BELLE
“You’re terrible at Go Fish,” Liam told me. “Seriously, I’ve played toddlers better than you.”
Throwing my cards down on the coffee table in front of me, I dropped my head to my knees with a
groan.
Grayson had left several hours before, leaving me alone with Liam, who wouldn’t let me out of my apartment no matter how many times I threatened to kill him, his family, and his future children.
It was absolutely infuriating.
“Might as well stop trying, Belle,” Liam had said the fifth time he had pinned me against a wall after trying to sneak past him when he wasn’t looking and make a mad dash for the front door.
“Even if you did somehow manage to get past me, there are two more wolves on the other side of this door, tasked with keeping you inside. No one is getting in, and there will definitely be no one getting out.”
I couldn’t care less about stupid Go Fish. My eyes kept straying to the front door, my heart squeezing a little tighter with every second that Grayson didn’t walk through.
This was stupid, of course, since I could sense through the mate bond that he wasn’t close, but I couldn’t stop myself from hoping that he would appear safe, sound, and unharmed.
Liam and I had been playing games and watching movies for several hours. He was trying to keep my mind occupied, although he was not succeeding in the slightest.
He had just won his fourth game in a row of Go Fish in record time.
I’m not sure how we ended up playing Go Fish, as it is a game for preschoolers; Liam must’ve suggested it because he knew my mind was otherwise occupied with thoughts I should not be having.
Unsurprisingly, I was struggling to concentrate; I focused most of my attention on trying to tune Into Grayson’s emotions through the mate bond.
His most prevalent emotion was anger, followed by eagerness and a tad bit of blood lust.
His fear was minimal, if entirely nonexistent–thank goodness–fueled by his worry for me and need to avenge me. I might think it was sweet if it weren’t so terrifying.
Every once in a while, I could feel Grayson searching through my emotions the same way I kept Chapter 55 of 59: Chapter 55
I think Grayson knew it brought me comfort when he did that, so he did it often. I felt his warm presence in my mind every five to ten minutes.
“Any updates?” I asked Liam.
Liam was getting regular updates on his phone through a royal news and emergency outlet.
My phone seemed to magically disappear around the same time Grayson left–a strange coincidence that prevented me from doom–scrolling through the news like I wanted to.
I wouldn’t be nearly as annoyed about Grayson hiding my phone if I didn’t know that Liam was picking and choosing what information to give me so as not to freak me out.
Liam sighed and pulled out his phone. I anxiously watched as his thumb scrolled over the screen.
“They’re still just patrolling the borders,” he told me. “Nothing has changed. I would tell you if there was something to worry about.”
As if that would stop me from worrying.
I shifted in my spot on the living room floor, trying not to look as nervous as I felt.
“This is ridiculous,” I complained. “I may be a human and not some fancy werewolf or vampire, but I know how to take care of myself. I won’t do anything stupid if you let me out.”
“Letting you out would be the stupid thing,” Liam responded while he picked up my cards so he could shuffle and deal us both another hand.
“I thought you were supposed to be on my side. You were my friend before you were ever my *guardian‘ or whatever.”
Liam scoffed, not bothering to look up at me. “So that’s where we’re at now? All I’m trying to do is keep you safe, and you’re trying to guilt–trip me?”
“It was worth a try,” I grumbled, hugging my knees closer to my chest.
I looked over at the door once more, unable to prevent the worried sigh from escaping my mouth.
The only reason I wasn’t fighting this harder was that I knew Grayson would be safer if he knew for certain that / was safe. He would never be able to concentrate if I were out on my own.
It would just put us both in more danger.
So I would stay. As long as I could feel that Grayson was safe through our mate bond, I would stay
Liam finished shuffling and began to deal the cards for yet another round of Go Fish. We both were sitting around the living room coffee table, me on the floor and Liam on the couch.
“No more Go Fish. Please,” I said, pushing the cards away from me.
Liam sighed and paused his movements.
“You want to play something else? I hate to admit it, but Go Fish is the only game I know how to play. Card games and board games aren’t really super popular within vampire culture.”
My li*ps turned up slightly for the first time since Grayson had left. “Now that’s just sad. What kind of childhood is that?”
Liam smiled. “Not a good one. But let’s not talk about that. It’s depressing as fu*ck. I would actually. love to hear about how you’re doing.
“Last I saw you, back in Minnie’s apartment, you were pretty upset. Something happened between you and your mate.” He hesitated, his gaze set on the cards in his hands.
Then he looked up at me. “But everything is…fixed between you two now?”
“Besides the fact that Grayson insists on keeping me locked up in my apartment?” I asked. “Yeah, everything is fixed. More than fixed.”
He nodded. “That’s good. That’s…” He trailed off momentarily before blurting, “I’m sorry, I have to ask–aren’t you supposed to be a fairy now?”
“What?” I was so taken aback by his question that it was the only thing I could think of saying.
Then it occurred to me–Liam knew that Grayson and I had finally completed the mating process. Of course he did.
I had completely forgotten what Grayson had told me about what would happen with his pack after I mated with him.
Everyone connected to Grayson would be able to feel it when he finally fully connected to me, just like how they felt the moment he’d met me.
Despite my attempt to stop it, I felt a flush darken my cheekbones. And not just because Liam knew that Grayson and I’d had se*x.
I mean, that wasn’t great either, but what I was really embarrassed about was the fact that virtually every supernatural creature in the world knew that I had lost my virginity to their king yesterday.
“Oh, God, no, no, no, no…” My face dropped into my hands. I couldn’t even look at Liam. It suddenly didn’t seem so bad that I was being held captive in my apartment.
How was I ever going to go out in public ever again?
“Okay, there’s no need for that,” Liam said, standing and coming to crouch down next to me on the floor. “Seriously, you’re going to make your mate worry if you start freaking out. And he has shit to
do.”
He put a hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me, although it did nothing to help with the humiliation eating away at my stomach.
“No one gives a fu*ck that you had se*x, Belle. In fact, most people were just cestatic that you were finally officially their queen.”
He let his head hang when I still wouldn’t answer. “Fu*ck, and you were just starting to relax too. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“Uh, yeah, ya think?” I snapped back, finally looking up at him. I took several deep breaths. He was right; breaking down right now was not going to do anyone any favors.
I needed to stay calm–if only for Grayson’s sake.
Brushing my hair out of my face, I said, “It’s okay. Everything is fine. I’m fine. It’s all fine. This might be the single most humiliating moment of my life, but I’m okay, right?
“No one cares that Grayson and I mated because I live in this crazy supernatural world where all of this is normal, right?
“Everybody just knows when everybody else has se*t?”
Liam didn’t respond, probably thinking I had lost my damn mind.
“Oh, my god, tell me I’m right!” I exploded.
“Right!” Liam immediately responded, frantically nodding his head in agreement. “Yes, that’s totally right. No one cares. Not one bit. Everyone knows when everyone else has s*ex and all that..
The mix of embarrassment and annoyance I was feeling caused my entire body to deflate. I squeezed my eyes shut.
“You are terrible at comforting women. I don’t know how you’re ever going to make it with Minnic.”
He gripped his chest, feigning pain. “Ouch. That hurts.
“You’ll get over it,” I mumbled.
“Okay, but setting the whole se*x thing aside, I only ask because I read the prophecy. I know what was supposed to happen after you mated. But you’re still…you.”
“Yeah,” I breathed out. “Still me. Absolutely no difference as far as I can tell.”
“But what about shifting into a Fae?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m just as confused as you are. It seems like I’ll be remaining human for a while longer.
“That’s good, right? It means you and Grayson were worried about nothing-”
A ding came from.Liam’s phone, cutting him short. He pulled out his phone and laughed when he saw who it was.
“What?” I asked. “Who is it?”
He shook his head and held the phone so I could see the text lighting up the screen. “Your mate,” he explained.
Grayson Stoll
Tell Belle to stop worrying so much. I’m fine. I’m in the woods with other pack members, taking shifts patrolling the borders.
Everything is okay. She can go to sleep. I’m sure she’s exhausted. Tell her I’ll be back soon.
I leaned back after reading the message, my heart feeling significantly lighter. “Well, that’s good-
All of a sudden, I felt a significant shift in Grayson’s emotions. My heart plummeted to the bottom of my feet. I wasn’t sure how I knew, but I knew something had happened–something bad.
He was in trouble.
“Belle? What’s wrong?” Liam asked.
“Something happened to Grayson,” I explained frantically. “Something is wrong.”
“But we just got a text from him. He said he was fine.”
I barely processed what Liam said to me, too busy fishing through my mate’s emotions. They seemed to be quickly escalating with each passing minute. “Things changed.”
Something was making Grayson panic. He was afraid, and that fact alone made my world feel like it was grinding to a halt.
“Do you know what happened? Can you tell?” Liam continued with the questions.
I shook my head. “I–I don’t… I can’t…” I prodded into Grayson’s mind but couldn’t seem to get any other information but could feel nothing other than his fear.
Without any warning, my connection to Grayson was cut off. My mind was suddenly still. My breath was swiped clean out of my lungs the same moment my stomach lined itself with lead.
to feel his fear, so he blocked me from ”
I could no longer feel Grayson’s emotions. He didn’t want me feeling anything at all. Which was decidedly much, much worse.
It meant that whatever happened must have been bad enough to hide from me.
It was his way of protecting me. I knew this. But that didn’t make me feel any better. I didn’t want to be protected I wanted to know if he was okay. I needed to know if he was okay.
My eyes darted to Liam who was still right next to me, watching me intently. “He cut off our connection,” I told him.
Tears of panic pooled in the corner of my eyes, but I quickly suppressed them. “W–What do I do? I can’t make out what he’s feeling anymore.”
A pause ensued while he tried to determine the right thing to say. His hesitation was evident, immediately telling me that whatever he was going to say would upset me.
“I think…the only thing you can do…is wait.”
And upset me, it did.
“My mate is in trouble and you want me to do nothing?” I demanded. “What if he gets hurt? What if he
gets killed?”
“Belle, listen to me. I think we both know that Azazel Mortar is behind this. I need you to be fu*cking serious.
“How the hell are you going to be able to help when faced with one of the most powerful vampires in the world? What could you possibly do to help your mate during a situation like this?”
the world? W
“More than I could do sitting in my living room, twiddling my thumbs, and playing f*ucking Go Fish!” I snapped back, seething with anger.
“I’m the queen of the supernatural, of Zaweth and I need to be there if something is happening. I’m not selfish and I’m definitely not a coward.”
“I need to be with my mate if something is happening. And you’re not going to stop me.”
Not saying another word, I sprang up and with conviction, made my way to the front door once
again.
Liam used his vampire speed to appear in front of me in less than a second, blocking my path. “I” can’t let you do that,” Liam said.
“Get out of my way, Liam. I mean it.” My voice was fuming.
His arms crossed over his chest while he stared me down with an unwavering expression. “No.”
I was so done with this shit. I was so done with other people thinking they were the ones in charge of my own damn life.
Making up my mind, I marched over to the kitchen, pulled open a drawer, and grabbed a knife.
Liam’s brows rose with shock as I approached him once again. “Belle, what are you doing? The most you’re going to achieve here is hurting yourself.”
“I’m not an idiot, Liam.” I tried to keep my stance strong as I held up the knife. “Get out of my way, or I start swinging.”
Liam’s li*ps curled up at the corners. He was clearly amused by my threats.
“Do you even really know how to use a knife? I’ve been training in blade combat since I was eight years old. I would take you down easy–even without my vampire abilities.”
“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out how to stab someone,” I replied. “Now, move.”
“You know I can’t do that. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something were to happen to you. And neither would your mate.”
It was sweet, really. Liam was a good friend. It was too bad he was also a butt face.
And then… I’m not really sure what happened next.
One moment I was strutting toward Liam, knife in my shaking hand, ready to do whatever I had to
Chanter Et af ca. AL
And the next, I was standing in the middle of the hallway outside my apartment, only inches away from stabbing a very nice–looking stranger in the stomach.
“What the hell?” exclaimed the curly–haired woman standing in front of my front door. I immediately recognized her as one of Grayson’s original pack members from Minnesota. Bridget, maybe?
I had the opportunity to talk to her during my first week in Zaweth and remembered thinking she was really cool and extremely stylish.
Standing next to her was another werewolf whom I didn’t recognize as much. I knew his name was Christopher, though.
Like most male werewolves, he was huge and intimidating. It didn’t help that he was dressed in all black and covered in muscle.
So Liam hadn’t been lying when he’d said there were two werewolves stationed outside my door, tasked with keeping me inside.
Bridget just barely dodged my knife before I realized what I was about to do and pulled it back to my side.
“Why do you have a knife?” Bridget asked. “Were you about to stab me?”
The man looked behind him at the closed door before swinging his gaze back at me, confusion written all over his face. “Where did you even come from?”
I was just as confused as they were. I had no idea how I got here. Did I black out? Oh, my god, did I actually stab Liam? I mean, I know I threatened to do it, but I never actually meant to.
Relief surged through me when I heard Liam’s voice calling out from inside my apartment.
“Belle? Belle! F*uck!” He let out a string of curses while he started searching around for me. “This isn’t f*ucking funny, Belle!”
The two werewolves seemed to narrow their eyes on me, obviously hearing the same thing I did.
“I, um…,” I began. I took a few steps back. “I should go.”
Without saying another word, I turned on my heel and started sprinting down the hallway.
“Hey! Hold on!” the man yelled behind me. The sound of his much quicker footsteps could be heard racing after me. Bridget was busy banging on the door to my apartment, trying to get Liam’s attention.
I wasn’t even halfway down the hall when Christopher grabbed my arm, attempting to pull me to a stop. I squeaked, preparing to fight against him but then he released me. He just let me go..
My eyes flew up, looking behind me, only to find that Christopher was no longer there. In fact, not even the hallway was there.
I was once again in a whole other location. And this time, I didn’t recognize where I was.
I was surrounded by tall trees that never seemed to end, obviously in the middle of a forest. But which forest? Was I still in Zaweth?
And, more importantly, how the ever–loving fu*ck did I get here? Was I losing my mind or did I just apparate like a damn wizard straight out of Harry Potter?
“Each Fue develops their powers based on need and circumstance,” Evangeline’s my mind.
a rang out in
Could this be what she had been talking about? I needed to get out of my apartment, so I appeared on the other side of the door.
I needed to get away from the werewolves guarding my apartment, so I instantly appeared in the middle of the woods somewhere. Not the most helpful solution but I suppose it would work.
At least I wasn’t locked up with Liam anymore.
Holy fu*ck. Was I a fairy now?