Chapter 5
Tomorrow.
Henley
The ‘gated community’ isn’t at all what I expected.
For one, it’s on an island. We went through the gate that led to a causeway that eventually led us to the island. And two, it’s a whole town. A huge town. With coffee shops, restaurants, churches, banks, and shopping.
The homes are beautiful, as I expected. They’re on the beach, and they’re so colorful and full of life. People have lawn furniture and tire swings. One home has a bunch of children’s toys on the lawn.
Parker is quiet as he drives—partly because he’s exhausted—we both are. But he’s in awe as well. Neither of us thought that the phoenixes would be so… normal.
“I want to sleep for the next twenty four hours,” I say, breaking the long silence.
“You and me both.” He tries to stifle a yawn.
It’s been a rough thirty six hours of straight driving. I know Will and Blaine are exhausted as well.
When we finally arrive at the address on the GPS, my jaw drops open.
I get it. Uncle Ferno is a king. But I didn’t expect him to live in a literal castle.
Okay, it’s not an actual castle. But it is, by far, the largest home on the island. It has a wall surrounding the front, and the only way through is the wrought iron gate. Two guards stand by the front gate. One of them moves toward the Jeep when we pull up.
“Name,” he says, in a nononsense voice when Parker rolls down his window.
“Parker Throne. And Henley Thorne,” he says.
I smile, hearing his last name attached to my first. I will never get tired of that. He glances at me and smirks.
The guard straightens his back and gives a deep bow—to me or Parker, I’m not sure. “Please, enter.”
Parker drives forward, and I sit up straighter as I take in the home before us. He drives to the front of the circular drive, where a statue sits in the middle. I study it and realize it’s a statue of a phoenix bird.
“Being a king must pay well,” Parker says, eying the three story home. It looks like something only a celebrity could afford.
“Apparently.” I unbuckle my seatbelt.
Before I can open my door, a tall, slender man does it for me. He then steps back, bows to me, and then stands straight with his hands clasped behind his back.
I glance toward Parker, who is getting out of his side of the car.
Okay, so he’s definitely not bowing to Parker but to me.
What’s up with the bowing? I want to ask.
It’s on the tip of my tongue, but before I can speak, the front door opens.
Guards come storming out of the house. Uncle Ferno follows closely behind them.
I smile at my uncle, who looks every bit the ‘king’ that he is.
He’s even wearing a golden crown on his head.
But he smiles at me like he always does, and he makes his way to me and envelops me in a hug.
“I’m so glad you made it.” He embraces me gently.
I relax at his words. I was worried for nothing. Just because he’s a king and we’re in his territory doesn’t mean anything has to change. He’s still my uncle, and he’s still going to teach me about my powers and what it means to be a phoenix. It’s going to be a fun summer.
“Thank you for inviting us.” I smile at him and glance at the guards, who have now crowded around us. “What’s with all the guards?”
“They’re yours.” He turns and starts barking orders at them.
I choke on my saliva. “Excuse me,” I say, once I stop coughing. “I couldn’t have heard you correctly. Did you say they’re my guards?”
Uncle Ferno turns to me and raises an eyebrow. “Yes. Yours. What did you think? That I’d let you go galavanting around the island without protection?”
I turn to search for Parker. He is growling at a guard who is refusing to let him by.
I turn back to my uncle. “I don’t need guards.
I have Parker—my mate. He’s more than enough to protect me.
And he brought his two betas, Will and Blaine.
They’ve always protected me.” I glance over my shoulder. “Can the guards let Parker through?”
Uncle Ferno nods to the guard holding Parker back, and he steps back just enough to let Parker through. He comes to my side and glances me over from head to toe before growling at my uncle.
“What is the meaning of this?” Parker’s eyes are golden with his emotions. His wolf is so close to the surface that his body is vibrating.
I grab his hand and squeeze it. “Uncle Ferno says these are my guards.”
“Explain,” Parker says, turning to stare down at my uncle.
Uncle Ferno has the decency to look guilty. “You, see, uh… they take their role as Henley’s guards very seriously.”
“Henley doesn’t need guards,” Parker objects. “She has me—her husband and mate.”
“The guards are nonnegotiable,” Uncle Ferno says firmly. “Even I, as king regent, don’t have the power to tell them no.”
“Regent?” I furrow my brows. “Regent to whom?”
I look around, expecting to see a young cousin pop out of the house after Uncle Ferno. I know he said he wasn’t married, but maybe he has a child he hasn’t told me about.
“Regent to you, of course,” Uncle Ferno says.
My cell phone drops out of my fingers and hits hard on the concrete below me. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”
But whatever his response is, I can’t hear it over the ringing in my ears. My stomach churns, and there is a good chance I’m about to vomit up whatever junk I ate at our last fast food stop. My vision goes dark around the edges.
Parker turns his back to my uncle and steps in front of me. He puts his hand gently on my chin and nudges it up so that I’m looking at him.
“Breathe,” he calmly urges.
I try, I really do, but my lungs feel like immovable iron. Oxygen refuses to enter. The black edges seem to grow, and my vision narrows so that only Parker’s face is visible in the darkness.
“Dang it, Henley, breathe,” Parker growls. His eyes are gold, so I know he means business.
Somehow, I manage to take a breath. And then another. Parker scoops me into his arms and carries me bridal style. He turns to face Uncle Ferno.
“You couldn’t have waited until after she’s rested to tell her this? We’ve spent the last thirty six hours in our Jeep,” Parker says, using his stern alpha voice.
It’s kind of hot watching Parker scold my uncle.
Parker shoots me an amused smirk.
“You’re right, Parker. But she asked about the guards. I can’t do anything about them. They are her guards,” Uncle Ferno says, giving Parker an apologetic look. “And they take their role as her protectors very seriously.”
He growls, low and deep. “As her mate, it is my job to protect her.”
“So you said.” Uncle Ferno grins. “However, you are right. Now isn’t the time to speak of this. You and your traveling companions could all use some rest. Welcome home, Henley.”
I felt queasy, and I wonder if he means this is my home, but I don’t dare ask him. I don’t want to know. I shiver and bury my face in Parker’s neck.
“Can you let my betas through?” Parker asks the guards, his voice low and gravely. I don’t have to look to see that his eyes are still golden. “They’re not going to hurt her.”
I can feel eyes on me. I lift my head and see that the guards—my guards—are looking at me. “Please.”
They part, and Will comes through, clenching his jaw. Blaine follows behind him.
“Are you okay?” Blaine asks.
I nod, then bury my face in Parker’s neck again.
“Where are our rooms?” Parker asks.
“This way,” somebody answers.
Parker moves, following whoever is showing us to our quarters. I don’t look up, not wanting to see the inside of Uncle Ferno’s home. I’m not ready yet—I can’t. Not after what he said.
I can’t be a queen.
No, Uncle Ferno will just have to keep being king because I don’t want the job.
In the back of my mind, I’m reminded that Uncle Ferno and I still haven’t talked about my parents. But if he’s the king regent, that must mean that they were king and queen. It also must mean that they are dead.
And if they are dead, I can’t keep being mad at them, can I?
Don’t think about it, I tell myself. I swallow the knot in my throat, desperately trying not to think about anything except for the feel of Parker’s arms around me as he carries me. I don’t even care that I must be heavy. I just cling to him.
I’m a supernatural, remember? He reminds me through our mate bond. You’re not heavy.
Right. I forgot that wolf shifters have supernatural strength. That is something that I don’t have as a phoenix.
A royal phoenix.
No, think about something else, I tell myself.
We come to a stop, and I hear the sound of a door being opened.
“Henley.”
At the sound of Will’s voice, I look up. When I meet his eyes, they’re golden. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with golden eyes before, not unless he was about to shift.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
I nod slowly. “Yes. Sorry. I just…” I pause, not knowing how to continue. Parker’s thumb gently grazes my side. It gives me the strength to continue. “I think I just need some sleep. We can deal with what Uncle Ferno told me tomorrow.”
He steps closer and lowers his voice. “If you want to get out of here, say the word. I don’t care how powerful phoenixes are, you’re my pack. I will protect you.”
My heart melts at his promise.
I never thought Will would call me his pack, but the fact that he’s calling me part of his pack so boldly makes me smile.
“Thank you,” I say.
“See you in the morning,” Parker tells them, and then he walks inside our room. He shuts the door with his foot, shutting out our friends and my new guards. I shiver at the thought of them standing out there all night.
Parker pauses by the bed. “Do you want to go to sleep now?”
“Shower. Then sleep,” I say.
He carries me into the adjoining bathroom and sits me down on the counter of the bathroom vanity. I watch him curiously as he heads into the other room.
I wonder what he’s doing.
He walks back inside a few moments later with my pajamas and my bag full of shower supplies. He sets the items down on the vanity beside me and then turns on the shower.
I raise an eyebrow at him. “You know I’m not completely helpless, right?”
He studies me for a moment, his blue eyes never leaving mine. “You were kind of freaking out down there.”
I nod, not bothering to deny it. “Because what Uncle Ferno was saying is… a lot. And it also has something to do with my birth parents, which is something I’m actively trying not to think about.”
“I know,” he says.
Of course, he knows. Because he’s in my head. He knows me.
“No,” Parker corrects. He puts his forehead against mine. “I am in your soul.” And then he kisses me gently before pulling back. “Get your shower. I’m going to go talk to Will and Blaine for a couple of minutes.”
I nod. “Okay.”
I watch Parker leave the room, and then I get in the shower. Everything else can wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow, I’ll have to deal with…
I swallow hard.
Nope. Tomorrow.
Parker
“How is Henley?” Will asks as soon as I walk into their room.
I raise an eyebrow at him. “She’s freaking out.”
I can’t blame her. I’ve known that I would be the alpha of my pack since I was a small child. I can’t imagine having it sprung on me like it has been on her.
Henley—Queen of the phoenixes. I still can’t believe it.
I keep my mind carefully blocked from Henley. She’s freaking out enough, and she doesn’t need me to add to it.
Blaine eyes me. “And how are you?”
I pause before admitting, “Also freaking out.”
Will snorts. “Of course you are. But you know what this means, right?”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “What?”
“Either you force the phoenixes to move to Montana, which our pack lands aren’t big enough for, or you force the pack to move here,” he says, before clearing his throat. “Or, the final option, we leave the pack and move here.”
“We?” I narrow my eyes. “And who says Henley wants to be queen anyway?”
“You think she’d abandon the phoenixes?” Blaine asks.
He’s right. She would never abandon her duty. She may be freaking out and trying to think of how to get out of it, but she will grow used to the idea. I know her—she cares too much to abandon them without a leader.
“And yes, we,” Will growls. “If you think I’m going to allow you and Henley to run off without me…”
Blaine nods. “It’s true. The four of us are a package deal.”
I run a hand through my hair. “Dad is going to freak out.”
“I don’t think so.” Will crosses his arms over his chest. “He’s been training August more lately. And I don’t think it’s just because you need less training.”
It’s true. My younger brother has been taking on more alpha duties lately. It makes me wonder if he knows that we won’t be coming back from Florida.
I stand up straighter. “Do you think he knows about Henley?”
“It’s possible King Ferno told him,” Blaine says.
I wouldn’t put it past my dad to hide it from me. He and I are going to have a long conversation.
“While we’re here, we’ve got to keep an eye on Henley,” I say. “I know she has guards or whatever, but I don’t trust them. Not yet, anyway.”
Will nods. “We are her pack. We’ll protect her.”
But how much longer will we be part of the pack?
I do a quick check on Henley through our bond, and I can tell she’s almost done with her shower. She’s so exhausted that she’ll be asleep the moment her head hits the pillow.
“I’m going to get back to our room,” I say. “We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
Tomorrow, when we try to figure out where we go from here.