Chapter 16
Engaged.
Henley
Despite the craziness on the island, there is still a bonfire on Friday night. It’s an excuse for everybody to get together, eat, and spread their wings.
We won’t be flying alone tonight—King Basilicus, Prince Stellan, and a ton of other dragon shifters will be flying with us.
The only reason Parker is okay with letting me out of his sight is because King Basilicus promised he would personally guard me.
It’s a little overboard and unnecessary, but I get it.
If Parker were in danger, I wouldn’t want him out of my sight either.
Parker is okay with letting me out of his sight if I’m with Will. I’m pretty sure Will is the only person he completely trusts to watch me. He used to trust Blaine, but he says Blaine’s priority is Keagan now—he’s right about that.
Even though Parker leaves me ‘alone’ with Will while he talks to some wolf shifters about guard rotation, he’s still within eyesight, and he keeps glancing over at Will and me. Will notices his attention and snorts.
“Are you still not mad at him for being so overprotective?”
“Nah,” I say as I watch him talk to the other wolf shifters. They’re not from our pack, but they still treat him with the respect of an alpha. “I get why he’s protective of me.”
“Yeah, me too.” Will watches me. “You’re a good one, Henley. I knew it from the moment I met you. It’s why I gave you such a hard time—I knew Parker would fall in love with you.”
“It all worked out.” I grin at him. “And now look at us—best friends and all.”
He rolls his eyes. “I tolerate you.”
I clasp my hands behind my back. “Do you give Keagan this much animosity?”
“No.” He narrows his eyes at me. “Because Keagan and Blaine didn’t kiss before they knew they were soulmates.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “One time. We kissed one time. And Parker regretted it right away.”
“Parker was ready to throw everything away for you. He would’ve run away with you if his parents told him he couldn’t be with you. He was willing to give up his title as alpha to be with you before he knew you were his mate.”
I frown, lowering my head. “And now that he’s my mate and he’s being forced to give up his title for me.”
“He’d give up anything for you. Not because you’re his soulmate, but because he loves you,” Will says gently. “To be honest, I’m jealous of the way it happened between the two of you. You fell in love all on your own, without the mate bond. It won’t be like that for me.”
“Trust me, you don’t want it to happen like it did with me and Parker. It sucked. I just kept imagining him breaking my heart once he found his mate. I was so head over heels for him.” I shake my head. “No, Will. You don’t want that. It’s better the way it is with Blaine and Keagan.”
Will grins. “They are happy.”
“Yes,” I agree.
“Don’t tell him I told you this, but he’s going to announce his engagement tonight,” Will says.
My eyes widen. “They’re engaged? But they just met!”
Will chuckles. “Mates usually get married within a few weeks to a month at max. It’s not surprising, Henley.”
I frown. “Parker made me wait!”
“I think it was your dad who insisted on waiting,” he smirks. “You were also seventeen at the time.”
“I suppose, but it wouldn’t have sucked for him to propose the first week we met,” I muse, thinking about that first week.
Really, the first few months. Back when I was head over heels for Parker and I had no idea that he was a wolf shifter waiting for his soulmate.
Once I found out, my heart was shattered.
“I am sorry about how I treated you those first few months. I was a jerk.”
I glance up at Will’s apology. “I forgave you a long time ago—you’ve already apologized. Besides, it’s like you said—it’s better that Parker, and I didn’t know we were mates at first. We got to fall in love slowly.”
Will chuckles. “It wasn’t that slow. I’m pretty sure it was love at first sight for both of you—he was just fighting his attraction.”
I hesitate, then nod. “Yes, but we had to fight for what we have. It’s not simple, like Blaine and Keagan. But if anybody deserves simple, it’s him.”
Blaine’s life has been anything but simple—with the way his parents fight, he’s had it rough. I’m always told that fate doesn’t make mistakes when it comes to mates, but I wonder if fate did get it wrong when it comes to Blaine’s parents.
“And your life was easy before you moved to pack land?” Will raises an eyebrow at me. He looks at my hairline—there used to be a scar there from when I hit my head against a concrete wall. I had plenty of scars from what I thought were seizures.
I cross my arms over my chest. “Maybe my life wasn’t easy, but my dad cared about me. I didn’t have to listen to my parents argue every single night. I was safe, loved, and well cared for. I had it better than most.”
“Your dad left you alone while he worked for a week straight. He never even told you the truth that he was a wolf shifter,” he counters.
“If he had told you, you would’ve told him the truth about your seizures.
He would’ve taken you somewhere else. Instead, you suffered for years because you didn’t feel safe to share your truth.
And maybe you didn’t feel safe because some part of you knew he was hiding something too. ”
I nod slowly. “Maybe. But Dad does love me.”
“Yes, he loves you, but you deserved so much more, Henley.” He waves his arms toward a group of phoenixes who are laughing a little ways down the beach. “You deserved to be raised here—with people like you. You deserve to be cherished. You’re a princess.”
My chest squeezes at his proclamation, and I have to blink back the tears. The fact that it’s Will who says it makes it hit harder.
“When I came into my dad’s life, he was devastated by the loss of his soulmate.
I helped him climb out of a pit of depression, but he was never whole again—not until he moved back home to the pack,” I say, defending him.
“He’s happy now. And I know he regrets a lot of things.
But he’s still my dad, and I forgive him. Besides, he’s the reason I met Parker.”
Will smiles sadly. “That’s why you forgave me, too—because you’re a good person. But you shouldn’t pass out forgiveness so easily. You deserve so much more.”
Does Will not think he deserves forgiveness? Because he does. He’s one of my best friends. If I had held a grudge against him, I would’ve missed out on this side of him.
An arm goes around me, and I glance over to see Parker. “Flirting with my wife, Will? Isn’t that more of Blaine’s thing?”
Will rolls his eyes. “I have no interest in flirting with Henley. She’s my luna. I cherish her for that alone.”
“Blaine has a mate now, so he won’t be flirting with me anymore,” I say, poking at Parker’s side. “Somebody has to keep you on your toes. I can’t have you get complacent just because we’re married.”
Parker smirks at me. “We’re so much more than married—we have a mate bond. You’re stuck with me forever.”
“You say it like it’s a bad thing.”
He bends down and kisses my forehead. “Forever with you isn’t long enough.”
My breath gets caught in my throat.
When he says things like that…
“Gross,” Will grumbles.
“Hey, guys.”
I look up when I hear Blaine. He and Keagan approach us. He’s holding her hand, but she lets go of his hand long enough to curtsy to me. As soon as she’s done, Blaine tugs her to his side.
Blaine doesn’t say anything, he just extends Keagan’s left hand toward us, which has a beautiful ring sitting on her finger.
“Congratulations.” I walk over to him and give him a side hug. I also hug Keagan. Her cheeks turn bright red with her blush, but she thanks me anyway and hugs me back.
“How long have you and Parker been married?” Keagan asks as I back away from her.
“Almost three months,” I answer. I glance at Parker and smile. Will this feeling ever get old? I hope not.
Parker slips his arm around me. “I would’ve married her sooner if her dad had let us.”
I grin. “He tried to insist we graduate from high school first.”
Her mouth falls open. “But you’re mates. How could you handle not completing your mate bond?”
Parker and I share a look before I respond, “It was rough, but we made it. Besides, I was a little distracted by a psychotic phoenix who was trying to kill me.”
“Oh, my goodness.” She puts a hand to her chest. “That’s terrifying. There is no way he knew who you were, or else he wouldn’t dare try to harm our princess. You’re our only hope.”
I want to argue, but I already know that she’s apparently right. Something about my magic keeps the phoenix community thriving. If something were to happen to me, they would slowly die out. It’s a saddening thought.
“Parker saved my life,” I tell her.
Parker’s hand on my shoulder tightens. “I think you’re the one who saved my life.”
“Parker was killed,” Blaine explains. “But Henley’s magic brought him back to life.”
She gasps. “I knew strong phoenixes could do that.” She looks at Blaine. “My magic isn’t anywhere near strong enough for that, so don’t you dare die.”
Blaine grins. “I’m too pretty to die.”
She giggles like he’s said the funniest thing in the world.
Okay… now I get why Will thinks it’s gross when Parker and I flirt. I glance at Will and see that his nose is wrinkled in disgust, but he keeps his mouth shut.
We spend the rest of our evening hanging out, and at sunset, we fly around the island.
The skies are more crowded because of the dragon shifters, but Parker is relieved to know that I’m not alone.
King Basilicus flies so close to me that I can feel his power—it’s a little intimidating.
It makes me understand why the other phoenixes treat me the way they do. Do I feel like this to them?
But the evening is safe, and I wonder… how will the shadowy group even attack us when we have so many protecting us? They’re outnumbered, and they can’t do a thing about it.