Page 82 of The Hidden Guardian
Something feels wrong. “No, you rise. You are my mate, my equal. You rise with me.”
His eyes widen. “No one is equal to the Queen.”
“You are my soulbonded mate, you will stand beside me as such.”
He whispers low so only I can hear, “Are you sure?”
I nod once. Renall slowly rises to his feet, still holding my hand to the gasps around the cavern.
My eyes take in the room, the bowed heads, those who have knelt. My mate standing by my side. I let the tears fall as feelings overwhelm me. I’m home. The Queen has returned. Although we have a long fight ahead of us, the cave is alive again, and I will make it my mission to restore Protector Clan to its former glory.
The demon hunters won’t stand a chance.
More importantly, Mother and Colton would be proud.
The End
Epilogue
RENALL
My fangs tear into a leg of meat. Tendons snap off the bone. There’s no greater feeling than fresh meat shredding in your mouth. It’s one of the things I miss most about leaving the cave. For now, this will have to do.
The first table on the cave floor is filled with the sound of wolves tearing into their dinner. Cana, one of the twins, looks up her mouth twisted in disgust. “Eight years and I will never get used to this pure animalistic display.”
Faelan, her twin mate wraps his arm around her still slick with meat juice, and slaps a wet sticky kiss on her cheek.
“Ew,” she playfully fights him off of her as he tries to land another sloppy kiss. The amusement in both their eyes is apparent.
That’s what I want, playful, pure love. Something I’ve yet to experience in all my long lives.
Nia, Cana’s twin, turns to her mate Foelan and shakes her head. Amazing two sets of twins became mates to each other. Fates have a weird sense of serendipity.
“I don’t even notice it anymore,” Nia says before biting into an apple. She’s the more laid-back of the group. I’ve come to like their camaraderie. Even though I sometimes feel left out of their coupling, they never make me feel like I’m out of place. Unlike the rest of the clan.
“How do you not notice they grunt and shred a piece of meat to shreds like a wild beast?”
“They are wolves, what do you expect? Knife and fork, elbows off the table?”
“It would be nice.” Cana shrugs and then laughs.
“You weren’t complaining about my messy eating last night.” Faelan teases.
Cana gasps playfully slapping his chest and hushing him. Nia and Foelan roll their eyes. Foelan’s always been the quiet type, in all my years I’ve never heard him say more than a few choice words. When he does, they’re usually aimed at his brother.
“So Renall, what’s this meeting all about anyway?” Nia tries to change the subject as Faelan and Cana resume kissing.
“No idea.” It’s true. Zev and Lupe have been more restrained than usual. I used to eat with them in the meeting hall, but these past few weeks have been different. Strange even. I’ve resorted to sitting in the main cave with everyone else. I have few friends here, but the two twins have always been the welcoming sort.
As if mentioning them summoned them, Zev and Lupe come walking out from the corridor that leads to the Queen and Alpha quarters. Their eyes are serious. The cave silences as they take the dais. Zev stands tall, his beard has grown thicker since the last time I saw him. It makes him look older and more intimidating than usual. He avoids the Queen’s throne and sits on the Alpha chair. Lupe sits on the arm of his chair beside him. It’s not her place, but no one has ever dared to mention it.
Zev opens his mouth to speak, but I can’t hear anything my ears are ringing.
I shake my head aggressively trying to shake the feeling. A blinding pain makes me fall off my stump to my knees grasping for my chest. I feel people surround me, but I can’t hear or think, the pain is shredding through me. I know what this is. A bond snapping into place.
It’s more powerful than I’ve ever felt before.
When the pain starts to subside, my eyes start to register the faces hovering above me. The ringing in my ears fades to concerned questioning.
