Page 45 of In Bellamira's Chains

“Oh ho-ho, did you—” Whoever the man was, they didn’t get to finish their sentence before Catalina’s fist crashed into his jaw, then she was shoving him back out the door with his pet scurrying behind him.

“A promise is a promise.” Catalina shrugged as she closed the door, and we all chuckled. I might have been unconscious, but I knew My Mistress made her promise to knock out anyone whocame in the room. It helped alleviate some of the tension that had filled the air, and I took a deep breath before letting it out.

“Thank you, Catalina. And Layne. This world can be an awful place.”

“It’s not all bad.” Layne beamed at Catalina as she came around the bed and sat down again.

“No, it’s not, but it could be a lot better. I see some change on the horizon. Maybe not society as a whole, but the way of our parties… Safety is a priority, and we have slacked on it when it comes to people we think we can trust. Bram is proof of that.”

“But you have security everywhere, Catalina. Yours are always safe and fun.” She smiled down at me, but it didn’t quite reach her golden eyes.

“That’s true, but everyone can be paid off. You never really know. I think we will have large parties without the sexy times after, then small ones with extra security and scrutiny. No passes, no oopsies, none of it.” Her face fell, and she sighed. “We became lax, comfortable, and simply too trusting. It is what it is, and we can’t change the past, but we can make a change for the future. I don’t know what will happen, but I do know we will be going to fewer parties, if any, for a while. Perhaps we will throw more to counteract it. I really don’t know at this point. It’s too fresh.”

“Realizing there’s a problem is the first step.” I mindlessly responded, keeping my grip on Hazelle who was softly snoring now. I kissed the top of her head and thanked whoever would listen for putting her to sleep for the time being. She needed the rest, and I hoped her dreams were kind or nonexistent.

The door opened again, and Catalina was already on the move when My Mistress and Perrin walked in. I placed a finger to my lips and looked down at Hazelle, hoping they’d understand.

Catalina and Layne slipped out of the room at My Mistress’ approval, and she took up the spot where Catalina had oncebeen. Perrin leaned against the bedpost opposite us, leaving him closer to the door just in case.

“How are you feeling, Elera?”

“Dizzy, tired, nauseous. Are you really okay, My Mistress?” She reached out and took my hand.

“I’m fine, physically. Hazelle…”

“They told me, kind of. Do you think she’s going to be okay?” My Mistress’ lips flattened as she thought, taking her time to form an answer. But how could we know?

“She’s been through worse before. There was hope with Oros, then there was none, and it only got worse from there. Hazelle had hope with us, seeing what a loving family could be, but Bram stole that from her. I don’t know, Elera. I really don’t know where we go from here.”

My eyes grew wide at my Alpha’s admission. I had never heard My Mistress so unsure of anything. Her confidence was what drew me in. She always knew, always. Instead of questioning her and losing my trust, it grew. My Mistress was a person too, and no one could control everything, even if they wanted to. I had gone ten years with her in perfect harmony, loving every minute of it without question, with little fault, and always with love and devotion to My Mistress.

But now, there was more. An equality that I hadn’t seen.

Her demands weren’t like the ones others spewed. That was about control and total domination. Hers… they were part of a contract, an unspoken relationship between us. I always had a choice, although I never thought about it. Caera would take me away if My Mistress ever treated me like some ordinary Beta.

How had I missed this?

How had I missed such an important detail of how we worked, of how we all worked together?

My love for her grew, but I wondered where Hazelle came into all of this. What did she think of our mistress now? Howwould our relationships grow and morph in the future? What if— “You’re thinking too hard, Elera. Are you ready to go home?”

“Is Hazelle…”

“Hazelle is ours and will always be ours. That’s a promise I can keep.” She leaned forward and placed a kiss on my forehead, then Hazelle’s. “Let’s go home. We have a lot to work through, together.”

The rest of the night was uneventful. Hazelle slept in my arms between waking and crying, but she always managed to fall back to sleep. My Mistress joined us periodically, and Hazelle didn’t have any qualms about it. I was beyond thankful for that. I didn’t want to think about what I would have done if she denied My Mistress entirely.

Because she could, and the thought was terrifying.

I didn’t know how much Hazelle knew about situations like this, unlike Adira and Nyla’s. For them, Adira found her before she was sold off from her family. She was owned by the auction house, and the rules there are flimsy at best. So when Adira claimed her as her fated mate, no one had a right to deny her.

But with Hazelle, she wasn’t owned by her family or the auction house. She was purchased, and by law, she was My Mistress’ and no one, not even the fated mate, could remove her without striking a deal.

Unless Hazelle chose her fated mate.

She couldn’t be removed by force, and Bram having damaged someone else’s property, even though he’s her fated mate, made it a little murky. But as far as I understood it, she could still choose him. Hazelle would be wherever he was, or even sold off again since he now had nothing to his name, but she could, and no one would be able to stop her.

I held her close, trying to sleep, but it never took me. We didn’t know what Bram used on us, but now that I was awake, I was wide awake, and it didn’t seem to be ending any time soon.