Elizabeth
Eric took longer than I’d wished to come back to our table. By then, I had ventured out by myself to get a drink. I had to face my fears, and one of those fears was crowded places.
When I was getting back with a glass of lemonade for me and a glass of beer for Dulce, a tall and broad-shouldered guy stood in my way. I looked up and saw his blue mask.
“Hello, gorgeous, are you looking for some fun?”
I gulped at his pickup line.
“She’s taken,” a voice said behind him.
Spinning around, the wolf looked at Eric and then he looked back at me. “Is this your mate?”
I nodded.
The wolf took a sip of his drink and smiled. “You shouldn’t let your pretty mate roam around freely around here. Someone might want to snatch her from you.”
Eric folded his arms, and his eyes glowed purple. “Someone might try, that doesn’t mean they will succeed.”
The wolf smirked. “Cheers!” Raising his glass and drinking again, he left.
Eric stepped closer. “I told you not to leave the table.”
“I only went to get more drinks.”
“You should have asked someone else.” Putting an arm around my shoulders, he escorted me to our table.
“I thought the wolf was going to fight you.”
“No. They respect mate bonds. He wouldn’t dare start a fight here either.”
“Did you know him? That seemed extremely chauvinistic of him to think that women can’t walk around here without their mates. Actually, you are being rude by assuming I shouldn’t leave my table.”
“Not rude, only concerned. I don’t want you to have a panic attack.”
“I’m good.”
We sat at the table, and I gave Dulce her drink. “Where’s Jessie?”
“She went dancing with Marcus,” Dulce replied.
“And Sebastien?”
“He’s probably with his friends checking out the young she-wolves.”
“They left you alone,” I mumbled.
Dulce shrugged. “Have you talked to Eric about our plans for the future?” She gazed at my mate.
“What plans?” Eric asked.
“Our dancing academy,” Dulce replied.
“I’ve mentioned it,” I assured.
“Yes. You still need to sell your lands to have enough capital to go forward with the project,” Eric said, taking a sip of my lemonade.
I joined the conversation. “We still have to find a place to start; maybe an empty store in the village. There are a few, no?”
“I have a plan for that,” Eric said.
“It’s a surprise,” Dulce added with a smile.
“I also need capital to join this partnership,” I said. “I have money. I just need to know if I can access it.”
“You don’t need to worry about money,” Eric cut me off. “I have plenty.”
“I’m fully aware of that, Your Highness. But one of the reasons I want to work is to be independent and feel accomplished.”
Dulce smirked and got up. “I’ll let you talk about that alone while I join my pack to have a few more drinks before heading home.”
Eric waved goodbye and then looked at me. “Are you mad at me for wanting to take care of you?”
“No. But I’ve been taking care of myself on my own for a long time now. I appreciate your concern, but I’d like to go back home and get my things.”
“Home? Where? France?”
I smirked and laced my arms around his neck. “No. I lived in New York and attended classes before.”
“Classes of what?”
“Well, when we arrived in America, we were ballerinas like I told you. Then we learned about contemporary dance, and we were attending classes and performing in minor shows.”
“Oh.” Eric caressed the hair away from my face. “You must have been amazing. I would have loved to see you on stage.”
“I wasn’t that bad. Dancing makes me happy. You also make me happy, but I need to do something with my life. I’ve been trapped for way too long.”
“I know.” He kissed my lips. “I have money, and you don’t need to go to New York if you want to be Dulce’s business partner.”
“Eric, I have all my memories and documents there. I need to get them.”
“Marie might have told Alaric.”
I pouted and sighed.
Eric cupped my chin. “It might not be safe, but I can go with you and take plenty of bodyguards to protect us.”
“Do you promise?”
“Yes, I’ll arrange for us to go.”
I hugged him tighter. “Thank you.”
“I don’t want you to feel trapped with me.”
I leaned back and smiled. “I don’t feel trapped with you. You do everything to make me feel safe.”
He pressed his forehead against mine. “Do you want to dance before we go back home?”
“No. I’m tired of being here.”
“Let’s go then.”
We got up and faced the crowd of happy and drunk people.
“Do you have any idea where we are going?” I asked, unsure where the exit was. I held tighter to Eric’s hand while people bumped against me.
“I got you, babe,” he whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine when he placed a kiss under my ear.
I smirked, ticklish. “Are you sleeping with me tonight?”
“Where else would I be sleeping?” Eric asked, circling an arm around my waist to navigate us amongst the crowd of partygoers.
“Wherever you go when you disappear in the morning,” I replied. “You’ve never taken me to your bedroom.”
“Do you want to?”
“Why wouldn’t I want to?”
“You might feel pressured.”
Sighing, I laid my head on his shoulder. “I trust you. The consultations are helping, too. The doctor gave me new pills and a diary.”
“Yes, I’ve seen you scribbling around the house. What do you write about?”
“I write about what scares me and what’s on my mind. I register my nightmares, and I make lists. Yesterday, I made a list of what makes me happy.”
Eric’s fingers tickled my waist. “Do I make you happy?”
“You are on the top of my list.”
He turned his head and kissed my cheek. “Good. You are on the top of my list, too.”
I giggled and sighed, enjoying our moments of cuddling and kissing. “We’ll never get to the car like this.”
“I know a shortcut.”
After a moment in silence, I talked again. “When will you show me your bedroom?”
His voice was husky in my ear and sent shivers down my spine. “Tonight, do you want that? Would you want a guided tour of our home?”
“Our home?”
Eric guided us to the side of the path, and we stopped walking. He turned me to him and lowered his face over mine. “I live in a different part of the palace. I should have shown it to you sooner since I’m hoping you’ll come and move with me when you feel ready.”
My breathing caught inside my lungs. “Will you show it to me tonight?”
“Of course, if you aren’t too tired.”
I raised my hand and clutched my fingers to his neck. Puckering my lips, I kissed him. “I love you, Eric,” I confessed against his mouth.
My words made him kiss me back. “I love you, too.”
Lust and happiness washed over me, and I smirked when I rested my forehead against his chin. “Would it be wrong if we moved together even if we aren’t husband and wife?”
“In my heart and soul, you are my wife. Still, I won’t deny you a ceremony if that’s what you wish.”
I gazed up. “Nothing fancy. But tomorrow is your parents’ wedding. We’ll talk about that again in the future. Once I make more progress … with my … issue.”
He nodded and kissed the top of my head. “Let’s get home. If we cut a path by the witches’ tents, we’ll encounter fewer people.”
I gave him my hand and followed behind. “I can’t believe there are so many people here. I would be having anxiety attacks if you weren’t here with me.”
“I wouldn’t even bother to come here if you weren’t here with me.”
“Had you given up on finding me?”
He stopped, and I almost bumped into him. “Of course not. But the majority of people who attend this party are people I know and deal with on a daily basis. Our neighbors and pack friends. I was putting my faith in destiny to find you.”
I leaned against his back and hugged him. “I wish I knew this place existed. I wish ...” I bit my tongue before saying that I’d wished to have met him before I was taken. It was useless to wish something like that.
Eric’s body had tensed. Before he could say anything else, a fortune teller approached us.
“What a beautiful couple! Do you care to know your future?” the young lady asked with a broad smile. Her face was covered by a red mask, the same color of the scarf tied around her long, black hair.
I looked at Eric. “Can we?”
“No. Maybe tomorrow.”
“A palm reading, then?” the witch proposed, looking at Eric. “It will be quick, my prince.”
“Caroline, you know what I think about those things.”
“You know each other?” I questioned.
“I live in Affinity,” the witch replied. “The supernatural community knows our benevolent benefactors and rulers.” She gracefully bowed to Eric. “You don’t even need to pay me, my lord.”
My mate folded his arms. “Make it quick.”
Excited, I showed the witch my hand. “What do you see?”
The witch’s finger followed a line on my palm, and the smiled disappeared from her face.
My stomach dropped and sweat formed on my forehead. “What’s wrong?”
The witch raised her eyes at me. “You’ve suffered a great deal, my child.”
“I’m better now.”
Eric’s hand touched my shoulder, and I felt his warmth behind my back.
The witch resumed her speech. “You need to be careful. It’s not over yet. He’s coming back for you.”
“Enough!” Eric ordered, grabbing my hand from her. “We are done here.”
I’d frozen in fear. My darkest fears had been prophesized. I knew that I wasn’t safe. Deep down, I was aware that Alaric wouldn’t give up on me if he knew I was still alive.
My mate circled my waist and guided me to leave that place and the witch. But the woman grabbed his arm. “He’s coming for her. You need to be careful.”
“Stop frightening her,” Eric muttered as he put distance between the witch and us.
The woman chased after us. “Elizabeth, you need to be strong. Don’t show fear.”
Her words made me stop and force Eric to halt. Looking back, I noticed the sad grin on her face.
Before she turned around and left, she mumbled, “I’m sorry.”
My body trembled, and I felt my legs getting weak. “Eric.”
He secured me against his body before I fell to the floor. His eyes were purple when he spun me in his arms and hugged me. “She has no idea what she’s talking about.”
Tears rushed to my eyes.
“I’m here. No one will take you from me.”
I hugged tight to my prince. “He needs to die.”
Eric caressed my head. “It’s been five months that you’ve been here. By now, Marie’s baby must have been born. I’ll talk to my mother about checking the spell to unbind your sister from Alaric.”
“Even if they are free from each other, Marie would die for him. I know she would. Killing him will make her hate us.”
“She might come to her senses and see that Alaric needs to die,” Eric mumbled.
I tilted my head back to look at him. “She loves him. I love you. I would die if something happened to you. I would kill anyone who would try to hurt you. Wouldn’t you?”
“I would.”
“She’ll try to hurt us.”
Eric kissed my lips. “We’ll imprison them for the sake of the child.”
“No.” I shook my head and cupped his face. “They need to die. We can save the baby, but they need to die.” I gulped. “It’s the only way to end this madness.”