Chapter 65

Baby showers bring spring flowers.

Daisy was over the moon about all the festivities planned in her triplet’s honor. At first, she was worried that yet another serial killer or a mad man bent on killing them would appear, or the curse would come back.

They had a private party yesterday; the one for all the kingdom was being held this evening; there was a banquet and small little gifts for all the people who showed up.

There were guards and guest lists, and everyone knew their station, just in case someone who wanted to harm decided it would be a good time to crash the party.

Something that was a strange site for everyone was The Baba Yaga; she was helping to decorate for the party; she said it was to ensure that there were protection barriers in place so the triplets were not harmed should something arise.

Daisy knew better, she watched, and it was clear that Willow was enjoying herself and eating a lot of chocolate cake and stuffed mushrooms.

Some of the servants that had gotten used to her being around would greet her with a friendly wave or bring her snacks. On the other hand, others gave her a wide berth with terror on their faces.

As far as Daisy could tell, it didn’t bother Willow one way or the other, and then there were the baby blankets; they were beautiful pieces of artwork, they were made from the softest of yarns where she got the yarn no one knew, and Willow wasn’t telling, but she could have stopped at three. Instead, she made three hundred.

Daisy asked her why so many, and all Willow would say was…

“You can never have too many baby blankets.”

Daisy wondered if she meant that because babies can be messy or if she thought they would have more children.

Daisy laughed at that thought; there was no way that would happen, perhaps a few more, but three hundred? Nope not happening, Baba Yaga.

Everything was ready to go, the kitchen was finishing up all the food and snacks for the event, and the maids and other servants had all the little gifts for guests ready to go.

You could hear Danny complaining from his room; he didn’t understand why he had to dress in his finest clothes to take a baby shower.

“Come on, Mom; they are babies. They are not going to care what I am wearing. I know they don’t because they love to barf on me almost every time I am around them.”

Daisy giggled as she walked by; she felt a bit over-dressed because it was a significant event, and all of the kingdom were attending. She also had to wear her finest, including a very awkward and heavy crown.

As she was coming up to her room where she was going to check on Noah, he had some last-minute business that he had to attend to and was getting ready in a hurry.

She was a bit curious because he never said what his last-minute business was. Her father seemed to know, though but wouldn’t tell her either.

She didn’t know, but at the same time, she wasn’t worried. Noah loved giving her surprises, and she had to admit she loved his gifts. They were thoughtful gifts that warmed her heart.

She walked into the room, and Noah looked like the handsome man he was; she went back to when she first saw him naked at the poolside.

She smiled to herself and reminded herself not to dwell on those thoughts because they would be late for the party.

******

Noah watched her from the mirror. She was the vision of a queen, perhaps a fairy queen. He was in awe of her beauty every day, even when she woke up first thing in the morning.

He watched as a smile came across her face, and he wondered what she was thinking about because that smile was on that held promises of desire.

******

Daisy walked into the room and began helping Noah with his formal tie; He was so handsome she was amazed that she wasn’t beating back women to keep him.

She was a bit worried about some of the snobs on the guest list, but as long as they kept their nasty thoughts to themselves, it was fine with her.

It wasn’t easy, but she learned several things in the last week, protocol, mannerisms, rules, how to greet people, and so on; yadda, yadda, it was enough to make her head spin.

They were waiting for their cue to come down the stairs; Noah walked over to Daisy and held out a small blue ring box. When he opened it she was amazed at what was in it.

Inside was a ring with three small blue flowers across the band made from sapphires for petals and diamonds in the center. There was also room for more flowers to be added.

“I wanted you to have this; it is a mother’s ring. It was my mother’s originally and had only one flower on it; I took it to the royal jeweler and had him add two more flowers and room for more.”

“So, this was your surprise?”

“Nope, it is not. You will have to go down to the party to figure that out.”

The knock came on the door, telling them that it was time to go down and greet all the guests and show off their three little bundles of joy.

Arm in arm, they went down the stairs. As everyone watched, A few had deadpan expressions and a few that looked a little sour, but they were few, and everyone else was nothing but smiles.

They walked by a giant mound of presents. Raja’s mind linked them,

“I wonder if any of those are giving off a ticking sound.”

Both laughed, and everyone wondered what they found funny, but it was an inside joke only privy to the three of them.

At the end of the hall sat the King on his throne, looking all regal and happy for a change; in his arm was his grandson Blane; the other two were off to each of his sides while the nannies attended them.

As she looked around, she had a passing thought; she wondered about what her mother would have said about all this; would she have been happy with all of this? Daisy smiled. She would have been over the moon with the triplets.

Daisy liked to think that her mother would have been pleased because not only would she have grandchildren to spoil rotten, but she would have had her one true love with her.

Just as Daisy had now, she decided to turn over all the workings and financial end of her business and artwork to her trusted assistant and give her a huge raise.

Daisy wanted to stay with her family and raise her children as her mom did with her. She knew she was lucky, fortunate. Not every woman had the opportunity that she was given.

She wasn’t paying attention to where Noah was leading her until she stood amongst a group of happy strangers, smiling back at her.

“My forever mate, may I introduce you to your tiger relatives. They are mostly cousins and friends. My close family is gone now, but they were all there while I was growing up, and some are my closest friends.”

Daisy was surprised and delighted, Noah introduced them all to her one by one, and she was hugged at every introduction. They all insisted that she come to visit and bring their cubs.

The rest of the evening went off without a hitch except for what would be known in the stories that were passed down as the

‘Why you do not pick on a Baba Yaga, Incident.’

Daisy believed Willow was acting so nice and not so monster boogyman as her reputation dictated.

Three young boys around twelve years old decided it would be a thing to test their passage as men by aggravating a Baba Yaga; what better bragging rights could you get if you got away with it.

Unfortunately for the pranksters, the Baba Yaga doesn’t always have a sense of humor, even if she knows it was just in fun.

They stood on top of the balcony while Willow was sitting by the fire enjoying some cake when suddenly, a pail of water came splashing down from above; just as it was about to get Willow all wet, the bucket the water stopped in mid-air.

Baba Yaga stood up and moved out of the way of the bucket, she waved her hand, and it crashed down on the chair where she was sitting moments before.

When she turned to look at where the bucket had come from, her eyes were all black, and the lights began to flicker, the three boys tried to run, but they found that their feet wouldn’t move.

She waved her hand again as everyone in the hall watched the boys levitate down onto the main floor.

The boys’ parents came forward with terror in their eyes, knowing that angering a Baba Yaga was terrible news. Not knowing what to do, though, they stood and waited to see what she would do next.

The Evil Baba Yaga looked at the three boys and gave them an evil grin, and then she said, “bufonem emittunt!” Then there were three popping sounds like popcorn, and the boys were gone. In their place on the floor were three toads.

The parents let out gasps but didn’t say anything, knowing that they could be turned into toads and wouldn’t be able to help their sons.

She shook herself as the lights went back to normal, and then before them stood Willow once again, she moved her hand, and three pieces of parchment appeared before each parent of the boys.

This is the spell to turn them back, it will work day or night after you speak the words, and your sons will be sons again, but I put a spell on the time when you can say those words; they will not work till the morning.

Perhaps the rest of the evening as a toad will open their eyes and make them a little smarter next time when choosing a target for their pranks.

Each parent picked up their toads and walked off; perhaps they will keep a better watch on their son’s mischief in the future.

With that, the night came to a close. The party was a success, and the mound of presents will be opened in the morning, and then the long task of thank you notes will be written.

Daisy and Noah sat by the fire afterward, trying not to laugh at Willow’s act of anger. She wasn’t the least bit upset. She didn’t want her reputation ruined.

Daisy looked around the room at her happy makeshift family, and she couldn’t have been more pleased than she was right now.

She giggled when Noah was nodding off in exhaustion in his chair, and all the extended shifters were all holding the new members of their clan.

Everything was as it should be; Michael watched it all from his throne. A short time ago, he considered suicide to end his pain over losing Clara.

Now he couldn’t imagine the thought; he had way too much to live for now. There was no way he was going to give any of it up.

He thought back to the first day he met his beloved Clara, how the sun shined on her hair, and her eyes had that warmth inside them that he got lost in. He knew right then and there that his life would change forever. come check out my new book series The Forsaken on iReader.

He didn’t know that it would take such a tragic turn before it came out alright again. He was glad, though; he would always miss his Clara and wish she could see them all now.

Stepping down from his throne and walking into the menagerie of shifters, friends, and family, his smile only became more expansive, and this time, it was so full of happiness that it scared no one.

The End

Epilog is next.