Chapter |62| ~The Fairest of All ~
Unedited.
Embry’s POV.
First things first, I’m absolutely stunned by Lady Katherine’s undeniable beauty.
Adorably coiffed shoulder-length rich chestnut hair, framing her prominent high cheekbones and delicately crafted jaw. Expressive and large soulfully deep almond eyes taking me in as she wears an astonishingly sweet smile colored gracefully across her perfectly plumped lips.
Oh, my Goddess! She’s the fairest vampire lady that I’ve ever seen. The fairest of all.
Her posture is so straight and regal, showing off her aristocracy upbringing. That’s another thing that I notice at first glance.
Lady Katherine without a doubt has been trained to be a queen. The Queen of hearts, judging by all the dreamy looks that can be identified on everyone’s faces as they watch her, and that doesn’t exclude me.
I’m still in awe as I take in her beauty. Lady Katherine’s disturbingly beauty. Wow!
As I stand here taking her in from head to toe, I can honestly say that the photographer who took the portrait of Cyrus and Lady Katherine was unable to truly capture how breathtakingly beautiful she is.
Oh, my Goddess! I just have to say again. It’s no wonder where Cyrus gets his good looks from.
One might even assume that she is his sister before they believe her to be his aunt, like seriously.
Cyrus is ancient even though he doesn’t look a day over twenty-three in human years, so his aunt has to be hundreds on top of hundreds, possibly thousands of years old, even though Lady Katherine doesn’t look a day over twenty-eight years old if we’re basing appearance by human years.
How is that even possible?
She is also very stylishly dressed, wearing a gold floor-length silk slip dress, if Celine was here she would say that Lady Katherine appears to be very chic and extremely comfortable I would just have to add-in. Overall, the silky gold dress is striking against her glowing and flawless warm ivory skin.
Lady Katherine beauty is the type of beauty that can capture a blinds man’s attention and her sinfully sweet personality is so intriguing to me, especially when you remember the fact that she is an extremely powerful vampire, which makes everything so strange.
They are rumored to be far eviler than the younger ones but Lady Katherine’s first impression says otherwise.
I can still feel the warmth from her tight embrace wrapped around my body. With all that being said, so far I think that I like Cyrus’s aunt. “Speak for yourself,” huffs out my wolf.
I think she is upset about the fact that Lady Katherine just nearly smacked the spit out of our mate’s mouth.
“Behave,” I mentally plead as she begins to pace around inside me. “It’s a family matter. She’s his aunt,”
“And he’s our mate,” she snaps back before I shut down our line of communication and then place my focus back onto my mate and his aunt, silently watching the scene before me.
Lady Katherine once soulfully deep almond eyes are now big, bright, and blazing as she glares into my mate’s unblinkingly golden ones.
“How dare you?” demands Lady Katherine. “You’ve attacked a village full of civilians, declared war for no apparent reason, downright refused to answer my calls, and had the nerve to keep this darling girl away from me for so got darn long.”
“Have you lost your everlasting mind?”
“I’ve done no such thing,” lies Cyrus through clenched teeth, which earns him another backhand colliding with his handsome face.
“Don’t lie to me,” snaps Lady Katherine with now radiant ruby red eyes before she backhands him again.
This time my mate attempts to make a run for it. However, before he could even blink, Lady Katherine tiny fingers shift into monstrous claws as she catches him by the back of his neck, causing Cyrus to hiss.
From here, I can see her claws vaguely sinking into his skin, but it’s still enough time to draw blood. His blood.
“Don’t test me, boy,” she slightly raises her voice. Out of nowhere, my vision shifts golden as my wolf decides to make her presence known.
“Enough! Get your hands off our mate,” she roars before I have a chance to stop her. No way, she didn’t just do that.
“You didn’t just do that!” I gape and my hands immediately go flying to cover my wolf big fat mouth. I’m stunned! I can’t believe her.
Apparently, I’m not the only one.“Woah there little doggy,” surprisingly Ghost Falls is the one to snap, suddenly appearing right in front of me.
“Don’t bite off more than you can chew,” he hisses with bizarre and frightening milky white eyes.
In a heartbeat, Cyrus appears in between the two of us.“If you call my beloved a dog again, I’ll knock your fucking teeth out of your mouth,” spits out Cyrus.
“All talk, no action,” Ghost Falls spits back and that’s all it takes to officially piss Cyrus off.
With a menacing roar, Cyrus cocks his fist back, swinging it out in the direction of Ghost Falls face, but his attack is interrupted when his aunt takes a single step forward.
Not even a second can past before both of them goes flying across the room only to be thrown and then pinned onto the wall
What the Goddess?
I’m standing in place shook, panicking and my wolf vicious growls inside my head are so loud that my eardrums feel like they are about to pop.
“How the hell did she do that?” growls out my wolf inside my head as she attempts to take over. I’m trying my best to stay in control.
“She?” I ask, as my neck snaps in Lady Katherine’s direction, who happens to be standing in place with her glowing ruby red eyes damn near spitting out laser beams in the direction of my mate and Ghost Falls.
“Yes, she!” barks out my wolf. “She’s doing some creepy vampire thing, Embry. Let me o-”
My wolf sudden outburst is cut short and the ringing inside my head suddenly fades out at the same moment that Lady Katherine decides to wink at me.
What the heck? Did she just?!
“The both of you are out of line,” states Lady Katherine rather calmly as she approaches the two of them.
“Cyrus, what has gotten into you?” She shakes her head at her nephew.
“You’ve been taught to mind your manners at all times, and you!” Lady Katherine then turns to face Ghost Falls. “Are way too old not to know how to mind your business,” she scolds him as well.“The both of you owe not only me but the entire household an apology.
Silence! There’s audible silence. At this point, crickets can be heard chirping from the other side of the world.
“I’m waiting,” Lady Katherine place her delicate hands down on to her hips while staring at them like how a mother she-wolf would do after she has caught her pups being up to no good.
“I-- I-- I,” they begin to stutter.
“You- You- You! What?” Lady Katherine’s soft voice draws me back in.
“The apology belongs to me. My wolf was out of line,” I finally gain the courage to step up, which places all eyes on me, making me nervous but it’s needed.
The apology truly does belong to me. My wolf should have never spoken like that to Cyrus’ aunt. She is his family, so that makes her my family. Plus, she’s an elder and my wolf knows that we were taught to respect our elders.
“There is no need to apologize, my dear. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Lady Katherine smiles at me. “Your wolf was only standing behind her mate as she should,”
She’s right but that still isn’t an excuse. My wolf knows better. I mean now that we’re bonded my wolf will always be very protective and extremely territorial over our mate but still that is no excuse.
“That is no excuse,”
“Nonsense,” Lady Katherine smiles wider. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” She winks and then places her attention back onto the two of them.
“I’m waitinggggggggggggggg,”
“We apologize,” surprisingly they collective sigh and my jaw drops, literally it’s hanging on the floor.
“For what?” she smiles at them.
“For not acting my age,” Ghost Falls wastes no time.
“For not minding my manners,” my mate says a second later.
Well, I’ll be damn. How could this one woman? A china doll of a woman at that gain quite the reaction from not only a hunter but also my mate, who happens to be a King? I’m way past the point of stunned. I can’t do anything but stand here in awe, amazement, and fascination.
Cyrus' expression quickly shifts and I can’t stop myself from smiling as I take in his new expression. He is now sulking like a lost pup would do after an adult catches him sticking its paws where it doesn’t belong. He looks absolutely adorable.
A second later, Lady’s Katherine’s lips form into a breathtaking satisfied smile before Cyrus and Ghost both fall onto the marble floor with a loud thud.
“Ouch! Okay, I deserved that,” cries Ghost Fall, while attempting to pick his self up off the floor. Cyrus, on the other hand, appears right in front of us within two point five seconds.
“This isn’t over, Cyrus,” she promises him while he wraps his arms around her delicate frame. “We will be having a conversation before the night’s end,” she adds in as she embraces her nephew in a warm hug.
“But,”
“There are no buts. I expect you in the dining hall before dinner and that’s the end of this conversation. Am I clear?” she slightly pulls away.
“Da, Matusa”(Yes, Auntie)” he responds in Romanian, before planting a gentle but firm kiss down onto her forehead. “I love you,” he says to her.
Lady Katherine offers my mate an award-winning smile. “I love you too, nepot,” (nephew) she expresses while tightening her hold around her nephew frame.
Awww. My heart melts and then skyrockets as I stare at the two of them. No one can understand how much I adore this man and see him showing his aunt nothing but respect and love makes me adore him more.
A moment passes before Cyrus and his aunt pull apart from one another and turn around to face me.
“I have some business to attend, Sunshine. I’ll see you later,” he tells me while leaning down and brushes his lips across my cheek, making my heart triple melt if that’s even possible. “Please behave yourself little wolf,” he whispers into our ears, making my wolf innerly shiver. “I love you,”
“We love you more,” I speak for the two of us.
“That’s impossible,” he advises while his lips form into a wicked smirk. “I’ll meet you in our chambers to escort you to dinner. Then I have a very special surprise for you,”
Surprise! I love surprises. “And what might that be,” I dare to ask.
“A surprise! He says with a wink before turning around to leave. “You are all dismissed,”
And that’s when I realize that the entire house is still here, watching me watch him. I gulp at the realization. Oh, my Goddess! How could I forget about our audience so quickly? How could I?
Everyone present eyes are glued onto me. Every single pair! However, thanks to my mate the room is cleared within a couple of seconds.
“I’ll see you later, Em Gem,” smiles Speck before the two of them disappear but not before I hear her say, “I told you that you were going to get into big trouble. Ha! That’s exactly what you get,’”
“Now come my dear,” Lady Katherine pats my hand before looping her arm around mine. “It’s tea time,′
“How many sugars would you like, madame?” asks the overly cute lady in waiting by the name of Annie.
She is a drop-dead gorgeous with amazingly innocent bright blue eyes, fine and abundant red hair, and white as snow skin. In addition to that, her smile is brighter than the Western Morning sun but most importantly she’s a human.
Yes! A very pretty human girl indeed.
Apparently, Lady Katherine doesn’t believe or partake in slavery. Every servant, rather they are human or vampire employed underneath her household is paid handsomely for their services and they get to live in the estate free of charge.
Absolutely, amazing right? I know.
“There is no need,” I tell her for the several times.“I can add my own sugar and milk,” I advise while picking up the spoon and then dipping into the classy irony china wear that’s filled with sugar.
Annie’s bright blue eyes grow wide once again, appearing to be quite mortified.
“Madam, please! I insist,” she addresses, “I must serve you,”
“Yes, madam,” Gutter mocks, earning a side-eye stare from me and a low growl from my furry little friend. Oh, yes! My furry little friend is here too, sitting on top of the bed of pillows chowing down on some tasty tart cakes that Annie just bought inside the glass room for us.
Oh, my Goddess! How could I forget to mention the glass room? It’s a room made of glass that sits in the East Wing of the house filled with luxurious ivory furniture, golden tables, plants, and the finest flowers that the world has to offer.
Cherry blossoms, bird of paradise’s, bleeding hearts, about forty different types of Dahlias, a few water lilies, some gazanias, a few lotuses, tulips, a series of orchards and some roses, which happens to be my favorite. Yes, the smell of this room alone will make a she-wolf feel like she’s in heaven. Especially, when you consider the view that consists of one of the Red House’s most famous exhibits, which happens to be one of the largest heated outdoor pools in the world.
I can’t wait to dive in.
“Madame please,” Annie draws me back in. “I assist, my lady instructed me to serve you,”
“No, thank you,” I tell her for the thousandth time. “I can serve myself,”
“You’re a stubborn little Queen,” Gutter takes it upon himself to mention while taking a seat beside me. Once seated he wastes no time, diving into the dish filled with tasty treats that were placed onto the table for me.
“Hey!” I say while attempting to take my plate away from him but there is no use.
“I’ll tell you what, Annie,” he smiles at her after he wins our brief battle of tug a war. “How about we make ourselves scarce and you can please me?”
“Not going to happen, ever,” she sasses him and my jaw drop, literally. I know that she isn’t a slave, but she is human. I’ve never thought that I’ll live to see the day that a human would sass a vamp, but then again there is Claire.
“You’re not my type of vamp,” she adds in with a smile and before he has time to respond Lady Katherine high heels clicking on the Marble Floor can be identified before she struts through the door.
“Apologies, my dear. I didn’t mean to keep you waiting for so long however I had some very important matters to attend to. Please forgive me,” she smiles at me while making her way over towards the table with Ghost Falls following closely behind her.
“There’s no need to apologize,” I offer Lady Katherine a soft smile back as Gutter take a stand just to slide her chair out from underneath the table. It amazes me how everyone around here tends to treat her like a Queen.
“Thank you,” Lady Katherine politely expresses to Gutter Butter as she takes her seat.
Annie rushes over in front of us to place down a super fancy ivory and gold flower printed teacup and matching saucer directly in front of Lady Katherine.
“Thank you,” she responds right away before placing her attention back onto the men. “Now, you two gentlemen are dismissed,”
“But Katherine,” Ghost Falls shocks me yet again. Katherine? Why is a Hunter bluntly calling a vampire lady without her proper title?
“No! But’s,” she smiles at him.“I’ll see you tonight, Mr. Falls.” Mr. Falls is that a nickname? Judging by the way that she is looking at him, I think that it is.
“Don’t you know but’s me,” Ghost Falls raises his eyebrow as he approaches us. “My fair lady,” he says to her while leaning down to plant a kiss on to her lips, nearly knocking the wind out of my chest.
Oh, my Goddess!
Oh, my Goddess!
Oh, my mother flipping Goddess!
Did he just kiss Lady Katherine? Yes! He did and the crazy part is no one and I mean no one, Gutter Butter in more specifically seems to be bothered by it.
He’s just standing there expressionless with his hands behind his back, quietly watching their exchange.
Meanwhile, for the second time since I met Lady Katherine, I find myself stuck in awe, amazement, and fascination as I watch the two love birds embrace one another lips with no care in the world.
“I’ll see you later,” he whispers against her mouth as he breaks the kiss, sealing the deal before heading towards the door.
“Oh, and Embry,” addresses Ghost fall. “I truly do apologize for my actions. Your such a sweet, bright and beautiful girl.
“You didn’t deserve that, welcome to the family,”
“Thank you,” I somehow manage to say, although I feel like I’m about to faint.
“No! Thank you, love,” he adds in, before exiting the room and Gutter Butter goes following behind him.
Oh, my Goddess! What on heaven’s earth did I just witness?
“Close your mouth darling your drooling,” instructs Lady Katherine before her and Annie breaks out in a fit of giggles. My wide hazel eyes continue to openly gawk at Lady Katherine. “And it’s not polite to stare either,” she giggles harder.
“My apologies,” I blink rapidly before quickly turning my head in the other direction, still attempting to figure out what the heck just happened.
Are they mates... I mean, of course, they are but how? Well, that’s a stupid question. Cyrus is my mate and I’m a wolf so... Wait! Does Cyrus know about this? About them, is that why he was arguing with Ghost Fall the entire helicopter ride? I’ve got so many questions, so, so, many questions like I’m just stunned.
The entire scenario just completely caught me off guard.
From the corner of my eyes, I can see Lady Katherine wave my apology away. “Oh, my sweet girl, only if you could see the look on your face right now,” she says with a smile before leaning her head closer towards my shoulder.
“You are not the only one who is on the inter-species mating train, but you are the first person that I have encountered who has accepted the task with open arms. You’re so brave,” her last sentence, regains my attention.
“I’m the furthers thing from brave,”
“Nonsense,” she waves her hand again, before picking up a fancy napkin off the table and then neatly rest her hands on top of her lap.
Without being told, I follow suit. Thanks to my father’s etiquette lessons, I’m very aware that your hands should never be placed on the table when you aren’t eating or using your silverware.
My actions must have not gone unnoticed because Lady Katherine’s large soulfully deep almond eyes rest on my hands for a long-drawn-out moment before she explains, “I’ve dinned with quite a few she-wolfs in my lifetime and I must admit that you are the first one that I’ve ever encountered, who has placed their hands in their laps when not eating,”
“You’ve dinned with quite a few she-wolves?” I question her.
“Yes, my darling I have! Is that surprising to you that a vampire Lady of my status will dine with your species?”
“Yes!” I answer honestly. "Just like it’s surprising to you that a she-wolf has proper table manners, ”
“On the contrary, darling. It’s not,” Lady Katherine says while gently patting my hands, “Especially when the she-wolf who is demonstrating such table manners is Embry Destiny Wilde. The youngest daughter of Western Pack Beta Hunter Wilde and Larentia Lakewater,”
“Your mother wouldn’t have it any other way,”
“My mother,” I jump up out of my seat. How would Lady Katherine know anything about my mother? I mean, sure, she’s a vampire lady, so I’m certain that it’s not that hard to obtain my parent names,”
“Yes! Your mother,” Lady Katherine gentle voice interrupts my thoughts. "I’ve got so much to say to you in such little time but how about we start with the story about how I met your mother,”
Hey, love bugs! I'm sorry for the wait but I'm officially back. Did you miss me or better yet did you miss Embry and Cyrus?