Her Forever

Theon

I let Thaddeus have the first date. He said he had the perfect place to take her and our agreement to spend some time alone with her was a good idea. Mom always had good ideas whenever Dad wasn’t hounding her all the time. She made the perfect queen of shifters, and I was glad she was coming to help us with the mafia problem.

Thaddeus and I were both disappointed at first. We wanted to show Trinity how well we could handle situations as these and protect her. That we could be counted on. However, it proved to be true that this situation was getting to be out of control. The mafia had many humans, and a whole squadron could be wiped out with the right amount of ammunition.

Now that we know that Trinity’s father really isn’t her father, it makes things less complicated with the decision to end his life. Not that Trinity cared; he killed her Mother or supposedly killed her. Nothing could be ruled out; he could have Trinity’s Mother held hostage and use that against Trinity.

I took Alpha’ Big Paw’s large truck; he had nowhere near the number of bedrooms for the many warriors coming into his territory. In fact, food might have to be thinned. Many trackers were sent into the forest to get more meat, such as deer and bear. Unfortunately, we couldn’t eat bear shifters. Duke growled in my head.

Duke had been in a terrible mood. He was angry I didn’t let him come forward when Trinity and I got carried away when I was supposed to be cleaning her wounds. I wasn’t planning on getting so carried away. She was wearing a towel, and her intense arousal hit my nose so fast it had Duke drooling. Duke will need his time to properly meet Trinity; I didn’t want to do it while doing… well, that.

I had pulled up to the hardware store to pick up the tents. Learning to drive was easier than I thought. You press one lever to go with your foot and one to stop. It was much easier than hitching a horse to a buggy and getting the stubborn stallions to go.

Luckily, the hardware store was well stocked, even for a smaller town. It was hunting season for the humans, which gave us an advantage. I grabbed the largest tents I could find, 10 and 15 persons that may hold 8 wolves total. We were too damn big, and humans were just too small.

Feeling a nudge in the mind-link, I opened it up, hearing Thaddeus panting. Goddess, is he doing stuff with her, and now I have to listen to it? I’m in the middle of a store; I did not need a raging hard-on. Panting, Thaddeus finally spoke while I heard Trinity call out his name. “Theon,” he breathed. I rolled my eyes.

“What is it?” I snapped.

“She wants,” he panted, “to do it at the same time, for her first time.” I stopped my full cart that I had stacked numerous tents in, and it toppled onto the floor. We had discussed how we would take Trinity before, it would have to be one of us, and she would have to choose while the other watched. It would hurt us both, knowing we couldn’t have her simultaneously, but anal was advanced. Poor Trinity couldn’t handle that.

“Are you sure? That’s a lot-“

“Yes, she said it. Can I have her a*s?” I laughed out loud, people staring at me while I put the tents back in the cart. “Sure, man, you just gotta be gentle.” He cut the mind link off with a growl while I shook my head. Thaddeus was a trip sometimes.

I was able to stuff the ten tents into the cart. Many wolves would have to sleep in the woods in wolf form, but that wasn’t uncommon. Many liked to sleep while human, but we did have some more animalistic warriors that desired to become one with nature.

The Warrior Pack that was coming was soon to be ours. We had slowly started the transitioning process from Mia, our sister. Her heart wasn’t into ruling a pack like we were. She was gone most of the time, leaving it to her gamma since her Beta was her own mate and he dared not leave her side for a minute.

Pushing the heavy cart down the aisle, I saw a polaroid camera. We had several kinds of cameras in Bergarian, although rare. We used it for family portraits for royals, but many steer clear of modern technology. Bergarian remained primarily untainted by the harsh chemicals, materials, and pollution Earth had. We only used clean energy using windmills that blended into the scenery and dams around rivers. Even with the electricity, many stayed within their traditional ways of working the land, creating their own homes by hand. Painting was still a considerable trade in our land; it brought gold coins to those that needed it and was a beautiful art that had been lost in a land such as Earth.

I grabbed the slightly larger camera. Looking closer, it was different than some cameras’ I have seen. This one printed out the pictures right after they were taken. I smiled, thinking of all the memories we could make by taking photographs. Possibly some sexy images too? Shoving it in my cart, I decided it would be part of our date. We all could have some fun with this.

I chuckled, pushing the cart to the checkout when I was stopped again. This hardware store, to my surprise, had a jewelry section. Sticking my hands in my pocket, I sauntered over to see what they had. Most were small diamonds, necklaces, and bracelets. The selection is small and mostly covered with diamond rings. Scratching my neck, I recalled Mom speaking of human traditions long ago. Our Sunday night readings often had romance stories of humans. Human dating or courting was an obscure concept, but I was happy to know the little tidbit of information. When humans came together, since they had no mates, they dated. Once they dated, they were given a ring, a promise to marry and come together.

The little diamond rings were nothing compared to the jewelry we had in the castle. These were dull, plain, and lacked the extra shine we had in the gems of Bergarian.

An older woman walked up, watching me and not saying a word. “Have a girl in mind?” The voice broke the uncomfortable silence. My l*p twitched in acknowledgment.

“Can I see that one?” I pointed to a pear-shaped diamond, about the size of my little finger’s nail. It was small compared to what my father had given my Mother when he realized he should have given her one before their mating ceremony. The elderly woman’s eyes widened, reaching for the ring.

“It’s a bit expensive; it’s sat there for years.” The price didn’t matter to me; what mattered was the meaning behind it. Thaddeus and I should propose to her, even though it didn’t matter. She was ours anyway. We could give her an even better ring when we returned, but who knows when that would be.

“I’ll take it,” I held it back to her. “Do you have one of those boxes they that it can sit in?” The woman nodded, slowly looking at me and then back at the ring. She put it in a black velvet box and rung it up at the counter. Taking one of the many credit cards Mom had given us, I paid without looking, signed the receipt, and returned to check out the rest of my items. The woman continued to stare at my back; I chuckled, thinking of the different ways we could propose to Trinity.

We could do it in bed, just before we mated, while we mated, or do it at a different time altogether. What would she think when she saw it? I smiled, biting my l*p like an i***t walking to the checkout.

Pulling out my wallet to pay again, the heat of a gaze followed me. Concentrating on my hearing, I could hear the faint footsteps of a species I hadn’t spent much time with. Hearing it here in a human realm was more concerning.

Trying not to be noticed, I paid for the tents, waving the cashier off. The footsteps then slowed breathing became closer. It did not look like a soul was around me, but my skin felt the heated stare. Gripping my fist together, I made it now blatantly obvious I knew what was happening. Growling, I looked in all directions until the tree line next to the hardware store moved.

It was luring me into the forest; this I knew. I had to see for myself if the creature that I had heard was really what I thought it was because if it was, then our lives were about to change.

I raced to the forest, not caring if a human saw me. What was running from me was fast, but I was alpha. The recognizable smell infiltrated my nose; gods, what if it was him? My feet dug into the forest floor, jumping and dodging tree to tree. He had started using the trees, trying to cover his smell into the air instead of it lingering on the dirt floor. Looking up, the tree limbs moved, and dead leaves began to fall.

The stream up ahead had no trees near it, and if he expected to go in the same direction, he would have to jump down. Banking on him jumping from the tree, I halted, waiting for the final jump.

“Come down, I’ve already smelled you,” I called. “I mean you no harm. I need answers, and I think we could help each other.” The tree limbs stopped swaying and paused; I could only see the leather calf bindings and boots on the stranger’s legs. His upper body was hidden behind the dead branches.

Effortlessly, he jumped to the ground. His feet barely made a sound on the crunching leaves. I could hardly believe that I was able to follow him. His kind was known for swiftness, agility, and quietness. They weighed next to nothing, so breaking sticks and crunching leaves could not be heard unless meaning to be.

“I’m impressed,” the voice was smooth and deep. “I haven’t been caught in many years, and you found me.” I wanted to smile, but the voice in my head kept it at bay. This was official business, not for pleasantries.

“What are you doing here near wolf pack territory. Surely you know the boundaries?” His mouth came to a deep frown; you could see it underneath his sizeable red beard.

“I am not a shifter, so it doesn’t apply to me as long as I stay away from the main grounds. I have done so following the rules of home.” Home, he was talking about Bergarian, no doubt. Elves had their own set of rules, following the Light Kingdom under King Orion. Territories have been stretched, allowing faes and elves to mix among the kingdoms if they respected the shifters and their homes.

“Why are you here then, there are not any elf colonies, and none live in this area.” Elves liked nature and preferred a more temperate forest. It would soon be too cold here for him to stand.

“I’ve been searching,” he started. “There had been rumors that two princes found a mate with hair like fire and red as demon’s skin.” I crossed my arms; it couldn’t be this easy, could it? Surely just finding out that Trinity’s father could have been an elf just a few days ago, he would come walking up to us just like that. Then again, the goddess works in mysterious ways. Only showing what mates of shifters should or shouldn’t see.

“For how long have you searched?” The elf gripped his bag tightly.

“A year. However, I had been following my mate and child, Trinity, for many years. There was an incident,” the elf swallowed. “I lost track of my daughter.”

Holy Shiitake.

“Years? You have known about her for years?” I growled. The elf’s jaw tightened. He was far bigger than most of the elves I have seen. Elves were the size of humans, if not a bit smaller. This elf almost matched my height but not my strength. He had no colony leader b***d in him; he was nothing but a strong warrior.

“It wasn’t my choice,” he seethed. “Trinity, my daughter, was in danger if I dared try to take them away.”

Ah, so he did know her name. All this time, he watched from the shadows? Not daring to take his mate back? How could an elf stay away from his mate for so many years? Heat flushed through my body. I could never leave my mate to watch her like that, not ever.

“Please,” he sighed. “Come with me; I have shelter. We can talk.” The tents were laid back in the truck, waiting to be taken back to the territory. Hesitating, I looked back only for the elf to lay a hand on my shoulder. Duke found him not to be a threat, his senses at ease with Trinity’s father.

“My name is Warrior Folen, please, your highness. I will not keep you long.” My stiff-stature wavered; nodding, I followed him deeper into the wood. We had gone for three miles, just walking and keeping the silence. The leaves crunched under my feet while he was silent. His leather bindings often swiped together as we reached a large tree.

“You can climb, yes?” The tree was large, with hardly any branches at the bottom. I would have to use the claws in my hands and feet to track upward. He began his ascent, jumping, planting feet with the soft soles of his shoes in steady places. My bulky self, clawing against the tree, made the tree scared of my presence.

At a large branch, a leather tent draped over other branches tied downward to smaller branches, making four walls and a roof. The floor was made with vines wrapped around each other. Folen put the palm of his hand on the tree, the tree immediately began to glow, healing from the scrapes I had caused it.

“Sorry, “I mumbled, a bit embarrassed.

“No worries, I promised the tree protection as long as I stayed. This is just returning the favor.” The leather strap was pulled to the side by his steady hand. Upon entering, there was a figure covered in the blanket.

Red hair pooled out of a fallen hood, covering the vined floor. Its weak voice came from the shaking form.

“Folen? Is that you?”