Page 22

Chapter

Twenty-Two

“What a scumbag!” Maya shouted as we drank our first drinks in a VIP section of a different club. I didn’t want to go to Great Uncle Gavin’s club again and risk the trio showing up. She’d insisted on going out after I had told her what happened with Liam and I had agreed as long as we brought two guards for protection. The last thing I wanted was Liam to find us and start drama.

The trio had tried to join us, but I’d convinced Riddick and Triston to be our guards instead after explaining I wasn’t coming to find anyone to dance with, but to just enjoy myself and dance with Maya.

“Yeah, I’m glad he showed what he was really like early, though.” I couldn’t imagine what could have happened if I had turned down the trio, accepted Liam, and found out what a complete douche he was.

“Let’s go dance. I need to burn off this rage,” Maya growled and stomped towards the rope to enter the dance area.

With my dads nearby, people thankfully steered clear of us, allowing us to enjoy our time without interruption. We returned to our booth and caught our breath while also enjoying more drinks.

“This was just what I needed, thanks, girl.” I said and clinked my glass against hers.

She smiled wide. “That’s what besties are for! So, as your bestie, can I just say that I don’t understand your hesitation. Like … at all.”

“Hesitation for what?” I asked, frowning.

“To finalize your promise, to take the guys as your mates. You and the trio have been ideal partners since they were born. Seriously, it was like Ezio had a child to fulfill a prophecy of being your mate or something. It’s just meant to be. Why the hesitation?”

“It’s not that simple,” I whispered.

She arched a brow. “It is. They’ve been in love with you for decades. And you’ve been in love with them for decades.”

“That power I shared with them could have been altering their true feelings,” I said.

“And yet, even with the power back inside of you, and them still obviously all about you, you’re hesitating. Kayden punched a prince for you and then rode rollercoasters to ensure you had a good day. Mason helped you send a demon back through a portal because you asked him to. Trey snuffs any female who so much as looks at him. He also monitors social media and destroys anyone who talks negatively about you.”

“I’m sorry, he does what?” This was the first I’d heard of it.

She nodded. “He made me swear not to tell you, but I think you need to know. They do all kinds of things behind the scenes.” She giggled. “That rhymed!”

“So, what you’re telling me, is that even while I had blocked them, they were still protecting me and doing things to help me?”

She nodded again. “Yep.” She made the p sound pop extra loud.

“What if the power?—”

Groaning, she flopped backwards in the booth and flailed around on the couch. “Stop it! You’re a freaking goddess and deserve loyal men who can protect you. Those men are undoubtedly loyal and of the men our age, the most likely capable of protecting you. They know the drawbacks and issues of being with a royal and a hybrid and they don’t care. Stop being a pain and accept it already!”

I blinked at her for a few seconds before bursting into laughter, tears trickling down my face. “I … never thought … you would be … telling me … to accept them as mates.”

“Me neither! Yet, here we are!” Her cheeks puffed and were pink in her exasperation.

Hugging her, I said, “You’re the bestest best friend ever.”

“Duh,” she replied in a super sarcastic tone.

“Instead of dancing more, why don’t we head home for ice cream and comedy shows? I saw a new comedy special available.”

Her eyes brightened, she leapt to her feet, and said, “You had me at ice cream.”

Raising my hand, I waved for my dads even though I couldn’t see exactly where they were. I could find them by their auras if I wanted to, but I just waited instead. Triston and Riddick stepped out of the shadows behind our booth.

“Ready to go home?” Triston asked with a wide smile. He was always smiling and happy. Like I tried to be.

Riddick stood with a serious expression, like he almost always was. His smiles were rare and awesome.

“Yes,” I said with a nod.

“Do we need to stop for snack supplies?” Riddick asked.

“Yes,” Maya said and nodded emphatically.

“We don’t need snacks. We have everything at home,” I told her and shook my head. “Have you forgotten who I live with? There’s always an abundance of snacks.”

“Oh, right,” she said.

Exiting the club, we were blinded by camera flashes and deafened by shouted questions and names being called.

“Princess! Is it true you’re assisting with the demon research?” someone yelled.

“Is it true that you’ve been courting mates and rejected Prince Liam?” another asked.

The urge to answer that question was strong, but Riddick stepped between the person and I and said, “No comments at this time.”

How did they find out about Liam already?

Triston opened the door for us with a flourish. “Ladies.”

The drive home was uneventful, but full of Triston and Maya gossiping, which gave me time to think about what she’d said.

The trio were always there for me and the misunderstanding had been partially my fault. I had been harboring feelings for them since I was a teenager. I’d hidden it when we were in high school as much as I could, but it was so much harder now.

And maybe Maya was right. Maybe I needed to stop acting like the main character in a novel and just admit my feelings to them.

Choosing your mates was a huge deal and not done lightly. So, perhaps it was time to at least take the next step and court them exclusively.

That would give them time to confirm that they did love me, without the power, and to confirm we were ideal mates.

Walking into the house, laughing and smiling, we headed straight for the kitchen.

“Where is everyone?” Riddick asked.

I paused in taking the ice cream out of the freezer and listened. There were no other sounds aside from the ones we were making. “Did they message you?”

Maya grabbed a bowl and started scooping out her ice cream. “They’re probably dealing with the blowout from Liam or something. There’s always some issue for the royals to handle.”

Riddick tried to call someone, but they obviously didn’t answer by the growl he released and the immediate next dial.

Triston tried to call someone next.

Heading to the TV, I turned it on to the local news station, hoping my gut feeling was wrong.

“A giant portal has opened in the center of the downtown park,” the newscaster declared.

“Well, I found them,” I announced loud enough for Riddick, Triston, and Maya to hear.

They all ran into the living room to look at the TV where most of my family and the trio were being videoed at the scene.

“Let’s go,” Riddick growled.

“Let me throw on sweats!” I shouted and ran up the stairs, changing as quickly as I could and grabbing a pair for Maya to change into in the car.

Riddick drove, being the better driver of the four of us, but that also gave Maya time to change and me time to put my hair up and slip on socks and tennis shoes.

“I’m glad we’re the same size,” Maya commented as she put on the tank top that I had given her.

“Very convenient for times like this,” I agreed with a nod.

Due to so many people in the streets, we had to park and run the rest of the way.

As we approached, Mason, Kayden, and Trey spun around, eyes fixed on me, like that had sensed my approach.

“What’s the status?” I asked.

“Your necklace reacting?” Trey asked.

Eyes widening, I realized that it wasn’t warm like usual. “No,” I admitted and shook my head.

That had them all scowling.

Staring up at the giant portal, I had an uneasy feeling, like something crazy was about to happen. The darkness within me stirred. We were lucky that the park had a lot of lights, so it was easy to see if anything came out.

Mom walked over from where she had been gathered talking to Branson, Caleb, and my grandads. “Sorry we didn’t call.”

Triston brushed a kiss across her cheek. “Apology accepted.” He walked by her and hurried over to Caleb.

“What’s the status?” Riddick asked.

“Nothing has come out so far,” Trey answered. “It appeared twenty minutes ago.”

“Oh, they answer him,” I muttered to Maya out of the side of my mouth who laughed softly.

“You ever seen a portal this large before?” Riddick asked.

“No,” all three answered simultaneously.

Riddick sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. “That’s what I feared.” Heading away from us, he walked over to confer with the rest of my family.

“I’m going to see if I can hear what they’re saying to snoop a bit,” Maya said and walked slowly towards the group.

Trey turned to me and said, “Kayden told us what happened with Liam.”

Frowning, I rubbed my left arm with my right hand. “Oh.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got my social media team ensuring he doesn’t post anything on his account or a fake account to lie about the incident,” Trey said.

“I appreciate that, but it’s really not necessary.”

He frowned down at me. “I disagree. It is one hundred percent necessary.”

“I think we should pay him a visit to teach him what happens to misbehaving royals,” Mason said and cracked his knuckles.

“Kayden and I already punched him,” I reminded them, but couldn’t hide the smile that spread. “I appreciate you three looking out for me.”

“Lily!” Mom called.

“We better meet up with them,” I said. “After, I’d like to talk to you guys, okay?”

Their eyes widened and they looked at each other.

Jogging over, I was immediately hugged by Grandpa Foxfire. “I’m so sorry about that rude elf! He’s already gotten an earful from both me and Mom and it’s not the last of it. To be so disrespectful is outrageous for any man, not to mention a prince.” He kissed my head. “My poor granddaughter.”

Laughing, I patted his back. “Thanks, Grandpa, but I’m okay. Kayden punching him and finishing the day going on rides with me helped.”

“We’re going to split up into two teams,” Caleb explained. “One on each side of the portal to ensure we see anything that comes out.”

“Okay,” I said with a nod.

Caleb pointed as he split up the teams, “Mas, Trey, Ember, Deryn, Rhys, and Lily will stay on this side. Jolie, Kay, Foxfire, Nico, Maya, and I will go to the far side.”

Kayden didn’t like being separated, but he didn’t argue. He did stop next to me and whisper, “Don’t do anything reckless.”

I saluted him extra sarcastically, “Yes, sir!”

Rolling his eyes, he kissed me on the cheek before jogging after Caleb.

Mom waved to get our attention. “Let’s spread out, that way we’re ready if something does come out. We want to ensure whatever comes out doesn’t escape into the city or harm the civilians.”

Mason walked next to me with his sword already drawn. “If your necklace starts warming up, alert us, okay?”

I nodded.

He set a hand on my arm, leaned over, and rubbed his cheek along mine. He had stubble along his jaw from not shaving for several days, but it was thankfully long enough to be soft instead of poky. “I’ll stay as close as I can.”

“Protecting the civilians is more important,” I whispered and breathed in his scent, drawing it in like it was my first breath after being submerged.

“How many times do I have to tell you that you’re the most important being in the world to me?” He kissed my lips and winked. “I’ll show you later, if you let me.”

Swallowing hard, I hissed, “Tease.”

Chuckling, he jogged away from me, trying to space himself as the others spread out, too.

“You okay?” Trey asked. “Any feelings of wanting to run through the portal?”

“No,” I sighed loudly. “You want me to back up ten more feet than you guys are so you’ll know if I get an urge?”

He pinched my cheek before kissing the sting away. “Yes, please.”

“Oh, I like it when you say please. You should do it more often.” I backed up, giving him the ten feet even though I’d been joking when I’d said it.

He winked. “Praise kink noted.”

My cheeks were suddenly an inferno.

Mom smiled knowingly at me, but after a second of eye contact, everyone focused on the task at hand.

Watching the giant demon portal for anything coming out.

“Mas and Rhys, watch top,” Mom ordered. “Trey and Deryn, watch mid. Deryn and Lily, watch bottom.”

“Okay,” we all agreed verbally to let her know we’d heard.

There were tons of onlookers, people gathering in the streets beyond to watch and see what might happen. Thankfully, there were a lot of alphas keeping them back and also adding to our numbers if something did happen.

Ezio was among them and even had Holly at his side. I also saw Kieran among the crowd with Sheila.

Was the entire city here?

An hour of standing later, I squatted and stood, flexing my legs to keep them warm in preparation of fighting.

The necklace warmed against my chest.

“Necklace!” I yelled. Immediately after, five bull-headed demons stepped out of the portal.

“Bottom!” Deryn and I yelled simultaneously.

Unfortunately, our call was echoed from the opposite side of the portal as well.

“Coming out of both sides? Has that happened before?” I asked Trey who moved closer to me.

He shook his head. “Never.”

“Top!” Mason yelled on our side at the same time Maya yelled it from the other side.

Two large bird-like demons with huge beaks and feathers that looked like they were made from the same spikes that the hellhounds had flew out of the portal and circled us.

“My turn to hunt,” Trey said, winked, shifted into his dragon form, and took to the sky.

My heart beat faster as I watched him head to fight the bird-demons and Mason fight against the bull-demons.

Moving closer to Mom in the center, I clutched at the necklace as it grew even hotter.

“I’ve got a bad feeling, Mom,” I whispered.

“It’s alright, Lily. We’re all here together,” she whispered as she used her telekinesis to grab rocks from the ground and fling them at the bull-demons, hitting them in the head and making them stumble to give Mason and Deryn an advantage as they fought them.

Since I’d moved closer to the middle, I wasn’t able to see around the portal to know how the other side was doing. I had to trust in my family and friends and their strength.

Surrounding this portal were the most powerful people in the entire world. If we couldn’t defeat the creatures, there was no hope for the rest of the world.

From the bottom of the portal ran a familiar hellhound pup with the cord from the cellphone bag around his neck still. He looked larger, like he’d grown at least three months older when it had only been a day since we’d sent him back. He ran out, looked around, saw me, and his tongue lulled out of the side of his mouth as he barked and ran at me.

“Don’t kill him!” I shouted.

Mom’s eyes widened as she watched the hellhound run at me. “He knows you. He’s yelling about being here to protect you.”

“What?” I gasped, looking at her.

She nodded. “He just keeps repeating, ‘Protect Princess. Protect Princess,’ over and over again.”

But why? Was he here on his own or had the humanoid sent him?

Six giant humanoid bodied demons with pig-like heads, thick arms and legs, and large curved tusks walked out of the portal carrying large wooden clubs.

The hellhound made it to me and jumped around me in a circle, yipping happily.

“Hello, pup,” I greeted. “Are you here to protect me?”

He barked, turned, spread his legs, and growled. The quills along his body spread and vibrated, making a sound similar to a rattlesnake’s rattle. He looked back at me, his tongue rolled out of the side of his mouth, and snorted. Clearly proud of himself.

“Stay next to me,” I ordered him. “I don’t want those big hellhounds picking on you again.”

He snorted again and rolled his eyes.

“He said, ‘they won’t come near me this time. They were punished,’” Mom translated.

She and I exchanged a look before focusing back on the battle.

The bull-demons and bird-demons were dead, so Trey, Mason, Grandpa Rhys, and Grandpa Deryn were focused on the giant pig-demons now.

I felt useless, but knew in battles like this it was important to have someone to call out new enemies and provide backup.

The pup turned towards the portal and growled low and menacing.

Four hellhounds, much larger than any hellhound I’d seen before, ran out of the portal and headed straight for Mom and I.

Was it a trap? Was the pup just a ruse and he would turn and attack us?

Taking a warrior form, I prepared to launch myself at the hellhounds to keep them away from Mom.

Mom yanked two large boulders from the ground and threw them at the hellhounds. It hit one in the face, but the other three dodged them.

The pup stepped forward, growling and puffed up, his quills rattling. As the hellhounds got closer, he darted forward and clacked his teeth together. Pacing back and forth in front of Mom and I, he made a snarling, snapping, quill rattling wall.

The hellhounds skidded to a stop before they reached him, growling with spit flying from their snouts, but after one last look at us, they turned and headed towards the others.

“Well, I’ll be a rabbit’s auntie,” Mom whispered.