these,” he sighed heavily, “are my personal guards, Eamon, Fionn and Brenden.”

“Aye, it’s a pleasure, yer highness. You have no idea how long his highness has waited for ye. The past years of pouting have been long without him getting some-..” Orion cut him off with the wave of a hand. “That will be all Eamon, go mingle.” With that his crew left and dispersed into the crowd. I raised a brow as Eamon’s statement.

Orion bent down and came close to my ear, I was frozen in place, not sure what he was going to do or say. “I’ve waited for you so long,” his warm breath tickled my ear. It made me hold my thighs together and I didn’t understand why. Chills invaded my skin as he breathed down my neck. It was an unfamiliar feeling and I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. Quickly scooting my chair over he sat more straight and cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry,” he pulled the collar of his dress tunic. “I fail to realize you are not versed in the mating bond given to us by the goddess.” I nodded my head, my snarky attitude long gone out the window. My emotions and hormones were all over the place. Heck, puberty wasn’t this bad.

Orion, ignoring the space that I had placed between us, came close again. “How about we dance, loosen up a bit, hm?” His hand was extended and I hesitantly took it. Pulling me up he guided me to the floor with his hand on my lower back. Taking one hand in mine and the other at my back he held me close. There was no space and even when I tried to back away he wouldn’t let me.

“I know you are hesitant, Willa. You’ve been thrown around the past couple of days, but let me tell you, I’m here to take care of you. You are mine, you were made to be mine and I was made for you,” his voice was smooth as silk as he spoke. He had me entranced by his beauty and grace. He was different than the wolves. He wasn’t a growling territorial mess as I saw some wolves were to their mates. Orion was cool and collective.

I stayed silent, letting my wonder which proved to be a bad thing. This cool and collective behavior could be cockiness, knowing that since I was his ‘mate’ he could get what he wanted from me. Alanso said he was a player, used magic to get women to bed, what if he was using magic on me now? Was he seducing me like he did with shifters to get another notch on his bedpost? How could I be certain he wasn’t another Carlos? Another horny guy? Eamon did say about him not getting any for awhile, meaning he’s been getting some. The hurt and fury started to carve out the once empty holes that were filled with him.

“Darling, what’s wrong,” he stopped dancing and pulled my chin up to look at him. His eyes glued to mine, confusion set in them. “You are angry, what can I do to fix it?”

“I can’t be here right now, I need some space to think,” I let go of him and started to walk away but was quickly grabbed by my forearm by his hand.

“You can’t go anywhere without me,” he said calmly. “You are my mate and I am to protect you,” his voice said gently. Was I going to fall for his charms like every other girl? Absolutely not.

“I did fine before you, and I’ll do fine now. I need some space, now let me go.” Turning my head quickly, some pins fell out of my dark hair and was now cascading down my back. Orion didn’t let go, in fact he pulled me back and put both hands around my upper arms and pulled me close.

“No, you cannot. You are mine as I am yours. I just found you and will not let you go, no one tells me no.” Alright, so apparently all supernaturals were territorial, not just the werewolves. I sighed frustrated.

“Well, then, your highness, maybe you should take this as your first lesson in humility by getting your first rejection from a woman.” My l*p wanted to quiver but I held it back. I was going to be the strong independent woman I had always been. Not needing pity and sympathy or someone to take care of me. The look of amusement fell on his face and he gently let me go. Before turning around to get away he grabbed me by my h**s and threw me over his shoulder while I squealed.

Many wolves started howling and clapping their hands but my face turned of mortification was seen by Mom. Softly smiling at me she gave a wave while Violet was whistling. “Put me down you barbarian! You’re no king! Where are your manners!” I screamed, hitting his back. No one was going to help me, not even my adopted family.

“Live a little, Willa! He’s your mate!” Violet starts gyrating her h**s and Alexso shakes his head and puts his arms around her waist to make her stop. “Luna Sadie! Please help!!” I pleaded. Orion continued to walk off the dance floor while I continued to yell. Instead, the sea of people parted as he walked to the side of the pack house.

His guards were flanking him while Annan had a dirty smirk on his face as he cleaned off the dagger from Carlos.

“Where are you taking me?!” I continued to yell.

“To our room, Darling.”