Her Forever
Chapter 54

Seth

Rebecca and Lela kept Sadie busy all day long. Seriously, what can you do during spa day? I’ve heard her laughing and screaming. I’m not sure if she is really in pain or waxing gone wrong. Is it really supposed to hurt like that?

There were many times I tried walking up the stairs to see my mate, and either my own mother or the royals had to come by at the exact moment to stop me. I’m a little upset that my mate hasn’t come down to replace me; if I really have to wait until tomorrow, I’m going to be in a bitchy mood. Hell, I might be a matezilla.

The guys had me all meet them in the game room. Everyone is playing some shooter games. I never got into them when video games came out, and I wasn’t about to start. I had to run to burn-off energy to keep Caspian happy. Any time sitting just brought more and more rage because Caspian has some serious ADHD. Now that we have Sadie, we feel so much more satisfied, almost in a sedated state, until we really need to do some damage.

“Hey-Oh! Earth to Seth!” Marco spoke while waving his hand in front of my face. I growled. “What?”

“Calm down, man, geez. Sadie really is your own Prozac, huh? You get all pissy when she isn’t around.” Marco took a swig of one of the many beers placed on the table.

“I just got her back from being kidnaped; I don’t like her out of my sight,” I grumbled like a toddler.

Ethan walked up to us and fell on the couch in a huff, “you could always do what my dad did; he stole her in the middle of the night, had his way with her, and brought her back before the ceremony. No one was the wiser. Then BAM I was born several months later.”

“How romantic!” Marco said in a high-pitch girly voice. Ethan punched Marco, which caused a full-blown wrestling match in the living room. There were grunts, growls, and laughs as other warriors filtered into the room. I just relaxed and watched two idiots wrestling.

Before it got too heated, my mom, the current Luna, came waltzing in the room with her hands on her h**s. s**t is about to go down, and I just sat there with a shit-eating grin on my face because, for once, it isn’t my fault. “Will the future Beta and Delta please take this outside?” She said in a no-nonsense tone. The threat was there, and everyone stilled and trickled outside. Taking a sip of my beer, mom sat beside me and put her hand on my leg.

“Come on, boys, I brought cigars!” My dad roared, and the closest of my warriors cheered as they walked out the door.

“How are you doing, not seeing your mate for a few hours?” She chided.

“Peachy,” I spoke sarcastically while I finished my beer in one gulp. It was amazing what a bond could do. It made Sadie my drug, and I was going into withdrawal badly. The past few days, just having her back, I never let her out of my sight. Even when she went to the bathroom to shower or just take a moment to herself, I was yearning for her. This was pure torture being away, and my wolf was demanding just to touch her, smell her, and love her.

“It is just a fun tradition. Even though you are already mated, it makes it a fun game,” she laughed. “Now, there are some things I wanted to talk to you about since your father is too busy partying.” We both looked outside the enormous glass windows, watching him get drunk on the special were-wine that was brought in from Bergarian. The faes were taunting him while the elves were puffing the special pipes as he tried to prove himself he could do both at the same time. Talk about a major hangover he’s asking for; he isn’t 100 anymore. I gave out a loud laugh, and mom put her hand on my shoulder.

“Since Sadie is a princess, and she will be the queen, you know what that makes you, right?” She gave me a loving look, and I looked down at my now empty can of beer.

“Yeah, I cannot take over dad’s position as an alpha of the Warrior Pack. I’m guessing there is some sort of protocol for that?”

“You will have to appoint someone to be a stand-in alpha until you and Sadie produce a second child, the first being in line for the throne, and then the second will stay within the Royal Warrior pack.” My mother had always been the brains behind the political issues involving the pack, so it was of no consequence that she would know how the order of things would be. My father was the muscle, the ultimate alpha. He led his warriors with an iron fist, and the only reason he didn’t give it to me was because I was even stronger than him. Giving me the alpha title without someone calming my wolf would have been disastrous. Mom had a lot to do with that decision-making, and I didn’t question it.

“I figured as much. I haven’t really talked to Sadie about children, but I’m sure she will want at least two.” I smiled, thinking of her round with our child. I’ll pamper her the entire time she is pregnant, massage her feet, love her, pleasure her and make sure she never lifts a finger so she could bask in making our child strong, healthy, and beautiful, just like her.

“No doubt she would want at least two; she seems such a motherly type. I’m so glad that you were both paired,” she smiled. “However, you need to have someone take over your title while you become king.” I paused. Me? A king? I never thought of it that way until mom brought it up, but I could see how obvious it was. I was going to be a king and rule beside her.

“Stop worrying; you will be a fine king. In fact, I had a feeling you would be one someday.” Mom laid back on the couch while taking her finger and tracing the l*p of her glass as if what she said wasn’t important. I looked at her in confusion when she spoke again. “You can control your shift, and you can half shift, remember? Usually, only royals can have that much control. When you were younger, I had a feeling you might be mated with the lost princess; I just never knew you would replace her this quickly.”

“Mom, you should have told me this; I would have looked for her. Kept her safe!”

“All things worked the way they were supposed to,” she patted my cheek. “The gods live on their own time and have their own reasons. You are together now, and that is what matters.” I hummed in agreement. She stood up to walk outside to chastise her own husband as he started swaying, and the faes were joyfully laughing. Once the glass door opened, Max came running inside and sat beside me.

Most of the children are still afraid of me, but Max isn’t. Ever since Sadie told him I was “nice” and a “big puppy,” he had no problems with me. I laughed at the thought. Max sat with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed, obviously angry about something.

“What’s going on, warrior?” I joked.

“They won’t let me smoke the cigar or drink some of their wine,” he pouted. I was about to laugh, but decided against it. A five-year-old wanting to smoke and drink, who would have thought? “You are only 5, Max, and you can’t do that yet; it would be bad for your growing wolf.”

“But I am Luna’s personal royal guardian! I should be allowed!” he whined. Max pulled on his shirt in aggravation, and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud this time.

“You still have a lot of training left, and you aren’t quite there yet. In time, you will be by Luna’s side to help her and protect her family. Right now, enjoy being a kid; she would want that.” He hummed in response.

“Alright, but she had a uniform made for me; that is like the real thing. But I’ll keep getting stronger.” Max jumped off the couch and ran outside to see his parents.

Walking out of the game room, I headed to the stairs. No one was around, so why not head up and see my mate for maybe a quick make-out session with no one knowing? Lela and Rebecca were out with their mates, making out on the front porch, so this was the best time as any. As I’m about to head up the stairs, adjusting my shirt, I see Bastian coming down the stairs.

What was that fucker doing up the stairs? Unmated male near my mate was a big f*****g no-no. Bastian had a crestfallen look on his face, and b***d was running down his face from crying, I suppose. A big douche, too, look at that. As he took the last step down the stairs, I smelled it. I could smell Sadie’s scent on his hands.

My eyes went black, and I grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the nearby wall. The little s**t didn’t see it coming. “The hell are you doing up there with my mate?” I seethed. Bastian looked up, not even acknowledging the claws going into his neck, and he seemed to enjoy the pain.

“Just had to ask her a question and tell her some things. I’m getting out of here, don’t worry,” his passive tone only ticked me off more because he was hiding something I wanted to know. I didn’t want to upset my mate, so I’ll beat it out of him until I get an answer.

I pulled him into an empty bedroom and threw him to the floor. While he landed with a big thud, I walked up to him menacingly, my claws in one hand were extended, and I wasn’t sure how long I was going to last in human form. “What did you talk to her about? And you better not lie to me, or I’ll kill you right now.”

He chuckled and continued to lie on the floor, staring at the ceiling. Bastian folded his arms on his body while staring off into a void. “I told her I cared for her and asked if she would like a second mate.” Red. All my vision was red. I wanted to tear the fucker up to pieces and cook him over the fire and feed him to some actual wolves. “The f**k did you just say?” I tilted my head manically.

“She denied. You are her only love,” he said sadly. “I lost my mate a long time ago before I even got to touch her. I was tired of being alone, and I had never met a girl like Sadie. She had grace, poise, and mercy. Something my kind never sees. 500 some years, I’ve looked for someone, and Sadie was the only one who sparked my interest. I just thought I would ask. She rejected me mercifully.” Bastian looked up at me. “You can end my life now. I don’t think I could go through another 500 years of being alone.”

As much as I wanted to rip him to shreds, as much as I wanted to see him burning in an everlasting fire of pain, I couldn’t do it. I had only been alive for 125 years, and during that short time, I craved to have someone to care for and to love. I couldn’t imagine going 500 just to see your mate die and never touch her. Never have that unbreakable bond with someone. Damn 500 years.

My fist unclenched and my face softened a little. Not a lot, but a little. “Anything else you both discussed?”

“I poisoned the alcohol,” he said flatly, looking back at the ceiling. A loud growl rumbled through my chest. “I did it to save her. Drago was going to kill you the night you both mated and, and in turn, kill Sadie. I couldn’t let that happen, so I told him I could poison the drinks, and he could take her while he figured out how to take off the mark. He was an i***t. He was in a blind, possessive rage over her. I thought I could replace her and have everyone kill the bastard before anything bad happened,” he sighed.

“Then I couldn’t replace her. I didn’t mean for all of that s**t to happen, but I was thinking of her.”

“That was the dumbest plan I have ever heard. Are you really 500 years old? You have no common sense. You should have just come to me,” I seethed. I ran my hand through my hair, and my heart was pounding in my chest.

“Will you kill me now?” His eyes were hopeful. With every fiber of my being, I wanted to kill him, watch his b***d spill on the carpet and have his head roll around the pack house like a damn bowling ball, but I knew I couldn’t. Sadie made me soft.

“No, I won’t,” I said, clenching my teeth. “But you need to leave. I don’t want to see your face during the ceremony. Go figure your s**t out.” I threw my hands at him. I would not do any brotherly love talk, and I was done. I punched the wall on the way out, and he didn’t even flinch. He wanted to die; I would not give it to him. Maybe I was punishing him in a sick and twisted way, knowing he would never have a mate and have to live forever without one.

It gave me a little pleasure.