Page 15

Chapter

Fifteen

I’d promised to message Mason with a day for our second date tomorrow after I had a chance to look over my calendar. I needed to schedule second dates with Liam, Trey, and Mason.

Remembering Liam had messaged me after the demon incident, I called him back.

“Are you okay?” he asked as soon as he picked up. “I saw the video and saw you pass out at the end.”

“Yes, I’m okay. I appreciate your concern,” I replied.

He exhaled. “That’s good to hear. I was worried. I know you must be busy so I won’t take up more of your time, but I am looking forward to our next date.”

“I’ll send you a couple available dates soon. Things have been crazy so I apologize.”

“No need to apologize. I will look forward to your text. Have a great evening.”

“You as well, Liam.”

We hung up and I stared at the phone. He was a really nice guy. I needed to do something that allowed us to talk and interact more on our next date to get to know him better. The one major red flag for me was his goal of living a super simplistic life on the other side of the ocean. That was not in line with my goal of helping my clan at all.

“He’s here!” Mom yelled from downstairs.

I texted Great Aunt Leona to ask if I could talk to her tomorrow, grabbed the tickets, slipped my phone in my pocket, and jogged down the stairs.

“How do I look?” I asked Mom.

She inspected my tight jeans, crop top, and choker necklace in addition to the necklace the trio had given me, since I still couldn’t remove it, and darker than usual makeup and nodded. I’d also put my hair up in a ponytail to keep it out of my face since I was absolutely going to end up dancing to the songs. “Definitely concert appropriate. It’s going to get hot in that venue with all those people.”

“Hello,” Kayden greeted me with a smile as I opened the front door. He looked at my outfit and smiled as he said, “You look great.”

He wore a pair of jeans that might as well have been painted on and a t-shirt that was the same, with an image of a snake curled around a music note.

“Where did you find that shirt?” I asked, mouth dropped open.

“I had it custom printed. Do you like it?” He smiled, grabbed a corner of the shirt, and tugged it up to make it move.

“How do I get one?” I asked.

He leaned forward until his lips were right by my ear and said, “You ask me really, really nicely.”

In a sickly-sweet tone, I whispered, “Give me a fucking shirt.”

He threw his head back as he laughed and took a step back, putting space between us.

“You leaving on your date already?” Mom asked.

“Yes, bye. Love you.”

“Don’t let him mark you!” Dad yelled from the dining room.

Kayden made a strange growling grunt, spun away, and marched down the driveway.

“Aw, you upset the pup,” Triston said in a taunting tone.

“Could you act like my fathers for like four seconds?” I hissed.

“No!” Caleb, Triston, Riddick, and Branson all yelled back at me.

Sighing loudly, I shut the door and followed Kayden. “I apologize for my ridiculous fathers. Having more than one definitely causes issues. Sorry!”

We got into a black SUV totally decked out with bulletproof and magic-proof windows that were also tinted so you could not see the person inside. The SUV also had reinforced armor and even a mini-turret that popped up on the roof.

“Really, how did you get these tickets?” I asked as I buckled my seatbelt. “I tried and couldn’t get them before they sold out.”

“I saved the drummer’s wife from a demon,” Kayden answered.

My eyes widened as I gasped. “Whoa.”

“Yeah, it was a really crazy day,” he admitted.

We went silent for a bit before I finally broke it.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked. “Are you sure you want to court me? What if you find a better woman … somewhere else?”

He scoffed. “I’ve been all around the world. There are no better women. Trust me.”

“Or, like I said to Mason, you’re just groomed into thinking that.”

The car veered off the road to the shoulder, slid to a stop, and he spun to look at me. “Where is this coming from?”

Taking a deep breath, I spit it all out as quick as I could. “I think the spell that was used on me, the darkness from it, infected you three, and I’m concerned that it altered you three into being focused on me and that’s why you feel drawn to me.”

“Or,” he said and leaned across the center console to stare right in my eyes, “we’ve been obsessed with you because you were our best friend and we enjoy spending time with you.”

“Mason said you guys feel a pull to me, that it’s similar to what people feel around sirens. The spell used on me was a mixture of siren and mage magic. It could be?—”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what it could be. What matters is we care about you and want to be with you. What matters is how you feel about us. I think this negative self-talk is from the spell as well. It alters your emotions and self-deprecation is not an emotion you genuinely have.”

He could be right. It was another thing I would have to talk to Leona about.

Reaching forward, he stroked his fingers along my cheek and continued back until he cupped the back of my neck.

My body warmed and I arched my upper body towards him.

“Listen to me, Liliana Rubyserpent. You are beautiful, smart, kind, cunning, and a goddess who deserves to be worshipped. No matter what happens, no matter what path you go down, I will always have your back. I may bitch about it and growl a lot, but I will never forsake you. Even when you blocked us, I demanded Trey send an investigator to at least confirm you were doing well, I asked Dad about you constantly and made him promise not to tell you. We never gave up on our goal of coming back to take you as our mate. Did we bungle it a bit? Yes, obviously. Are there things I would change? One hundred percent. However, my goal has always been to be whatever you want me to be. You want a guard? I’ll do it. You want a friend to cry on? I’ll be here with tissues ready. I know I was terrible at showing it. I know I fucked things up by not explaining my feelings sooner. I know I hurt you. I know you’re still hurt by it, even though you haven’t said anything. I’m a rash idiot at the best of times, but I have been working every single day on becoming the best male I can be to ensure I am here to help you in any way that you might need. Not for fame, not for bettering our clan, but for you. So, stop worrying about what may or may not have caused my loyalty. Just embrace and accept it, and do what is best for you and know I will follow. Okay?”

Tears silently slipped down my face at his speech and a warmth grew in my chest that I hadn’t realized was cold. Leaning forward, I pressed my lips lightly against his before I pulled back and said, “I will do my best to earn your continued loyalty.”

He used his thumbs to wipe the tears from my face and said, “Just keep being you, Lily.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead and my eyes fluttered closed. “Just keep being you.”

We made it to the concert without any other discussion and I felt lighter than I had in years.

After parking in the VIP section, signing about a dozen people’s tickets, and taking selfies with at least two dozen groups, we finally made it to our seats. In the front row!

“Always so popular,” he teased as we sat.

Ignoring his taunt, I bounced on my seat. “I’ve never been in the front row of one of their concerts before! I’m excited!”

“Why haven’t you? You’re a princess, pretty sure their record label would dive at a chance to say you were attending.”

“I don’t like to use my status as princess to get me things,” I explained. “I logged onto their sales page just like everyone else each time I tried to get tickets. Most of the time my luck was bad and I didn’t get a single ticket or the ones I did get were pretty far back.”

“Well, I hope this is a performance you’ll always remember,” he said.

Turning, I smiled at him. “It’s our first concert together, so I’ll definitely remember it. Plus, they can’t have a bad performance. They’re amazing.”

A man in a pair of black slacks and a white button-up shirt hurried over to us and bowed. “Your Highness, we are delighted that you are attending the concert. Due to your status, we understand it would be difficult to get drinks and snacks, so I will be here to assist with that and merchandise as well. Please let me know what you’d like and I will obtain it for you. My name is Bart. The band members have also requested the two of you have a meet and greet with them backstage.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do all of that!” I said with wide eyes.

“It will be difficult to make it through the snack lines,” Kayden said. “And I’m not going to leave you alone to go without you.”

Gnawing on my lip, I finally conceded when I realized he was right. “Okay.” I gave him my order and Kayden gave him his. Once he had the orders, he hurried off to get the items.

“Don’t pout because you’re being given special treatment,” Kayden said while laughing.

“You know I hate special treatment for being princess.”

“You only hate it because you feel like you don’t deserve it because you’re adopted, which is absolutely ridiculous. You’ve done just as much, if not more, for the hybrid clan than Tony has.”

“I haven’t done enough,” I said softly, hating that he knew me so well.

“When would it be enough?” he asked. “You and Ember worked together to open that orphanage. I know you go visit them multiple times a year and bring all of the orphans holiday gifts and forced news outlets to take down articles mentioning it because you didn’t want people to think it was a publicity stunt.”

“How did you?—”

“Like I said, I’ve been asking about you.”

“More like stalking me,” I whispered in mock horror.

He laughed and shrugged. “In a sense, I guess, I have been.”

“Speaking of stalking, what happened with the guy who attacked me at my party?” I hadn’t asked about it yet.

“I caught him and barely stopped Mas from killing him, then we took him for questioning. From what we can tell, he was acting alone and had a grudge against Ember from back when she lived in the woods and he lived in the city nearby. He figured your death would hurt her.”

It would have. Mom might have destroyed the city in her fury. It was one of the reasons we had all started meditating. We were more powerful than a lot of full-blooded people and some of us, like Mom with her telekinesis powers, could very easily destroy a city if she were upset enough.

“Well, that’s reassuring to hear,” I admitted. “It should mean that I don’t have to be on my toes, at least more than usual.”

He draped an arm on the back of my chair, winked, and said, “Plus, I’m here.”

Bart returned with a second person, carrying our ordered drinks, snacks, and a concert t-shirt for me.

“Thank you, I really appreciate you getting these things for me,” I said to the two employees.

“Of course, Your Highness. Is there anything else that you need right now?”

I shook my head. “No, thank you. This should tide us over for the concert.”

“Please don’t hesitate to raise your hand should you need something,” he said, bowed, and they both walked away.

“Did you know this is my first ever concert t-shirt?” I asked Kayden.

“What? How?”

“Like you said, it’s difficult to get through the lines and the last time I did go to a concert, I hadn’t wanted to ask your dad to leave me to get a shirt.”

“Man, I’m popping several of your cherries tonight, aren’t I?” he teased with a wink.

I rolled my eyes and turned to face the stage while taking a drink of the beer I had ordered. The crew were finishing the setup, which meant the band would come out soon.

One of the crew, a man in his early twenties with wild hair, rushed towards us, squatting down so he could speak. “Good evening, the band has requested Kayden come see them as well as Your Highness. Can you please go to the stairs there?” He pointed to our left where a security guard stood.

“What about our stuff?” I asked Kayden. “Should we grab it?”

Bart rushed over. “I shall stay in your seat, Your Highness, to ensure no one touches your items.”

“Thank you!” I chirped with a smile, stood, and headed towards the stairs.

Kayden followed on my heels, but when he got up to the security guard, he bumped fists with him.

I arched a brow and he said, “He’s one of Dad’s friends from the werewolf pack.”

The guard bowed his head to me and moved to the side so we could climb up the stairs.

Kayden put his hand on my lower back as we followed the crewmember into the back, behind the stage, and to a room where the bandmembers were relaxing on couches.

Grabbing Kayden’s shirt, I whispered, “It’s really them!” The members of my favorite band, The Avery’s , looked just like they always did, handsome and talented. They had been a band, touring around the world, for over ten years, starting when they were teenagers.

Stepping forward, Kayden bumped fists with the drummer. “Hey, man. How’re you?”

“Doing great. How are you?” the drummer asked. He was a dragon and occasionally while he was playing, he would tilt his head back and shoot flames up into the air. The crowd, myself included, loved it.

“Good. I’d like to introduce you to Princess Liliana of the Hybrids,” he said and pushed my lower back to make me step closer.

“H-Hi. I’m a huge fan,” I admitted nervously.

The drummer shook hands with me and smiled wide. He dipped his head in a quick bow once and said, “It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness. It means a lot to us that you’re a fan.”

“Would you guys sign this shirt for her?” Kayden asked and held out the shirt I’d asked for.

“Oh-Oh you don’t have to, it’s enough I got to meet you all,” I said quickly.

“Anything for you, Kayden,” the drummer said and took the shirt over to a table where they had a marker out.

Kayden introduced me to the other members and engaged in conversations with them like they were old friends. I envied him.

The bassist was a hybrid, like us, and clasped one of my hands in two of his as he bowed over them. “It is a great honor to meet you, Princess. I was an orphan and luckily adopted by one of the island hybrids you helped rescue. I know about your work with the orphanage and although it was after my time, I want to say how grateful I am to have a princess who is so kind.”

My eyes watered but I blinked the tears away. “Thank you. I didn’t know others knew about my work there.”

“Only those of us who also help with the orphanage and orphans. We know you prefer to keep it quiet. I’d always hoped for a chance to meet you in person. Would you mind taking a selfie with me?”

“Yes, please!” I said a bit too loudly and stepped next to him. He put his arm around my shoulder, held out his phone, and just as he went to take the selfie, Kayden and the rest of the bandmembers stepped up to join us.

The crewmember who had brought us here took the phone and took the picture for us.

The bassist squeezed my shoulder. “Seriously, thank you for helping the orphans.”

“As a fellow orphan who lucked into my home, I felt it was sort of my duty,” I admitted.

Kayden sighed softly, but the singer distracted him with a question.

We sat down on the couches and they uploaded the image to their official social media account and tagged Kayden and I in it.

“Princess, how did you two meet?” the drummer asked.

“Oh, I’ve known Kayden since he was born. We’re childhood friends,” I answered. “His dad used to be my guard.”

“That’s so sweet,” the drummer said. “Sounds like me and my mate.”

“How are your twins?” I asked, knowing they had posted about the twins being born less than a year ago.

“Growing like weeds,” he said with a chuckle.

The crewmember whispered into the lead singer’s ear and he nodded. “Unfortunately, we have to say goodbye for now so we can go perform. It was an honor to meet you, Your Highness, and great to see you again, Kayden. Text me next time you guys want to come to a concert and we’ll hook you up.”

“Thank you,” I said, and they surprised me by each hugging both Kayden and I before we left.

“Did that really happen?” I asked him softly as we returned to our seats. I held up my concert t-shirt, signed by all of the members. I wasn’t going to be able to wear it now. Instead, I would put it in a case and put it on my bedroom wall.

He thanked Bart, but whispered something in his ear that had him nodding before hurrying off.

Maybe he wanted another drink?

The band came out and everyone stood up, cheering.

To my surprise, they dedicated one of their songs to me and another to Kayden. And the thing Kayden had asked for was a second t-shirt so I could have one to wear. Turns out, he really did know me well.

I danced and sang along to all of the songs, having the most fun I’d had in years, and was truly happy without a hint of the darkness swirling within me.

“Yes, that all really happened,” Kayden said during a quiet part of one of my favorite songs, answering me finally, and pinched me.

“Ouch,” I hissed at him, but immediately smiled again, turned, and kissed him hard on the lips. “Thank you, Kayden.”

He leaned over and rubbed his cheek along mine. “Anything for you, Lily.”