Chapter 126
Bella could lie to herself and say she hadn’t been looking out for Trey, but why bother? She’d been looking around the castle to see if she saw him and even went as far as passing by the library, but it was empty. She sighed and continued through hallways until she came upon an open room. It was massive.
A woman stood talking to others. The moment she noticed Bella, she stopped, a frown forming on her face, and headed straight for her.
“Who are you?”
Bella raised a brow and folded her arms over her chest.
“Hello to you, too.”
“I asked you a question.”
“I realize that, but since you were rude, I don’t feel the need to answer it.”
Normally she wasn’t this easily aggravated, but the way the woman stared at her—like she was a peasant or something—annoyed her.
“Maybe if you told me your name, I’d be more inclined to tell you mine.”
At least five inches taller than Bella, the blond woman had golden eyes that flashed with anger. She curled her lip in disdain. She was young, possibly in her late teens, early twenties, which meant Bella was at least fifteen years the girl’s senior.
“My name is Nadeeya. I am the king’s cousin.”
“I’m Bella. Gerri’s assistant.”
The other woman’s eyes narrowed farther. Her porcelain skin grew dark with an angry blush.
“You’re human,” she said, like that was a crime.
“Really? I had no idea. Thanks for clarifying that for me. Seeing as I’m probably the only human on this planet, it’s so good to know.”
Bella smirked.
“I don’t tolerate insolence,” Nadeeya hissed.
“Maybe you should try not being insolent. Practice what you preach. Grow up in manners before you try acting like an adult. The first step is learning how to speak to people.”
“You stupid—”
“Bella!”
She heard someone yell. She turned to her right, and the man from Gerri’s video, Karel, was a few steps away from her.
“So good to see you in person.”
“Hello.”
She grinned.
“Nice to see you in life size.”
Karel nodded, offering her his hand. She shook it, and he stepped next to her, forcing Nadeeya to move away from Bella. Karel glanced at Nadeeya, his lips forming into a tight line.
“You’ve met Alyx’s guest, I see.”
“She’s here with the matchmaker,” Nadeeya spat, her lip curling and displaying perfect, white teeth. “There’s no need for her. Alyx knows—”
“Enough!”
Karel roared. Bella’s eyes widened. A vein throbbed in the side of his cheek.
“What the king decides is none of your concern, Nadeeya. Remember that.”
He turned to Bella with a smile.
“Have you seen the garden yet?”
Whoa, boy. There was some serious tension in that castle. No matter what planet you were on, there was always going to be drama when you brought in bitchiness.
“No, but I was about to go that way.”
“Allow me to escort you,” he said, motioning for her to move ahead of him and completely dismissing Nadeeya.
As they walked away, she glanced over her shoulder at the blonde. The woman stared at her with enough hatred to make her uneasy.
“She got a problem with humans?”
Karel shook his head.
“She’s got a problem with not getting her way. She’ll learn soon enough that Alyx has a mind of his own.”
“The Alion king,” Bella said. “In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight,” she singsonged. “I wonder if he looks anything like our lions.”
“Alyx does look like a larger, stronger, fiercer version of a lion on Earth. Three times their size. Faster. Angrier. And an all-around pain in the ass.”
Bella laughed as she walked.
“You sound like someone who knows him well.”
Karel sighed.
“Alyx and I grew up together. I’ve been his best friend and head of security for as long as I can remember.”
“Does that mean you’re a lion too?” she asked, curious.
“I am actually born of the Yagura tribe. Your humans call us jaguars.”
She gasped.
“You’re a jaguar shifter?”
He nodded.
“I thought jaguars were solitary animals?” she asked, confused and interested to learn more.
“They are on your planet. Here, we have a high tolerance for living in groups. My parents and Alyx’s parents were best friends. Naturally we grew up together. We are best friends. I became his right hand. His security chief.”
“Charlotte and I are like that,” she said, thinking of her best friend. Since they were little girls, they’d been there for each other. “She’s taking care of my cat while I’m here. She’d love to come visit…”
She sighed.
“She loves adventures. Maybe one of these days Gerri will give me permission to bring her along.”
She glanced around the open courtyard that led into the garden.
“This place is so magical. I love the fact everything is so colorful. The trees are purple. Purple! And your flowers are every color of the rainbow,” she gushed, glancing at the different flowers on their path. “Some of these are several colors. How’s that even possible?”
He laughed and shook his head.
“I couldn’t tell you. This is how it’s always been.”
She followed him down a path that had taller plants with flowers the size of her head.
“I’m usually allergic to certain flowers, but so far, I don’t feel anything bothering me.”
“Our atmosphere is a lot cleaner than yours. But if you experience any discomforts with allergies or illness, let us know, and we’ll be sure to get you something to make it better.”
Her curiosity over Trey was digging a hole in her brain, and she couldn’t stop herself from asking Karel about the lion.
“Do you know who Trey is?”
Karel frowned for a second. Shit. Maybe she wasn’t supposed to ask. Dammit, but she wanted to know where the hell he was.
“I do know him. Have known him all my life,” he finally replied.
“Is he around?”
She tried for casual, but knew it came off as nosy.
“Trey is...”
Karel trailed off and sighed.
“Right ahead of us.”
She searched ahead but didn’t see anyone. Suddenly, the giant marched out from between the trees. He zeroed in on them and sped up. Her heart did flip flops in her chest, and her temperature shot out of orbit from the single hot look he gave her.
“Bella,” he said, the sound of his deep, rumbly voice waking every hormone in her body.
Karel turned to face her.
“It was lovely talking to you, Bella.”
She nodded, smiling at Karel.
“Thanks for showing me around.”
“My pleasure,” he said. “I’m sure I’ll see you later for dinner.”
“Sure. See you later.”
She watched him retreat and nod at Trey. That had to be some kind of guy code.
She turned to face Trey, and he didn’t waste time. He cupped her face in his hands and brought his head down for a kiss. She didn’t think to fight it. Hell, she wouldn’t want to. She rose to her tiptoes and plastered her body onto his. She curled her arms around his neck and gripped his hair between her fingers as if her life depended on it.
For long moments, nothing but their kiss existed—his lips on hers, his tongue rubbing over hers, taming the flames of passion melting her insides. He dropped his hands down her body, caressing her breasts and grabbing a handful of her ass to press her even closer to him in the process lifting her off her feet. The rumbling sound of his groan turned her already-slick pussy wetter.
She pulled back from him, breathing hard and licking her lips.
“I didn’t have any wine today.”
He chuckled, giving her another kiss before he put her back on her feet.
“Did Karel take you to see the waterfalls?”
She shook her head.
“No. We’d only walked a short time before you showed up.”
“I’m glad,” he said caressing her cheek and grabbing her hand. “I want you to see how beautiful the falls are.”
His eyes lit up in the bright gold she knew meant the lion was close to the surface. Tally had mentioned that enough times about her two men.
“But I want to be the one to show it to you. It’s a special place.”
Dear god, she was falling faster than a speeding bullet for the giant. His voice alone made her knees shake. Now that she saw him again, more emotions clogged her heart. Yes, there was lust and passion, but there was also joy at being near him. There was a strange happiness knowing he wanted to spend time with her.
None of those things showed up in any of her previous relationships. After what amounted to a day, she was ready to think long-term with a man she barely knew. She remembered her cousin Tally and how she’d explained falling for Theron and Connor. “It was love at first sight,” she’d said to Bella.
At the time, Bella had laughed it off as her cousin being drunk on good sex. Really, with two hot-as-heck shifters, how could she not be? But now? Could it be true? Love at first sight? Did it exist?
Her heart screamed it did, she was experiencing it herself. But her brain, the much more logical side of her, said no—this was just a side effect of being in a new, wonderful place with a man who made her see more stars than the fireworks during the Fourth of July.
“You’ve gone quiet on me,” Trey said.
He guided her down a path between the trees.
“Sorry.”
She smiled, leaning into him instinctively.
“I was just wondering how it’s going for Gerri finding the king a wife.”
“She’s currently busy trying to control two wolves who want a mate of their own,” he smirked.
“You sound happy about that. Don’t you want the king to find a wife?”
“The king can find his own wife.”
She blurted a laugh.
“Not from what Gerri said. According to her, he’s hardheaded.”
“He’s not. Knowing what he doesn’t want doesn’t make him hardheaded.”
“That’s true. That just means he knows what he’s looking for. But he didn’t find what he was looking for without her help. Maybe now he’ll realize getting someone to help isn’t the end of the world.”
He stopped mid-stride and smiled down at her. Tiny flutters took hold of her chest.
“You’re right. A man needs to accept his mate’s help, even if he thinks he knows what he’s doing.”
She smiled wide.
“Exactly. You should have a talk with the king. He needs to learn how to share with whoever he picks for a wife. Sharing and communicating help relationships thrive
.”
“Maybe I will,” he said, glancing back to the path with a frown. “Come, ym Neevk. We’re almost there.”
She sighed, smiling at the endearment. She still hadn’t found out what it meant, but she loved hearing him say it.