#16 Bows and Arrows

Zale

After Hollie had finished packing and the girls said the rest of their goodbyes, we were finally ready to head back home. The girls wanted to ride together and Balin couldn’t stand the idea of leaving Hollie, so the four of us rode in one car while some of the men Balin had brought operated the other vehicles.

It was about a half an hour drive from the Sparrow pack to our pod, and we drove it all in silence. It was a blissful silence, however, with Balin and I sharing in the amazing feeling of finally having our mates by our sides.

Balin was like me, having waited centuries for his mate. He willingly left the realm about fifteen years ago in hopes of finding his mate elsewhere. He was different than most, however, in that he was a Shifter. His dragon was injured about a hundred years ago in a battle that left him unable to fly. The injury left the beast disabled and depressed, and no longer able to shift. It’s nearly the only way a Shifter could stand to live outside of the dragon realm since it was forbidden to shift here unless the lives of the entire pod were at stake.

Balin’s beast has been a caged animal unable to spread his wings for a century, just waiting for the moment his angst would be relieved by the presence of his mate. He and I were both lucky men to have finally found them.

Driving past the security gates of our pod, I parked the car in front of our house. It was home to only myself, my Guardian, and my Captain plus their future families. Until today, Tirian, my Captain, was the only one who had been blessed with meeting his mate, a human by the name of Samantha Tyler. Now, the house would be a lot less empty with all of our mates living here and, hopefully soon, the sounds of little feet running around.

“It’s beautiful.” Hollie gasped as Balin helped her from the car.

Of course, Adira didn’t wait for my hand as she swung open the door and removed herself from the car. Holding onto the door, she looked up at the large cabin-style home.

“What do you think?” I asked hesitantly, almost afraid to hear her review of my home.

Her eyes danced towards me and she slammed the car door shut,

“It is beautiful.” She finally said, copying Hollie’s sentiment as she walked up to me.

“I’m glad you like it,” I grinned, placing my hand gently on the small of her back, “The bottom floor is the shared space, then it’s Balin’s floor, Tirian’s, and ours is at the top. We each get the entire level to ourselves and they are designed to be self-sufficient homes; bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and bedrooms.” I explained as we walked towards the steps to the front porch.

Adira nodded without saying anything. Balin was the first up the steps, pulling open one of the heavy wooden doors and motioning for the ladies to enter first. I followed behind Adira and Balin took up the rear.

“Can I show you our floor?” Balin asked Hollie once he caught up with her again.

“Our floor?” She asked timidly.

“You can stay in your own room, if you’d like.” Balin offered quickly.

“O…okay.” Hollie agreed, looking at Adira sheepishly.

“You can come find Adira anytime, Hollie.” I said, absentmindedly rubbing Adira’s back.

“Alright, I’ll see you later, Addie.” Hollie said, her voice sounding a little more sure.

Adira winked at Hollie as Balin grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the foyer.

“Where are we going?” Adira asked when I began walking in the opposite direction.

“Our floor has a seperate entrance so no one else can access it.” I explained.

On the other side of the foyer was a large, antique looking wood door with a keypad beside the door frame.

“The code is 1015,” I said, tapping in the numbers, “It was the day….” I began to explain, but Adira interrupted me,

“The day of your Chieftain ceremony.” She said breathlessly.

I grinned widely at her, happy that she had remembered the date.

“Exactly. I knew it was an important day, even back then.” I said, opening the door for her.

Inside the small room was a set of stairs and an elevator. I pressed the circle button beside the elevator and it opened with a high pitch ding.

“Only the members of this household have access codes for this room, in case they need to get to us.” I told her, stepping inside the elevator.

The elevator only went to our floor, so there were only two buttons on the control panel: 1 and 4. It was a quick ride to the top. We exited the elevator into a luxurious looking hallway adorned with warm lighting and a plush rug covering the wood planked floor. The hallway was short and led straight into the living room which was open to the kitchen. Opposite the living room was a bathroom and another hallway which held all of the bedrooms.

“This is….” Adira’s voice trailed off as she thought, “Big.” She finally said.

I laughed,

“Nothing but the best for you.”

She was standing in the center of the living room while I stood in the hallway, admiring her in my home. She turned her head to look back at me from over her shoulder and I felt my heart begin to race. She was so damn beautiful.

“Where will I stay?” She asked, her nose wrinkling as she asked the question.

I began walking down the hallway and held out my hand for her. I wasn’t sure if she was going to take it or simply follow me, so I waited for Adria to make up her mind. Her expression looked irritated, but just as I thought she was going to ignore me, she slipped her hand in mine and damn if it didn’t fit perfectly.

I grinned at her and she rolled her eyes in response, but that only made me smile harder. Pulling her down the hallway, we passed a slew of doors until we came to the final door.

“There are a lot of doors.” She commented and I chuckled, winking at her mischievously,

“There are,” I answered cooley, “You can stay here.”

I twisted the antique brass door handle and pushed open the door. Inside was a massive bedroom. First we entered into a sitting room with a two person sofa, two wingback chairs, and a coffee table. Through the archway was the actual bedroom with a king size four poster bed in the center, matching dark wooden furniture, a large TV across from the bed, and two doors on either side of the TV. One leading to a large dressing room and the other was the bathroom.

Adria released my hand and walked further into the room, running her fingers over the deep maroon bedspread before wrapping her hand around one of the wooden posts. I gulped at seeing her standing beside the bed we would one day share. Hell, I know I said I’d be patient, but I couldn’t wait to share that bed with her.

“I’ll stay here?” She asked, her eyes wide as she looked back at me.

“My room is just next door.” I said, nodding my head back towards the hallway.

“You don’t stay here?” Her eyes pinched together in bewilderment, “This looks like the master suite.”

“It is, but no, I don’t stay here.” I said,

I joined her at the end of the bed, running my hand down her arm and watching the goosebumps that scattered over her flawless skin in wonder. My hand found hers again and our fingers curled around each other perfectly.

“I couldn’t stay here alone.” I whispered in a low, gravelly voice, leaning down so we were face to face.

A small gasp of air escaped her lips and a rosy red blush spread across her precious face. Her body trembled ever so slightly, although she tried to fight it. I ran my nose down the side of her face and nuzzled my face into her neck, breathing her in deeply.

“You smell so damn good, Kyrre.” I growled against her skin.

She shivered again and released an audible gasp.

“What do I smell like?” She whispered breathlessly.

“Like sweetness,” I purred, pulling back to cup her face in my too big hand, “Like honey and vanilla.”

She leaned her face into my hand, releasing the bedpost to grip my bicep with her other hand. Her eyes fluttered shut for a second and I just watched as the blissfulness took over her face for the briefness of moments.

“I want you to stay here,” I whispered, “And, when you’re ready, I want you to be the one to invite me to stay here, too. It’s your power to control.”

Her eyes opened and they locked onto mine. They were swirling between green and black, growing impossibly darker by the second.

“What’s your wolf’s name?” I asked gently.

“Lucille.” She mouthed.

“Lucille,” I said her name and Adira’s eyes snapped to black, a new expression taking control, “Hello there, little wolf.”

Lucille, in control of Adira’s body, released a low growl of approval.

“I can’t wait to see you one day soon,” I said, “I hope you can sense my beast as he can sense you.”

Lucille smiled and nuzzled her nose into my collar bone, clutching my body with her hands. I wrapped my arms around her petite frame and clutched her to my chest for as long as she’d let me.

“I do.” Lucille’s voice was low and in control.

I rubbed my hands down her back until she was ready to pull away. Lucille pecked my cheek with her lips and then blinked up at me,

“Be patient with my human, she’s more fragile than she likes to confess and nearly hopeless.” Lucille said with concern and love in her eyes.

“Hopeless?” I asked.

“She gave up on a mate. You’ll have to convince her to trust again, to have hope again.” Lucille said,

My heart broke for my mate, for my little Adira, and a new found determination stirred up inside of me.

“I promise, I’ll take care of her.” I said,

Lucille smiled and then closed her eyes. When they opened, they were Adira’s forest green orbs again and she was pissed.

“God damn wolf.” She snarled, wrestling from my grip and putting some space between us.

“She’s adorable.” I said, smirking at her.

Adria glared at me,

“You better never call me that.” She warned.

I closed the distance between us in a single step, wrapping my arm around her waist and yanking her roughly against my chest before she could run away,

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I growled, “But, I will call you what you are. My precious Kyrre.”