Chapter 29
The next day was better. I woke up to a crisp fall morning. Fall was my favorite time of the year. The changing of the leaves, the dying of old things with the promise to bring new life in the spring. The sun had just come up and already I had Amilia pounding on my door. She pounded away until I rolled over to look at Elijah only to find he was not beside me. I growled a warning at the door. It was seven in the morning and it was a sunday. What could she possibly want from me at seven in the morning.
I shoved my head under a pillow to tone her out but she banged louder on my door. I sat up quickly and growled loudly at the door. I heard Amilia laugh from behind it and she banged again. “Come on, Faye. I need you today!” she called through the closed door. I threw my blakents aside as I remembered Kat. Had something happened? I glanced at the clock. It was seven. I had realized it before but now I remembered I was late. I hurried to the door, still dressed in my nightgown and threw the door open. But Amilia was alone. She smiled when she saw me and walked into my room. “Good, you are awake,” she said and I turned to face her, ready to murder her. “I was thinking we should take Kat out. Shopping. She needs the same treatment you got-”I cut her off. “I have official meetings with Elijah today,” I reminded her.
Elijah had wandered off with some of the other Pack members and Collin had been one of them. When I went to bed, Elijah followed an hour later, waking me to tell me the news. We were set to get crowned by the end of the week. In three days time, I would be Queen of all wolves and ruler of the shadow world. Three days. And Elijah wanted me with him at all times all of a sudden. He canceled my training sessions with Cal and made appointments that he wanted me to attend with him. I knew he was stressed but I had wished we would have been able to at least complete our mating before anything else. Amilia nodded and sighed. “Right... I forgot about that. How long do you think that will take?” she asked me as she walked over to my dresser. She began going through the drawers and pulling out outfits. I shake my head and shove her gently aside. “I have no idea and I can dress myself,” I answered, pulling out a pair of faded black skinny jeans and a black turtleneck. Amilia scowled at me. “Mean,” she hissed at me and then sighed. “So, am I to take Kat to the hairdresser by myself then?” she asked me. “I think you should take her!”I shake my head at her. “Amilia, I just told you, I can’t. I have to meet Elijah. I am already running late. If I get out in time, I will let you know and we can all three go together,” I said as I dressed myself quickly. I walked to my clothset and pulled a pair of black bootlets out and slipped them on. It was not formal attire so I hoped Elijah would be okay with that. I grabbed my phone and a leather jacket and hurried from the hall. I was about half way down the stairs when something caught me by the waist. “You look like you are in a hurry,” Elijah whispered in my ear. I smiled and turned to face him. ’I was. I am. I’m running late to meet you. I was about to call you,” I told him, holding up my phone. He smiled and took my phone and shoved it into my back pocket and then took my hand. I was happy to see he was dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a black long sleeved T Shirt, with a leather biker jacket thrown over to top it off.
“You are perfectly on time. How about breakfast?” he asked me, lacing his finger through mine. I smiled and nodded. “Sounds great,” I said. Elijah guided me from the Manor and then stopped before we reached the garage. “Oh, before I forget,” he said and tossed me a set of keys. I looked at them and then my jaw dropped when I saw the sleek dodge charger, its black paint gleaming in the dim morning light. “This is for me?” I asked him, my voice low. Elijah smiled. “This way you can get around and not have Amilia drive you everywhere,” he said. I looked up at him, my mouth still open. Elijah laughed at me and placed a finger under my chin. “Well?” he asked me. “Do you like it?”I nodded and he kissed me, a smile on his own lips. I kissed him back and wrapped my hands around his shoulders. Before I could pull away, his phone rang out, making me jump. Elijah sighed and pulled it from his pocket. “We are running late. We should get going,” he said. I smiled and skipped to my new car. When I turned the key in the ignition, the car rumbled to life, loud and clear. The smile on my face was big and Elijah smiled when he slid into the set next to me. I pulled out of the parking spot and started down the road. “So, I had a question,” Elijah said as he watched me. I glanced at him. His face was amused, playful. “OK?” I asked, wondering what he was thinking. “We will both be on the throne by Friday,” he said slowly. Why was he stalling? “Yes?” I urged. Elijah sighed and looked out the window. “I am just wondering if this is all just going a bit too quick for you?” he asked me. I had to laugh at him for that. “You are worried it is too fast? Elijah, I knew what I was getting myself into when Amilia first told me she saw us together. I will admit, at first, the only reason I wanted to come here was because I had nowhere else to go. But now... Elijah this is my home now. I have you. I have Amilia. I could have left many times. And I would have. I had planned on it. But I could not bring myself to go. Sure, I mean, it is fast, but this is what I want,” I answered him. I had to force myself to shut up and let him process what I had just told him. “You had thought about leaving?” he asked me. I sighed. I should have known he would get hung up on that small detail. “Before I understood our bond, yes,” I said. I glanced at him again. He looked upset. I bit my lip. Elijah looked at me now, his hand coming to rest in my thigh. “Faye, I would never have let anyone hurt you. Reid can not get to you. He will never harm you,” he promised. I sighed and nodded. He still did not get what I was saying. How did I make it clear to him that it was not me I was afraid for?I shoved those thoughts aside. “You were saying?” I asked him. Abruptly, Elijah became uneasy once more. He rubbed his hands in his jeans and sighed. “Okay, what is with you?”Elijah sighed and shook his head. “I had a thought about Friday,” he said. I nodded. “OK?”Elijah took a deep breath. This had to be something big, otherwise he would not be so stressed. “Turn here,” he said suddenly. I tore the wheel to the left and turned into a park parking lot. I jerked the car to a stop and Elijah got out, running around to my side to help me from the car. He gripped my hand and led me into the park. “Elijah, what are we doing?” I asked him, I was at a loss as to what he was doing. Did Amilia know about this? Is that why she had been in my room that early? Elijah pulled me along, walking up the path that led to a small wooden bridge. When we were in the middle of the bridge, He slowed and stopped, never letting my hand go. He sighed, looking out over the pond. There were geese and ducks swimming about, frogs calling out into the fresh morning air. I puffed out a breath. “Elijah-”
I stopped when he turned and dropped to one knee and pulled out a small, blue satin box from his pocket and held it out to me. I gasped when he took my hand and looked up at me. “Faye Tamit, I love you more than anything. I would protect you with my life and defend you against any enemy. Will you do me the honor of becoming my Wife and Queen?” he asked me.I swallowed the lump in my throat. I had told him I had wanted romantic settings and he had delivered. this place was absolutely beautiful. I looked down as he opened the small box. Inside was an antique engagement ring, the curving details and flowers swirling all around the ring. It was set with a single diamond. There were many things I wanted to say and some of them would not be nice at all. One of them being I was only seventeen and that he was out of his mind for wanting to get married this young. Yet the need and to become his was stronger then I had realized before. I wanted to tell him I was ready to be his in every way possible. I was ready to rule beside him and be fair and just. But marriage? My heart thumped in my chest and I knew in that moment that this is what I wanted. I wanted Elijah. I wanted him and everything we were supposed to become. “Yes, Elijah. I will,” I whispered. Relief washed over him and he placed the ring on my finger. Then he scooped up and kissed me, hard. I laughed against his lips as he set me down again. “Good, now that that is done, Amilia is waiting for you to get back home and take you to find a dress,” he said and laughed at me. I gaped at him. “She knew?” I asked her. Elijah laughed at me. “She knew I was going to ask you. She was with me when my mother gave me the ring for you. It was her idea to have the coronation and wedding on the same day,” he said. I smiled and nodded. “Well, I better not keep her waiting then. You know how she can be when it comes to dressing me up,” I said and rolled my eyes. Elijah laughed at me now. “Yeah, I think she is happy she has two new dolls to dress up now. Kat’s arrival gave her a new toy to play with,” he muttered and shook his head. I laced my fingers through his as we walked back to my car. “I want Kat in the wedding. And Amilia too. Am I allowed to have two maids of honor?” I asked, thinking how I didn’t want anyone left out. Elijah laughed again. “It is your day. Make it how you see fit, Love,” he said as we reached the end of the walk way. Elijah suddenly stopped, his whole body going stiff. “Someone else is here,” he hissed at me. I looked around, my first thought was thinking he was being paranoid because this was a public park and humans were walking around all over this area. But when the wind shifted and blew in from the east, I caught wind of what he was talking about. It wasn’t a scent I knew. It was a stranger. Elijah growled, his eyes scanning the tree lines. Suddenly he grunted and dropped to his knees, holding his side. “Elijah?” I almost screamed, panic raising in my voice. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as another breeze rushed by me. That is when I saw them. Two girls standing by the treeline, watching us. I sniffed the air. There was nothing familier about them. Elijah struggled to get back on his feet. It was a crazy thing to see, the strongest Wolf Shifter out there was struggling to stand. The two girls smiled and walked toward me. “Faye, levae!” Elijah grunted at me. I shook my head and stood in front of him. He had sworn to protect me. That worked both ways. I watched the two girls as they came closer. They both had auburn hair and were dressed in white robes. Were these Reid’s followers? If they were they must have been watching us since we got here. How had we not noticed them before? When they were a few yards away from me, they stopped. “Greetings, Hybrid. At last we meet,” the one on the left said. “My name is Raven, and this is my sister, Robin. We have been looking forward to meeting you,” the girl on the left said.
The other girl who was still staring at Elijah intently smiled. “Pleased to meet you, your Grace,” she said, her tone a little sour. “I have to say, you are quite a hard witch to find.”I looked between them and shook my head. “What do you want?” I demanded. Elijah gasped in pain and tried to stand again. Robin glared at him and he fell to his knees again. “Please, don’t hurt him!” I pleaded. Raven smiled at me. “It does not hurt that much. He is a dog. He heals quickly,” she said in a matter of fact tone. “You however, you are something different and we would like to free you from the prison he is keeping you in-”I cut her off, shaking my head. “Prison? What are you talking about? I have no idea who you both are! What do you want?” I demanded. Elijah gasped again and struggled to speak. “Witches!” he gasped. I looked back up at them. “You called me a Hybrid. The only other person who has called me that is -”Robin cut me off this time. “Reid. Yes. That man is... quite the trouble maker,” she said, never taking her eyes off of Elijah. “Can you keep your pet under control?”I blinked. “Excuse me?” I asked her. Raven sighed. “I am sure he is no threat to us, sister,” she said. Robin laughed and Elijah groaned in pain. “We don’t know that,” she muttered and her eyes flashed in color. Elijah then screamed and I heard the breaking of bones, the rush of blood in his body. I gasped and flung myself at Robin, throwing my hand into her face, Shadow Jumping a few feet away with her and landing on my side by a bush. I felt my kanines snap out and my claws dug into the ground as I stood up into a defensive crouch in front of Elijah. “Calm down, Faye, we will not harm him,” Raven said quickly. “My sister was taunting you-”I cut her off. “What do you want?” I demanded. I felt so powerful. It was odd. It was as if I was getting a rush of energy somehow. Raven had her hands up in surrender. “We are from a Coven of witches and we have been looking for you. We have been in contact with your mother, Rosalie. She has been worried about you-”I cut Raven off and laughed bitterly at the sound of her name. “Only she is not my mother and I have no ties to her whatsoever. She said she birthed me, whatever that means, and that she was already pregnant when she met Reid. She never told me who my real mother is and I have no idea who my real father is! Everything she ever told me was a lie!” I stopped, trying to catch my breath. I had not realized I was screaming at the two girls before me until Elijah grabbed my arm. I looked at him, and warped and arm around his waist. Raven and Robin looked at each other. “Rose said you would react like this-”My anger boiled over now. “Go away!” I screamed at them. Robin was ready to turn away but she stopped mid turn. “Like it you’re not, you have the blood of a witch in you. You are not one type of breed, Faye. You are also part which. It is in your blood. Look into your history. Find out who you are,” she said. I turned back to look at her but she was gone. I growled and turned back to my car. I stopped when I saw Amilia’s car pulling up next to mine. I turned to face Elijah. “Did you call her here?”He shook his head. “No,” he answered. I scowled at him. “What? Did you think I would not be able to fend for myself?” I demanded. Elijah raised an eyebrow at me. “Faye,” he said sharply. “I did not call her here! Even if I wanted to, the Link does nor reach that far!”I sighed and turned to face Amilia and she raced over to us. “I saw you being attacked and came as quickly as I could,” she said. I turned to face Elijah who shrugged at me. “Told you,” he said. I sighed. I was so confused right now. How was it my mother was still so powerful from beyond the grave that she was able to summon an entire Coven of witches. This was insane. I could only handle one huge problem at a time. “Where did they go?” Amilia asked, as she looked around. I shook my head and shrugged. “Vanished? Dead? Who knows?”Elijah sighed and leaned against my car. If this took any longer, I would not be getting my wedding dress at all today. I wanted this day to be perfect for Elijah, not for me. He had lost both of his parents in a year. I had spent ten months in The Pound and was unable to be there for him when The Haven had come to take his father to rest. I will be there this time. “We should go home,” I said suddenly. Amilia sagged against the hood of her car. “Aw, but what about your dress?” she asked me.I shrugged. “We can get it Friday,” I told her. Amilia shook her head. “We girls have hair and nail appointments on friday around noon,” she said. I sighed. I should have known she would have made plans like that. “Well, first thing friday morning then?” I asked. Elijah shook his head. “No, there are wedding and coronation rituals that will be happening,” he reminded me. Amilia turned to face him, shocked. “Wait, you want to do both the same day?” she demanded horrified. I bit back a giggle. Amilia really loved big events. Did she not ever get tired of them, living at the manor? Elijah dropped his head in defeat. “Amilia, we already talked about this,” he reminded her. I tuned them out for a moment. How had Raven and Robin found me so easily? It worried me that Elijah or myself had not scenced them when we first arrived here. “Faye?” Elijah asked as he touched my face. I blinked and looked up at him. “Sorry,” I said quickly, looking back to Amilia. “What are we doing now? I mean Amilia is the one planning this whole thing.”Elijah smiled and nodded. “True. The wedding will go on as planned, as will the coronation. She is making some arrangements now for you to go get your dress, that way you keep your appointment tomorrow. So that means, I need you to go with Amilia and I will see you for a late dinner,” he said and pulled me against his chest. I sighed. I did not want to be away from him. Too much was going on. “OK... What are we going to do about those girls?” I asked him in a whisper. Elijah placed a finger under my chin and made me look at him. He leaned down and kissed me, slow and deliberately long. “Right now, nothing. I want you to go with Amilia and have some fun. Cal is bringing Kat as we speak and the bridal shop agreed to stay open for you,” he said, his hands finding my waist. He leaned in and let his lips wander to my faded mark. “Hm,” he mumbled. Elijah pulled away from me, his face troubled. “What?” I asked him. He shook his head. “Your Mark is gone and my scent is falling away from you,” he muttered displeased. I sighed and hugged myself close to him, rubbing my face into his chest. “We will be together forever in just two days,” I reminded him. “And then you can Mark me and we will finally Mate and complete what we are.”Elijah smiled at that and then sighed. “Here comes Cal,” he said as another car pulled up behind us. Kat jumped out and walked over to us. “Please be careful,” Elijah pleaded. I smiled. “I will run in the opposite direction at just the smallest whiff of danger,” I promised. Elijah laughed and tapped my nose. “That’s my girl!”