(Book 3)- Chapter 59
Girard’s POV
She was here, my mate. The one I had looked for over a thousand years was here lying before me. Her face was ashen, unhealthy and her deep purple hair was lifeless. The lips that I desperately wanted to capture were chapped and broken. A glass of water laid full beside the bed as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. Not one thing was touched as she was trying to keep warm underneath the quilts and blankets. Willa had smelled of her, and I knew she was taking care of her. Someone she didn’t know and was unfamiliar with, not knowing this woman was mine.
My heart swelled for the love of my daughter and her kindness.
I felt shuffling behind me, and my daughter gave a small smile as she rounded the bed and slipped out the door. My heart wanted to go to my daughter, embrace her for not only letting me be granted the title as a father but as well as the matchmaker for my soul. My eyes instantly darted back to the woman before me. Her eyes were wide, and her lips were now parted. I could feel her heart racing beneath the layers of blankets.
She instantly tried to sit up, but I sat on the bed beside her and pushed her back down the bed gently with my hands on her shoulders. “You need rest,” my heart raced as I could still feel the shocks of pleasure through my fingertips. Her brows furrowed as I smiled at her; what had my love gone through to cause such a condition?
It dawned on me that she shows the signs of a mate withdraw. Her heart had given up finding me. My chest constricts at the thought she was giving up on me. Even though I thought I had loved before, my previous chosen wife who had given me 13 beautiful sons but sitting on this bed, swimming her eyes, I never knew what love really was. No wonder my chosen mate left; this bond was something to behold.
“What is your name?” I needed to hear it, to taste it on my tongue before I went and captured her lips.
“E-Elaine,” she whispered, still in shock.
“Elaine,” I spoke, and I felt the shiver down her body, which only made me smirk like a pubescent teenager. “I am Girard, your mate.” Tears started to roll down her cheeks, emotion pouring from them as she sat straight up out of bed and held onto me for dear life. I couldn’t help but smile. She wanted me after all this time.
If I had known where she was, even an inkling, I would have found her and brought her to my palace. Then again, I never would have found her; I was confined to the sea. Now that Calista has granted us all amulets to be above water for five days at a time, it still would have been difficult to find her. “Mate,” she sobbed.
Petting her hair, I immediately felt her grip tighten on me as I nuzzled into her neck. Glancing at her shoulder, I see a fading mating scar that caused me to growl. I had no right to be jealous or upset, and I had a whole family before her. Does she have children too? Sighing, I buried myself deeper into her hair, and she visibly relaxed.
“I’m sorry, I…I don’t look-“ I pulled her from our embrace and thumbed her tears away. “Gorgeous, you look absolutely radiant.” Kissing her forehead, I pulled her from the bed and cradled her in my arms. The only way for her to get better was having me, her mate, and the bond. It will bind us together, making her healthy again, and we will enjoy the rest of eternity together.
I don’t regret my time with my chosen mate, and she gave me children I could never have otherwise. I love them all, and I think I would be in the same place Elaine was if I didn’t have them. But here she is, just in time for me to take her away from this land and take her to mine. She will be my queen, and I will dress her in the finest of clothing, jewelry and worship the very ground she walks on.
As much as I want to mate, mark, and fully bond with her, we will have to wait. Elaine is too weak and fragile; I’d break her. Gods know how long it had been since I had taken a female; Willa’s human mother was the last and final straw for me.
Elaine, I’d love to get to know you,” I spoke to her lips. Even after sleeping, her breath smelled of oatmeal cookies out of the oven. A growl ripped through me, and she smiled at my lips. Elaine’s eyes closed, and I couldn’t help but smash my greedy lips to hers.
Gods, she tasted amazing, more than exceptional. I was having an o*rgasm in my damn mouth. Elaine’s neck leaned back as I pushed my tongue to her lips, and she opened without question. Her hands dove into my hair and trusted my body against hers. Goddess, she was heavily endowed, the things I could do with those t**s. My lips, on their own accord, started to trail her cheek and down her neck; as they peppered k****s where I would sink my fangs into her, her guttural growl grew hard as I sucked it.
I couldn’t permemnatly mark her, but I would damn well leave a temporary one. Her hand gripped my hair as I finished kissing her shoulder. “I need to stop, my love. We should talk and get you healthy.” The l**t in her eyes told me different that she would accept me for all that I am, but I wanted to be upfront. She may not like the idea I have thirteen sons and a daughter. I couldn’t mess this up.
Her blush filled her face as she tried to lean away from me, but I held her tight. “Mine,” I whispered in her ear as she giggled.
“LUKE, WAIT!” I heard an ear-piercing scream. “They could be doing IT!!!” Luke bursts through the door along with Willa, who is breathing heavily and propping herself up on the door.
“Is it true?!” Luke grins and lets his fangs grow. He jumps into the bed that Elaine and I are sitting on and crosses his legs. Luke has always been one that didn’t understand the need of personal space.
“Luuuuke!” Willa g****s. “Let them have their moment!” She begins to pull Luke from the bed, but he drags her up and stuffs her face in the pillow next to Elaine. Willa lets out grumbling noises as he keeps her pinned.
“I’m guessing it’s true since the way you are sitting?” Luke smirked, and Elaine blushed and put her face in my chest.
“Luke,” I gave him a scornful look, and he held up his hands. “I just wanted to say hey to my new Mother.” Elaine pops her head up and looks at both of us. I gave a small, hesitant smile to her as I felt embarrassment climb up my neck.
“That was what I wanted to talk about,” I loosened my collar while Willa sat up with her messy hair. Luke pulled her to his side as she laughed at him. They should have been damn twins the way they interact with each other.
“I did have a chosen before you, and we did have children.” Elaine nodded, not bothered in the slightest. “Not just one or two,” I trailed my voice. “But thirteen.” Her eyes grew wide until Willa cut in.
“You forgot me!” Willa stuck out her l*p and crossed her arms.
“I mean, I have thirteen boys and one daughter. We just found out a few weeks ago,” I took Willa’s hand and rubbed her knuckles with my thumb. Elaine gave a small smile in understanding.
“That doesn’t bother me. They are your children. I have one of my own but, things get complicated from there.” Willa tried not to show any emotion and played with her fingers.
“My daughter is the reason for all the commotion,” Elaine sucked in a breath. “She wants to get rid of Willa and have Orion have her as queen.”
A growl ripped through my throat as I heard this; trying to clear it from my throat, she looked at me with no judging eyes. “I know this makes things complicated, and I hope she will relent. I think it is best if I spoke with her father and see if he can change her mind.”
Willa scoffed and folded her arms.
“What makes you think he will listen to you, Elaine? He tortured you, forced you to do unspeakable things; what makes you think he will speak to you now?” My fists gripped in anger, I didn’t know Elaine’s whole story, but from the sounds of it, I needed to rip this guy’s d**k off.
“We have ways to make him talk.” Orion walked through the open door. He glanced at Elaine in my lap and gave me a bow. “Congratulation’s your majesty on finding your mate.” Elaine glanced turned to look at me and then looked at my head, adorning the crown of my ancestors.
“I-I didn’t realize,” she sputtered.
“And that is why I adore you because you saw me instead of a crown. Now you will be my queen and rule all over Atlantis.”
Willa’s POV
Well, this is hella awkward. My stepsister is trying to get my mate. How the hell did that end up happening? What are the odds?!
Elaine seems like a nice woman; I could already see the color returning to her face as my father held her in her arms. She was happy; seeing the white of her teeth told me this would work out for the best. They were mates, supposed to be bonded together. The whole Sibille thing was just a hump in the road; if a bond told me anything, you get past whatever hurdles you may cross.
Luke looked longingly at our father as well as me. I know he wanted a mate, some of his brothers had waited longer, but Luke wanted it the most. I’ve thought of all the times he went to the surface to watch for those that needed help and aided them to Atlantis. From what he spoke of, he all found them their mates. Was he trying to help those women that needed help, or was he secretly yearning for his mate? It could be a combination of both, Luke has a tender heart, and I pray he finds someone soon.
Once Orion entered the room, some of the tension was lifted. The alchemist that had helped Molly and Alanso had left several vials of Truthing Serum. These were hard to come by and very expensive to make since the flowers used in the serum come near the dragon shifter territories. The flowers are gifts to friendly sorcerers or to any that have mated to a shifter.
Elaine was still too weak to walk long distances, so my father happily grabbed her in his arms and carried her along with a quilt holding close to her body. Her head lulled right into the crook of his neck as he held her close while we walked down the hallway to the dungeons.
“Stay close to me, Willa, and do not let go.” Originally, Orion wanted to bring Onyx to the throne room but didn’t want any chance of escape. With no word from Violet or any threats to the palace, we couldn’t take that chance. I shrugged my shoulders and held onto his hand as we descended the dark stairwell that led us underground.
Orion’s grip tightened around me and eventually went around my shoulders as we passed through several levels of cells and cages. The race of the prisoners was vast. Several pixies, fairies, and fae had cells that accommodated the power they held. The pixies were stored in tiny containers one would find completely barbaric. They sat in glass jars with holes poked in them that were strapped to the wall. I wonder if you could use them as a night light?
“What could a pixie possibly do?” I muttered to myself. Orion’s frown deepened as we walked by.
“Never underestimate a race, Darling. They were spies at the time of the shifter war. They will remain here for another 100 years to finish out their sentence. By that time, their mates have been granted a second chance at a mate or have died. That is their proper punishment.” My heart ached but knowing they went against their kingdom during a time of war was disheartening.
I kept the thoughts at bay as we passed by shifter cells lined with wolfsbane and silver. Several wolves were growling and salivating as we walked by. One grabbed the edge of my dress, and Orion pulled me away and hissed at the beast. “Double the dose,” Orion barked as a fine mist sprayed through the bars. It coughed and wheezed until the wolf turned human. He was ragged and dirty, with no soul left in his eyes.
We descended deeper, and it felt we had walked miles until we reached the end of the corridor. A strong scent of metallic seeped through my nose as I held it closed with my and. Elaine gasped as she looked through the bars that we arrived at.
Onyx sat in his filth. His stubble of a beard has now grown, and his hair was messily hanging over his eyes. Instead of looking at the floor, his head was leaned back against the stone walls as he took in a large breath of air.
“Elaine,….”