Chapter 31
Chapter
Thirty-One
Ben waited for me at the edge of his property, opening the wards long enough to allow me entrance. Rowan had grumbled about me going by myself, but I’d felt Danu creeping around the edge of the wards, so I called in Dad.
Rowan had done his best to shore up the magic around Ben’s Keep, but Ben’s magic was different from other shifters, and Rowan’s tweaks didn’t take as well as they should have.
Ben and I had sort of dated once upon a time. I could have lost my heart to him, had he allowed it, but like Caelan, he couldn’t accept me as I was until it was too late.
His eyebrows rose when he saw I was alone. “I’m surprised not to see Rowan at your heels.”
The words were teasing, but there was a deeper meaning behind them. “Don’t get any ideas. Rowan and I are just fine.”
Ben’s smile was a flash of teeth. “You look good, Evie.”
“Thanks. No one has tried to kill me for a few days.”
The Lord laughed. “Come. I’ll take you to the fae. They’ve set up a barrier that’s become quite annoying.” He rolled his eyes. “Fortunately for us, their numbers are too low to block all our entrances and exits.”
I stopped him with a hand on his arm. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to refresh the spell first.”
Ben inclined his head. “Everything alright?”
“Danu is testing borders again. I don’t feel any danger here, but your call concerned me.”
“We haven’t had anyone powerful enough to break through the wards yet, but they’re testing them. Every time they do, they weaken just a little. I don’t want to keep summoning the mages. If anything happens, I want them at full power.”
“Fair enough. I’ll shore everything up first, then escort your unwelcome guests away.”
“Will anywhere do?”
“Do you have any patches of flowers?” I always preferred working within blooming flora, but no one had ever asked me before.
The edges of his eyes crinkled in a stunning smile.
Ben was a beautiful man. Tall, built like a lumberjack and powerful, not just as a shifter, but as a healer.
I met him at Caelan’s Keep when he worked for the Pack.
He never wanted to be a Lord, but when Finn, the male who turned me into a Chimera, killed Halvar and took his place for months, there was a vacancy only Ben was powerful enough to fill.
Plus, Caelan saw the relationship building between me and Ben and had ushered him out with little fanfare.
A shitty thing to do, but all the Lords played for Keeps, and Ben hadn’t pursued me once he left. Not until later, but by then it was too late.
Ben’s lips tugged up. “I do, actually. One of our more sentimental shifters planted them after your assistance all those months ago.”
I grinned from ear to ear. “Pax?”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes. He’s still hoping the mating bond between you and Rowan is fake.”
“I like him.” Pax and I had worked together to save Ben a long time ago. He’d made his intentions toward me known, but I was involved with Caelan at the time. Shifters liked Floromancers. More than liked them.
We were good for their land, and strong land meant an even stronger Lord.
“Don’t tell him that,” Ben rumbled. “He might kidnap you and take you to his lair.”
“I’m sure I can take care of myself.”
Ben gave me an appraising glance. “Far more than before, I’d imagine.” He jerked his head toward the main house. “Pax planted behind the house, and I don’t know how the asshole managed it, but the patch blooms all damn year.”
I glanced up at him in surprise. “Oh? Different flowers?”
He nodded.
“Ah. He’s just good at gardening. No magic involved. Though I am surprised he comes out in the middle of winter to tend the garden.”
“Pax is an odd duck,” Ben said. “Hell of a warrior, but a little touched in the head.”
“Ben! That’s not very nice.”
He shrugged. “I’m serious. There’s something not quite right in his shifting, and he gets oddly fixated on things. Like you.” Ben frowned. “And flowers.”
We walked around the back of the house. I sucked in a shocked breath and took a numb step forward. “Holy gods.”
One of my bucket list items was Butchart Gardens in British Columbia.
I’d only seen pictures online, but the gardens blew my mind.
From everything I read, a human was responsible for all its glory.
I hadn’t yet approached Rowan with my ideas, but one day I wanted something to parallel those gardens.
Pax had somewhat done this in the small space Ben had given him.
An explosion of color greeted me. Pinks, blues, purples, whites, and brilliant yellows bloomed in an array of different flowers.
I closed my eyes and let the scent of a thousand blossoms gently filter past me.
A blooming Dogwood stood in the middle, heavy white and pink blossoms hanging on heavy boughs.
“He did all this?”
“Yes.” Ben sounded disgruntled about it. “If I gave him more land, he’d turn the godsdamn thing into a fairy wonderland.”
I clicked my tongue. “Pax has a gift, Ben. One you should not squander. If I could, I’d take him back to Washington with me.”
The shifter in question stepped out from behind the Dogwood, a pair of clippers in his tanned, scarred hands. “If my Lord approved it, I would come with you.”
I froze. Would he? How would Rowan feel about me bringing home yet another shifter with the promise of Lordhood in his veins?
I turned to Ben. “He heard everything you said,” I murmured.
Ben sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Would you want to leave?”
Pax flicked his pale gaze to Ben. “To go with a beautiful, powerful woman who creates beauty with only a touch of her hands? I would be honored to serve such a creature.”
The Lord snorted softly. “A godsdamn plant loving Shakespeare over here.”
Pax grinned widely. “Do not shun what you do not understand, Lord Ben.”
I held up a hand. “Remember, Pax, I am mated. If, and this is a big if, Rowan says I can bring you home, you’d have to…” My voice trailed off as a thought occurred to me. “How do you feel about the fae?”
Pax returned his attention to me, a soft golden glow warming his iris. Not as powerful as any of the Lord’s yet, more a promise of his potential. “I am quite fond of you, and you are fae, are you not?”
“Gods,” Ben groaned.
I held up a finger. “Hold that thought.”
Keeping both of them in my peripheral, I pulled out my cell and fired off a text to Rowan.
Not only did he say yes, he thought it was a good idea. I tucked my phone into my pocket and walked back over.
“How would you feel about serving in a queen’s court?”
Ben stiffened. “Evie. You cannot be serious.”
“I assure you, I am completely serious. Will you let him go if he wishes?”
He sighed and nodded. “Godsdammit. Yes. I will. This is going to make my entire Pack jealous as hell. Why is it that with every visit, you throw everything into upheaval?”
I grinned. “Guess I just have a way about me.”
“Yes,” Pax said immediately. “As long as you are the queen I will serve.”
“I do not require service. Not in the way you are thinking. I only hold my court members to one oath. Protect each other and protect the court. We are family, and we always stick together. Can you agree to such?”
Pax’s eyes widened. “Truly?”
I nodded. “That’s all, Pax. I promise. You will be bound to me, and as such, to Rowan by virtue of our relationship, and the rest of my court.”
He dropped to one knee, the clippers discarded at his feet. “Yes. I swear it.”
Ben shook his head. “Are you sure, Evie?”
I liked Pax. He gardened like a damn fairy. He was pretty to look at. And Ben didn’t appreciate him. What the hell was there to think about?
“Come here, Pax.”
The shifter rose and walked toward me. Even knowing he was a wolf, Pax reminded me of a panther. Once again, he went down on one knee.
“Give me your hand.” I made a small cut in his palm and did the same to mine. Now that I was a Lord’s Lady, I used blood in addition to the binding oath. Everyone, including Moira, had undergone a second binding once I mated with Rowan.
Magic sizzled in the air between us as I clasped our palms together and said the words of binding. Pax’s eyes swirled with gold and…
Hmmm.
“What’s going on with his eyes?” Ben demanded.
Watermelon tourmaline swirled alongside the gold. Had something gone wrong? Power sizzled between us, sealing Pax into our court.
My phone started buzzing less than thirty seconds later.
“Rise,” I said hoarsely.
Pax rose, swaying slightly, his eyes wide and glowing. He bowed his head. “I—is it supposed to feel that way?”
I smiled, a little unnerved. Our binding felt fine, but something had happened. “Like champagne fizzling in your veins?”
He nodded.
“It will fade.”
Pax took his place beside me. “Thank you, Lord Ben.”
Ben looked a little put out, but he was still gracious. “You’re welcome.”
“Mind if I use your plot of flowers?” I asked Pax.
“It is yours, my lady.” He bowed deeply, making Ben let out an incredulous laugh.
“Thanks.” I headed over to the stunning display, pleased to find small stepping stones allowing me to traverse the garden without stepping on any of the flowers.
With no further ado, I settled myself into the garden and got to work.
When I returned home with Pax in tow, everyone was sitting outside on our patio. Declan was the first to rise, followed by Hope, whose eyebrows went up. Pax was a gorgeous male, and she’d have to be blind not to notice. And none of the women on Rowan’s lands were blind.
I made introductions and left Pax to get acquainted. Rowan followed me inside the house and watched me carefully.
“How’d he win you over?”
“He planted the most incredible garden I’d ever seen because he had a crush on me.”
Rowan stared at me for a beat before he burst out laughing. “To think, if I would have known that I would have planted the finest garden in creation years ago.”
He sighed and opened his arms. I stepped into the circle and laid my head against his chest.
“Danu is still here,” I murmured.
“I know.”