Her Forever

Willa’s POV

After our short nap, the servants grabbed a few of our bags of clothing we had brought and packed them up to be taken back to The Light Kingdom. There was a particularly large bag hanging in the corner of the room that wasn’t there before. Sitting up from the bed, Evelyn stirred and woke up to cling to Sadie.

“Let’s get you fitted for your dress,” Elaine popped in, holding Cricket’s hand. “Your father is anxious for you to try it on. He had it made specifically for a fae and siren ceremony.” Slowly rising from the bed, Amora and Violet gathered around me and helped me take off my clothes. All the extra attention had me wanting to cover up my body, but they all scoffed.

“We were naked just a bit before; why are you shy now?” Amora patted my shoulder. Cricket was turned around, eating a giant lollipop that Elaine had brought him to keep him occupied.

“I’m just nervous. I know I’m already mated, but now it will be official that I will be a queen. I just hope to live up to the expectations.”

“You will,” Sadie came over to squeeze my hand. “Don’t forget what I told you. You are strong; you are a warrior.” I nodded my head, still not believing it entirely.

The dress was gently pulled out of the bag, and the giant mirror was covered, so I couldn’t see the dress until it was on my body entirely. Stepping in from the top, it glid across my body. The silky smooth feeling cooled my body as it finally reached the top of my chest. It was strapless, and the back was a corset, so it would be easy to adjust the waist size. It fit like a glove, holding in all my curves yet still giving me ample room to breathe.

The dress was covered in sheer white tulle and shaped into petals, and had a hint of blue at the bottom that gently faded as it rose to my waist. Tiny blue pearls outline my breast area while diamonds twinkled in small clusters.

The mirror was removed, and I stood in awe. I didn’t look like myself, this dress was made for a queen, and I certainly didn’t feel like one. The petal-like layers of the dress swayed as I walked; the diamonds twinkled. The headpiece was a small coral crown with tiny shining shells that held a large sapphire in the middle. It was gorgeous; it was all too much.

My emotions caught up with me as I clutched my stomach. My father walked in behind me and smiled as he put both his hands on my shoulders. “You look stunning, Willa, my daughter.” He kissed my cheek, and Elaine handed him a small flat, rectangular box. Diamond teardrop earrings and a teardrop necklace with a diamond and a dolphin wrapped around it. “My mother wore this on her coronation day,” his breath hitched as I clutched the pendant.

“It’s so beautiful,” I whispered.

“You are so beautiful, Willa. I’m so proud of how far you have come and so grateful to have you now in my life. Just promise me you won’t forget about your old man and visit often.”

“I would never forget you,” He pulled me into his embrace as we both sobbed quietly. I had just found my father, but I had almost lost him too. We will have time to be together but never experience him raising me as his daughter. Once I have children, I’m sure he will want to help raise them to get a piece of me to raise.

“I’m glad it fits,” he stepped back, wiping away a tear. “But we need to get you back; we don’t need your mate throwing a fit because you are too tired in the morning for the ceremony.” I nodded and quickly undressed.

The ride back was uneventful; we all rode back in the magical sphere carriage for which I still didn’t have a name. Several times I started to nod off, only for Luke to wake me up. Sammy always had a hand on Luke, and Luke always looked at Sammy so lovingly. Their bond was already so strong, and I was exceedingly excited my father was so accepting.

Many parents would be upset, especially in the human world. However, with Selene doing the matchmaking and Bergarian being so adamant about listening to the goddesses’ matchmaking abilities, no one ever questions it. If only Earth could be accepting of all kinds of love.

Once we arrived at the shore, we stepped out of the carriage; many wolves from Sadie’s pack were there and were ordered to take her immediately to Seth. The girls started giggling and waved goodbye as Sadie rolled her eyes.

Violet and Amora led me down the hallway where Orion and my room was. We had to travel down this hallway to reach another part of the palace grounds that held royal suites and the bridal chambers. I stopped at Orion’s door; I could feel him in our room on the other side. I wondered if he could feel me too? My heart called out to him as I put my hand on the door. I wanted to walk in and just curl up in his arms, and we could prepare for the day together.

“Come on, you will see him soon enough,” Violet pulled my arm as my and traced the door as I pulled away.

Once we arrived, both wolves and fae warriors surrounded the building, which made me feel safe as we walked up the long stairwell. “Do you need anything?” Amora spoke calmly as she pulled the sheets from the bed. I shook my head no and climbed in the sheets.

“You sure I can’t go to Orion?” I chuckled. Amora smiled and spooned me in the bed.

“I know it’s hard to sleep; just do the best you can. Do you want me to stay?” Amora lovingly pushed my hair away from my face.

“Yes, we can stay, and you can wake up to this pretty face,” Violet fluttered her eyelashes while I started laughing.

“No, both of you go to your mates. I can’t make you guys suffer too. I’ll be fine. Just six hours to wake up, right?”

“Right,” they both said at the same time.

Both of them left as I curled myself further into the plush comforter. The entire room was white, representing purity; if only they knew how unpure I was with Orion already. I internally snickered, remembering all the fun times we had already.

My eyes were half-closed when I felt a chill in the room. I wrapped myself tighter into the comforter. The cold became stronger, and I sat up to look to the window and see if it was open. Before I slid out of bed, an arm wrapped around my waist, and a cloth was shoved to my nose. I wrestled with whoever was trying to grab me, but they were unbelievably strong. Granted, trying to keep me from breathing, the longer we wrestled, the tiny breaths I was taking made me sleepy.

I pushed with my knees on the bed and slammed them back on the mattress; my arms were stuck to my body as they kept them pinned with one arm. I continue to wiggle and struggle, only for them to squeeze me tighter.

“Shhhh, just sleep,” his voice sounded eerily familiar. My eyes tried to widen but whatever was on the cloth had me falling asleep too quickly. I didn’t give up until finally, I scummed to the exhaustion.

…

I woke up with a burn in my throat; it felt scratchy as I tried to clear it. Shaking my head a bit, I felt the surface beneath me only to find a thin mattress spread on a stone floor. Sitting up on my elbow, I could feel the hardness of the floor. What had happened? Being disoriented, I tried to stand up only to fumble back to the ground.

The thin nightgown didn’t keep the cold out, nor did it give me enough coverage to conceal myself from unwanted eyes. Damn Orion and his neglige fetish.

The metal door opened with a loud m**n and shut quickly. The person took the key and instantly locked it from the inside, and put it on top of the barely-there doorframe. The steps were slow and calculated as the door widow’s light cast a shadow on their face. Whoever this person was, was big.

The muscles were outlined in a stretched-out navy blue t-shirt, and ripped jeans clung to his h**s. The bottom of the pant legs were ripped to shreds, and they were completely barefoot. A low growl rippled through the room as I stood up and backed up to the wall.

“Hello, Willa.” The voice spoke, and it finally hit me. Carlos.

“C-Carlos?”

“I’m surprised you remembered my name. Did you even think of what happened to me the day they took me away?

Honestly, no, but I wasn’t going to say that. I’m a smart mouth, but I’m not stupid. He went bat-shit crazy, I was ready to forget that mess.

“I wondered if you were alright;..” I spoke.

“Really, even when you are off f*****g some fairy?” he growled. “A fairy Willa! I offered you a chance of a lifetime, and you threw it away for a fairy!”

“Um, actually, he is a fae,….” I started until his hand went back, and I flinched. He held his hand in the air and dropped it to his side. “Willa, you are the first woman to ever reject me. Do you know what that does to me?”

“N-no?” Carlos came closer to me; my back was flushed against the wall. Leaning in, he moved my hair and whispered in my ear. “It infuriates me; however, my wolf finds the chase exciting.” I gasped as I pushed his chest away from me. He started chuckling as I scampered to the other side of the room.

“Oh, Willa, always running.” Carlos took slow steps towards me as he started to lift his shirt. “I knew I wanted you the day you moved into our pack territory. Yet you wouldn’t give me the time a day. I didn’t know if it was just a quick f**k I wanted or something more.”

My breathing started escalating as my heart was felt in my throat.

“So I waited. I waited to see what could develop all these years, but now it has become an obsession. My wolf craved you because you didn’t want us; hell, I felt the tingles when we touched. My wolf wanted to conquer you, and now I do too. I even wanted you as my mate, but you rejected that idea right at the get-go when you got some fairy swooning over you. But I won’t blame you, no… I won’t.” Carlo’s eyes flickered from brown to black, his fangs quickly growing.

“I f****d girls right in front of you to get you jealous, and you did nothing, not even a hit of jealousy, only disgust.” I swallowed the ball of spit in my throat.

“What do you want, Carlos?” Keeping my composure.

“What fire you have, Willa.”

“Stop this, Carlos, and let me go! Orion will find me!”

“Oh, he will find you, and that is what I’m hoping. I didn’t follow you around the past month to give up my prize so easily.”

“The cold? The heated stares yesterday?” I questioned. Trying to keep him talking, I scooted towards the door, hoping he would stay in place, but he chased me like the little rabbit I was.

“A little side-effect on the cloaking spell I had on me but not enough to fool you, right?” he smirked.

“Were you in the…” I wanted to say bathroom before Orion came in, but it was stuck on the tip of my tongue. “You wouldn’t,..”

“Oh, I did, and I saw the little show you and Orion put on. Didn’t know you liked it quite that rough; maybe I will enjoy myself.”

A sob wracked through my chest as I went to put my hand on the handle of the door. Quickly, Carlos grabbed my hand and slung me back to the mattress. “No! Let go of me!” I was thrown rapidly down trying to stand up, and Carlos’ pants were passed down his knees. Not like this, not like this.

“I’m giving you a choice; let me mark you. You can have both of us. You are royalty,” he gritted his teeth as he held my hands above my head.

“Never!” I spat in his face.

“Accept my bite, and I won’t kill you!” I wrestled again, trying to get my knee to hit his groin, but he was too heavy.

“NO!” I screamed as a burst of energy grew from my body. Falling to the floor and rolling near the door, Carlos began to stand back up. My claws grew as my wings burst forth out of my back with enough strength that it pushed Carlos off me. My wings were shaking with fear, and my claws grew longer. I’m not going to give up now.

Carlos and I began to circle one another until he leaped towards me and ripped a large wound down the top of my leg with one claw. I screamed as I tried to back away, but the pressure and weight of the leg were too much. Falling to the floor, I gripped my leg to try and stop the bleeding. Carlos was chuckling in the corner.

“Best give up now, Willa. We need to get you stitched up before you bleed out.” I growled at him as my fangs pierced my lips.

“So fiesty,” he grinned. Carlos picked me up while I struggled and put me on the mattress, taking his shirt and wiping the b***d.

I’m going to die trying to get out of this. I wanted to give up. Carlos had tracked me down and watched me from the very beginning, and he was going to continue to do what he wanted until the job was done. Why did I have to deal with his s**t?

Carlos tried to give the utmost care to my wound. He wrapped it with his shirt and put a bit of pressure. I wanted to kill him; I wanted him to suffer, so no other woman had to deal with this prick. But who am I? I can’t even get away from him, and Orion can’t protect me either. Carlos has practically lived in the palace with us, and we didn’t know the wiser.

Hopeless. Orion won’t feel me missing; that’s why he drug me down to the dungeons to make it feel like I was still in bed. Would Orion feel my pain like I felt his? Would he wake up to rescue me? Warmth flooded my chest the feeling of wanting to give up and not fight started to leave. I felt love, fierce and undying love across my body. I became heated with Orion’s determination. I felt him.

Orion was telling me not to give up as much as I wanted to. “Are you ready to calm down now?” Carlos laid me on the mattress, my head feeling the floor beneath it. As soon as Carlos relaxed, I took my claw and ripped him right across the chest; he roared and pushed his head to my neck as I felt one sharp fang pierce the skin. In a knee-jerk reaction, my wings pushed my back up with force as he flung on the floor.

My neck was bleeding, but I felt no connection to him. It didn’t work; he didn’t complete anything if that was what he was going for. “I’ll never give up Carlos, just accept it and leave. Last warning.” I started singing random notes, and he stood up unaffected. I willed myself for him to feel pain, but he still stood up walking. I growled out again in frustration. Why wasn’t it working?

“Did you know the bulbs of a naraco plant can keep even the strongest siren’s songs at bay? Just one small bulb in each ear, and I’m safe. Now, doll, how about you stop the nonsense, and I’ll try and forgive you.” Carlos held out his hand as the wound on his chest healed. Think again, douche.

I charged him as my wings pushed me forward. Gripping his neck and having my claws scrape across important arteries proved nothing as he grabbed my upper arm, leaving deep indentions. Along with one leg and one arm out of the game, I was ultimately screwed.

I tried wiggling from his grasp, only for him to grunt in satisfaction and push me back to the mattress. “Fine, you die, but not before I had my fun.” His dirty hand went up to my leg and moved my nightdress. One hand was around my neck, enough to cut off the oxygen. I was being pushed down too hard to use my wings as a springboard. As Carlos concentrated on my lower half, I took the opportunity to swing my other leg that wasn’t occupied over his waist, causing him to be flat on his back while I straddled him.

“If this is what you wanted, you should have said so!” He grabbed my h**s, expecting me to leave but instead, I ground my h**s into his e******n, causing him to close his eyes and g***n. “Stupid wolf,” I muttered as my fangs grew, and I leaned over and grabbed his windpipe. His trachea was crushed as b***d spewed into my mouth. He began gurgling, drinking his own b***d spilling from his neck.

I jumped off, not wanting to get any more b***d on my hands, but he had one more move in him. His claws scratched my stomach, ripping my nightdress and leaving three long gashes in my stomach. I wailed in pain as I fell over. Carlos will still coughing and gurgling; there was no way I was going to let him heal. I took my claws and continued to claw at his throat while I cried, laying next to him.

I was too weak to move; I could feel wetness pool around us. I no longer had the strength to keep clawing Carlos’ neck.

Large bangs were heard on the door, but they continued to fade as I tried to finish the job. Carlos was going to be no more, and he would never hurt or use another woman again. I clawed at him one last time until I heard Orion’s voice.

My hearing was muffled as I heard screaming for a doctor. Orion’s arms picked me up and cradled me to his bare chest. He was so warm while I was starting to feel cold. “Stay with me, Willa. I’m getting you help, OK, Darling? You can’t leave me.”

“I’m not leaving, Orion. I need you to stitch me up so we can go on our honeymoon.” Orion laughed as I felt him climbing the stairs. Noises faded in and out as I heard wolves howling and my father screaming.

“Sorry, I made a mess,” I whispered. Orion gripped me tighter. “Only you would think of something like that.”

“I felt my body being laid down on a firm surface, and several fae physicians gathered around. Orion didn’t let go of my good arm as they began to work on me. I felt salves and hands-on my cuts and then the faint hint of incense in the room.

“Breathe it in your highness; it will help you sleep,” one of the healers spoke.

“I can’t, can’t leave Orion,” I gently squeezed his hand. Orion petted my cheek with his thumb.

“It’s alright now; you are going to be fine. You can sleep, and I will be here when you wake up.”

“But the ceremony,” I whispered.

“Sleep; they can’t throw a party without us.” Orion’s lips tickled mine as he left k****s on me as I fell asleep.